pop
New Music: Monkey Swallows the Universe – Sheffield Shanty II, plus live date
It’s niche, I grant you, but for some people somewhere (probably, in all honesty, Sheffield) the news that there is new music from folk/indie poppers Monkey Swallows the Universe, and a live date as well will be causing great excitement and gnashing of teeth and vexing of cattle and the like. Possibly. To be fair, …
Track: Iris Gold – Steve McQueen
The slightly retro but joyously laid back Pop feel of Iris Golds new single, Steve McQueen, perhaps owes something to her unconventional upbringing. Born in London, but brought up in what was essentially what appears to have been a nomadic childhood, which included time squatting for intervals above the famous Folkteatret (‘People’s theatre’) and autonomous …
Album Review: Animal Collective – Painting With
Animal Collective can say that they have most assuredly created their own unique musical world. No one can even come close to reinterpreting their sound and their vibe. Maybe t-U-n-E-y-A-r-D-s to some extent, but not to the exuberant extremes that AC do. I think for many Merriweather Post Pavillion was the point at which this Maryland four-piece …
A beginners’ guide to The Beatles
For me there is one genuine great body of creative work from the 20th Century which is beyond criticism. It towers above the collected work of artists like Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. The collected writings of JRR Tolkien finds itself overshadowed by comparison. The original trio of films in the Star Wars franchise looks …
Meet: The Scaffold’s Mike McCartney on the reissue of the McGough & McGear album
Most novelty number ones are rubbish but a notable exception to this rule is The Scaffold’s flower power classic Lily The Pink which still raises a happy smile five decades on. The Scaffold’s nucleus of comedian John Gorman, poet Roger McGough and songwriter Mike McGear emerged from the fertile early 1960s Liverpool theatre scene before …
Track: Dear Tatiana – Staycaytion
Orlando, Florida quartet Dear Tatiana mix things up with their rhymes and raps working in tandem with their pop-punk attitude. With their new single Staycation, they’ve mixed up some warm, summery synths, with a good helping of RnB infused pop to make something that floats into your senses. One of the quartet, Thayne explains the …
Feature: double albums that are actually worth the time.
For some artists the single disc statement is not enough. It should be though, as the multiple disc release is a difficult beast to master and many of the most famous double albums are at least half a side too long (The Beatles, Blonde on Blonde, Songs in the Key of Life, Physical Graffiti, etc). …
Album Review: SIA – This Is Acting
There is an uneasy amount of hype surrounding Sia Furler’s forthcoming album, This Is Acting – Sia is seen as the new bastion of hope within a bloated pop music scene with her offbeat musical output lauding her to not only critics but more crucially the general populous (no pun intended) of mainstream audiences. You …
Album Review: Foxes – All I Need
In 2014 Foxes released her debut album ‘Glorious’. It took pop music, added in a whole bunch of quirks and an edge, and went on to be one of the best albums of the year. Her Kate Bush-esque dramatic sound, laid over huge pop hooks and dirty electronic beats separated her from so many others …
Reissue: Julia Fordham – Julia Fordham
God, if this album was any more 1980s it would come with a free Ra Ra skirt and fluorescent leg warmers. But despite the overproduced tinny guitars, hideous fretless bass and synthesised keyboards, that are so redolent of the time, it is saved by Julia Fordham’s gorgeous smoky jazz tinged voice. Fordham was one of …