Album Reviews
Album Review: James Last – Funky Music
There are people who think that the terms JAMES LAST and FUNKY MUSIC cannot be used in the same sentence. These people may know James Last, but they certainly don’t know the whole of James Last. But you can’t blame them, because the musical perfectionist has not only released over 150 records and received 17 …
Album Review: Earthen Sea –‘Recollection’: Blissful ambient techno with a deeper trip-hop flow.
Jacob Long’s musical journey has wound from seminal Dischord post-hardcore band Black Eyes through the deep dub rhythmics of Mi Ami to arriving, around 2014, in more greyscale/ambient landscapes with his aka Earthen Sea. From this point Long’s sound documents have mapped a pathway from home studio sketches to his first album ‘Ink’ on Lovers …
EP Review: Fraser Morgan – I Hope You Can’t Relate
Fraser Morgan’s new EP ‘I Hope You Can’t Relate’, is an emotionally charged, cathartic journey that seamlessly blends raw honest lyricism with folk instrumentation and a vibrant, urgent punk energy. On ‘I Hope You Can’t Relate’, the rising singer-songwriter from the East of England brings a collection of tracks that feel both deeply personal and …
Album Review: Jagged Baptist Club – Physical Surveillance
For those who like their indie with a spot of dying seaside town glamour and a drop of psyche, then the Jagged Baptist Club might very much be your club. Consisting of Blake Stokes (lead vocals, guitar), Morgan Ponder (drums, percussion), Josh Boyd (synths, backing vocals), CJ Ramsey (bass, backing vocals) the LA band bring …
Album Review: Scrimshire –‘Music for Autumn Lovers’: a flowing, wholesome down-tempo soundtrack for the season and beyond.
November may be the month when there’s a deluge of new releases ahead of the Xmas drought but here’s a recording that deserves to be heard amongst all the noise. London producer/composer and label boss Adam Scrimshire’s new album ‘Music for Autumn Lovers’ (out now via Albert’s Favourites) may seekm unassuming but it makes for …
Album Review: Fazerdaze wields her ‘Soft Power’ with aplomb in a majestic new album.
The inimitable and ethereal Fazerdaze (the nom de plume of Amelia Murray) has just released her first LP in seven years – ‘Soft Power’ – via Buttrfly/Virgin Music Group, and it is a wondrous return. Beset by the vicissitudes of life after the universal acclaim that met ‘Morningside’, Fazerdaze withdrew from the world for a while before returning …
Album Review: The Offline –‘Les Cigales’ : Seductive soundtrack grooves with an analogue funk foundation.
Curiouser and curiouser, here’s the return of the illusive and slighty mysterious persona known as The Offline (aka Hamburg based guitarist/producer Felix Müller) with a quirky new EP ‘Les Cigales’. Keeping in line with The Offline line, this new release finds him digging through the crates from classic soundtrack to obscure library music, dusty funk …
Album Review : Peter Somuah –‘Highlife’ : A punchy and profound afro-jazz fusion story .
Sometimes ‘world jazz’ or ‘world fusion’ comes across as primarily a musical endeavour. Yes the results have been seminal and spectacular. No-one would question the significance of the ethno-jazz explorations of Weather Report, Coltrane, Gillespie, Getz and so many more but sometimes the connection between heritage, culture and music-making comes from a more personalised perspective. …
EP Review: HollowKin – Confessions & Failures
A pretty new band by most standards HollowKin started in 2023 but since then the hard working quintet have making some fairly big waves on the live scene and are now ready to make some even bigger waves with their debut EP Confessions & Failures The EP doesn’t really start till the second track, ‘A …
EP Review: The Jailbirds – High Noon
Canadian rockers The Jailbirds are a three-piece tour de Force cranking out classic rock-inspired tracks. They have drawn comparisons to Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, Deep Purple, Monster Truck, Royal Blood, and other such bands. Their new EP, High Noon, sees them approach the classic rock genre with a fresh, modern take, delivering five tracks of bluesy …