album review
ALBUM REVIEW: Sleaford Mods – ‘Spare Ribs’: one of their best to date
Spare Ribs is one of Sleaford Mods’ strongest albums to date and serves as a reminder that they’re more unique, more interesting and more exciting than any of the groups that followed in their path
Album Review: The Raft releases the shimmering and dreamy album ‘Summerheads and Winter Beds’
The consistently elegant and ethereal beauty of The Raft shines brightly in the new album ‘Summerheads and Winter Beds’: a collection of shimmering incandescent tracks that burn brightly. And we know, that which burns brightly lasts half as long: the album is over before you know it and you just want it to keep going …
Album Review: Hjelvik – Welcome To Hel
Formerly known as frontman, lyricist, and co-founder of the Norwegian party rockers Kvelertak, Erlend Hjelvik parted ways with his bandmates in 2018 and has spent the last two years biding his time and plotting a return to action. Today, he is a rejuvenated and newly inspired metal warrior, primed and ready to launch his own …
ALBUM REVIEW: Joachim Spieth – ‘Ousia’: tronica sound design to fall deep into
Joachim Spieth’s Ousia finesses current tronica-ambient thinking with some very deep and elemental sound design. Peer closer and you’ll find it hard not to fall in
EP REVIEW: Tori Amos – ‘Christmastide’: four originals for the season
A stateswoman of female musical discourse takes the Christmas song tradition and makes of it something thoughtful, intelligent and nuanced
Meet: We interview Nic Dalton, owner of Sydney’s legendary Half a Cow Records
As a reviewer, from time to time you come across small boutique labels whose enthusiasm and dedication to the music scene is utterly magnificent and completely inspiring. Over the past few years, I’ve reviewed a number of brilliant bands with one common denominator – they were all on the Half a Cow Record label. This …
Album Review: Eskobar rejuvenate and refresh the past with swaggering new album Chapter 2
Nordic groove masters, Eskobar, are a band that isn’t afraid to wear their influences on their sleeve – their debt to the Madchester era, The Stone Roses, Britpop and all things baggy is stated up front and without dissembling. But, as their string of emphatically groove-driven releases over this year has shown, they are no …
ALBUM REVIEW: M. Ward – ‘Think Of You’: Portland guitar wonder seduces with Billie Holiday set
M. Ward’s pulled off quite a neat trick here. Think Of You has many of the appurtenances of a seasonal album without quite being one. It could be M. Ward’s best album in a good while, proving that all he really needs is some retro recording equipment and a guitar to be at his very best
ALBUM REVIEW: Louis Philippe & The Night Mail – ‘Thunderclouds’: the blessed return of a baroque pop genius
FOOTBALL writer, baroque pop legend, in-house producer, literary collaborator: truly Philippe Auclair – known worldwide to an adoring fanbase as Louis Philippe (for it is, indeed, him) is the sort of erudite, intelligent, popstar we need – especially right now. Populist three-word sloganeer he sure as hell ain’t. We should be more than grateful then …
ALBUM REVIEW: Heavenly – ‘A Bout De Heavenly’: seminal sevens compiled in time for Santa
Rolling down through Heavenly’s career through the prism of the single, you can see what a great band they were at that seemingly most humble, but powerful and demotic of formats, all packed full of the goodness of proper indiepop