ALBUM REVIEW – SPEARMINT: CHASE ME

Spearmint serves as a great example of the value of fierce independence. All eleven albums from their 1999 debut LP onwards have been released on their own hitBACK label, allowing the band to develop their own distinctive niche in which storytelling is paramount. There is an instantly recognisable quality to their music which is pop-focused […]
It got to a point where anytime I’d turn on the radio and a song came on that I liked, it was by Bradford-born Nia Archives. A quick listen to 2024’s Silence Is Loud and I realise that radio was right: this is an artist who absolutely needs to be heard. And we’re not the […]

ALBUM REVIEW – NIA ARCHIVES: EMOTIONAL JUNGLIST

ALBUM REVIEW – GRACIE ABRAMS: DAUGHTER FROM HELL

Gracie Abrams has become one of modern pop’s defining voices, celebrated for her intimate songwriting and emotionally honest lyricism. Beginning to write songs at just eight years old, Abrams draws inspiration from artists including Joni Mitchell, Elliott Smith, Bon Iver, Phoebe Bridgers and Taylor Swift, shaping her reflective and diaristic approach to music. Since releasing […]
Pop punk and progressive metal should, in theory, never be mixed. Some bands form to change things though, and that is exactly the case with Protest The Hero. This Canadian band has never shone away from pushing musical boundaries, and on Within, their first fully independent release, this could not be more obvious. Most importantly, […]

ALBUM REVIEW – PROTEST THE HERO: WITHIN

ALBUM REVIEW – NAO YOSHIOKA: SELF

It’s not often that a name and description catch your eye that you can’t help but delve into and immerse yourself and that exactly what happened once I saw Nao Yoshioka. Japanese born and raised Nao Yoshioka embodies what soul is not being held back by expectations and labels. Traditional and contemporary are blended to […]
Yard Act             You’re Gonna Need A Little Music       Weirdly, for a band so associated with incendiary live shows and constant touring, their third LP marks the first time that the quartet have ever made an album together, as a live band in the same room. Tricky                  Different When It’s Silent         Across fourteen tracks, Tricky […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 17 JULY 2026

ALBUM REVIEW – TRICKY: DIFFERENT WHEN IT’S SILENT

It is 31 years since the release of ‘Maxinquaye’, Tricky’s debut album. Although it was bunched as part of the trip-hop wave, there was something more elemental, almost brutal about the record that made it distinct. ‘Different When It’s Silent’ is his first solo album in six years, although in the intervening years he has […]
Like many others, my introduction to Cinder Well came courtesy of the soundtrack and theme tune to this year’s best television series so far, Small Prophets. In common with Mackenzie Crook’s previous gem, Detectorists, which had musical decoration from The Unthanks and Johnny Flynn, the programme continues his signature of using eery, folk-leaning music to […]

ALBUM REVIEW – CINDER WELL: A BLOOMING BODY

LIVE REVIEW – ALEXANDRA SAVIOR + FLORENCE ROSE BROOMFIELD: MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY – 10/07/2026

Any other day, Manchester Club Academy is a cozy and intimate venue which I have enjoyed many gigs at over time- however, during the insane heatwave that occurred over this weekend, the heat had me feeling more like I was in a hellish chamber rather than its usual charismatic standard. Needless to say, it was […]
Tengger              Sky        Blurring the lines between psychedelic, New Age, and drone, guided as much by intuition and ritual as by composition. Fabienne Delsol            Indigo Red        Artist who has been finessing her unique blend of neo- and classic psych, ye-ye, and ‘60s beat inspired pop since releasing her debut solo album No Time For Sorrows in […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 10 JULY 2026