ALBUM REVIEW – BABY SMITH: LATELY, LOVE IS DEAD

It sounds like something out of a romantic novel. Ray Sonder and Saxon Gable were brought up in sleepy Australian beach towns to parents who were hippies and rockers. Spoon fed Nirvana and The Beatles on the car stereo, they both became self-taught musicians. They moved separately to Berlin within two weeks of each other, […]
The Heavenly Bodes    Green Hills       Recorded on reel-to-reel in a friend’s living room between trips to the beach, it features a collection of lo-fi garage-psych numbers that vary in feel – sometimes twisting and erratic, sometimes sedated and meandering – but all drenched in tape hiss and left out on the pebbles to dry. Sailing […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 3 JULY 2026

ALBUM REVIEW – MORTIIS: GHOSTS OF EUROPA

Music is and always will be subjective. That is why it is so unique and we all adore it. Sometimes, despite this subjectivity, there will be an artist who comes along and revolutionises the craft of songwriting, and that is exactly where the Norwegian dungeon synth, and former black metal legend Mortiis comes in. After […]
Downtown Boys            Public Luxury   Punk and indie roots mix with Latin traditions, drum machines blend with acoustic drums, saxophones both support and interject between riffs, and layers of synths blend with guitars, doubling or tripling melodies to create blankets of melodic texture. Alewya               Zero      Alewya is an Ethiopian Egyptian, singer, producer and visual creative whose […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 26 JUNE 2026

ALBUM REVIEW – IAN PROWSE: NO NAMES

As Elvis Costello observed in 1981’s ‘Big Sister’s Clothes’, “passion went out of fashion.” It is a complaint that has been commonly raised since but, judging by ‘No Names’, no one has told Ian Prowse. On his twelfth album, he has produced a work that is politically committed, outspoken and highly passionate. Every bit as […]
It’s always a quietly wonderful moment when, in or outside of the venue, you pass the artist you’re there to see play. It happened back in April at The White Hotel, when Cameron Picton of My New Band Believe weaved his way through the crowd during opener Kiran Leonard’s set. Here, too, outside YES, I […]

LIVE REVIEW – SKULLCRUSHER + JO FROM SCHOOL: YES PINK ROOM – 18/06/2026

ALBUM REVIEW – CHAINLACING: MESSUAGE

The US based shoegaze/dreampop duo Chainlacing are the new kids on the block. Honing into sounds similar to that of Slowdive, the band are looking to make their mark in the dreamy soundscapes that ruled the late 80s and throughout the 90s. Lauren Crosser and Rick Martel are both enthusiastic musicians and are hoping their […]
Placebo’s 1996 self-titled debut album was a cultural reset in Britain. While the laddish Britpop boys were sporting Adidas and mod cuts, Placebo singer Brian Molko was being questioned over his gender. No-one could tell if he was a man or a woman. He both looked and sounded androgynous with a black bob, feminine clothing, […]

ALBUM REVIEW : PLACEBO – PLACEBO RE:CREATED

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 19 JUNE 2026

Graham Coxon               Castle Park      Recorded in 2011, Castle Park is released for the first time and comes as part of a comprehensive reissue of Coxon’s complete solo catalogue, spanning 9 studio albums and 3 original soundtracks, across the next 12 months. Tucker Zimmerman     Dream Me A Dream     Some of these songs date back to the […]
Pop punk royalty Blink 182 has released a 25th Anniversary edition of their seminal album Take Off Your Pants And Jacket, and there are even 6 additional tracks to enjoy. The record is a go to collection for the disenchanted too, a compendium that includes burgeoning love songs and sad songs, tracks which offer not […]

ALBUM REVIEW – BLINK 182: TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS AND JACKET