ALBUM REVIEW: CATHAL COUGHLAN – SONG OF CO-AKLAN

“I could listen to Cathal Coughlan sing the phone book” said DJ John Peel many years ago, and he wasn’t wrong. Having done numerous Peel sessions over the years in his former bands Microdisney and Fatima Mansions, Coughlan’s distinctively rich vocals won the hearts of many. Fast forward to 2021 and Coughlan’s vocals still propel […]
York band Bull finally grace our stereos with the highly anticipated debut album ‘Discover Effortless Living’ a title suited to many of us in lockdown over the past twelve months. The record opens with a bright, 90s feel track ‘Bedroom Floor’ which leads into single ‘Love Goo’ a fun and uplifting track, laced with horns […]

ALBUM REVIEW: BULL – DISCOVER EFFORTLESS LIVING

ALBUM REVIEW: TOM GRENNAN – EVERING ROAD

When I say the name Tom Grennan, what do you think of? A lot may say “oh, he had that great tune on FIFA,” and you’d be right, but many wouldn’t be able to name another song from the Bedford born artist. But, things change quickly, as ‘Evering Road’ marks a sea change for the singer-songwriter, […]
Sometimes, Manchester really spoils us… I have the chance to review the new album Djourou (released April 2nd) from Malian artist Ballaké Sissoko. I have no idea what to expect and I’m hoping for something totally fresh to broaden my musical horizons… and on first listen it sounds a lot like that busker in Piccadilly […]

ALBUM REVIEW: BALLAKE SISSOKO – DJOUROU

ALBUM REVIEW: DJANGO DJANGO – GLOWING IN THE DARK

In these strange times, it’s great to still have new music to look forward to, and since we’re two weeks into February now (which is starting to feel longer than a Pink Floyd song) it’s great that we have a new album to spin. If you don’t know Django Django then you’re in for a […]
Legacy+ is a double album featuring Stop the Hate, the 11th studio release from Femi Kuti (son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti) alongside For(e)ward, the debut album of Femi’s son Made. Surely no style of music has been so inextricably linked to a single family as Afrobeat is to the Kutis since the Bachs basically […]

ALBUM REVIEW: FEMI KUTI & MADE KUTI – LEGACY +

Shame - Drunk Tank Pink

ALBUM REVIEW: SHAME – DRUNK TANK PINK

‘Shame! Shame! Shame!’ No, you haven’t landed in an episode of Game of Thrones or Boris Johnson’s email inbox, but the review for the new Shame album “Drunk Tank Pink”. The alt-rock/post-punk band return with their second album, the bigger and better follow up to their promising debut.  The album itself goes bigger than the […]
Here Lies Man vocalist Marcos Garcia says, of their new album Ritual Divination: ‘It’s an inward psychedelic journey, the album is the trip’. He says ‘Musically, it’s an opening up more to traditional rock elements.’ – and it’s easy to hear Black Sabbath and Steppenwolf and the retro theatre organ evokes Hush by Deep Purple. […]

ALBUM REVIEW: HERE LIES MAN – RITUAL DIVINATION

ALBUM REVIEW: THE KILLS – LITTLE BASTARDS

As a happy accident of this devastating, pandemic situation, Domino Records’ boss Laurence Bell came up with the wonderful idea of gathering The Kills’ B sides and rarities in a double album, aptly titled “Little Bastards”: A bunch of 20 lost, hidden-in-digital-platforms gems that the British-American duo released between 2002-09.  All tracks have been remastered by […]
As 2020 (thankfully) draws to a close and the “best albums of 2020” lists published, I’m hoping there remains a spot for this cosmically inspired entry from the sample-based group The Avalanches. This album was four years in the making, compared to the sixteen gap between their critically lauded first album ‘Since I Left You’ […]

ALBUM REVIEW: THE AVALANCHES – WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU