Album Review: Junip – Junip

In a musical environment where ‘new bands re-doing something already established, but really well’ is the norm (think recent big-names Peace, Palma Violets and the fantastic Savages), Junip are something of an anomaly. Their debut album Fields exhibited an unusual blend of mellow classical guitar, accompanied by well-timed drums and sweeping synths, combining to create […]
9 albums and 25 years later, Mudhoney provide an album of psychedelic alternative rock that keeps them at the pinnacle of “that sound”! Usually lumped in with grunge, Mudhoney were always a little bit more and this album shows why. From the opening scatter drums, bass driven, riff monster that is ‘Slipping Away’ the gentlemen […]

Album Review: Mudhoney – Vanishing Point

LIVE: STEVE MASON – 10/04/2013

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – Well, well, well, what do we have here then? Gorilla is tuning its dial towards a club night. I think this is my first gig preamble that feels more like post gig excitement. Bouncy, upbeat tunes and a nugget of Fool’s Gold cracked out before the main man gets on stage. […]
Wow!!! On a beautiful day with a chilled glass of whatever your tipple is, Iron and Wine have provided the perfect soundtrack to this summer and summers to come. This album is steeped in sublime folk with a pop feel; yeah it’s the most radio friendly album that Sam Beam (Iron and Wine) has done, […]

Album Review: Iron & Wine – Ghost on Ghost

Album Review: Peace – In Love

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past six months (a particularly deep cave, underwater, on Neptune, with a wi-fi connection that even Virgin trains would condemn as “poor”) then chances are you will have heard at least something about Birmingham based quartet Peace. The hype that’s followed this band is bordering on […]
The previous long player from Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Blood Lust, became something of a cult classic almost overnight on its release, partly due to the very limited vinyl version (only 400 copies) that had vinyl junkies foaming at the mouth. Linking that exclusivity with gorgeous artwork and packaging resembling the giallo genre of […]

ALBUM REVIEW: UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS – MIND CONTROL

LIVE: BRITISH SEA POWER – 12/04/2013

– GORILLA, MANCHESTER – “Is that a Polar Bear!!!” There is a subtle beauty that British Sea Power have always commanded and a fan base that understands this beauty and what it means. The opening ‘quiet set’ affirms this beauty with a warmth of songs like Salty Water that make you feel all fluffy inside. […]
– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER – Manchester Academy 2 is not a particularly majestic venue, in fact, it looks almost identical to a high school assembly room, so it seems odd that such a place should host an artist like James Blake, a musician who could no doubt fill a space at least three times as […]

LIVE: JAMES BLAKE – 10/04/2013

Album Review: Kurt Vile – Wakin On A Pretty Daze

Smoke Ring For My Halo was my favourite album of 2011, and though, in retrospect it’s now eclipsed by M83’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming and Slave Ambient by former bandmates the excellently named The War on Drugs, it remains an album I return to from time to time with real relish. What I like most […]
I took the review for Vondelpark’s Seabed on a bit of a whim – I know nothing about the band; I just know that Vondelpark is also an expansive public open space in Amsterdam*. I spent this morning listening to Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel and the Rolling Stones and Seabed is something […]

Album Review: Vondelpark – Seabed