ALBUM REVIEW – GOAT: GOAT

Swedish masked psych warriors, Goat, have managed to create their own distinct niche. No other band has quite their image or sound, even though their music manages to combine many elements: psychedelia, wild guitar soloing, tribal percussion and chants. It feels appropriate that their latest album, eponymously titled, coincides with them releasing their own set […]
When a new supergroup is formed, it is often expected for the band to play the same genres the members are used to playing in their other bands. Not Cemetery Skyline. The five piece, which consists of members from iconic bands such as Dark Tranquillity and Dimmu Borgir, is not a melodic death metal or […]

ALBUM REVIEW – CEMETERY SKYLINE: NORDIC GOTHIC

ALBUM REVIEW – CHRIS ACKER: FAMOUS LUNCH

Chris Acker is best known for his husky tone and absurd lyricism, often intertwined with raw passion and thought-provoking realism. The first glimpse of Acker’s new record came in the form of ‘Shit Surprise’, a playful track that dances between the lines of self-deprecation and a longing for an evasive love. Unlike the title of […]
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, heralds of the ever-looming geopolitical apocalypse, have returned. Their latest (and eighth full-length) effort, NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD, sees them as envoys, detailing the simmering horror and outrage of the anarchist underground in reaction to current events. In 2002, GY!BE released their third LP Yanqui U.X.O., […]

ALBUM REVIEW – GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR: NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024, 28,340 DEAD

ALBUM REVIEW – PHARMAKON: MAGGOT MASS

Maggot Mass is the first new piece of music by Pharmakon to burrow its way out into the world in five years. 2019’s Devour was 36 minutes of unrelenting power electronics and noise, but on this new record she produces songs that have been consumed and reconstituted by caustic noise, their structure only partly eaten […]
Cards on the table, if asked to select a continual favourite band over the past two decades, I would plump for Field Music. Their capacity to evolve, taking on different influences whilst retaining recognisable elements and consistently high-quality control is second-to-none. This was demonstrated to perfection on this year’s limited edition Record Store Day release, […]

ALBUM REVIEW – FIELD MUSIC: LIMITS OF LANGUAGE

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 4 OCTOBER 2024

As Autumn develops its tentacles and the nights grow ever longer, there are plenty of new releases to keep us company on those lengthy evenings. Nice Biscuit   SOS     The nine-track album embodies the fuzzy groove-laden psych that Nice Biscuit is renowned for, while introducing new danceable feels influenced by their love of disco, jazz fusion […]
It would be fair to describe NJ White’s, aka Whitey, latest release, ‘Mental Radio’, as sprawling. As a double album there is less need for tight focus and it allows the space for him to flit through a range of styles and moods. It is exemplary of his eclectic career that has seen him release […]

ALBUM REVIEW – WHITEY: MENTAL RADIO

ALBUM REVIEW – HALF WAIF: SEE YOU AT THE MAYPOLE

The backdrop to ‘See You At The Maypole’ is heartbreaking. Nandi Rose, who performs as Half Waif, was expecting her first child but in December 2021 a scan revealed no heartbeat. The treatment for a missed miscarriage is most effective with two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol. However, Rose was only prescribed the latter so her […]
The elegant, frayed decay of the Albert Hall gives it its charm, its chunky charisma. It is arguably our finest live venue, the balcony like a hug, the room something of an architectural cuddle. And if it’s not homely enough, tonight there are rugs on the stage, and lamps dotted about as well, so that […]

LIVE REVIEW: JORDAN RAKEI – ALBERT HALL 26/09/24