ALBUM REVIEW – LAETITIA SADIER: ROOTING FOR LOVE

Stereolab were one of the most significant bands to emerge in the first half of the 1990s. Initially, no-one sounded like them. It was a period where so-called independent music was dominated by grunge and then Britpop, both regressive and conservative forces. In contrast, Stereolab’s use of motorik rhythms at a time when krautrock was […]
Lair are a six-piece Indonesian psych rock/funk outfit hailing from Jatiwangi, West Java. Their name is pronounced Lah-eer (useful information for requesting their often-startling album in your local independent record store) and is a local dialect version of the word ‘lahir’ meaning birth. They take inspiration from classical/traditional Panturan Tarling which is a form of […]

ALBUM REVIEW – LAIR: NGELAR

ALBUM REVIEW – MARY TIMONY: UNTAME THE TIGER

Records do not have to sound like the circumstances of their creation. Mary Timony’s ‘Untame The Tiger’ was recorded during a two-year period bookended by the death of her parents and which saw the dissolution of a long-term relationship. It was written on head-clearing bike rides and long walks while she was the primary carer […]
CAUTION: you will not ‘Sleep Well’ to this. This isn’t down to Persher not playing well enough or serenading the listener as well as they could be on their debut, oh no: this electronic-metal-screamo-experimental duo are just having you on. As do a few of their songs’ zany names – my personal favourite being ‘Medieval […]

ALBUM REVIEW – PERSHER: SLEEP WELL

ALBUM REVIEW: GRANDADDY – BLU WAV

Dolly Parton once said “If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain”, my Aunty Annie once said “country music, the tunes are great but the songs are depressing, first the couple split up, then the bills pile up, then the dog dies!” Two views there, one from Tennessee and one from […]
Silent Radio surveys this week’s highly desirable new releases. William Doyle   Springs Eternal Art pop which across its 11 tracks hear from narrators teetering on the precipice of global disaster, heartbreak, addiction, indoctrination and mental illness, until they pass into the great unknown. Grandaddy         Blu Wav               The title is meant to be a literal mash-up […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 16 FEBRUARY 2024

ALBUM REVIEW – OMNI: SOUVENIR

Omni fans will have a broad idea of what to expect from their fourth album. It will consist of a set of musical miniatures that suggest a strand of post-punk influences shorn of retro leanings, boasting twisting and chopping guitar riffs, staccato rhythms and lean melodies that inspire a desire to throw shapes. However, within […]
Progressive metal is a limitless genre. Bands always aim to have the most bizarre sounds and complex rhythms instead of your typical 4/4. However, in prog, unlike most metal subgenres, bands rely on using solely clean vocals. Not Persefone. This Andorran six-piece are not your typical prog band. Using breakdowns, a mix of clean and […]

EP REVIEW – PERSEFONE: LINGUA IGNOTA PART I

EP REVIEW – JOSEPH LUCA: PART 2 OUROBOROS (DEATH)

What makes a good musician? Is it the ability to sing? The intelligence to write? The power to stand out amongst your peers? Maybe it’s having the audacity to be your most authentic, unapologetic self in an industry renowned for its tendency to shape artists into polished, shiny mannequins. If these are the qualities one […]
Who doesn’t like some free jazz improv? Oh, that’s right – most people. It’s a very-much maligned and derided form and in some cases there’s definitely a stuffy or cliquey or chin-strokey vibe that can be really off-putting, particularly in a live setting. There’s also the valid question of “what is it for”? Is the […]

ALBUM REVIEW – PANGHALINA: LAVA