Features
Feature: Cheerio Jethro Tull – thoughts on the ending
Following a particularly demanding day at work, I wandered into Sheffield branch of HMV on Tuesday. As I walked through the doors, my eyes inevitably flicked to my right and across to the new release display. Ninety percent of the time I don’t even recognise the name of at least half of the acts on …
10 Reasons Why I’m Avoiding Record Store Day, again.
Record Store Day (RSD) was a brilliant idea, get artists to release something special on vinyl on a particular day and only release the product to independent record stores, which have been on the decline for well over a decade now. Surely everyone wins? The record stores get exclusive gear to sell and more …
Feature: Britpop – A music fan remembers…
I don’t know when I became aware of Britpop as a ‘scene’. In late 1994 I had read a few articles on a hotly-tipped band called Suede, and then watching Top of the Pops one Thursday evening it featured a band called Blur playing a slightly annoying song called “Girls and Boys”. Personally I was …
Feature: Darker Sound – Helltrash
Helltrash is the scuzzy and sleazy industrial metal project of Vlixx Vaden. Whilst Vlixx is joined by several others for liveshows, Helltrash is in essence Vlixx (in the same way NIN is Trent Reznor). Blending chunky chugging riffs with pulsating synth beats, samples and Vlixx’s intense filtered vocals. Helltrash are a musical tour de force. …
Feature: Denmark’s El Paraiso Records
It seems that Denmark is much cooler than I ever thought possible. The reason for this newfound revelation? El Paraiso Records. El Paraiso is a Danish record company run by Jonas Munk and Jakob Skott. These two fellows are in the incredible band Causa Sui, as well as putting out stellar records under their own …
Feature: Seeing Black Circles :: Confessions of a Music Junkie
It’s usually this time of year when I really start to think about my obsession. It’s not something I’m necessarily proud of, but it’s not something I’m ashamed of either. It’s not an obsession that will land me in rehab, jail, or divorce court. There’s no lurid tales of back alley smack shooting, or maxing …
Feature: A dozen reasons to See The Blue Aeroplanes December Tour (Playlist)
My daughter brought home some maths homework that really didn’t make any sense to me. I wondered if it was just me, but the more people I showed this homework to, the more people who were confused and baffled by it. There just seemed to be something wrong with the whole thing. The often feel …
Feature: 5 reasons to buy the forthcoming Gene album reissues
It all happened quite by accident for Gene, who, when they started were going about things quite happily as Sp!n, releasing a couple of single as an album on the Foundation label. But singer Lee Clark felt he was too old, and the following day the band had a serious accident and band member John …
Feature: Okay, now I REALLY want to see Atoms For Peace live…
It’s not like I didn’t want to see them live before, but after watching them play on The Daily Show I have become a devout fan. Amok I believe will end up being one of my very favorite albums this year. I knew this would be the case after living with that record for a …
Feature: LCD Soundsystem – James Murphy Is Playing At My House
Last night I finally watched LCD Soundsystem’s swan song live documentary Shut Up And Play The Hits. While it didn’t move me quite like I’d hoped it would(an 8 year old punching couch cushions pretending to be a member of the Justice League throughout the film didn’t help…in my living room, not the movie itself), …