ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 19 JUNE 2026

Graham Coxon               Castle Park      Recorded in 2011, Castle Park is released for the first time and comes as part of a comprehensive reissue of Coxon’s complete solo catalogue, spanning 9 studio albums and 3 original soundtracks, across the next 12 months. Tucker Zimmerman     Dream Me A Dream     Some of these songs date back to the […]
Pop punk royalty Blink 182 has released a 25th Anniversary edition of their seminal album Take Off Your Pants And Jacket, and there are even 6 additional tracks to enjoy. The record is a go to collection for the disenchanted too, a compendium that includes burgeoning love songs and sad songs, tracks which offer not […]

ALBUM REVIEW – BLINK 182: TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS AND JACKET

LIVE REVIEW – plus44Kaligula + Mogan + Twenty One Children + SILVERWINGKILLER: WHITE HOTEL – 13/06/2026

I woke up from an over long nap and put an infinite amount of tissues in my pocket since I have been bunged up for the past week (I have a long history of hitting my nose against heads, chairs, edges of steps, footballs and I have never received any kind of medical intervention which […]
On the day that Sparks announce their forthcoming Live on the Moon album, the intrepid explorers roll into the less exalted but still unique terrain of Blackpool for the first time. It is also my first visit to the sleekly modernist Blackpool Opera House. Initially built in 1889, the current building is the third one […]

LIVE REVIEW – SPARKS: BLACKPOOL OPERA HOUSE – 15/06/2026

ALBUM REVIEW – HAWKWIND: PSYCHEDELIC SELECTION

Hawkwind, the space rock band that pioneered the very same genre. The London band has had many lineup changes throughout their time on Earth (and by the sounds of it, off Earth), and you may well know them for their biggest hit, ‘Silver Machine’, a great swirling and far out rock song that cannot be […]
To be a popular music artist, is to perform and entertain with a curse. At least that’s how it comes across. Think about it. That old archetype of the artist engulfed in tragedy, surrounded by suffering, yet using that strength to create something beautiful, something memorable, something that will be talked about for years, if […]

LIVE REVIEW – LOLA YOUNG: MANCHESTER APOLLO – 11/06/2026

ALBUM REVIEW – LOS ORIENTALES DE PARAMONGA: LOS ORIENTALES DE PARAMONGA 1972-1976

The latest offering from Analog Africa continues their recent fascination with music from Peru. Following on from Ranil y Su Conjunto Tropical’s ‘Galaxia Tropical’ release in February 2026 comes this compilation of recordings from Victor Ramirez’s Los Orientales de Paramonga. While based around cumbia, it is an intoxicating concoction that mixes together psychedelic guitars and […]
The Veils have occupied a distinctive place within alternative music for more than two decades, blending literary lyricism with emotionally driven songwriting and an evolving sound. Formed around singer-songwriter Finn Andrews, the band emerged in the early 2000s after Andrews signed to Rough Trade Records at just sixteen years old. Since then, The Veils have […]

ALBUM REVIEW – THE VEILS: FRAGILE WORLD

ALBUM REVIEW – OLIVIA RODRIGO: YOU SEEM PRETTY SAD FOR A GIRL SO IN LOVE

Olivia Rodrigo’s highly anticipated third studio album immediately bursts into a buzz of synth-fuelled excitement, instantly meeting and even exceeding the expectations of fans and listeners alike. ‘Drop dead’ is the first track, the lyrics already revealing themselves to be as catchy and captivating as any of Rodrigo’s previous work. The chorus’ crescendo breathes a […]
There is an impressively austere quality to Alison Cotton’s music. Set within the self-imposed parameters of only using instrumentation that she owns, that policy initially saw her limited to viola, voice and Omnichord drone on her debut. In contrast, ‘The Gods Laugh’ has an expanded palette that also includes harmonium, piano, hammer dulcimer, treble recorder, […]

ALBUM REVIEW – ALISON COTTON: THE GODS LAUGH