Taking time out from house band duties on Jimmy Fallon's NBC talk show, veteran Philadelphia hip-hop group the Roots have made a new album – their 10th – about shattered dreams and early death. Billed as "an existential retelling of the short life of one Redford Stevens (1974-1999)", Undun is also a mirror held up to present-day America, where ambitions are more likely to die than prosper. It's a downer, but timely and affecting, with moments of beauty. Standout track "Make My" recalls Marvin Gaye, while the instrumental suite at the end of the album borrows from Sufjan Stevens.

Full review »