Music

See: New video from Half Loon for Swearword
I’ve got to thank Half Loon this morning. I was up early, very early for a Saturday because I’ve got to go up to Scotland. It was dark and cold, and I could barely drag myself out of my bed when the aloff went off. I was barely dressed when my lift arrived. So it’s …
NOT FORGOTTEN – GRUFF RHYS – CANDYLION
Looking back, Brit-pop was just a bit rubbish wasn’t it? Few of the bands it spewed forth had top-line careers which lasted more than a handful of years, great albums were thin on the ground and just about the only band of the movement that consistently released worthwhile music throughout their career was Supergrass. But …
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 …

Album Review: Midlake – Antiphon
So here’s the scoop in case you didn’t know or didn’t really care, Midlake was/is a band from Denton, Texas that was fronted by a guy named Tim Smith. They created strange worlds on their albums that were part renaissance fair and part Ray Bradbury novel. A renaissance fair that took place in another dimension …
NOT FORGOTTEN – THE POSIES – FROSTING ON THE BEATER
Over time tastes can change. When I was a child I hated the taste of cheese and onion crisps, preferring the sharp bite provided by salt and vinegar, however the onset of adulthood brought with it a distaste for my former favourites and their overpowering attack on my tastebuds and I started to find the …
NOT FORGOTTEN – CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN – CHANGELING
Camille O’Sullivan was not an artist I was familiar with prior to hearing Changeling, though a little Googling quickly ensured I had the basics, which was enough to give the impression that she’s a rather fascinating character. Born in London, raised in Ireland, she’s a vocalist, cabaret artist and actress. She studied fine art but …
NOT FORGOTTEN – RANDY NEWMAN – BAD LOVE
Way back in my late teens and into my early twenties, I fancied myself as a poet. I thought I was pretty damn good at it too. So did others actually, to the point where some of my fellow students with musical ambitions would ask me to help out on some of their more lyrically …
Not Forgotten – The Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs
The first thing that hits you about 69 Love Songs, before you even hear the first note of the music is the scale of the damn thing. Three CDs. Three hours of music on one theme. A big statement that sits between your Magic Numbers and Manic Street Preachers albums. It takes some nerve to …

Psych Insight: Album Review: Wooden Shjips – Back to Land
There have been few new albums out this year that I have been eagerly awaiting more than the latest Wooden Shjips album, Back to Land. The problem with this is that this can mean that I will almost certainly be disappointed with the outcome, so high are my expectations. When I was thinking about this …