SINGLE: Musée Méchanique – Like Home

Three small, stupidly juxtaposed words used in connection with Musée Méchanique sent my blood pressure soaring with near fatal consequence. They are Neutral Milk Hotel – the finest band with the stupidest name of all time. Is this an appropriate comparison, or were the promoters raising my hopes only to dash them with crushing force? […]
In a recent interview, Travis Bonilla, pseudonym Quail Lungs, tells of a New Year bender which left him with a two day hangover not even weed could cure.  From the quality of the recordings which range from near inaudible to a whining assault on your senses you figure these tracks were made the wrong end of […]

SINGLE: Quail Lungs – Dumb Dadadum

SINGLE: Ash – Space Shot

‘Space Shot’ is another by-the-numbers offering from the Northern Irish pop-rockers. A perfect pop song in many respects, it never deviates from the tried and trusted production values that dominate the singles chart nowadays: quirky intro, verse-chorus-verse, weird synth solo and all the trimmings. It also sounds like it was written by a computer program […]
A funky little disco tune, Stand, is a tricky little track which urges us repeatedly to Stand Up for our minds.  It sounds like a meaningless but pleasantly familiar lyric ideal for dancing; but as the song ends you realise Woolf was issuing an early warning to us to beware of a tune which leaves you […]

SINGLE: Othello Woolf – Stand

SINGLE: Bullion – Say Goodbye To What/Crazy Over You

Bullion is a genius. I whole heartedly state this. This release was my first encounter with the man and after doing some research, he is now elevated to god status in my eyes. His production style is phenomenal, his beats are some of the crispest I’ve heard, and his tracks spit in the face of […]
For some reason that now escapes me I had already decided that I hated Paolo Nutini even before I put 10/10 in the stereo. I was even more cynical about him when my chef friend Ryan, who listens to shit radio-friendly house all day, assured me that “it’s mint that”. But what do you know, […]

SINGLE: Paolo Nutini – 10/10

SINGLE: Good Shoes – Under Control

Sorry guys, I’m confused. The plastic envelope tells me that this is the single Under Control by Good Shoes, but my iTunes player assures me that this is the album American Idiot by the Bee Gees. Now I’m sure you’ll be thinking that this is just another case of iTune inaccuracy, but I actually believe […]
I thought I’d better review this, because I’ve just heard that some kid called Owl City has hit the number one spot by imitating a boy drowning with a vocoder rammed down his throat. Now I don’t really give a shit about what’s at number 1, but at the same time I’m supposed to be […]

SINGLE: Owl City – Fireflies

SINGLE: Simian Mobile Disco feat Beth Ditto – Cruel Intentions

James Ford has been responsible for shaping some of the biggest British albums of the past few years producing Florence, Klaxons and Arctic Monkeys.  And alongside former Simian bandmate and Mobile Disco partner Jas Shaw he almost caused a renaissance of mainstream dance music in 2007 with ‘Attack Delay Sustain Release’ and their Justice collaboration […]
For those of you not in the loop, Broken Bells is one of those surprising dream collaborations you could neither hope for nor expect. James Mercer of The Shins and Danger Mouse, legendary producer of The Grey Album, Gnarls Barkley etc, have teamed up to put the rest of us mere mortals in our place, […]

SINGLE: Broken Bells – The High Road