ALBUM REVIEW- GUITAR: WE’RE HEADED TO THE LAKE

Guitar’s We’re Headed To The Lake is a scruffy album. Coming from me that’s a compliment, by the way. As a slacker rock band in the vein of Pavement etc. this kind of scruffiness is kind of the point. But Guitar does pull enough from the various corners of the genre umbrella to not be […]
The biggest constant throughout over half a century of Sparks has been their willingness to try something new. In the case of ‘MADDER!’, it is one of their least revolutionary acts, merely their first ever EP, and acts as a companion piece to ‘MAD!’ which achieved their highest ever UK album chart position. What is […]

EP REVIEW – SPARKS: MADDER!

EP REVIEW – HOLYBONES: I GOT A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

When I was 16/17, I got really into writing poetry. That was largely because I was consuming a lot of bands that did spoken word set to music and the stuff I was writing massively ripped off the likes of Listener or whoever else I had on rotation at the time. I cringe to think […]
Širom   In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper       Slovenian avant-folk trio. Navigating almost two dozen instruments (some of which they’ve handcrafted), and hypnotic compositions that often exceed ten minutes in length, they court patient, deep-dive listeners via intricately woven atmospheres, rhythms and sonics. Idlewild              Idlewild              Across the ten songs of ‘Idlewild’ they welcome each […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 3 OCTOBER 2025

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