Album Reviews
EP: Batsch – Collar EP
14th July will see the latest release from Coventry art/synth pop quartet Batsch. The band – Mason Le Long, Joe Carvell, Matt Rheeston and Andy Whitehead do a mean line in groove, laying down some beautifully melodic and memorable ones in their recorded work to date, taking the lead from the likes of Chic and …
Album Review : Alex Calder – Strange Dreams
The title of Alex Calder’s newest album couldn’t be more accurate. Listening to Strange Dreams is indeed like having a strange dream. The music wobbles and shimmers. It hops along like a hurt animal doped up on narcotics. It’s hallucinogenic demeanor oozes out of the speakers as if some symbiotic creature wanting to meld into your DNA …
Album Review: Japan Soul “Plastic Utopia”
Japan Soul: call it dance music with a conscience, intelligent pop, whatever you like, their new album “Plastic Utopia” is a fantastic slice of intellectual soul. To reflect my eighties predilections, it’s like a mash-up of the attitude of The Clash with the music and lyricism of Heaven 17 (and even China Crisis) it is something sorely missing from …
Album Review : The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart :: Days Of Abandon
There has been a gradual move for New York City’s The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart; from a rough-around-the-edges sound on their debut to something resembling a sunny 80s pop sheen on their newest long player Days Of Abandon. The change is subtle, but there. On their debut album there was a slight darkness to …
Not Forgotten – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – The Roaring Silence
Ah pop-prog, that strange little sub-genre that only Electric Light Orchestra, Queen and Supertramp seemed to get right. Each band had their own special way of approaching it, so none of them ever sounded remotely like each other, but most of them enjoyed a certain level of success that allowed them to become household names …
New Music: Felt Tip EP “Simple Things”
We’ve already been impressed by the angular sounds of Felt Tip on their single “Milk and Honey” released in January of this year. Their debut EP “Simple Things” is being released through Fierce Panda on 9 June. Containing four tracks, the EP opens with a wistful “Simple Things”, a clattering song with a funky cowbell beat …
Album Review: City States -Geography
Its been a long time coming for Joel Ebner, aka City States. After nearly six years of false starts, mutations and detours, and at the (relatively) ripe old age of 34, he’s finally completed his debut album, Geography. He’s had some pushes on the way, notably keyboardist / producer Steve Lund and drummer Mike Burmeister, …
Album Review: Louie Fresco – Autophobia
As No.19 Music celebrates its fifth anniversary, Jonny White’s highly influential label looks to hotly tipped Mexican DJ/producer Louie Fresco for the label’s latest album release… No.19 Music has forged a dominant position for itself in the electronic music landscape over the last 5 years, taking the world by storm with its global Social Experiment label events …
Album Review: Various – Fabric 76 Mixed by Deetron
Swiss DJ and producer Sam Geiser aka Deetron has mixed the latest instalment of fabric’s long running series, due for release on June 16th. It comes at a time when the house and techno specialist is riding high off the success of recent full-length album, ‘Music Over Matter’. Deetron was born, raised and is still …
Not Forgotten – Alan Hull – Pipedream
Alan Hull is one of those frequently forgotten names in British rock music. Probably best known as one of the creative forces behind Newcastle folk-rockers Lindisfarne, who were themselves best known for a string of hit singles in the early 70s (including the rightly celebrated “Lady Eleanor” and “Meet Me on the Corner”) and a …