Album Reviews
Mixtape: Saba – Comfort Zone
Chicago’s getting weird. Away from the attention grabbing drill-scene, the nihilistic soundtrack to the city’s gang wars, a growing number of artists have been creating lush, experimental music closer in spirit to the Pharcyde and De La Soul than Chief Keef. Saba, who guested on Chance the Rapper’s breakthrough mixtape ‘Acid Rap’ (one of the …
Not Forgotten: Villagers – Becoming a Jackal
They’ve taken their time about it over the last two decades, yet slowly but surely Domino Records has established itself as a sign of quality, much like Elektra had become in the late 60s. With acts like Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and u.n.p.o.c. on the roster, it’s evident the label has an ear for talent …
Album Review: White Fence – For The Recently Found Innocent
I’ll start off by saying I’m not the diehard fan of this garage rock revival that so many others are. I recognize the greatness guys like Ty Segall, John Dwyer, and White Fence’s Tim Presley possess. Their musical output is quite staggering, and to the newbie it can be rather intimidating. Much like someone walking …
Album Review : Corrosion of Conformity – IX
I didn’t start listening to Corrosion of Conformity till 1994. It was the next phase in their sound. Before the album Deliverance they were a hardcore punk band. They had street cred and lots of hardcore punk fans. But Deliverance saw the band head in more of a dirge-filled, Sabbath-oozing direction. Pepper Keenan as lead vocalist the band embarked …
Not Forgotten – Half Man Half Biscuit – Cammell Laird Social Club
From mid 80s post-punk beginnings which welded basic musicianship to barbed lyrics about life in Thatcher’s Britain, to a more competent and dynamic sound backing witty and wise wordsmithery throughout the 90s, Half Man Half Biscuit have continued to become slightly more sophisticated as time has gone on, without losing whatever it was that made …
Psych Insight: Album Review – Corsica Garden by Os Noctambulos
Every now and again you discover some music that just blows you away, it speaks to you so directly and viscerally that you cant really explain why you like it. Even more rarely comes something that completely changes your musical frame of reference and sets you off on a new path, exploring new directions …
Not Forgotten: Billy Bragg – Don’t Try This at Home
Billy Bragg’s first full album since Workers Playtime, an album which saw him change his style to something a little more mainstream than clattering his battered Telecaster and delivering his love them / hate them vocals (personally I’ve always been charmed by his rampantly untutored vocal stylings) with assistance from a few select collaborators (step …
Album Review: Cocoon – Mathias Kaden & Popof in the Mix
It’s that time of year again when everyone turns to Cocoon and their famous mix series to see what the sounds of the summer will be. This time charged with laying out the enduring German label’s sonic mix for Ibiza 2014 is Mathias Kaden and label regular Popof. They do so across two fantastic mix CDs, which in …
Not Forgotten – Steely Dan – Katy Lied
The general consensus seems to be that Katy Lied is Becker and Fagen’s least favourite Steely Dan album, because it didn’t match their levels of studio perfectionism that they had achieved on their other albums. As it turns out that is exactly the reason that it is my favourite Steely Dan album. I’m a rock …
Album Review: A Sunny Day In Glasgow – Sea When Absent
I can’t remember the first time I heard A Sunny Day In Glasgow, but I do remember how I felt. I felt as if I’d found this wonderful musical gift. Part dream pop, part shoegaze, and yet still totally modern. They were taking the building blocks of those late-80s noise genres and turning into something …