ALBUM REVIEW: BALLAKE SISSOKO – A TOUMA

In a sense, I have always had a prejudice against “world music” as being the sort of quirky but forgettable background to lunch in a vegetarian cafe – but on the other hand I really take offence at the arrogance of the sections of British music industry that pigeon-hole anything that isn’t English-speaking western-style music […]
The Chameleons, part of Manchester’s musical tapestry and post punk pioneers, may never have received the accolades many felt they deserved in the eighties, but since their split in 1987, followed by frontman and bassist Mark Burgess resurrecting them in various forms from 2000 onwards, their legacy has only expanded. Now touring again as The […]

ALBUM REVIEW: THE CHAMELEONS – ELEVATED LIVING:LIVE IN MANCHESTER, LONDON & SPAIN

Ty Segall - Harmonizer

ALBUM REVIEW: TY SEGALL – HARMONIZER

A new Ty Segall album is always a cause for celebration around these parts. Often lumped in with the Californian garage rock scene, Segall’s music has always delved into other musical realms, and if you thought you knew what Ty Segall was all about, think again. ‘Harmonizer’ is Ty’s thirteenth studio solo album, and this […]
Blasting out of the speakers at a hundred miles an hour, Chubby And The Gang manage to combine the best bits of UK hardcore with a hefty dash of Motorhead style rock, and it’s a recipe that’s conjured up one of the most exciting albums of the year. There’s also a hefty swagger to their […]

ALBUM REVIEW: CHUBBY AND THE GANG – THE MUTT’S NUTS

ALBUM REVIEW: THALIA ZEDEK BAND – PERFECT VISION

I first discovered the music of Thalia Zedek via her previous band Come, who in the 90’s released a string of brilliant albums which although rooted in US alt rock, always seemed to push the boundaries of what melodic guitar music could do. Now more than twenty years into a solo career Zedek releases her […]
Conjuring up the spirit of Elliot Smith with a sprinkling of Tame Impala on top, Evan Wright’s songs float effortlessly into your eardrums. Yes he may be destined for those awfully titled ‘chill wave’ or ‘sit on your bum and do nothing for a bit’ kind of playlists, but delve deeper and there’s much more […]

ALBUM REVIEW: EVAN WRIGHT – SOUND FROM OUT THE WINDOW

ALBUM REVIEW: SUPERGRASS – IN IT FOR THE MONEY (REMASTERED EXPANDED EDITION)

It’s 6am, the alarm’s just gone off. You hit snooze, you hit it again, you start to contemplate how you can blag a day off. Then you remember that You’re In It For The Money, by the time you open the front door, get some fresh air, and the Sun Hits the Sky you’re ready […]
Maltese musician and producer Joon has been leading the way in her country when it comes to electronica.  Growing up in Malta without any other Maltese musical role models, Joon (real name Yasmin Kuymizakis), started mucking around on stylaphones and a beatbox, and the spark was lit.  Embarking on a production course in London, a serious […]

ALBUM REVIEW: JOON – DREAM AGAIN

ALBUM REVIEW: DESCENDENTS – 9TH & WALNUT

Descendents are one of the most influential bands to have existed in the punk scene. Their classic album “Milo Goes To College” paved the way for the creation of pop-punk, and without it, the likes of Blink 182, Green Day, Sum-41 and The Offspring would not have been formed. The central figure in the band, […]
Is the association of jazz with heroin a fairly universal thing or have I inherited this unrealistic stereotype based on mid-20th-century cinema’s lazy caricaturing of counter-culture and “hippy music”? It would seem there is more “substance” to it, both in the supremely talented opiate-using US jazz maestros Miles Davis and Charlie Parker and in a […]

ALBUM REVIEW: PHILIP TABANE – THE INDIGENOUS AFRO-JAZZ SOUNDS OF PHILIP TABANE AND HIS MALOMBO JAZZMAN