ALBUM REVIEW – CEMETERY SKYLINE: NORDIC GOTHIC

When a new supergroup is formed, it is often expected for the band to play the same genres the members are used to playing in their other bands. Not Cemetery Skyline. The five piece, which consists of members from iconic bands such as Dark Tranquillity and Dimmu Borgir, is not a melodic death metal or […]
Chris Acker is best known for his husky tone and absurd lyricism, often intertwined with raw passion and thought-provoking realism. The first glimpse of Acker’s new record came in the form of ‘Shit Surprise’, a playful track that dances between the lines of self-deprecation and a longing for an evasive love. Unlike the title of […]

ALBUM REVIEW – CHRIS ACKER: FAMOUS LUNCH

ALBUM REVIEW – GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR: NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, heralds of the ever-looming geopolitical apocalypse, have returned. Their latest (and eighth full-length) effort, NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD, sees them as envoys, detailing the simmering horror and outrage of the anarchist underground in reaction to current events. In 2002, GY!BE released their third LP Yanqui U.X.O., […]
Maggot Mass is the first new piece of music by Pharmakon to burrow its way out into the world in five years. 2019’s Devour was 36 minutes of unrelenting power electronics and noise, but on this new record she produces songs that have been consumed and reconstituted by caustic noise, their structure only partly eaten […]

ALBUM REVIEW – PHARMAKON: MAGGOT MASS

ALBUM REVIEW – FIELD MUSIC: LIMITS OF LANGUAGE

Cards on the table, if asked to select a continual favourite band over the past two decades, I would plump for Field Music. Their capacity to evolve, taking on different influences whilst retaining recognisable elements and consistently high-quality control is second-to-none. This was demonstrated to perfection on this year’s limited edition Record Store Day release, […]
As Autumn develops its tentacles and the nights grow ever longer, there are plenty of new releases to keep us company on those lengthy evenings. Nice Biscuit   SOS     The nine-track album embodies the fuzzy groove-laden psych that Nice Biscuit is renowned for, while introducing new danceable feels influenced by their love of disco, jazz fusion […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 4 OCTOBER 2024

ALBUM REVIEW – WHITEY: MENTAL RADIO

It would be fair to describe NJ White’s, aka Whitey, latest release, ‘Mental Radio’, as sprawling. As a double album there is less need for tight focus and it allows the space for him to flit through a range of styles and moods. It is exemplary of his eclectic career that has seen him release […]
The backdrop to ‘See You At The Maypole’ is heartbreaking. Nandi Rose, who performs as Half Waif, was expecting her first child but in December 2021 a scan revealed no heartbeat. The treatment for a missed miscarriage is most effective with two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol. However, Rose was only prescribed the latter so her […]

ALBUM REVIEW – HALF WAIF: SEE YOU AT THE MAYPOLE

ALBUM REVIEW – GEORDIE GREEP: THE NEW SOUND

When I first saw Black Midi nearly two years ago at New Century Hall in Manchester, my mind was blown, I was enthralled by what I was seeing on stage, my eyes as wide as humanly possible, stood in complete awe as others around me screamed every word back to the band. From that moment, […]
Rounding up a bumper week of releases that is equally high on quantity and quality. Sharada Shashidhar                Soft Echoes   Described by Gilles Peterson as ‘The Jazz Kate Bush’, ‘Soft Echoes’ justifies the fanciful description. A step forward, eschewing her previous work’s hip-hop tilt for expansive compositions that blend jazz and Indian classical influences into a […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 27 SEPTEMBER 2024