Album Review: James Blake – Overgrown

Following the critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, James Blake is back with Overgrown. An undeniable buzz surrounds this release. Blake himself has been teasing his fans, releasing previews and giving away free digital downloads of ‘Digital Lion’ creating an excitement that should surround release dates. Overgrown has more of a soulful tone than Blake’s debut […]
Jennifer and Jessica Clavin are the two sisters that together make up Bleached. Hailing from LA, and with the help of drummer Jonathan Safley, the trio release their 12 track debut record, Ride Your Heart, on Dead Oceans label. A fast-paced, all-American album, this brings to mind the LA punk-rock scene of the 80s with tones […]

Album Review: Bleached – Ride Your Heart

Album Review: The Flaming Lips – The Terror

As a writer of sorts, I use the advice of others when writing. One quote which I come back to again and again is from George Orwell and it is, ‘If it is possible to cut a word out, cut it out.’ And for me I find that this helps me produce more accurate and […]
Let us forget about the deplorable strip that is King Street, and perhaps the amplified success of The Verve, to wipe our slates clean for Wigan’s next honourable mention – The Shook-Ups, a band whose repertoire includes past/present members of Moco, The Stags, Doktor Combover and The V.Cs. 1960s garage rock is back and, I’ll […]

Album Review: The Shook-Ups! – Bad Reception

Album Review: Public Service Broadcasting – Inform – Educate – Entertain

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when this début album from Public Service Broadcasting popped into my inbox recently. Frustratingly, it turns out that I missed them playing in Bolton by a week or so (review here), and I’m certain that the added live audio visual dimension would’ve enhanced my feelings towards it. From the couple […]
Port St. Willow is the poetically named brainchild of Nicholas Principe, a solo multi-instrumentalist working out of Portland, Oregon. He released his first EP, entitled Even // Wasteland in November 2010. It was a record that, albeit only an EP, carried and conveyed the ambition that we would come to expect from Holiday. This is […]

Album Review: Port St. Willow – Holiday

Album Review: Cold War Kids – Dear Miss Lonelyhearts

American Indie also-rans Cold War Kids have been knocking around for a while now; long enough for them to be considered veterans by any rate. 8 years have passed since they first emerged onto the scene with their spiky yet soulful début EP Mulberry Street, in which time they’ve… well, they’ve continued doing just that: putting out […]
Match a group of dudes from different bands who each hone gritty vocals and a love of beer with borderline vulgarity in lyrical ascension, and you may just have yourself a trailer park indie super group. Diamond Rugs is the newest blue collared engaging side-project between John McCauley (Deer Tick), Robbie Crowell (Deer Tick), Ian […]

Album Review: Diamond Rugs – Diamond Rugs

Album Review: Caitlin Rose – The Stand-In

Anybody that fell for 2010’s ‘Own Side Now’, the first full-length from Nashville singer-songwriter Caitlin Rose, will be aware that sheer force of personality was the key ingredient that separated her from the countless other country-tinged starlets vying for your attention. And it wasn’t confined to her live shows – the ten tracks on that […]
The end is so often embedded in the beginning – so it is with Kavinsky. Clocking up 30 million views on Youtube thus far due to the song’s Drive cameo, ‘Nightcall’ has propelled this French 80s cinematic throwback act into a very modern overnight sensation (a cross between the Terminator and Beverly Hills Cop soundtracks […]

Album Review: Kavinsky – OutRun