album review
Album review: The Natvral – ‘Tethers’: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart frontman returns with a more Laurel Canyon thing
FOLLOWING the disbandment of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart in 2017 after the release of The Echo of Pleasure, Kip Berman found himself at a creative crossroads, having written about young adult life in New York City with maturity and a fine ear for a tune. Tethers is the further maturation of Berman …
Album review: The Antlers – ‘Green To Gold’: a safe haven in a frugal year
A highly anticipated comeback for Peter Silberman’s band, with an album full of soothing melodies
EP Review: Sammy Honeysett debuts ‘Queen of Wands’
Sydney-based singer-songwriter Sammy Honeysett today releases her debut EP Queen of Wands, revealing more of the rising talent’s wistfully melodic indie-rock. Produced by Jack Nigro (Julia Jacklin, Middle Kids, DMA’s), the five-track offering is a reflection of Sammy’s versatility as a sensitive yet determined artist. Revealing how the EP got its title, Sammy says she …
Album: ’68 – Give one Take One
Josh Scogin kickstarted ’68 back in 2013, naming the two-man outfit he modestly undersells as “a little rock, a little blues, a little hardcore” after his father’s old Camaro. Joining with percussive Nikko Yamada, the band unleash an array of guitar, bass, drums and keys, and pedals. Like a Delta Blues reimagining of Bleach-era Nirvana …
Album: Birdpen – All Function One
English alternative rock duo Birdpen are the creation of Dave Pen and Mike Bird. They mix elements of alternative guitar rock, experimental electronica and Krautrock with cinematic moods, all delivered with powerful and meaningful lyrics. All Function One is an album written as the world was changing at the start of the 2020 pandemic. An …
Album Review: Dance punk exponents Death From Above 1979 release new album ‘Is 4 Lovers’
After months of fierce anticipation Death From Above 1979’s fourth LP release, ‘Is 4 Lovers’, finally drops today. Produced, mastered and recorded entirely by bassist Sebastien Grainger and drummer Jesse F. Keeler, the album captures that unmistakable, boundary-shoving dance-punk sounds fans remember, along with some redefining of their original format. DFA wanted this record to …
Album Review: In ‘Today We’re The Greatest’, Sydney’s Middle Kids explore angst and redemption draped in a sparkling, glittering cloak.
There is a beautiful tension the work of Sydney trio Middle Kids. Songs that detail childhood trauma, wayward ways and personal angst are delivered in the most shining and sparkling coat of many colours. Even at their darkest, though, the lyrics can exhibit a wry sense of humour; a sense of resignation and acceptance and …
Album review: Ben Howard – ‘Collections From The Whiteout’: engrossing, tragic stories on his best yet
WHAT a day it is for Ben Howard as he returns with Collections From The Whiteout – an album rich in engrossing stories and full-bodied instrumentals. Critically acclaimed English singer-songwriter Ben has created his fourth studio album in a run beginning with 2011’s Every Kingdom. It’s a 14-track album that appears simple to the naked …
Album review: Renee Reed – ‘Renee Reed’: an excellent, ethereal debut from Louisiana folk chanteuse
Renée Reed’s debut is spun from very clever finery; a flow of tracks, folky and so American and yet so European, psychedelic in the way Devendra is, spectral in the way Marissa Nadler so is; Espers, but less mushroomy. Renée: she’s such a talent. I’m not sure if I want to wake from this particular spell.
Album review: Conrad Schnitzler – ‘Paracon: The Paragon Session Outtakes 1978-1979’ – more solid-state wizardry from the Kluster genius’s archives
Outtakes these nominally may be, but a decade on these tracks would have all seen a parallel life in the 12″ and the like; a format which was only just starting to find its viability Stateside at this point in the Seventies. And remember not just that these ten tracks are culled from a year or more’s intense creative fire, but that those sessions gave birth to three albums. It’s an album for intense post-dusk savouring, soundscapes to fall sideways down the rabbit hole into, deep and otherworldly sonic immersion from one of the greatest electronic music brains.