ALBUM REVIEW – DEERHOOF: NOBLE AND GODLIKE IN RUIN

Listening to Deerhoof is the musical equivalent of watching a high-speed montage of the most physically impossible yoga positions. The tendency is to sit there thinking, “how on earth did they do that?” Free jazz drum patterns, sonic shards of guitar, oddball melodies mean that not only does each Deerhoof album sound different from previous […]
‘I can’t really describe how it felt watching someone you’ve known your entire life perform in front of thousands of people.’ Dial tone memories and party girl anthems stand proudly in place of a support act – because the only appropriate opener for a tour that is the musical equivalent of reading your diary out […]

LIVE REVIEW – CAITY BASER: MANCHESTER FAC251 – 18/04/2025

ALBUM REVIEW – VIAGRA BOYS: VIAGR ABOYS

Viagr Aboys is an album that takes you on a journey of what music is designed to be, fun! Launched via their new label Shrimptech Enterprises, it explores Viagra Boys’ charming humour and uniqueness as a band whilst maintaining their familiar post-punk sound. Delving deep within its lyrical architecture, the ‘supposed’ self-titled record explores frontman […]
In an elaborate yet glorious fusing of observation and honesty, paired with genre-blending musicality, Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem returns with her third album ‘A Complicated Woman.’ Exploring themes of self-confidence, societal expectations and feminism, Taylor continues to place topics which typically go unspoken, right in front of you. Its cover itself lending into […]

ALBUM REVIEW – SELF ESTEEM: A COMPLICATED WOMAN

ALBUM REVIEW – JULIEN BAKER & TORRES: SEND A PRAYER MY WAY

I would just like to start this off by saying, I am not a massive country music fan. The most country I will ever get is Taylor Swift’s first album. However, what I am is a Julien Baker fan. So, I was very excited to see what this new project with Torres would bring me […]
A slightly quieter week in the run-up to Easter and post-Record Store Day but there are still a number of new releases that warrant attention. Chime Oblivion           Chime Oblivion           New John Dwyer project featuring Dave Barbarossa (Adam & The Ants, Bow Wow Wow, Fine Young Cannibals, Third House), Weasel Walter (Flying Luttenbachers, Lydia Lunch’s Retrovirus), […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 18 APRIL 2025

ALBUM REVIEW – ESINAM AND SIBUSILE XABA: HEALING VOICES

‘Healing Voices’ is such a vivid and vibrant album. It marks the first full length collaboration between ESINAM Dogbatse, a Belgian-Ghanian multi-instrumentalist, and Sibusile Xaba, a guitarist of Kwazulu-Natal South African background. They bring a huge array of influences to the record: electro, spiritual jazz and roots music including Ghanian highlife and traditional songs from […]
There has always been a pleasingly international aspect to Zac Condon’s musical output as Beirut, even down to the recording name he chose. The Balkan tinged 2005 debut, ‘Gulag Orkestar’, began a journey that wandered off into French chanson for ‘The Flying Club Cup’ (2007) and onto the Mexican flavoured ‘March of the Zapotec / […]

ALBUM REVIEW – BEIRUT: A STUDY OF LOSSES

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 11 APRIL 2025

Another busy week of new releases with one noteworthy for reasons going beyond its content. Nell Smith       Anxious             Posthumous release from the 17-year-old artist whose debut collaboration with The Flaming Lips explored the works of Nick Cave. A lot of her creative drive was rooted in raw teenage emotions; apprehension; love; travel; gratefulness; ambition; and […]
I was not alive when The Autumn Stone by the Small Faces was originally posthumously released so I cannot understand why it was so hated. It’s fantastic! The tracks are everything you could ask for with classics such as ‘All or Nothing’ and ‘Itchycoo Park’ along with many different instrumentals which showcase each member’s talent […]

ALBUM REVIEW – SMALL FACES: THE AUTUMN STONE BOXSET