ALBUM REVIEW: ROYAL BLOOD – TYPHOONS

Royal Blood return with a bang! Or should that be a sidestep and groove, as this new version of Royal Blood is dance-driven but as riff heavy as ever, making for interesting listening. After scrapping the original version of this album and deciding to take it in a new direction, with clear influences from Daft […]
Seeing Teenage Fanclub live again at the Academy 3 in 2018, reminded me just how uplifting music can be, well, their music at least. A large amount of time in my youth was spent listening to their records, whatever mood I was in, putting on a Teenage Fanclub album seemed to make the world that […]

ALBUM REVIEW: TEENAGE FANCLUB – ENDLESS ARCADE

ALBUM REVIEW: ALAN VEGA – MUTADOR

I’d heard their name mentioned by some of my favourite bands, yet nothing prepared me for the whirlwind of noise induced melodic chaos which came blasting out of the radio, late one evening in my musically formative years. A sound that took you to the sonic boundaries of the deep, with melodies that entranced and full-on […]
Cory Hanson’s second solo album finds the Wand singer conjuring up sounds reminiscent of long summers in Laurel Canyon, Hanson’s words floating effortlessly throughout the album, as if drifting on a warm ocean breeze. The fact that this album was recorded in a place called Cactopia, in the desert, surrounded by 6ft tall sculptural psychotropic cacti only […]

ALBUM REVIEW: CORY HANSON – PALE HORSE RIDER

ALBUM REVIEW: WILLIAM DOYLE – GREAT SPANS OF MUDDY TIME

The fact that William Doyle’s fourth album is here at all is a major triumph of man versus machine. Having a computer wipe most of your tunes from existence leaving just a few ideas on a trusty old tape machine was what faced Doyle during the making of ‘Great Spans Of Muddy Time’. Rather than […]
“I could listen to Cathal Coughlan sing the phone book” said DJ John Peel many years ago, and he wasn’t wrong. Having done numerous Peel sessions over the years in his former bands Microdisney and Fatima Mansions, Coughlan’s distinctively rich vocals won the hearts of many. Fast forward to 2021 and Coughlan’s vocals still propel […]

ALBUM REVIEW: CATHAL COUGHLAN – SONG OF CO-AKLAN

ALBUM REVIEW: BULL – DISCOVER EFFORTLESS LIVING

York band Bull finally grace our stereos with the highly anticipated debut album ‘Discover Effortless Living’ a title suited to many of us in lockdown over the past twelve months. The record opens with a bright, 90s feel track ‘Bedroom Floor’ which leads into single ‘Love Goo’ a fun and uplifting track, laced with horns […]
When I say the name Tom Grennan, what do you think of? A lot may say “oh, he had that great tune on FIFA,” and you’d be right, but many wouldn’t be able to name another song from the Bedford born artist. But, things change quickly, as ‘Evering Road’ marks a sea change for the singer-songwriter, […]

ALBUM REVIEW: TOM GRENNAN – EVERING ROAD

ALBUM REVIEW: BALLAKE SISSOKO – DJOUROU

Sometimes, Manchester really spoils us… I have the chance to review the new album Djourou (released April 2nd) from Malian artist Ballaké Sissoko. I have no idea what to expect and I’m hoping for something totally fresh to broaden my musical horizons… and on first listen it sounds a lot like that busker in Piccadilly […]
In these strange times, it’s great to still have new music to look forward to, and since we’re two weeks into February now (which is starting to feel longer than a Pink Floyd song) it’s great that we have a new album to spin. If you don’t know Django Django then you’re in for a […]

ALBUM REVIEW: DJANGO DJANGO – GLOWING IN THE DARK