The Tallest Man On Earth - Dark Bird Is Home (Album Review)
‘Dark Bird Is Home’ is an album on which individual pain is rendered universal. In documenting his divorce, Kristian Mattson has shone a light on a difficult time in the spirit of communication and shared experience.
Written by: Matt Williams | Date: Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Best Coast - California Nights (Album Review)
Generally, the idea is to mature as time goes on. ‘California Nights’ is the third album by Best Coast, the Golden State duo of Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno, and their first for a major. It’s a suitably bold step into the big leagues.
Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Tuesday, 12 May 2015
Metz - II (Album Review)
It’s tempting to see Metz as the Death Star and your eardrums as Admiral Ackbar’s cruiser. But, this ain’t a trap. From minute one of this noise-rock trio’s debut, their aims have been perilously clear. They play loud, hard and with scant regard for anything you might like to hear. Their second album, unsurprisingly, is a straightforward example of ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it belligerence.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 12 May 2015
Hop Along - Painted Shut (Album Review)
If we're truly honest, there aren't that many of us who learn from our mistakes, face up to our personal failings or try to understand the world through the lens of others. That Frances Quinlan has been on a mission to do that across two Hop Along records is what makes the band such a powerful proposition.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 08 May 2015
My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall (Album Review)
My Morning Jacket have never been afraid of starting over. Their style has always been fluid and subject to subtle shifts, reflecting the circumstances of Jim James’ writing process and his influences, which have not always been the most comfortable of bedfellows. ‘The Waterfall’ is another twist in the tale and a record that, from its first burbling keys onwards, is closely tied with its title.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 06 May 2015
Mumford & Sons - Wilder Mind (Album Review)
To many, the banjos were what made Mumford and Sons stand out among other guitar bands in the first place. But now that they’ve ditched their signature move, where does that leave them?
Written by: James Ball | Date: Tuesday, 05 May 2015
Braids - Deep In The Iris (Album Review)
There’s a theory that the best records are created on the edge of a precipice, that tension, friction, loss or heartache are indispensable ingredients. ‘Deep In The Iris’, Braids’ third album, emerges following a period of deliberate, organised calm. The Montreal trio, keen to reassemble friendships and avoid the stress encountered while putting together the complex, electronics-dominated ‘Flourish // Perish’, decamped to remote locations in Arizona, Vermont, and upstate New York with songs on their mind.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 01 May 2015
Blur - The Magic Whip (Album Review)
Photo: Linda Brownlee Blur’s first album for 12 years...12 long years. It’s a hell of a time for any fan of any band to wait, but there were few, post-’Think Tank’, with enough optimism on tap to think that this day would ever arrive.
Written by: James Ball | Date: Tuesday, 28 April 2015
Passion Pit - Kindred (Album Review)
Michael Angelakos and Passion Pit have always existed at a certain remove from one another. His music operates on a visceral level, combining teeth-rotting hooks with production that, in his own words, tends towards the maximalist. Lyrically, though, he has maintained a confessional tone. Never has that been more apparent than on ‘Kindred’.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 28 April 2015
Speedy Ortiz - Foil Deer (Album Review)
‘Foil Deer’ is the sophomore LP from Massachusetts quartet Speedy Ortiz and finds the band embracing a few changes. The follow up to ‘Major Arcana’ and last year’s ‘Real Hair’ EP arrives sans original guitarist Matt Robidoux. But, even with his integral contributions to the band’s sound in mind, the result is not lacking, in any way. If anything, Sadie Dupuis, now augmented by six stringer Devin McKnight, and friends have emerged stronger than ever.
Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Friday, 24 April 2015
FM - Heroes And Villains (Album Review)
If you're basking in glorious sunshine with a cold beer in your hand, what more could you possibly need? Music, of course, and this imperious melodic rock album will complete that picture. It practically has 'soundtrack to your summer' burnt into its DNA.
Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Tom DeLonge - To The Stars (Album Review)
Plenty of ink has been spilled over Tom DeLonge in the last few months. The vast majority of it concerned his he said-she said split from Blink-182, the pop-punk band that made him a star without tying down a restless mind. More recently, though, interest has grown in ‘To The Stars’, a collection of odds and ends given added weight as his first post-Blink musical statement.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Young Fathers - White Men Are Black Men Too (Album Review)
When Young Fathers were being implored to smile by photographers after winning the Mercury Prize last year, another barrier was erected. Their reaction after scooping the award was not acceptable to some, who expected bowing and scraping, gushing and tears. To another faction, ‘Dead’, their winning record, hadn’t shifted enough units to merit the victory. Their music was too complex, too “intense” for others.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 20 April 2015
Villagers - Darling Arithmetic (Album Review)
The problem faced by many of today’s singer-songwriters is one of artifice. Listeners are savvy and know the difference between the cynical tugging of heartstrings and genuine sentiments. Conor O’Brien’s third album with Villagers comfortably falls into the latter category and finds the Dubliner shunning busy, full-band arrangements in favour of delicate acoustic pieces.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 16 April 2015
The Leisure Society - The Fine Art Of Hanging On (Album Review)
Picture the scene. You’re laying back in a peaceful country park somewhere, glass in one hand and book in the other. The sun scorches down upon you, but it’s fine because you’re wearing a hat and have a sensible level of sun cream applied. There’s a few clouds in the sky and they occasionally obscure the warmth, but this is late summer and you couldn’t be more content. In a matter of weeks, though, the sun will disappear for winter.
Written by: James Ball | Date: Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Sam Lee - The Fade In Time (Album Review)
Sam Lee loves music. It seems obvious that you should, in order to become a musician, but with this North London-raised troubadour, the sentiment is more fitting than in most other cases.
Written by: James Ball | Date: Tuesday, 14 April 2015
Halestorm - Into The Wild Life (Album Review)
It takes balls to perform a volte face after the success of a hit record. Pennsylvania's Halestorm are nothing if not a fiercely unapologetic and adventurous outfit, so - following 2012's much-loved 'Strange Case Of…' - they've applied a razor to the notion of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it', crafting this more experimental, and potentially divisive, third album in the process.
Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 13 April 2015
East India Youth - Culture Of Volume (Album Review)
‘Total Strife Forever’, William Doyle’s debut as East India Youth, revealed itself slowly. It shapeshifted, confounding expectations and leaving hooks adrift like anxious, twitching, half-formed thoughts. ‘Culture Of Volume’ is every bit as sprawling and complex, but unmistakably the work of someone with pop songs on their mind.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 10 April 2015
Death Cab For Cutie - Kintsugi (Album Review)
The past is a lure for most successful bands - whether they admit it or not - but for Death Cab For Cutie, the pressure to revert to type has been overwhelming. ‘Kintsugi’, their eighth LP, doesn’t bow to it, instead toeing a difficult line between former glories and the sort of widescreen songwriting their status as indie royalty demands.
Written by: Matt Williams | Date: Friday, 10 April 2015
All Time Low - Future Hearts (Album Review)
If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, then Green Day's rock opera years remain the benchmark for arena-filling pop-punk bands. All Time Low, like Fall Out Boy before them, have embraced a belt-it-to-the-cheap-seats sense of drama, but on 'Future Hearts' their spark and purpose is mislaid.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 08 April 2015