ALBUM REVIEW – THE ANTLERS: BLIGHT

A glance at a record’s list of songtitles often offers an indication of its type of music. The Antlers’ ‘Blight’ is deceptive in that respect. In addition to the title track, there are songs called ‘Carnage’, ‘Calamity’ and ‘A Great Flood’ which suggests that they could be accompanied by some brutal, pummelling Napalm Death type […]
It’s a mundane Monday, and the humdrum normality of everyday life is reaching out for some form of escapism. Seeking music as the solution, I, along with just over 2000 other people will congregate within the walls of Manchester Academy, where Rebecca Lucy Taylor (better known as Self Esteem) will perform for the third (sold-out) […]

LIVE REVIEW – SELF ESTEEM: MANCHESTER ACADEMY – 29/09/2025

ALBUM REVIEW – CATE LE BON: MICHELANGELO DYING

The breakup album is virtually a cliché. There are reasons why it can be irresistible to artists and listeners alike. It is a common, almost universal, experience. Very few will have been lucky enough to immediately fall into the perfect relationship so the emotions may well be familiar but repetition of themes make it inevitable […]
An absolutely mega week in which it would be impossible to cover all the great releases in the depth that we would like. Here is our precis of the new releases. The Cords         The Cords         Sisters Eva and Grace take their cues from forebearers like Dolly Mixture, Shop Assistants, Heavenly and Tiger Trap, reinvigorating the […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 26 SEPTEMBER 2025

LIVE IN PICTURES – LA WITCH: LEEDS BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB – 23/09/2025

There is an old saying about a picture being worth a 1,000 words so by that measurement, here is a dissertation length photographic review of LA Witch. Dive in and capture the atmosphere as the trio blast out their melange of darkwave, punk and psychedelia through Mat Coffey’s photos.  
With a sudden crusade of the charts, Olivia Dean is on everyone’s lips and in their ears becoming the first artist since Adele to have three songs in the top twenty at the same time. The debut album ‘Messy’ was critically acclaimed yet didn’t make the dent in the charts like it should have, however, […]

ALBUM REVIEW – OLIVIA DEAN: THE ART OF LOVING

ALBUM REVIEW – RAGE: A NEW WORLD RISING

Trying to release a new album after releasing a masterpiece is one of the hardest tasks for any musician. Rage is no ordinary band though and when the three-piece set themselves up for something, they usually achieve it. This German thrash, power and speed metal hybrid released what is easily their best piece of work […]
Sometimes artists kindly try to do journalist’s work by describing their music. On Cerys Hafana’s Instagram page, their music is described as “sad Welsh harp pop”. As a description, this barely scratches the surface of what can be heard on their latest album, ‘Angel’. Whilst they indisputably sing in Welsh and play the triple harp, […]

ALBUM REVIEW – CERYS HAFANA: ANGEL

ALBUM REVIEW – MULATU ASTATKE: MULATU PLAYS MULATU

Over the course of a long gig-going life, there will inevitably be regrets about opportunities missed. Festivals in particular offer so many choices that there is bound to be the odd misstep. From the perspective of what happened in the following few months, I look back with a rueful shake of the head on being […]
Fear not! This is not an ode to Messrs Collins, Banks and Rutherford, or even Gabriel. The Genesis is an entirely separate beast and ‘A Story’ comes, aptly enough, with an incredible backstory. Hand of Glory Records’ Will Twynham (who records as Dimorphodons) was searching eBay for interesting instruments and came across an old Hohner […]

ALBUM REVIEW – THE GENESIS: A STORY