ALBUM REVIEW – OMNI: SOUVENIR

Omni fans will have a broad idea of what to expect from their fourth album. It will consist of a set of musical miniatures that suggest a strand of post-punk influences shorn of retro leanings, boasting twisting and chopping guitar riffs, staccato rhythms and lean melodies that inspire a desire to throw shapes. However, within […]
Who doesn’t like some free jazz improv? Oh, that’s right – most people. It’s a very-much maligned and derided form and in some cases there’s definitely a stuffy or cliquey or chin-strokey vibe that can be really off-putting, particularly in a live setting. There’s also the valid question of “what is it for”? Is the […]

ALBUM REVIEW – PANGHALINA: LAVA

ALBUM REVIEW – THE THING: THE THING IS

Hailing from Brooklyn- New York, The Thing consists of Michael Carter, Jack Bradley, Zane Accord, and a recent inclusion of Lucas Ebeling on the drums. With influences spanning from The Kinks and the Grand Funk Railroad before expanding the taste to that of the Blacks Keys and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. First playing […]
On his latest album ‘Springs Eternal’, William Doyle introduces a cast of narrators encountering a dizzying array of issues: global disaster, mental illness, addiction, heartbreak and death. Yet such is the melodic and musical accomplishment that it is a pleasure to accompany these characters on their troubled journeys. Aided by producer Mike Lindsay, who took […]

ALBUM REVIEW – WILLIAM DOYLE: SPRINGS ETERNAL

ALBUM REVIEW – LONDON AFROBEAT COLLECTIVE: ESENGO

While songs are often referred to as soundtracks to the summer, it can be argued that there is greater value in vibrant tunes brightening the winter months. London Afrobeat Collective’s latest album, ‘Esengo’, certainly fulfils the function of adding colour to this season’s otherwise short, dark, dank and dismal days. The second word in their […]
Introducing this week’s charming selection of new releases. Imperial Wax     Tranquilliser      Band consisting of guitarist Pete Greenway, drummer Keiron Melling and bassist Dave Spurr, formerly known as the last and longest serving line up of The Fall release their second album showcasing a more complex style of song. Chelsea Wolfe                   She Reaches Out To […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 9 FEBRUARY 2024

ALBUM REVIEW – DECLAN MCKENNA: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BEACH?

1,253 days later, a new Declan McKenna album is here. Returning with his third studio album, ‘What Happened To The Beach?’, alongside 14 UK and Ireland tour dates, it is time for McKenna to soundtrack our upcoming summer once again. The whole album has a weirdly wholesome note to it. Despite the success Declan’s achieved […]
‘She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out To She” sounds like a repetitive, devilish tongue-twister.  My brain feels addled after attempting to repeat it ten times! However, it ideally reflects the album’s theme of interaction between past, present and future selves, changing patterns of behaviour and escaping toxic situations. Even played at a volume to […]

ALBUM REVIEW – CHELSEA WOLFE: SHE REACHES OUT TO SHE REACHES OUT TO SHE

ALBUM REVIEW – THE LAST DINNER PARTY: PRELUDE TO ECSTASY

I am always suspicious of hype. The build them up to knock them down process seems unhelpful to all involved. Add in that the choice of acts or scenes for mass championing has often been bewildering with, in many cases, the recipients being distinctly ordinary. The buzz surrounding The Last Dinner Party has grown deafening […]
A week in which the ethos is quality over quantity with many of these warranting a close listen. Plantoid               Terrapath            New Bella Union signing who harnesses multiple subgenres at once to concoct a sort of primordial soup, the molecules of which are built as much from progressive rock as they are jazz, fusion, folk, and […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 2 FEBRUARY 2024