ALBUM REVIEW – THE WOW! SCENARIO: STAND IN THE STAR – A VERSE AND A CHORUS

Comedy records or music by comedians are rarely a laughing matter. The singles charts of my childhood are littered with atrocities like Benny Hill’s Ernie (The Fast Milkman in the West). Even when a more respected funnyman such as Vic Reeves joined forces with an established group, The Wonder Stuff, the resulting cover of Dizzy […]
There is substantial numerological logic to Penelope Isles naming this album ‘3’. In addition to being their third album, it is their first as a true three-piece with siblings Lily and Jack Wolter being joined by drummer Joe Taylor, best known for playing with Anna B Savage. It is also three years since they played […]

ALBUM REVIEW – PENELOPE ISLES: 3

ALBUM REVIEW – PERSONAL TRAINER: HUMAN ASSHOLES

The inevitable question arising from reading this title is, “who are the human assholes?” There are plenty of candidates. Is it anyone specific, the entire human race or Willem Smit, the band’s frontman and songwriter, accusing himself? Anyone familiar with Personal Trainer’s oeuvre thus far will not expect any definitive answers to be forthcoming as […]
It is apt that both albums released so far by La Sécurité (‘Stay Safe!’ and ‘Bingo!’) contain an exclamation mark in their title. Their music is, in the best way possible, an immediate demand for attention and statement of intent. Mixing art-punk with shoegaze, noise rock and no wave, the bi-lingual Montréal/Tiohtià:ke collective channel the […]

ALBUM REVIEW – LA SECURITE: BINGO!

ALBUM REVIEW – MY PRECIOUS BUNNY: A MOMENT IN MY EYES

Those of a gnarly disposition could easily be put off listening to My Precious Bunny by the name. That would be a mistake. It misleadingly suggests something horrendously cutesy and is, in fact, the term of endearment given to Lily Wolter by her mother. ‘A Moment in my Eyes’ marks the solo debut from Wolter, […]
“The biggest undercurrent on this album is letting go of societal pressure.” With that statement, singer/guitarist Nicole ‘Lux’ Fermie provides a handy hook line for describing the debut album she has recorded as LuxJury with drummer, Howey Gill. It charts her experiences of love, sexuality and gender after coming out as queer. Over the course […]

ALBUM REVIEW – LUXJURY: GIVING UP

ALBUM REVIEW – CONGRATULATIONS: JOIN HANDS

It is unfortunate that congratulations share their name with one of the most irritating songs of all time, Cliff Richard’s 1968 Eurovision entry, the type of lowest common denominator earworm with which the competition used to be synonymous. Fortunately, while the Brighton-based band are defiantly pop, the ten songs that comprise their first album are […]
Anyone looking for an easy listen should avoid Plantoid. Their debut album, ‘Terrapath’, had moments of magic but was so frenetic in its constantly shifting math rock riffs, jazzy perambulations and tempo changes as to be somewhat exhausting and impenetrable. Fortunately, their follow-up, ‘Flare’, sees them putting the progress into progressive. While it maintains their […]

ALBUM REVIEW – PLANTOID: FLARE

ALBUM REVIEW – OLOF ARNALDS: SPIRA

Björk once described Ólöf Arnalds as “somewhere between a child and an old woman.” Clearly, this was not intended as an insult and it neatly encapsulates the charms that she brings to her fifth album, ‘Spíra’, which translates as Sprouts. Sometimes those polar opposites in age have similarities. The honesty and openness of childhood can […]
There is a strong sense of place to Cubzoa’s debut album, ‘Unfold In The Sky’. Jack Wolter takes the listener to his current home (Brighton), his previous home (the Isle of Man), Barcelona and even outer space. In comparison with the more straightforwardly shoegaze based music that he releases with his sister as Penelope Isles, […]

ALBUM REVIEW – CUBZOA: UNFOLD IN THE SKY