The Computers - Love Triangles Hate Squares (Album Review)
This 11-track offering brings the sound of the Exeter five piece’s debut full length ‘This is the Computers’ another two-step closer to Chuck Berry whilst rendering them almost unrecognizable from the thrashy hardcore of their 2008 EP. The Computer’s half way house between two utterly alien genres once evoked mental images of Henry Rollins mimicking John Travolta’s moves in the Pulp Fiction Jack Rabbit Slims scene.
Written by: Owen Sheppard | Date: Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Erica Nockalls - Imminent Room (Album Review)
Famous for her role within The Wonderstuff and as one half of her personal and professional partnership with Wonderstuff frontman Miles Hunt, Erica Nockalls is renowned for her expertise on the violin, having trained at the Birmingham Conservatoire; she has now chosen to step out of the background and into the limelight with her first foray into the solo field.
Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Monday, 22 April 2013
Rob Zombie - Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor (Album Review)
Rob Zombie's fifth solo album is a bit of a split work on first appearances. Abandoning the darkness of his previous album covers - yet keeping his face slap bang on the front - 'Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor' looks more suited to being a 70s hippy-dippy revival, vividly colourful and pop-arty. Though that element seems to reflect the rainbow exuberance of his live shows, the music remains quintessentially sinister, thankfully.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 22 April 2013
Sacred Mother Tongue - Out Of The Darkness (Album Review)
The history of rock music is littered with great bands who've fallen prey to 'difficult second album syndrome', following much hyped débuts with poorly conceived and received follow ups. Having sagely taken their time after 2008's 'The Ruin Of Man', Sacred Mother Tongue effortlessly dodge that bullet, unleashing a melodic metal masterpiece that welds Metallica's militaristic riffing with Alter Bridge like melodies, compelling lyrical themes and off the chart musical ability. Difficult second album? That's for pussies!
Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 19 April 2013
Spiritual Beggars - Earth Blues (Album Review)
For better or for worse, classic rock and metal seem to have undergone a resurgence in popularity in recent years, especially in contrast to the declining fortunes of previously “revived” subgenres like thrash. Spiritual Beggars aren’t one of a new wave of bands paying their debts to the seventies however. Instead they are a bunch of latter day metal veterans who have also played in, amongst others, Arch Enemy and Carcass (guitarist Michael Amott), Firewind (vocalist Apollo Papathanasio) and Opeth (keyboardist Per Wiberg).
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Heights - Old Lies For Young Lives (Album Review)
Rewind two years and Heights were preparing to release their debut record, the ferocious ‘Dead Ends’, a record that propelled them near to the top of the UK hardcore scene at the first attempt. In the intervening period between that release and this, their second album, however the band has undergone a major line-up change in that former lyricist and vocalist Thomas Debaere has left the band, with former bassist Alex Monty stepping up to the frontman position.
House Of Love - She Paints Words In Red (Album Review)
Between the year of their formation in 1986 and their split in 1993, The House of Love built up a solid fanbase with 2 excellent albums, both eponymously named although the second of these is commonly known as ‘the butterfly album’ in reference to its striking cover art.
Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Spin Doctors - If The River Was Whiskey (Album Review)
You can be forgiven for remembering Spin Doctors as one-hit wonders, with their vastly overplayed radio friendly 1993 number 3 UK chart hit 'Two Princes' being the song in question; some may also recall the only other single to trouble the upper echelons of the singles chart, 'Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong'.
Barn Owl - V (Album Review)
It’s strange to think of Barn Owl as a guitar band but in a sense that is exactly what the duo of Evan Caminiti and Jon Porras are. The smoky soundscaping of latter day Earth and the power of Sunn O))) are the reference points that many will choose to immediately adopt but, on ‘V’, Barn Owl sound more themselves than ever before. This is a release that cements their status as one of the premier acts in the experimental music world.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 15 April 2013
Stone Sour - House Of Gold & Bones: Part 2 (Album Review)
I’ll be honest, aside from 'Get Inside' and 'Bother', both songs from over ten years ago, I’d never really bothered listening to Stone Sour before this album entered my inbox. I always knew they were good, but they just never entered my radar somehow. Now, I’m buying the entire back catalogue. That is how good this is.
Written by: James Ball | Date: Thursday, 11 April 2013
A.S - Exile (Album Review)
When you receive an album created by a duo, consisting of an Australian classically trained pianist who has conducted operas and ballets and an Algerian guitarist who cites influences as diverse as Kirk Hammett and Paco de Lucia, described in it’s press pack as a "labour of love over more than 2 years", you think it’s going to be complicated, difficult and quite likely a bit incoherent. Somehow what A.S. have managed to come up with is immediately likeable and easy to enjoy.
Written by: David Ball | Date: Monday, 08 April 2013
Hey Colossus - Cuckoo Live Life Like Cuckoo (Album Review)
London based octet (yes, octet, because eight-piece bands are the new power trios) Hey Colossus have been around for over a decade now, yet they still remain firmly shackled to the underground from whence they came. Then again, something would surely be amiss with the mainstream if the rampant prog stoner noise sludge concoction that defines ‘Cuckoo Live Life like Cuckoo’ was anything other than an underground concern. This is the sort of record that would elicit little more from most people than a bemused scratch of the head.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 05 April 2013
Tartufi - These Factory Days (Album Review)
Tartufi are one of those pop bands that aren’t a pop band. They try to fool us into thinking that they are actually somewhat obtuse loop obsessed alternative types when, in reality, they are as much in love with the pop hook as any of us. As a result, with ‘These Factory Days’, they have created an experimental rock album that is as easy to fall in love with as it to admire.
Depeche Mode - Delta Machine (Album Review)
Since 1997’s 'Songs Of Faith And Devotion', electronic giants Depeche Mode have released a steady stream of studio albums every 4 years; 2013 sees the continuation of that trend with their 13th long player, 'Delta Machine'.
Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 03 April 2013
Eric Johnson - Up Close-Another Look (Album Review)
Listening to Eric Johnson conjuring his unique cosmos of ethereal soundscapes is like having your spirit massaged by a dozen velvet gloves. Unsurprisingly, this long awaited follow up to 2005's 'In Bloom' finds the master of soul piercing guitar tones in exquisite form, showing that his ability to evoke stunning visual imagery with profound emotional resonance remains unmatched. Usually a perfectionist of Kubrickian proportions, these beguiling compositions reign in that clinical precision to produce a 'live' sounding record bristling with kinetic spontaneity. Featuring guest appearances from Steve Miller, Jimmy Vaughan, Jonny Lang and Sonny Landreth, Johnson trips the light fantastic through ambient interludes, picturesque instrumentals, spiritual ballads and more to sire an album as enchanting and awe inspiring as his classic 'Ah Via Musicom'.
Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 02 April 2013
Joe Bonamassa - An Acoustic Evening At The Vienna Opera House (CD Album/DVD Review)
Is Joe Bonamassa (pictured, image © 2013 Marcus Sweeney-Bird for CGFilm) trying to bankrupt his fans? This decade alone he's released 3 solo albums, a live package from New York's Beacon Theatre, a trio of studio efforts with Black Country Communion and a live album/DVD of their last tour. As well as collaborative records with Beth Hart and Rock Candy Funk Party. In truth, Joe's Bonaholic followers would be delirious if he released an album a week given the excellence of each offering to bear his increasingly famous name. That winning streak continues on this double live CD/DVD combo, with Smokin' Joe performing acoustic renditions of his tracks at the majestic Vienna Opera House, backed by an exotic cornucopia of instruments from around the world. Another Bonamassa release. Another eclectic left turn. Another home run. You can't put a price on quality.
Annie Dressner - East Twenties (EP Review)
Following on from her full debut release ‘Strangers Who Knew Each Other’s Names’, which was positively reviewed by everyone including Stereoboard (here), Annie Dressner will launch her follow up EP ‘East Twenties’ in early April. Named after the neighbourhood she called home in New York before moving to the UK, ‘East Twenties’ contains just 4 tracks and barely makes it past 12 minutes but the quality more than makes up for the brevity.
Written by: David Ball | Date: Tuesday, 02 April 2013
Frantic Alice - Frantic Alice (EP Review)
In their reasonably short time together, Milton Keynes hard rockers, Frantic Alice, have been accumulating their achievements fast. Though young in years, they nailed their place as one of the five finalists in the Marshall Ultimate Band Contest last November and have now produced 'Frantic Alice' the EP.
Written by: Anna Ghislena | Date: Tuesday, 02 April 2013
Kvelertak - Meir (Album Review)
With their self-titled debut album Kvelertak took the heavy music world completely by surprise. They emerged seemingly fully formed. Their catchy black metal/classic rock/hardcore punk hybrid model worked better than it ever had any right to. Not to mention the fact that their live show wiped most other bands off the face of the planet. So, it is easy to see how ‘Meir’, their slightly amusingly titled sophomore effort (it literally translates as “more”), could buckle under the weight of pressure.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 02 April 2013
Killswitch Engage - Disarm The Descent (Album Review)
Metalcore. It's become something of a dirty word nowadays, hasn't it? Usually associated with skinny jeans, false angst and uninspired breakdowns, the sub-genre that once threatened to dominate the universe now lays largely abandoned by the media, left alone like the weird kid in the corner of the class. Credited for exposing this behemoth of a musical style to the mainstream, Killswitch Engage have returned with original vocalist Jesse Leach back in the fold. Not to dismiss Howard Jones' efforts on classic tunes from 'The End Of Heartache', but you'd be a fool if you regard their 2002 opus 'Alive Or Just Breathing' as anything other than a modern classic. Obviously, due to the astronomical expectations set by this beast of an LP, the band have never quite managed to equal or surpass it. Now they're all reunited and chummy again, can we hope for something a bit better than their lacklustre self-titled release back in 2009?
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Tuesday, 02 April 2013
Moya - A Little More Love (Single Review)
After last year’s amazingly successful single ‘Making Me Fall’ spent three weeks on the BBC Radio 2 A-list, Moya’s back with her new single ‘A Little More Love.’ It’s a self-confessed changed of direction, and Moya describes her new single as "a bit of a transition…with this single I wanted to incorporate the kind of music that I listen to. I think it’s important to keep my sound current."
Written by: V O'Hagan | Date: Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Portico Quartet - Live / Remix (Album Review)
Live albums are tricky beasts. Nail them and you create a spectacular document of a moment in time, don’t and you produce something that is the very definition of a “fans only” release. Remix albums are even trickier. For every great remix record there are a dozen or more totally pointless ones. By pairing together these two concepts then, Portico Quartet are putting themselves straight in the firing line. Last year’s fantastic self-titled record moved them up in the world, and their star is flying about as high right now as any experimental jazz outfit in the UK is ever going to fly in this day and age.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Jeff Healey - As The Years Go Passing By: Live in Germany 1989 – 1995 - 2000 (Album/DVD Review)
It's been five years since Canadian guitarist Jeff Healey lost his life to cancer at the age of 41. Released to commemorate the anniversary of his passing, this box set is a lovingly assembled compilation of rare archive material featuring three concerts recorded and filmed in Germany over an eleven year period – 1989, 1995 and 2000. It's a riveting collection that shines a light on the inimitable man and his no frills - maximum skills, bluesy rock & roll band, tracing their evolution from fresh faced pups to seasoned pros. With a booklet full of tasty anecdotes from family and fellow musicians, this is the first posthumous release to have been officially endorsed by his estate. All in all, a fitting tribute to a virtuoso musician who mesmerised and entertained with one of the most bafflingly unorthodox guitar styles ever seen.
Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 25 March 2013
The Flaming Lips - The Terror (Album Review)
You could be forgiven for thinking The Flaming Lips had finally lost it completely. This is a band that, with 2001’s ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots’, pretty much perfected pure pop music as an artistic format, but ever since they seem to have lost their way. Diversions back into the psychedelic experimentation of their early years have come across as too placid and unfocused to be consistently rewarding, whereas collaborative efforts like the ‘Heady Fwends’ record last year have mostly ended up on the wrong side of the brilliant/goddamn awful line.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 25 March 2013
Wardruna - Yggdrasil (Album Review)
Although much of the name Wardruna have gleaned for themselves comes from the participation of notorious former Gorgoroth/current God Seed vocalist Gaahl, it takes but one listen to ‘Yggdrasil’ to realise that there is something inherent in the music of this band that should lend it to appeal to fans of dark music of all stripes. There is nothing remotely “heavy” or “metal” about this release, of course. Wardruna are, in the simplest possible terms, a traditional Nordic folk project.
Scholars - Black And Blue (Single Review)
Exactly one year ago today I wrote my last Scholars review, and while I was mostly positive about 'Bad for Business', I had a few problems with it. Most importantly it didn’t quite seem imaginative enough, and had a really awkward “quiet” bit half way through. So, one year later what has changed?
Written by: James Ball | Date: Friday, 22 March 2013
Bon Jovi - What About Now (Album Review)
Whenever the Jovi boys drop a new album the same questions are asked; is it a return to their 80's sound? Is it guitar driven? Is it a proper rock record? Regardless of shifting over a hundred million units and selling out stadiums around the globe, most fans still crave the kind of record they haven't delivered since 1992's 'Keep The Faith'. Sure, they still capture that style occasionally, but their evolution into a more contemporary outfit has seen the pop infused rock & roll ditched in favour of an MOR sheen reminiscent of U2, Coldplay and Snow Patrol. Even dabbling in country territory on 2007's 'Lost Highway', much to the dismay of many older fans. On the strength of their twelfth studio album - 'What About Now' – such frustrations will only intensify.
Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 22 March 2013
Black Star Riders - Bound For Glory (Single Review)
New Black Star Riders’ single ‘Bound for Glory’ has all the elements you’d expect considering the band’s personnel.
Written by: Daniel Lynch | Date: Friday, 22 March 2013
Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience (Album Review)
It has been seven years since Justin Timberlake released his 'FutureSex/LoveSounds' album. 'The 20/20 Experience' is possibly one of the most anticipated albums of the past few years. Considering the time since 'FutureSex/LoveSounds', the follow-up, 'The 20/20 Experience', comes from a more mature Mr Timberlake. Was it worth waiting seven years for? Personally, I think it was.
Written by: Lara Rainsforth | Date: Thursday, 21 March 2013
Ensemble Pearl - Ensemble Pearl (Album Review)
Oh how easy it is to underestimate the possibilities of sound. Too often do we think of the sound world inhabited by music as one of constraints, of walls and boxes, but we are wrong and Ensemble Pearl are here to prove it. A supergroup of the truest kind, the quartet is made up of Stephen O’Malley (Sunn O))), KTL, etc), Atsuo (Boris), Michio Kurihara (Ghost, as in the Japanese psychedelic rockers not the Swedish MORsters) and Bill Herzog (Joel R. L. Phelps & the Downer Trio) but positive feelings for the other projects of these fine musicians aside, this is still a fascinating debut record.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 18 March 2013
Black Pus - All My Relations (Album Review)
Black Pus, the solo project of Brian Chippendale (the demented drummer in Lightning Bolt), supposedly emphasises the “pop elements” of its creators musical personality. I think it is pretty safe to say that this tells us far more about Chippendale himself than his second solo record, ‘All My Relations’.
The Black Angels - Indigo Meadow (Album Review)
The 4th studio album from US psychedelic rockers The Black Angels is released in the UK by Blue Horizon Ventures on April 1st, having been preceded by hard hitting single 'Don’t Play With Guns' in January.
Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Monday, 18 March 2013
Suede - Bloodsports (Album Review)
It’s been 11 years since the music world was last treated to a studio album from 1993 Mercury Prize winning indie band Suede, led by the enigmatic Brett Anderson – and considerably longer since the band were heralded by the music press as The Best New Band in Britain (1992).
Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Sunday, 17 March 2013
Clutch - Earth Rocker (Album Review)
It’s 2013. The music industry has changed beyond recognition. It has mutated into something not so steady as one would hope; a jungle of illegal downloads, illicit album leaks and Internet trolls. Every thirty year old man still living with his Mum has an opinion nowadays, being allowed free reign to spew their obnoxious bile across almost any web page imaginable. The public has collectively become a greater critic than the press. Slayer will never surpass the glories of their 1986 opus ‘Reign In Blood’ in the eyes of your average thrashoholic. Metallica will never be let off the hook for providing the backdrop to the ‘Lulu’ project; James Hetfield’s unintentionally comedic cries of “I AM THE TABLE!” are sure to follow him to the grave. Guns N’ Roses will never be... Actually, I think it’s best if I just stop there. The point I’m trying to make is this: Bands are criticised if they stray from the path, yet are flogged with equal animosity if they continue to churn out the same stuff over and over again.
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Sunday, 17 March 2013
Intronaut - Habitual Levitations (Album Review)
Seriously, what’s the crack with Intronaut? Their gargantuan prog sludge should have punters like me rolling in the aisles with joy, but I’m not. In fact listening to ‘Habitual Levitations’ makes me feel more like I’m going to drift off to sleep in the aisle than anything else.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 15 March 2013
In Vain - Ænigma (Album Review)
Norwegian progressive metallers In Vain haven’t offered a whole amount of originality during their career to date, it is fair to say, and the opening moments of ‘Ænigma’ make it clear that things are not about to radically change on this, their their third album. What has altered is the level of songwriting consistency that these sextets are able to bring to the table. Previous efforts, 2007’s ‘The Latter Rain’ and 2010’s ‘Mantra’ were eventually spoilt somewhat by the odd overlong or boring track being left over after a series of predominantly good songs.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Kate Nash - Girl Talk (Album Review)
Looking back a few years (sadly more than I would care for) and considering what 'girl talk' was, I remember excitable teenagers huddling around the lunch table, or laying around the living room with a movie on, talking boys, boobs and a never ending string of gossip. But, Kate Nash's third album doesn't focus specifically on that particular niche of girl talk, rather blending it amidst the current feminism wave, focussing mostly on female-empowerment.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Godsticks - The Envisage Conundrum (Album Review)
In many ways prog albums are the most difficult of all to review. By their very definition they are designed and written to be experimental which can make it particularly difficult to define a band's sound. Now on their second full album (along with a self-titled debut EP), South Wales 3-piece Godsticks are aiming to find that perfect balance between being accessible to all but remaining true to their roots.
Written by: David Ball | Date: Monday, 11 March 2013
Benoît Pioulard - Hymnal (Album Review)
Benoît Pioulard, real name Thomas Meluch, has always had a penchant for music that is anything but clear cut. His lo-fi, increasingly ambient, work borrows from the worlds of drone and shoegaze but is not clearly defined as being a part of either. In a sense its hazy, almost detached, tone lends it to a sound world beyond that we normally inhabit as listeners but the emotional weight added by the vocals mean that the aforementioned world beyond is one more belonging to the heart than the ears.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 11 March 2013
Conny Ochs - Black Happy (Album Review)
For all the earnestness and pretension often inherent within the genre, singer-songwriter based folk holds a timeless role in popular music. Personal tales of life, love and loss are never going to go out of fashion and one man who clearly knows that is Conny Ochs. His collaboration with Saint Vitus frontman Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich put the German’s name firmly on the map and, as such, 'Black Happy' is certain to receive a good deal more cursory listens from doom fanatics than one would expect from listening to it.
Hadouken! - Every Weekend (Album Review)
Grindie, grimecore, dance-punk and indietronica. Those are just some of the various (and somewhat ridiculous) genres that Hadouken! have been pigeon-holed into. While these give you a vague idea of what you’re about to listen to, the London five-piece are primarily a dance act but they often flirt with ideas in the vein of drum n’ bass and dubstep. From their wacky in-your-face debut release 'Music For An Accelerated Culture', Hadouken! experimented more on the electro side with 2010’s 'For The Masses' but 'Every Weekend' has to be their most secure record yet.
Written by: Katie Vowles | Date: Monday, 11 March 2013
Dan Bettridge - Hunter's Heart (EP Review)
Acoustic singer songwriter types are pretty much a dime a dozen these days, some sticking around and earning popular acclaim (see Ben Howard's recent surge to mainstream popularity) while most disappear back to obscurity before anyone's even noticed they've arrived.
Written by: David Ball | Date: Friday, 08 March 2013
Amplifier - Echo Street (Album Review)
The challenge for Amplifier, having wowed almost everyone who was ever likely to care with their mammoth 2011 opus ‘The Octopus’, when crafting the follow-up was very much one of managing expectations. A band that has just delivered a substantial (in every sense of the word) double album cannot be expected to just repeat the formula. Add in the departure of bassist Neil Mahony and the options available to the band appear to have been growing ever narrower. Thus the band has taken a very different path on this release. It was written and recorded in just sixty days, whereas ‘The Octopus’ took four years to put together. It should come as no surprise then that ‘Echo Street’ is a very different record.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 08 March 2013
Misfits - Dead Alive! (Album Review)
There are two kinds of people inhabiting this scummy little planet. There are those who are aware of the Misfits’ untouchable legacy. There are also the types of people who believe the Misfits to be a clothing brand, or a TV show about a group of libidinous youth offenders. If you fall into the former category, then feel free to read this review; hell, put the kettle on, you could even grab a cheeky biscuit or two while you’re at it. However, if you’re one of those poor, unfortunate souls who fall into the latter category, then you have to stop reading this review. Go listen to the ‘Walk Among Us’ and ‘Earth A.D/Wolfs Blood’ albums. Then come back and keep reading.
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 06 March 2013
Born Blonde - What The Desert Taught You (Album Review)
First tipped for stardom by the NME in 2011, London-based quintet Born Blonde finally released their debut album in November 2012 following a lengthy fine-tuning process which saw them spend the best part of a year inside the studio.
Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 05 March 2013
Friendly Fires - Late Night Tales (Compilation Album Review)
Anyone who has begun their collection of 'Late Night Tales' compilations (and it will turn in to a collection when you start listening to them) will know that they’re a brilliant way to discover music you’d be hard-pressed to stumble across.
Written by: Emma-Louise Newlyn | Date: Monday, 04 March 2013
Lordi - To Beast Or Not To Beast (Album Review)
Lordi and I have something of a special relationship; it’s a relationship that I feel should be highlighted before delving into a full-blown review. The first time I was exposed to their monstrous hard rock was at the same time most other people were. The Eurovision Song Contest 2006. I was eleven years old at the time. My young, impressionable mind was pulverised into tiny little pieces as I watched the Finnish monster-rockers decimate the (usually rather dull) political pissing-contest. It was bizarre. It was shocking. It was completely new to me. That was the moment in which I realised I liked rock music. Well, rock music, pyrotechnics, and latex monster masks.
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 04 March 2013
Tom McRae - From The Lowlands (Album Review)
It’s now 13 years since Tom McRae released his self-titled debut album to rave reviews from critics, earning nominations for a Mercury Prize and BRIT along the way. For no clear to understand reason, his 4 albums since then have failed to capture the imagination of the media while lesser talented "singer-songwriters" have gone on to win numerous accolades.
Written by: David Ball | Date: Friday, 01 March 2013
Gary Clark Jr - Blak And Blu (Album Review)
Let's get one thing clear; Gary Clark Jr is not the saviour of the blues. That ridiculous label was strapped to his back following a blistering breakout performance at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2010, even though it ignores some rather important details. Firstly, as a genre Blues is currently in better shape than at any time since the 1960's, with old masters like Robert Cray, Walter Trout and Slowhand releasing cracking albums that more than match the output of talented upstarts like Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Derek Trucks. More importantly, pigeon-holing Clark Jr as blues does the young Texan's stunningly versatile talents a major disservice. For on 'Blak and Blu' – his major label debut album – the hotly tipped cool cat displays a jack of all trades, master of every one eclecticism as he skilfully glides through soulful R&B, stomping Motown, riffed up rock, slick hip hop and sparse delta blues to produce a true artistic statement brimming with wilful individuality and bold intent. With that established, the question isn't how good Gary Clark Jr is (Answer: he's bloody marvellous), but how such markedly contrasting styles fit together without descending into a haphazard mess.
Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 01 March 2013
And So I Watch You From Afar - All Hail Bright Futures (Album Review)
Ahead of recording this album, the members of And So I Watch You From Afar were faced with an interesting dilemma as to how to progress as a band. Their self-titled debut record and its follow-up, 'Lifeproof', were not desperately original in terms of the musical landscape they travailed, but the way the Northern Irish quartet executed their ideas in such a vigorous fashion that they automatically stood out from other instrumental rock bands. Yet making passionately exciting music can only get you so far. The band’s third album needed to be something a little different, something to mix up the formula just a bit.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 01 March 2013
