ALBUM REVIEW – ALA.NI: SUNSHINE MUSIC

Home is a loose concept. A person’s physical location is not necessarily where their thoughts and emotions are centred. The third album from ALA.NI is a classic example of this paradox. It may have been written in Paris during the freezing winter of 2023 but the impact of a sojourn in Barbados, Grenada (where her […]
Rafiq Bhatia                    Environments  Drawing on his jazz background that has previously included collaborations with Arooj Aftab, Ambrose Akinmusire, Dave Douglas, Marcus Gilmore, Mary Halvorson, Billy Hart, Kassa Overall, Cécile McLorin Salvant and more, Bhatia marks his return to improvised music with a trio of trusted friends and collaborators on ‘Environments’. Sydney Minsky Sargeant          Lunga   […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 12 SEPTEMBER 2025

INTERVIEW – ROBERT FORSTER

Even though sales may not have matched the critical acclaim, Robert Forster’s career is enviable. Over 45 years since The Go-Betweens’s debut single and nearly 20 years after the tragic early death of Grant McLennan with whom he shared one of the great songwriting partnerships, he has been enjoying a prolific, late period surge and […]
An intake of breath is the first sound you hear on David Franklin Courtright’s debut album, Brutal Tenderness, and you’d better take a deep breath of your own – for 35 minutes, the LA-based singer-songwriter will confront you with all his vulnerability, raw and unvarnished, as he searches for inner peace while exploring his queer […]

ALBUM REVIEW – DAVID FRANKLIN COURTRIGHT: BRUTAL TENDERNESS

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 5 SEPTEMBER 2025

Now that it is September, bedlam ensues with numerous quality releases clamouring for attention. Here is our weekly guide. Go Kurosawa   soft shakes       Solo debut from Kikagaku Moya member. Each day, Go would head to the studio, pick up whatever instrument was around and simply play. The process was slow and instinctive. “If something still […]
After 35 years, 13 studio albums, and a discography which found its identity by leaping between trip hop, synth pop and indie, Saint Etienne call it a day with the release of International, their final studio album. Exploring that vast collection of sounds the band has divulged in within their music, International is a journey […]

ALBUM REVIEW – SAINT ETIENNE: INTERNATIONAL

LIVE REVIEW – HAYDEN PEDIGO: ST MICHAELS, ANCOATS- 28/08/2025

From the front, Hallé St Michaels is an inconspicuous building: nestled in a picturesque residential area of Ancoats, it is easily missed or, if seen, mistaken as any old church. ‘Any old’ it is not, though, given the concert it hosted on Thursday 28th August. As one would expect in an old church building, this […]
“Contact, contact, all this shattered impact, shake three”. My introduction to Water From Your Eyes, and by extension, their second LP, was lead single ‘Life Signs’ which struck a nerve in me. An incredibly good nerve at that. Lead singer Rachel Brown may have a monotonal delivery, but their performance is just one key of […]

ALBUM REVIEW – WATER FROM YOUR EYES: IT’S A BEAUTIFUL PLACE

ALBUM REVIEW : FLESHWATER – 2000: IN SEARCH OF THE ENDLESS SKY

It is incredibly rare to see a band blow up in popularity after releasing their debut, but even if it is rare, it is not impossible to see, especially nowadays. This is something that Fleshwater have accomplished. This outfit are known for their mesmerising vocals and intricate musicianship, which has evidently been elevated in 2000: […]
Until recent months, my knowledge of Slovenian music was non-existent. Now, thanks to tak:til / Glitterbeat unveiling diverse musical delights from around the globe, I can name two acts worthy of attention. October sees the release of ‘In the Wind of Night, Hard Fallen Incantations Whisper’ by avant-folk trio Širom, a trio utilising over 20 […]

ALBUM REVIEW – ETCETERAL: KIMATIKA