EP REVIEW: SHIELD PATTERNS ‘VIOLET’

Following last summer’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘Contour Lines’, Manchester’s electro dark-pop duo Claire Brentnall and Richard Knox look to maintain the momentum with 4 new tracks. They’re like a collaboration between Kate Bush at her most melancholy, singing over a minimal version of Massive Attack’s Mezzanine, or Forest Swords. Much like Lamb’s work, Richard provides an unpredictable […]
The Costellos are a young band based in the north-east and get regular airtime on BBC Radio Newcastle. All aged 20, the 4 members combine to create a smooth, easy rock sound, reminiscent of Stereophonics’ ‘Maybe Tomorrow’. The band’s output is purely internet-based for now (links below), thus their music is easy to access. Three […]

EP Review: The Costellos – Mini EP

EP Review: Mark Lanegan Band – No Bells on Sunday

For anyone who doesn’t know who Mark Lanegan is, you’re an idiot he co-wrote Queens of the Stone Age’s ‘No One Knows’, one of the best rock songs of the noughties. And that’s just one of a myriad of activities he has undertaken since his Seattle rock band Screaming Trees petered out. Indeed, it’s hard […]
King Horse presents a very different Baby Brave to their clumsily titled 2012 debut EP (deep breath) The Hornet’s Nest of Unrequited Ambition That Was 1960s Vogue. They’ve since lost a singer and the suffix “…and the Love Bites” but gained an affection for some noisier influences. That’s not to say there’s none of the […]

EP Review: Baby Brave – King Horse

EP REVIEW: FIGHT LIKE APES – THE WHIGFIELD SEX TAPE

Fight Like Apes, or simply FLApes if you prefer, will release their first record since 2011 on Monday (May 12).  Hailing from Dublin, the band have already released two albums.  Both were nominated for the Choice Music Prize, the Irish equivalent of the Mercury Music Prize, awarded for album of the year.  They launched a […]
Having formed in September 2012, the success of King Kartels first single ‘Stone Cold Killer’ was enough to see them do a nationwide tour – an impressive feat for any new band. Now a year later, they release their debut EP Not Done Fighting. This four-piece, Manchester-based indie-rock band are recommended for fans of Oasis, […]

EP Review: King Kartel – Not Done Fighting

EP Review: The Growlers – Not. Psych!

The Growlers are one of those rare bands that just don’t give a shit; they play the kind of music they want to play and do it in their own way. Any band that has a record called Greatest Shits and a single named ‘Gay Thoughts’ is destined for stardom in my eyes. Made up […]
A batch of remixes normally act as a subtle reminder that ‘THIS BAND STILL EXIST’ ahead of a more important release, and tellingly on the day Stubborn Heart’s ‘Penetrate EP’ is released, announcements have been made about the release of a new 27-track deluxe edition of their well-received debut. I am not suspicious. Deluxe editions […]

EP REVIEW: STUBBORN HEART ‘PENETRATE 12”’

EP Review: Death To The Strange – Sign On

As someone who grew up with the screams of Kurt Cobain in one ear and a stream of brilliantly unpredictable Radiohead albums in the other, I’ve reached an unfortunate plateau of boredom. I’m bored with bands that bafflingly become increasingly popular for being vaguely ‘vintage’ and ‘indie’ without being either vintage or indie at all. […]
Joe Banfi’s Nomads is the second EP to come after 2012’s Iron EP and it is evidence of how far he has come since then. Banfi is a relatively new artist, but this is in no way clear – the production (Ian Grimble of Communion) and feel of this EP is outstanding. “Please don’t let […]

EP Review: Joe Banfi – Nomads