ALBUM REVIEW: TOY – ‘TOY’

Googling Toy was a fruitless task at the start of the year. There was a certain buzz around the band after a successful support slot with The Horrors, but internet presence was otherwise non-existent. Their headline tour in spring attracted many curious enthusiasts who had their ear to the ground, and they were very much rewarded […]
He sounds like a dark superhero nemesis haunting the alleys and sidewalks of some fictional North American future city. Or perhaps the murky pools that lie within the darker recesses of our psyches. In fact, he is Josh Davis, ironically from the Northern Californian town of… Davis, and for the last 20 years he has […]

Album Review: DJ Shadow – Reconstructed: The Best of DJ Shadow

ALBUM: CAT POWER – ‘SUN’

It has taken 3 years for ‘Chan’ Marshall to write, produce and play all that you hear on this new Cat Power album. An impressive undertaking indeed. The result must prove to be her most personal release to date, I assume that was the intention. Her talents with various instruments will be scrutinised due to […]
– SOUP KITCHEN, MANCHESTER – Haunting and spellbinding songs  in a basement as it draws close to midnight.   The Brighton trio’s band name acts like a book title, alluring to its contents, which stray uncompromisingly away from anything mainstream. Grimes are playing a sell-out gig at The Ritz tonight across town, and so I […]

LIVE: ESBEN AND THE WITCH – 30/08/2012

LIVE: GRIMES – 30/08/2012

– THE RITZ, MANCHESTER – On arrival at the Ritz, I‘m quite puzzled by the apparent appeal of the ‘Vagina Rings’ on sale at the merch desk – replicas of Grimes’ very own lady parts [“one size fits all” but it’s a bit tight for me, natch!]. I feel a little bit uncomfortable just browsing, […]
“We were talking about wanting to go to Europe and record,” Burns says, “but we never get our shit together in time to make plans that far in advance. So where do you go…? New Orleans.” Collaborator, Producer – Craig Schumacher Algiers is the sixth studio album from Calexico, recorded in and titled after the […]

Calexico – Algiers

NEWS: EVERYTHING EVERYTHING – HEAR THE NEW SINGLE ‘COUGH COUGH’ + NEW ALBUM DETAILS & LIVE DATES

The idiosyncratic and innovative sonic force that is Everything Everything are back with their follow up album to 2010’s critically acclaimed debut, ‘Man Alive’. ‘Arc’ will be released on January 14, 2013 on RCA Victor. Recorded at Angelic Studios and RAK, the band returned to ‘Man Alive’ producer David Kosten to work on the new record. The lead single ‘Cough Cough’ is the […]
It’s almost thirty years since the release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller – now the best-selling album of all time. It’s hard to forget the saddening procession of Jackson’s life after the success of the videos and (seven!) singles from Thriller propelled him into mega-stardom, through circus sideshow, disgrace and eventually to an untimely end, the […]

Album Review: Easy Star All-Stars – Thrillah

EP Review: Bird – Shadows

Liverpool ‘s musical renaissance continues aplenty with the recent emergence of Stealing Sheep and a thriving local live music scene to rival Manchester. One of the latest talents to emerge is the three piece band Bird, who comprise of Adele Emmas (singer, songwriter), Sian Williams (guitar, harmonies) and Alexis Samata (drums). Their press release talks […]
Continuing an already crazy year for Grimes, on the eve of her next European tour she is premiering the incredible new video for ‘Genesis’. Releasing the album Visions earlier this year (4AD/Arbutus), to near universal praise, Grimes has barely stopped since; she’s graced numerous magazine covers, made her first live TV performances in both the […]

NEWS: GRIMES – WATCH THE NEW VIDEO TO ‘GENESIS’