ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 18 JULY 2025

Natalie Bergman       My Home Is Not In This World         If you re-envisioned and rebuilt Motown somewhere in the California desert, it might sound something like My Home Is Not In This World. The record shimmers with gospel soul, country and western heartbreak and rock’n’roll grit. Swell Season               Forward           The first album in 16 years for […]
Post grunge is a genre that has always seemed fascinating to me. It is not rock, it is not metal, and it most certainly is not punk. But just like how this grunge subgenre stands out, so does Bush. This band, with 30 years of experience to their name have become iconic for their version […]

ALBUM REVIEW – BUSH: I BEAT LONELINESS

ALBUM REVIEW – AMY MACDONALD: IS THIS WHAT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR?

Amy Macdonald has always been the sort of artist you can rely on, like a cup of tea after a long day or that friend who tells you the truth even when it stings. But with Is This What You’ve Been Waiting For, she’s cracked open something rawer, wiser, and braver than before. It’s less […]
Poor Creature              All Smiles Tonight     Group comprised of Ruth Clinton, Cormac MacDiarmada and John Dermody, all three are members of other bands (Landless and Lankum respectively) who have built a large following on re-interpreting songs from the past. Songs that have existed for centuries can seem immutable and anchored to time. A new generation of […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 11 JULY 2025

ALBUM REVIEW – GINA BIRCH: TROUBLE

“My dad was in charge, and my mum never wanted to cause any trouble and, you know, was quite depressed and unfulfilled.” Many women who came of age in 1970s England will nod along when reading this description that Gina Birch, bassist of legendary post-punk band The Raincoats, gave some years ago about growing up. […]
“Singin’ love me when you leave”. The history of modern music is littered with love stories that transcend the art of music. Faith Hill and Tim McGraw ruled the world of 90s country.  Beyonce and Jay-Z have endured challenges of marital affairs, culminating in some of the most lauded music of the 21st century. However, […]

ALBUM REVIEW – GREET DEATH: DIE IN LOVE

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 4 JULY 2025

The quietest week in ages, as if everyone is having a well-earned post-Glastonbury rest. Here are the week’s new releases. A prelude to a much longer list next week. Rival Consoles            Landscape From Memory   Ninth album from an artist who has been concurrently in the foreground and background of electronic music since the late 00s; […]
Blonde Redhead have always enforced a haunting quality within their music. Whether that be through the ringing of their melodies or the echoes dragged through the vocals of band members Kazu Makino and Simone Pace. But what happens if you elevate those elements with the presence of a choir? Or even place a focal point […]

ALBUM REVIEW – BLONDE REDHEAD: THE SHADOW OF THE GUEST

ALBUM REVIEW – HAIM: I QUIT

“Can I have your attention please, for the last time before I leave.” Yes HAIM you have my full attention. In the fourth studio album by Southern California sister trio HAIM, titled I quit, the trio explore the trivial nature of romantic relationships while primarily focussing on the complexities. In the first track titled ‘Gone’, […]
Jeanines           How Long Can It Last             A distinctive course through the history of pop, evoking influences as varied as the 60s folk of early Fairport Convention and Vashti Bunyan, the sunshine pop of Margo Guryan and Laura Nyro, and indiepop touchstones like Dear Nora, Marine Girls, Dolly Mixture, and the post-Black Tambourine projects of Pam […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 27 JUNE 2025