ALBUM REVIEW: RICHARD HAWLEY – FURTHER

Sheffield’s Richard Hawley is now in his twentieth year as a solo artist, and not one to re-tread old ground, his eighth album marks a turning point, as not only is this is the first album which doesn’t feature a Sheffield landmark but it’s one of his most full on rock records to date, finding […]

IRAH, named for an entity that Danish vocalist Stine Grøn encountered during meditation, is a collaboration between Grøn and respected pianist, Adi Zukanović, a Bosnian refugee who came to Denmark as a four-year-old when his family fled Sarajevo when war broke out in the early 1990’s. Their collaboration has resulted in an evocative and generally […]

ALBUM REVIEW: IRAH – DIAMOND GRID

ALBUM REVIEW: BLACK MOUNTAIN – DESTROYER

Learning to drive is never easy at any age, so fair play to Black Mountain’s frontman Stephen McBean, who’s passed aged 47. Proving it’s never too late to learn, the freedom of the open road and the first adrenalin rush of being behind the wheel have fed into the album. The album is apparently named […]

I hadn’t heard of The Pinheads before I picked up their latest release – ‘Is This Real’ – ahead of its first outing on the 24 May, but the promises made set a happy scene… “Born out of friendship, bowling, sci-fi movie marathons and literal brotherhood, Australian six piece garage rockers The Pinheads formed out […]

ALBUM REVIEW: THE PINHEADS – IS THIS REAL

ALBUM REVIEW: DREAM SYNDICATE – THESE TIMES

It all started with ‘Donuts’, apparently. Not the fatty treat but J Dilla’s very explicit and eponymous album. The Dream Syndicate’s lead singer Steve Wynn got obsessed with the DJ and cratedigger’s work and his approach to that mix-and-match of music of his very own. “I was messing around with step sequencers, drum machines, loops—anything […]

The National have made a brave move. Letting go of the creative reins for their eighth album, they handed over creative control to film director Mike Mills after he initially approached them about making a film together, being invited to produce the new album was an unexpected turn of events. After all, why meddle with […]

ALBUM REVIEW: THE NATIONAL – I AM EASY TO FIND

ALBUM REVIEW: MAC DEMARCO – HERE COMES THE COWBOY

Mac DeMarco us one of those musicians who has been creeping into the public consciousness slowly with each album, an indie underground figure whose laidback sounds have seen him crossing over into mainstream territory following the release of 2017’s album ‘This Old Dog’. Apparently DeMarco uses “cowboy” as an affectionate term for friends so far […]

Zig Zags are a three piece from Los Angeles with a nine year pedigree and only one surviving member from their original line-up: vocalist and guitar player Jed Mahue. The opening track ‘Punk Fucking Metal’ lives up to its name and beneath Mahue’s Ozzy-reminiscent vocals, you can hear a band who aren’t afraid to play […]

ALBUM REVIEW: ZIG ZAGS – THEY’LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE

ALBUM REVIEW: KING PRAWN – THE FABULOUS NEW SOUNDS OF

When the Silent Radio reviews editor offered me the chance to review a King Prawn release, I assumed it would be a best-of or a re-issue – I didn’t even realise they had re-formed in 2012 – but here I am, listening to a brand new album ‘The Fabulous New Sounds of…’, which does a […]

To use one of Craig Finn’s favourite lyrical phrases, much of the music world considered The Hold Steady singer-songwriter’s last solo album to be “pretty sweet”, especially the spoken-word track ‘God in Chicago’, which got buried by avalanches of praise from all angles and tells a tale of two people making a return road trip […]