Grian Chatten - Chaos For The Fly (Album Review)

Photo: Eimear Lynch Angular, aggressive and acerbic, last year's ‘Skinty Fia’ found Fontaines D.C. setting an increasingly stagnant post-punk scene alight. Now, though, vocalist Grian Chatten has temporarily struck out on his own with ‘Chaos For The Fly’, revealing a far more introspective and mellow side to his songwriting.

Written by: Jack Terry | Date: Monday, 10 July 2023

Bdrmm - I Don't Know (Album Review)

Bdrmm see themselves as four fools from Hull, and their disbelief at the prospect of their second album ‘I Don’t Know’ charting upon release was a refreshing example of humility. The reality is a little bit more complicated. The quartet are a great new hope for the shoegaze scene, having won a legion of fans with their 2020 self-titled LP, but its follow up sits far more loosely under that umbrella, leaning towards a softer, dream-pop state rather than the abrasive nature of their root sound.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Friday, 07 July 2023

Militarie Gun - Life Under The Gun (Album Review)

Photo: Daniel Topete Originally known for delivering the scabrous powerviolence assault of Regional Justice Center, hardcore veteran Ian Shelton re-emerged during the pandemic with Militarie Gun, eschewing immediate fury for short, sharp melodic bursts inspired by ‘90s alt-rock. In just 27 minutes their debut LP ‘Life Under the Gun’ turns in a strong case for album of the summer.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Tuesday, 04 July 2023

Kim Petras – Feed The Beast (Album Review)

Sometimes things don’t go the way you expect them to. And Kim Petras serving up a dud of a debut album was not what most people expected to happen. Over the course of multiple EPs and mixtapes released over the past decade or so, the German pop artist has carved out a space as an LGBTQIA+ icon, fusing sex-positive lyrics with massive hooks and no little flair.

Written by: Issy Herring | Date: Monday, 03 July 2023

The Japanese House - In The End It Always Does (Album Review)

Photo: Jay Seba The cover of ‘In the End It Always Does’ depicts an imperfect circle drawn crudely by hand. It is an apt summation of the themes driving Amber Bain’s second album as The Japanese House. 

Written by: Craig Howieson | Date: Friday, 30 June 2023

Portugal. The Man - Chris Black Changed My Life (Album Review)

It perhaps shouldn’t take six years for a Grammy-winning band to follow-up their breakthrough record, but for Portugal. The Man, broken jaws, global pandemics, and a death in the family derailed their takeover.

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Wednesday, 28 June 2023

Kelly Clarkson - Chemistry (Album Review)

Photo: Brian Bowen Smith Kelly Clarkson has now presided over a chart-topping solo career spanning more than two decades, parlaying her show-stopping voice into eight studio albums that have gone top three at home in the US, with six of them running all the way to Platinum certifications. And there are no signs of Clarkson coming up for air anytime soon on her superb new LP ‘Chemistry’.

Written by: Issy Herring | Date: Tuesday, 27 June 2023

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse... (Album Review)

It’s best to think of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s mammoth discography in terms of genre experiments. Their more tonally-rigid collections tend to be the Melbourne band’s best, while their most genre-fluid albums (eg. 2022’s gigantic 'Omnium Gatherum') are their most scattershot and tiring.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Monday, 26 June 2023

Maisie Peters - The Good Witch (Album Review)

Photo: Alice Moitié How do you bandage a broken heart from the claustrophobic confines of a tour bus? According to the plan set out by Maisie Peters’ ‘The Good Witch’, you surround yourself with hitmakers, pour your sorrow into a pop song (or 15), and call it a second album. 

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Friday, 23 June 2023

Queens of the Stone Age - In Times New Roman... (Album Review)

Photo: Andreas Neumann Both ‘…Like Clockwork’ and ‘Villains’, Queens of the Stone Ages’ two most recent albums, were noticeably less hard-hitting than earlier efforts. But on ‘In Times New Roman...’, Josh Homme and his band are back in snarling rock mode. While that will appeal to their hardcore fans, the record lacks the killer tunes that they earlier used to break the mould in stunning ways.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 22 June 2023

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Weathervanes (Album Review)

Photo: Danny Clinch Everything you need to know about this deeply humane record from Jason Isbell, which delivers character-driven storytelling of the highest calibre, can be gleaned from the album’s opening and closing lines. Beginning with ‘everybody dies, but you gotta find a reason to carry on’ and culminating by way of ‘you didn’t see the hand that turned the page’, ‘Weathervanes’ is an unflinching exploration of how people struggle to survive after life’s cruel winds have torn through their world.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 22 June 2023

Killer Mike - Michael (Album Review)

Photo: Jonathan Mannion Killer Mike has said about his new solo album that if “Run the Jewels is the X-Men, this is my Logan,” a reference to the more sombre Wolverine spin off that reset expectations for emotional complexity in a blockbuster superhero franchise.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Wednesday, 21 June 2023

Christine and the Queens - Paranoļa, Angels, True Love (Album Review)

Photo: Jasa Muller Carrying on with the narration that began on his 2022 release ‘Redcar les adorables étoiles’, ‘Paranoïa, Angels, True Love’ allows Chris to reembody the titular Redcar character on an album that is is drenched in enough emotion and psychodrama to make its 97 minute, 20 track running order feel involving and worthwhile.

Written by: Katie Macbeth | Date: Tuesday, 20 June 2023

King Krule - Space Heavy (Album Review)

Photo: Frank Lebon For almost a decade now, King Krule has traded in an immediately recognisable sound. In Archie Marshall’s world, jazz-influenced chords are bullied and bashed into post-punk shapes while he groans and grumbles through introspective, existential takes on his absurd surroundings. His new album, ‘Space Heavy’, carries a lot of this on from its predecessors, but mutates into something altogether more holistic.

Written by: Jo Higgs | Date: Tuesday, 20 June 2023

Squid - O Monolith (Album Review)

Photo: Studio UJ Following such a well thought out and meticulously assembled album as ‘Bright Green Field’ was never going to be an easy undertaking for Squid and, at first, it really wasn’t. Frontman Ollie Judge found himself in the rut to end all ruts when it came to writing for the album that eventually became the excellent ‘O Monolith’.

Written by: Jack McGill | Date: Monday, 19 June 2023

Janelle Monįe - The Age Of Pleasure (Album Review)

Janelle Monáe is feeling themselves, and for good reason. Over the course of three albums—dating back to 2010's ‘The ArchAndroid’—they have become an accomplished multi-hyphenate with award-winning turns on the big screen going hand in hand with tours, books and social justice work. It's no wonder then that ‘The Age Of Pleasure’ is brimming with a self-confidence that has only been hinted at before now.

Written by: Jack Terry | Date: Monday, 19 June 2023

Youth Lagoon - Heaven Is A Junkyard (Album Review)

Photo: Tyler T. Williams With the benefit of hindsight, Youth Lagoon’s 2015 record ‘Savage Hill Ballroom’ felt like an ending of sorts. It was luscious and bold, and in many ways less idiosyncratic than everything Trevor Powers had released to that point.

Written by: Craig Howieson | Date: Friday, 16 June 2023

Dream Wife - Social Lubrication (Album Review)

Photo: Sophie Webster What do you do when there are endless reasons to be angry? If we let our rage dominate our every waking minute, it would drain us, permanently weigh us down and block out any grain of hope. 

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Thursday, 15 June 2023

Jenny Lewis - Joy'all (Album Review)

Photo: Bobbi Rich It’s all there in the title of Jenny Lewis’s new album. Armed with an uplifting set of tracks, some stemming from a songwriting workshop hosted by none other than Beck, the Nashville transplant sounds positively elated on ‘Joy’all’. 

Written by: Craig Howieson | Date: Wednesday, 14 June 2023

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Council Skies (Album Review)

Photo: Matt Crockett While the tedious will-they-won’t-they Oasis reunion rumours continue to swirl—along with talk of eye-watering sums available should the Gallagher brothers bury the hatchet long enough to tour—Noel has rolled on with his High Flying Birds and their fourth album ‘Council Skies’.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 13 June 2023