ALBUM REVIEW: BLOCKHEAD – BUBBLE BATH

Aaaah, it’s time to relax, and you know what that means: a glass of wine and a bubble bath and, of course, the latest album from prolific NY hip-hop producer Blockhead playing on your home stereo… Like an early DJ Shadow on a chilled out day (and without the scratching), this album is primarily spacey […]
It had been a while since I’d heard from Sprinters after the release of their debut album and the cliché about absence and hearts growing fonder certainly rang true in this case. When I was given the opportunity to write this review I was both intrigued and excited to see how Sprinters sound had developed […]

ALBUM REVIEW: SPRINTERS – STRUCK GOLD

ALBUM REVIEW: HAPPY MONDAYS -THE EARLY EPS

Originally released in the late 1980s, ‘The Early EPs’ include ‘Freaky Dancin’ and ‘The Egg’- both released from the Factory/London Records vault. In 2019, the songs may no longer be relevant in popular culture but the tracks are re-introduced to a new generation of people. Also with their ‘Greatest Hits’ tour happening as we speak, […]
The Queens Of The Stoneage frontman has once again put together a fine band of musicians for his Desert Sessions project – from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, to Matt Berry, Stella Mogzawa from Warpaint to Jake Shears from the Scissor Sisters. What started off as Josh Homme having a few days away at the Rancho […]

ALBUM REVIEW: DESERT SESSIONS VOL 11 & 12

ALBUM REVIEW – MARK LANEGAN: SOMEBODY’S KNOCKING

What would you get if you crossed the husky deep vocals of a rock bluesman with dark synth pop, the answer is the new Mark Lanegan album ‘Somebody’s Knocking’. Lanegan stated on the press release that he’s been into Joy Division, New Order and electronic music all his life, even before his days in seminal […]
Despite the word ‘dream’ being closely associated with the music of Sir Was, the opening track of ‘Holding on to a Dream’ begins with a sense of urgency; the pop element of his ‘Dream Pop’ being most apparent. The pop that Sir Was does purvey isn’t annoying and has the right amount of reflection too, […]

ALBUM REVIEW: SIR WAS – HOLDING ON TO A DREAM

ALBUM REVIEW: KIM GORDON – NO HOME RECORD

Having sustained my first ever moshpit injury at a Sonic Youth gig in the early 90’s at The Reading Festival, involving someone else’s Doc Marten boot, squelchy mud and my head, to seeing their last ever gig in Manchester, it’s fair to say Kim Gordon’s former band, Sonic Youth, have occupied a large portion of […]
Skylark & The Scorpion have created the whole ‘Weather The Storm’ project to be enjoyed as both a film and soundtrack. The film was made in the depths of winter off the Scottish coast near Shetland, and stars the two musicians behind the whole concept Petra Jean Phillipson and Nick J. Webb as the roles […]

ALBUM REVIEW: SKYLARK & THE SCORPION – WEATHER THE STORM

ALBUM REVIEW: NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS – GHOSTEEN

Nick Cave announcing a new album is always welcome news in our house. After witnessing his recent ‘In Conversation’ tour, where everything was stripped back, raw, emotional, funny and a real one-off event, plus reading his brilliant responses to fans’ questions via his ‘Red Hand Files’ emails,  predicting where he could go next with his […]
I’ve spent many a happy hour in a Dinosaur Jr moshpit. From Reading Festival (yes I am that old!) to Manc Academy in the 90’s, and still like to get involved in some ferocious head nodding / arms in the air kind of activity whenever I see them live these days too, although my mosh […]

ALBUM REVIEWS: DINOSAUR JR – GREEN MIND, WHERE YOU BEEN, WITHOUT A SOUND, HAND IT OVER