Music
Not Forgotten – David Bowie – Station to Station
Station to Station is an odd album for me, in that I feel I would probably have a higher opinion of it than I do were it not for the album that immediately preceded it. It’s not that I prefer Young Americans, far from it, but I feel that if Bowie had been able to …
Live Review: The Gluts & White Hills – Bloom, Mezzago (Milano) 25.04.15
Ever since I had first clapped ears on The Gluts‘ debut LP ‘Warsaw’, I had been longing for the opportunity to see them play live. There was the small matter of their being based in Milan, which is only 1475km from Belfast as the crow flies… No matter, when the opportunity for The Gluts to open for White …
See: Skepta reveals video to “Shutdown”
Out right now on Boy Better Know is the new single from London grime producer and MC Skepta. It’s proved to be a fruitful time with March seeing Skepta join Kanye West onstage at both the Brit Awards (for a performance of ‘All Day’) and a night at London’s Koko. He’s also returning the favour …
Soundtrack Of Our Lives: John Cooper Clarke
He’s the Bard of Salford, the original Punk Poet, the Doctor. Evidently, we must be talking about John Cooper Clarke. Revered by many for his acerbic wit and slightly off kilter, but oh so accurate, take on life, hehas been an inspiration to many. His book, ‘Ten Years In An Open Neck Shirt’, is a …
Live Review: Nai Harvest / Best Friends / Pins – The Harley, Sheffield 24.04.2015
Friday night in Sheffield saw one of the most explosive, and certainly most popular, gigs The Harley has ever seen. First up were Pins, a female four-piece to be reckoned with. Faith Holgate’s haunting, eerie voice is akin to Siouxsie Sioux, and the Manchester group stirred up the crowd for the two homegrown groups to come. …
Album Review: Blur “The Magic Whip”
It’s been a long time coming and a lot of water has passed under a lot of bridges in the 16 years since Blur released their last studio album as a four piece but “The Magic Whip” has put Blur firmly back in the spotlight. It’s their 8th studio album in their 25 years or …
Album Review: The Prodigy “The Day is My Enemy”
Not many acts are in their 25th year of action and still misbehaving in quite the way the Prodigy appear to be based on listening to their 6th studio album which winged its way to #1 in the UK charts on release, being their 6th #1 album including their 2005 Greatest Hits. Liam, Keith and …
Say Psych: Album Review – Keeper of the Dawn by Ancient River
At a time when every man and his bong can be said to be exploring the final frontier with cathedral reverb plastered all over their stoned guitar noodling, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand apart from the rabble. Ancient River try their best at saying something new by, perversely, not saying very much at …
Psych Insight: New Music – Open Visions EP by Kobadelta
There is something of the night about Kobadelta, in the way that there is something of the night about The Amazing Snakeheads. The band’s songs are reminiscent of drunken late nights in back alleys where under the haze of darkness and incoherence, they stumble across liminal realities which the band crystallise through their music. I …
New Music: Whoop-Szo release the post-metal of Mirror North
Guelph, Ontario. Maybe not quite internationally recognized as a musical hotbed, but in Canada it is well known as a centre for the non-conventional. Enter Whoop-Szo. Even for Guelph this quartet is a little out there. Uncompromising, they make the music that they want to make — it’s what they believe in. Their latest, “Mirror …