ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 30 JANUARY 2026

Ye Vagabonds                 All Tied Together           Irish band initially achieving renown as purveyors of their ancestors’ music mixed with folk-based originals, the Mac Gloinn brothers – Brían and Diarmuid – have increasingly focused on honing their own material, enlisting trusted co-conspirators to distil voice and vision into potent tunes. Sebastien Teller            Kiss The Beast Kiss […]
1783 marked the end of the American War of Independence. It also saw the exodus of 3,000 so-called Black Loyalists who had fought for the British in exchange for land and freedom but were now sailing from New York to Nova Scotia to set up black settlements in the province. With his album taking its […]

ALBUM REVIEW – AQUAKULTRE: 1783

ALBUM REVIEW – BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND: LAUGHTER IN SUMMER

Anyone looking for a heart-warming documentary would be advised to watch the 2019 film ‘Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story’. It tells a remarkable life story incorporating becoming one of the first black students to attend McGill University in Montreal; releasing albums in the 1970s that mixed classical, spiritual, jazz and blues influences; writing for […]
For the select few whose musical upbringing was shaped by the obtuse end of the C86 scene, the three track 7” single holds a special place in the imagination. It was associated in particular with bIG fLAME who romanticised it as the ideal format for communication: uneven, angular and demanding concision and urgency. The format […]

EP REVIEW – NORMAL SERVICE: SONGS FOR SWINGING LOVERS

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 23 JANUARY 2026

YĪN YĪN               Yatta! The band incorporates a kaleidoscope of sounds and textures, occupying a sonic space somewhere between Khruangbin and Kraftwerk, surf music and Southeast Asian psychedelia, all the while staying close to the pulse and abandon of the dancefloor. The Damned    Not Like Everybody Else           A deeply personal and celebratory covers album – dedicated […]
The immediate reaction to hearing Tyler Ballgame for the first time must be to marvel at his voice. There are divine touches that are reminiscent of Roy Orbison, other moments where he recalls John Lennon in his softer 1970s incarnation, itself a far cry from his early Beatles gargling nails style on the likes of […]

ALBUM REVIEW – TYLER BALLGAME: FOR THE FIRST TIME, AGAIN

ALBUM REVIEW – THE HARA: THE FALLOUT

Metalcore is one of those alternative music genres that will always stay in the mainstream no matter what, but it is harder to find a British band that is currently talked about as much as The Hara have been throughout the past six months. The hype around each of the singles the three-piece have released […]
As crowd surfers pop up left right and centre in my eyeline, heads bounce around and the floor rattles in synchronisation… I realise that Superheaven have maybe revived an overall abysmal day. The power of music, eh? Despite preferring their earlier stuff to their most recent album, Superheaven have still taken up a humongous amount […]

LIVE REVIEW – SUPERHEAVEN: MANCHESTER RITZ – 17/01/2026

ALBUM REVIEW – PLANTOID: FLARE

Anyone looking for an easy listen should avoid Plantoid. Their debut album, ‘Terrapath’, had moments of magic but was so frenetic in its constantly shifting math rock riffs, jazzy perambulations and tempo changes as to be somewhat exhausting and impenetrable. Fortunately, their follow-up, ‘Flare’, sees them putting the progress into progressive. While it maintains their […]
How can rapper be so mellow and loud at the same time? Meet Lexa Gates with her sophomore album ‘I am’ I’ve just listened to Gates’ album ‘I am’ and I can gladly tell you she is one of the most prolific female rappers we have right now, and she proves this. This album shows […]

ALBUM REVIEW – LEXA GATES: I AM