Toploader – ‘Turn It Around’ (Underdogs Music) Oh dear Lord. I thought we’d passed legislation to prevent this sort of thing. ‘Turn It Around’, a comeback single anticipated by exactly nobody, is just like 2002 had […]
Album Review: My Bloody Valentine – m b v
After a 22 year stint with no new My Bloody Valentine material, Kevin Shields was heckled at a recent London gig with the question “When’s the album out?” amidst laughter. Shields coolly responded with “Maybe […]
Album Review: Foals – Holy Fire
The new album from Foals, Holy Fire, is a bit of a mixed bag- it just doesn’t have that sense of wholeness and coherence that their previous albums offered, and at first comes across a bit […]
The Week’s Singles – The Flaming Lips, Bullet For My Valentine & Don Bronco
The Flaming Lips – Sun Blows Up Today The new Flaming Lips track continues their experiments in sonic weirdness. Guitar and synth rock out in a wave bright, psychedelic noise yielding an energetic and […]
Album Review: Marc Carroll – Stone Bead & Silver
Carroll’s unique concoction of folk, blues, punk and country has shamefully hidden beneath the public eye, despite the Dubliner having the blessing of Bob Dylan. Stone Bead & Silver, Carroll’s fifth album (and admittedly my first […]
Album Review: Darkstar – News From Nowhere
When Darkstar emerged in 2010 with their debut album North on Hyperdub, they were placed firmly within the burgeoning post-dubstep scene, not far from James Blake and the like. Fast-forward to 2013 and links to dubstep of […]
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – II
Written largely on tour, Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s second album, II, deals mostly with the isolation and restlessness felt by main songwriter Ruban Nielson. Yet, on this weird and wonderful adventure, the band sound more comfortable than ever. […]
This Week's Singles
The Stranglers – ‘Mercury Rising’ (Coursegood) Post-punk veterans release second single from new album Giant. Serrated metallic guitar over frenetic synth is comfortingly typical Stranglers. However, it’s quickly let down by a combination of badly-judged semi-rap and worryingly […]
Album Review // Cemeteries – 'The Wilderness'
Having gazed into the forest near his home in Buffalo, Kyle J Reigle (aka Cemeteries) decided to write music in an attempt to escape his bleak urban surroundings. Six months recording in his spare room […]
Feature // Stuck In The Past?
For the first time ever, ‘old’ music is selling more than ‘new’ music, according to recent articles in the music press. According to Nielsen SoundScan (the official method of tracking music sales in the US […]
Live Review // Palma Violets @ Nation of Shopkeepers
There’s usually some sort of dislike that surrounds bands deemed to be the band of the moment. It happens for everyone; those who are already fans want to retain their hipster exclusivity and those who […]