ALBUM REVIEW – HAPPY MONDAYS: THE FACTORY SINGLES

When you think of Happy Mondays, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Shaun Ryder’s Outrages swagger? Bez throwing shapes? Lots and lots of ecstasy? All of the above are appropriate responses to hearing the name of one of the funkiest, bounciest and hippest bands in late 80s Manchester. And the man who found […]
Usually, I call people pretentious when they say that they were born in the wrong generation, however I make an exception when it comes to that being how I feel about the band Pavement. I should’ve been at a Pavement gig in the 90s, luckily they have just released a new compilation album titled Heckler’s […]

ALBUM REVIEW – PAVEMENT: HECKLER’S CHOICE

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 14 NOVEMBER 2025

Sister Ray Davies         Holy Island       The duo might be based in “the hit recording capital of the world”, Muscle Shoals, Alabama, but they have made a concept album about the ancient religious outpost off the coast of northeast England which mixes fuzzy guitars with folk horror. They also are clear winners of Name of the […]
While group names can often be random, Nusantara Beat has chosen one that encapsulates its ethos. Nusantara means all the islands that make up Indonesia and dates back to when kings wanted to unite the whole archipelago. Today, it means unity, many cultures coming together as one. Accordingly, Nusantara Beat mix the rhythms and music […]

ALBUM REVIEW – NUSANTARA BEAT: NUSANTARA BEAT

ALBUM REVIEW – HOTEL LUX: THE BITTER CUP

A Post punk revival is in full swing and hits the coasts of Portsmouth with a new release by Hotel Lux.  Previously attacking with a garage rock sound (which was championed by the likes of NME, Clash and So Young) before a lineup change meant a new lease on direction as the band stated, ‘We […]
“One chord is good, a second is alright, three is a crowd, four will end in a fight.” These words from ‘The Friends of the Buff Medway Fanciers Association’ perfectly summarise Thee Headcoats’ music. They offer a primal take on rhythm’n’blues, rock’n’roll and punk influenced by early Kinks, Pretty Things and, most importantly, The Downliners […]

ALBUM REVIEWS – THEE HEADCOATS: THE SHERLOCK HOLMES RHYTHM’N’BEAT VERNACULAR & THEE HEADCOATEES: MAN-TRAP

ALBUM REVIEW – THE SAXOPHONES: NO TIME FOR POETRY

“There’s a mighty judgment coming / But I may be wrong”, Leonard Cohen croons on “Tower of Song”, a career highlight from 1988’s dark, moody I’m Your Man. Whichever it is, he doesn’t sound overly concerned. No, he sounds like a fatalist with a dry sense of humour. On their fourth album, No Time for […]
“It’s your troubled hero / Back for season six,” Florence Welch sings on ‘The Old Religion,’ irony curling through that unmistakably captivating voice. But rather than another chapter in her story, Florence’s sixth album, titled Everybody Scream, feels more like a shared exorcism: a reckoning with the horrors and hopes embedded in womanhood. Weeks before the record’s release, Welch told The Guardian that its creation […]

ALBUM REVIEW – FLORENCE + THE MACHINE: EVERYBODY SCREAM

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 7 NOVEMBER 2025

It is a ludicrously busy week for new releases. The albums at the top of this list deserve to be getting full reviews. We desperately need more time. Could someone kindly arrange to extend the week beyond its measly seven portions of 24 hours a piece! Constant Smiles           Moonflowers    Though the band gradually grew from […]
Conceptually the most elaborate of their 23 albums, ‘Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan’ sees The Mountain Goats embark on a full-blown musical. It tells of a small crew consisting of Captain Peter Balkan, Adam and an unnamed narrator who are stranded on a desert island. Their struggle for survival amidst declining resources and […]

ALBUM REVIEW – THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: THROUGH THIS FIRE ACROSS FROM PETER BALKAN