ALBUM REVIEW – NUSANTARA BEAT: NUSANTARA BEAT

While group names can often be random, Nusantara Beat has chosen one that encapsulates its ethos. Nusantara means all the islands that make up Indonesia and dates back to when kings wanted to unite the whole archipelago. Today, it means unity, many cultures coming together as one. Accordingly, Nusantara Beat mix the rhythms and music […]
A Post punk revival is in full swing and hits the coasts of Portsmouth with a new release by Hotel Lux.  Previously attacking with a garage rock sound (which was championed by the likes of NME, Clash and So Young) before a lineup change meant a new lease on direction as the band stated, ‘We […]

ALBUM REVIEW – HOTEL LUX: THE BITTER CUP

LIVE REVIEW – JANE REMOVER: MANCHESTER RITZ – 10/11/2025

When tickets for Jane Remover’s show went on sale a few months ago – the designated venue given as Band on the Wall – I jumped at the opportunity. This is, after all, one of the most exciting musicians currently in the business – I couldn’t not go and see them. Within a few minutes, […]
To anyone unfamiliar with London’s Windmill scene, The Orchestra (For Now) offers the perfect introduction. Named after The Windmill pub in Brixton, the scene offers a brand of art rock characterised by jagged urgency, regular stylistic spasms, and lyrics that read more like raw poetry than conventional songs. Black Country, New Road rode the sound […]

EP REVIEW – THE ORCHESTRA (FOR NOW): PLAN 76

ALBUM REVIEWS – THEE HEADCOATS: THE SHERLOCK HOLMES RHYTHM’N’BEAT VERNACULAR & THEE HEADCOATEES: MAN-TRAP

“One chord is good, a second is alright, three is a crowd, four will end in a fight.” These words from ‘The Friends of the Buff Medway Fanciers Association’ perfectly summarise Thee Headcoats’ music. They offer a primal take on rhythm’n’blues, rock’n’roll and punk influenced by early Kinks, Pretty Things and, most importantly, The Downliners […]
Is there anything as beautiful as a comeback? From this summer’s swaggeringly assured Oasis reunion, also known as Armistice Day for Adidas-wearers, to the slightly more unsteady reappearance of Catfish and The Bottlemen – a very slow-hatching but tardily rewarding cocoon – this last year has been all about musicians returning to the ring. The […]

LIVE REVIEW – HARD LIFE: MANCHESTER ACADEMY – 06/11/2025

ALBUM REVIEW – THE SAXOPHONES: NO TIME FOR POETRY

“There’s a mighty judgment coming / But I may be wrong”, Leonard Cohen croons on “Tower of Song”, a career highlight from 1988’s dark, moody I’m Your Man. Whichever it is, he doesn’t sound overly concerned. No, he sounds like a fatalist with a dry sense of humour. On their fourth album, No Time for […]
“It’s your troubled hero / Back for season six,” Florence Welch sings on ‘The Old Religion,’ irony curling through that unmistakably captivating voice. But rather than another chapter in her story, Florence’s sixth album, titled Everybody Scream, feels more like a shared exorcism: a reckoning with the horrors and hopes embedded in womanhood. Weeks before the record’s release, Welch told The Guardian that its creation […]

ALBUM REVIEW – FLORENCE + THE MACHINE: EVERYBODY SCREAM

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 7 NOVEMBER 2025

It is a ludicrously busy week for new releases. The albums at the top of this list deserve to be getting full reviews. We desperately need more time. Could someone kindly arrange to extend the week beyond its measly seven portions of 24 hours a piece! Constant Smiles           Moonflowers    Though the band gradually grew from […]
Conceptually the most elaborate of their 23 albums, ‘Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan’ sees The Mountain Goats embark on a full-blown musical. It tells of a small crew consisting of Captain Peter Balkan, Adam and an unnamed narrator who are stranded on a desert island. Their struggle for survival amidst declining resources and […]

ALBUM REVIEW – THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: THROUGH THIS FIRE ACROSS FROM PETER BALKAN