Album Reviews
Album Review : My Drunken Haze – My Drunken Haze
One listen to Athens, Greece quintet My Drunken Haze and their self-titled debut, you can tell they’ve done their homework. Their sound is colored with hues found on a late-60s psychedelic color wheel. They veer more on the side of pop than rock, but that’s not to say a fuzz pedal isn’t engaged here and …
Album Review; Ariel Pink – Pom Pom
I must confess to being late to the Ariel Pink party. His debut album ‘House Arrest’ came out in 2002, completely under my radar. I stumbled across this new album, ‘Pom Pom’ whilst perusing Spotify for something new to listen to. I had no idea what to expect, but it was clear from the opening …
Album Review: Polybius – Be Seeing You
It’s difficult to know whether Polybius were formed, or born, or indeed anything. Best to assume the Sheffield / Rotherham based duo were forged. Certainly the (musical) DNA of Warp and Voltaire and Clock DVA have played heavy on the duo, only known as EV and the Random (“our personal names are irrelevant”) and they …
Not Forgotten – The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
It’s happened to me more times than I like to think – I discover a great band with a small but interesting discography, I’ve just missed them on tour, but great things are expected of their next album. So I patiently wait. And wait. Finally the album is released. It’s not quite as good as …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – War Child
Released in 1974, War Child found Jethro Tull at a crossroads in their career. Having had their previous album, the dense and generally grumpy A Passion Play, critically mauled and a subsequent mis-step by management that saw the band apparently announcing their retirement without their knowledge, War Child was the opportunity for the band to …
Say Psych: Album Review – I’m Your Mind Fuzz by King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard
It was a rainy Thursday night in Leeds, and I had just had a long and full day which I had found pretty exhausting. I’d dragged myself out of the place where I was staying and, even up to the point of getting to the doors of The Belgrave Music Hall where the band were …
Album Review: Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman – Deluxe
Now that the storm of the remastered re-issue is calming down, I feel its time to write about one of my all time favourite albums. One of the main things that struck me while reading through various reviews from a number of fawning critics was that at the time of its release I don’t remember anyone really …
Classic Compilation: Various Artists – A Whole Lot of Rainbows
As much as I love music, there are times when I have to just step back and say that sometimes it just takes itself too seriously. As much respect as I have for the likes of Radiohead and their ilk, there are times when I wish they’d just cheer up and crack a smile. After …
Album Review: The Orchids – Beatitude#9
It could well be that The Orchids passed you by. The Scottish five piece James Hackett (vocals), John Scally (guitar), Chris Quinn (drums), Matthew Drummond (guitar) and James Moody (bass) formed in 1986, releasing a whole host of material on the tiny but (subsequently) hugely influential and loved Sarah Records label. Splitting up in 1995, …
Not Forgotten: The Waterboys – A Pagan Place
Post-punk in a vaguely similar way that U2, Simple Minds and Big Country were post-punk, in the early 80s The Waterboys were a band laden with potential, fronted by an ace songwriter with a distinctive voice. Trouble was on their self-titled debut, The Waterboys consisted of Mike Scott and a saxophone player called Anthony. They …