Album Review: EMA – The Future’s Void

Nearly a year ago now I reviewed Little Boot’s most recent album: a spirited but ultimately doomed effort to try and provide music that has a pop sensibility with a dark, brooding electronic edge. The results were… mixed, to say the least, resulting in something far more latter-day Kylie than Kid A. However, flawed though […]
Ever since Rob Jones, under the moniker of his primary creative outlet The Voluntary Butler Scheme, released his 2009 début ‘At Breakfast, Dinner And Tea’, the market for quirky, catchy one-man-bands has been pretty much cornered. Demonstrating what would become the multi-instrumentalist’s typical eye for detail and knack for a catchy brass hook, ‘At Breakfast…’ […]

Album Review: The Voluntary Butler Scheme – A Million Ways to Make Gold

Album Review: The Hold Steady – Teeth Dreams

I love how Brooklyn’s The Hold Steady can be enjoyed on different levels. Essentially a party band, the live shows feel like gatherings of like-minded people in attendance to drink some beers and share a love of rock. There’s a real sense of community. Look deeper, though, and listeners can quickly lose themselves in the […]
It’s worth starting this review by quoting a fairly lengthy passage from the press release: “Lost In The Dream is the third album by The War on Drugs, but in some ways, it is the first album by the Philadelphia band The War on Drugs. Ahead of and after the release of the 2011 breakthrough Slave Ambient, Adam Granduciel spent the bulk of two […]

Album Review: The War on Drugs – Lost in the Dream

Album Review: Metronomy – Love Letters

It is a seldom seen occurrence when a band – over a period as long as the best part of a decade – achieves the critics’ holy grail that is a steady progression to mainstream success without sacrificing what was originally considered their original, signature sound. Even more of a surprise is when – somewhat […]
There’s something bizarrely unfathomable about Real Estate, and third album Atlas especially. There’s nothing overwhelmingly striking about their sound, we have a classic jangly guitar dynamic, eschewing any Zeitgeist leap towards electronica. There’s a distinct lack of choruses, at least in the traditional sense of reaching a musical, emotional, vocal pinnacle. Previous album Days‘ carefree languidness […]

Album Review: Real Estate – Atlas

Album Review: Wild Beasts – Present Tense

The beasts are back and the beasts are burdened. Charged with following up the success of their previous three long players – Limbo, Panto, Two Dancers and Smoother – the Leeds based indie-electronic four-piece are back with their latest – Present Tense. Is there a pun to be found in that title… is it ‘present, […]
“To be honest, I didn’t know what I was going to do. So I threw a lot of irons into the fire”. Since the break-up of the Bluetones in 2011, a band with an enviable career span that largely managed to avoid the Britpop roll call of the 90s, front man Mark Morriss has been […]

Album Review: Mark Morriss – A Flash of Darkness

Album Review: Nina Persson – Animal Heart

The return of the delightful singing voice of Nina Persson, this time on her first solo album, is accompanied, certainly as far as this reviewer is concerned, by a strong feeling of eager anticipation. As the singer and lyricist of the Cardigans, Nina has an impressive record of musical achievements. With that occasionally slightly husky […]
At the moment, the DIY ethic that is so essential for exciting new bands is as abundant in the underground music scene as it ever was. With the likes of Manchester band PINS and Leeds groups Menace Beach and Department M – amongst others – all creating their own merchandise, cultivating their own distinct image […]

Album Review: Breton – War Room Stories