ALBUM REVIEW – CATE LE BON: MICHELANGELO DYING
The breakup album is virtually a cliché. There are reasons why it can be irresistible to artists and listeners alike. It is a common, almost universal, experience. Very few will have been lucky enough to immediately fall into the perfect relationship so the emotions may well be familiar but repetition of themes make it inevitable that they will turn into clichés. Under those circumstances, it is understandable that Cate Le Bon did not set out to catalogue the demise of her long-term... Read More
ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 26 SEPTEMBER 2025
An absolutely mega week in which it would be impossible to cover all the great releases in the depth that we would like. Here is our precis of the new releases. The Cords The Cords Sisters Eva and Grace take their cues from forebearers like Dolly Mixture, Shop Assistants, Heavenly and Tiger Trap, reinvigorating the C86 sound with style and infectious enthusiasm. Professor Yaffle Everyone Wants To Dream Scouse... Read More
LIVE IN PICTURES – LA WITCH: LEEDS BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB – 23/09/2025
There is an old saying about a picture being worth a 1,000 words so by that measurement, here is a dissertation length photographic review of LA Witch. Dive in and capture the atmosphere as the trio blast out their melange of darkwave, punk and psychedelia through Mat Coffey’s photos. Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – OLIVIA DEAN: THE ART OF LOVING
Album cover photo by Jack Davison. With a sudden crusade of the charts, Olivia Dean is on everyone’s lips and in their ears becoming the first artist since Adele to have three songs in the top twenty at the same time. The debut album ‘Messy’ was critically acclaimed yet didn’t make the dent in the charts like it should have, however, ‘The Art of Loving’, which is described as a tender, intentional deep into the dimensions of love, is destined to. Known for blending... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – RAGE: A NEW WORLD RISING
Trying to release a new album after releasing a masterpiece is one of the hardest tasks for any musician. Rage is no ordinary band though and when the three-piece set themselves up for something, they usually achieve it. This German thrash, power and speed metal hybrid released what is easily their best piece of work with their 2023 double album Afterlifelines, but on A New World Rising, the band does not slow down as they deliver a consistently melodic yet mostly fast paced album... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – CERYS HAFANA: ANGEL
Sometimes artists kindly try to do journalist’s work by describing their music. On Cerys Hafana’s Instagram page, their music is described as “sad Welsh harp pop”. As a description, this barely scratches the surface of what can be heard on their latest album, ‘Angel’. Whilst they indisputably sing in Welsh and play the triple harp, their music is only pop in the loosest sense and takes in elements of traditional, avant-folk and minimalism as well as a sizeable serving... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – MULATU ASTATKE: MULATU PLAYS MULATU
Over the course of a long gig-going life, there will inevitably be regrets about opportunities missed. Festivals in particular offer so many choices that there is bound to be the odd misstep. From the perspective of what happened in the following few months, I look back with a rueful shake of the head on being sat in a tent with a fellow fanzine writing friend at Reading Festival in August 1991 and agreeing that there was no point going to see Nirvana who were just a boring rock... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – THE GENESIS: A STORY
Fear not! This is not an ode to Messrs Collins, Banks and Rutherford, or even Gabriel. The Genesis is an entirely separate beast and ‘A Story’ comes, aptly enough, with an incredible backstory. Hand of Glory Records’ Will Twynham (who records as Dimorphodons) was searching eBay for interesting instruments and came across an old Hohner Cembalet, painted matte black and with missing keys. The listing included a clip of a home recording which piqued Twynham’s interest further.... Read More
ALBUM REVIEW – JOHNNY MARR: LOOK OUT LIVE!leah
Skim through my concert bucket list and find Johnny Marr, most likely sitting between some random all-acoustic folk singer who last wrote a good song in the late Seventies and an Indie band that the NME tried to push to popularity in the mid-Noughties. A personal guitar hero and one of the few cool people to once be friends with Morrissey, Marr and his music carry this sort of indescribable presence. The intricacies of his genius fall into the seams of each song, whether that... Read More
ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 19 SEPTEMBER 2025
Cardiacs LSD The culmination of the late Tim Smith’s work and brings all of his faculties to bear in one place: a unified whole world of experience. Elements of more folk-horror offshoot The Sea Nymphs, his solo work OceanLandWorld and pop-flavoured Spratleys Japs flow alongside distinct references to Cardiacs’ 80s albums and on through to later work like the 1996 seminal album, Sing To God. Kieran Hebden + William Tyler ... Read More
