ALBUM REVIEW – BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE: REMEMBER THE HUMANS

At the turn of the century, when pen and paper fell to the rise of technology, a new sound emerged, blurring the line between analogue intimacy and digital noise. Broken Social Scene have never operated like a conventional band. Formed in Toronto in 1999 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, they exist more as an […]
Lemoncello      Perfect Place   Where the Irish alt-folk duo’s debut centred on intimate guitar-and-cello arrangements, this ten-song collection broadens into full-band recordings, synthesisers and electronic percussion alongside piano and concertina. Thematically, it explores how wider cultural instability filters into personal relationships – how external pressures surface in friendships and romantic bonds. Aldous Harding              Train on the […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 8 MAY 2026

ALBUM REVIEW – THE LOFT: BADGES

It would be hard to imagine a topsy-turvier career path than that forged by The Loft. In the mid-80s, they were the first Creation Records band to top the indie charts with the classic ‘Up the Hill and Down the Slope’, appear on TV, record a Radio One session and be invited onto a major […]
Toronto singer-songwriter Abigail Lapell is clearly partial to thematically linked song collections. Following on from the self-explanatory ‘Lullabies’ and ‘Anniversary’ comes ‘Shadow Child’, a bundle of songs about motherhood. Recorded during her pregnancy, it comes with the urgency of an unnegotiable timetable and is rich in metaphor with the title referencing ultrasound imaging of a […]

ALBUM REVIEW – ABIGAIL LAPELL: SHADOW CHILD

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 1 MAY 2026

Pigeon                Outtanational  Across the album, Pigeon build party music without limits, drawing lines between afro-disco, krautrock, punk-funk and post-punk, with a DIY spirit and an exploratory edge. Tori Amos          In Time of Dragons       Amos states, “”In Times of Dragons is a metaphorical story about the fight for Democracy over Tyranny, reflecting the current abhorrent […]
Travelling down the M62 in 90 odd degree heat stuck in traffic as everyone has decided to play Manchester today from Olivia Dean, Yungblud to The Scratch. Going a bit earlier to make a day of it, walk the streets and try that Dave’s Hot chicken that everyone is raving about. The sun’s shining, the […]

LIVE REVIEW – THE SCRATCH: MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2 – 25/04/2026

ALBUM REVIEW – RINGO STARR: LONG LONG ROAD

Due to an incredibly stressful and procrastination heavy week, I originally handed this in using AI! Lol, soz. Alas, my “experiment” has already given me the shivers since sending to the editor, so here’s my actual typed review; as I sit here watching Aussie Rules Football, gasping for a ciggy and desperate for some Turkish delight. […]
Britpop is something that is ingrained in not just music history, but British cultural history in general. When you think of that word, I’m sure you don’t just think of Jarvis Cocker mooning the crowd at a Michael Jackson performance, or the Gallagher brothers giving it large at the BRITS. You probably think about lads […]

ALBUM REVIEW – VARIOUS: ALL YOU GOOD PEOPLE – BRITPOP AND BEYOND 1995-1999

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 24 APRIL 2026

Angelo De Augustine   Angel in Plainclothes  Sufjan Stevens collaborator whose latest is full of heartfelt elegies, powerful melodies, and captivating songcraft – but its scope is far broader, his use of dynamics more intriguing and panoptic. He created it using a vast array of largely antique musical instruments, including such oddities as a Marxophone, a […]
With her seventh solo album, Jesca Hoop finally takes the leap to the producer’s chair. It is a move inspired by the independence of her hero, Joni Mitchell, who has played a prominent role in Hoop’s recent creative processes as last year she toured with Lail Arad and This Is The Kit’s Kate Stables to […]

ALBUM REVIEW – JESCA HOOP: LONG WAVE HOME