ALBUM REVIEW – FEMI KUTI: JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE

I have great respect and enthusiasm for the music of Femi Kuti, and he and his band have definitely earned the name ‘The Positive Force’, for much more than the joyous and uplifting experiences I connect with their records and the live performances I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy. Femi and his family (including his […]
The seventh album by composer Rebekka Karijord has a multifaceted backstory that captures the imagination. Six years ago, she contacted the linguistics department at Stockholm University who undertake voice research with contact microphones used by people that have hearing and vocal disabilities. After the university made a few microphones for Karijord, she created a sample […]

ALBUM REVIEW – REBEKKA KARIJORD: THE BELL TOWER

ALBUM REVIEW – DEERHOOF: NOBLE AND GODLIKE IN RUIN

Listening to Deerhoof is the musical equivalent of watching a high-speed montage of the most physically impossible yoga positions. The tendency is to sit there thinking, “how on earth did they do that?” Free jazz drum patterns, sonic shards of guitar, oddball melodies mean that not only does each Deerhoof album sound different from previous […]
Viagr Aboys is an album that takes you on a journey of what music is designed to be, fun! Launched via their new label Shrimptech Enterprises, it explores Viagra Boys’ charming humour and uniqueness as a band whilst maintaining their familiar post-punk sound. Delving deep within its lyrical architecture, the ‘supposed’ self-titled record explores frontman […]

ALBUM REVIEW – VIAGRA BOYS: VIAGR ABOYS

ALBUM REVIEW – SELF ESTEEM: A COMPLICATED WOMAN

In an elaborate yet glorious fusing of observation and honesty, paired with genre-blending musicality, Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem returns with her third album ‘A Complicated Woman.’ Exploring themes of self-confidence, societal expectations and feminism, Taylor continues to place topics which typically go unspoken, right in front of you. Its cover itself lending into […]
I would just like to start this off by saying, I am not a massive country music fan. The most country I will ever get is Taylor Swift’s first album. However, what I am is a Julien Baker fan. So, I was very excited to see what this new project with Torres would bring me […]

ALBUM REVIEW – JULIEN BAKER & TORRES: SEND A PRAYER MY WAY

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 18 APRIL 2025

A slightly quieter week in the run-up to Easter and post-Record Store Day but there are still a number of new releases that warrant attention. Chime Oblivion           Chime Oblivion           New John Dwyer project featuring Dave Barbarossa (Adam & The Ants, Bow Wow Wow, Fine Young Cannibals, Third House), Weasel Walter (Flying Luttenbachers, Lydia Lunch’s Retrovirus), […]
‘Healing Voices’ is such a vivid and vibrant album. It marks the first full length collaboration between ESINAM Dogbatse, a Belgian-Ghanian multi-instrumentalist, and Sibusile Xaba, a guitarist of Kwazulu-Natal South African background. They bring a huge array of influences to the record: electro, spiritual jazz and roots music including Ghanian highlife and traditional songs from […]

ALBUM REVIEW – ESINAM AND SIBUSILE XABA: HEALING VOICES

ALBUM REVIEW – BEIRUT: A STUDY OF LOSSES

There has always been a pleasingly international aspect to Zac Condon’s musical output as Beirut, even down to the recording name he chose. The Balkan tinged 2005 debut, ‘Gulag Orkestar’, began a journey that wandered off into French chanson for ‘The Flying Club Cup’ (2007) and onto the Mexican flavoured ‘March of the Zapotec / […]
Another busy week of new releases with one noteworthy for reasons going beyond its content. Nell Smith       Anxious             Posthumous release from the 17-year-old artist whose debut collaboration with The Flaming Lips explored the works of Nick Cave. A lot of her creative drive was rooted in raw teenage emotions; apprehension; love; travel; gratefulness; ambition; and […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 11 APRIL 2025