Bodega - Our Brand Could Be Yr Life (Album Review)

Photo: Pooneh Ghana Two years ago, ‘Broken Equipment’ found Bodega throwing post-punk and art-rock into a blender, rejecting the flavours of modern society in favour of their own favourite tastes. Its follow up, ‘Our Brand Could Be Yr Life’ is less consistent – its ingredients are duly coated in anti-consumerist sentiment, but the recipe is off. The result? A bloated, uneven tasting menu that leaves you feeling as empty as you do full. 

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Friday, 19 April 2024

The KVB - Tremors (Album Review)

Photo: Mila F.  The KVB have been releasing albums for more than a decade now, but the duo continue to fly under the radar. It’s a shame, as the self-styled “dystopian pop” of their seventh LP ‘Tremors’ is mighty rewarding, pulling in a blend of post-punk, industrial and darkwave, often with a danceable element. 

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Friday, 19 April 2024

Girl In Red - I'm Doing It Again Baby! (Album Review)

It has been a whirlwind time in the life of Norwegian bedroom pop artist Marie Ulven Ringheim, who went from internet sensation to superstardom after the release of Girl in Red’s 2021 debut album ‘If I Could Make It Go Quiet’. 

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Thursday, 18 April 2024

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard - Skinwalker (Album Review)

Photo: Charlie Harris Given its analog horror-channelling cover, you’d be forgiven for assuming ‘Skinwalker’ was some eerie dark ambient album. In reality, it’s the latest (and best) release from Cardiff indie-rockers Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2024

The Black Keys - Ohio Players (Album Review)

Photo: Jim Herrington The Black Keys’ 12th studio LP took more than a year to complete, although it’s a wonder it didn’t take longer given the duo’s extra-curricular commitments. Dan Auerbach’s side project the Arcs released their excellent ‘Electronic Chronic’ collection as recently as early 2023, for example, while he and Patrick Carney hammered out ‘Ohio Players’ with a helping hand from a plethora of contributors.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2024

Maggie Rogers - Don't Forget Me (Album Review)

Photo: Maggie Rogers Maggie Rogers built a solid reputation across her first two records — ‘Heard It In A Past Life’, propelled by the viral Alaska, and the expansive ‘Surrender’ — offering an exquisite blend of folk, pop, indie and classic singer-songwriter fare. Her third LP ‘Don’t Forget Me’ is a luscious patchwork of textures that displays her singular talent as an artist. 

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Tuesday, 16 April 2024

Bob Vylan - Humble As The Sun (Album Review)

Photo: Ki Price Bob Vylan have developed into one of the UK’s most important bands, fusing their anti-establishment attitude and promotion of health and self-care together with the same flair that they meld grime and punk. On their third album ‘Humble As The Sun’ the duo add further elements to this heady mix, developing their sound to take in everything from electronica to grunge. 

Written by: Adam England | Date: Monday, 15 April 2024

Sinkane - We Belong (Album Review)

Photo: Dani Barbieri The world has changed since Ahmed Gallab last released a full album. On 2019’s ‘Dépaysé’, the Sudanese-American musician and bandleader delivered an album of joyous communitarian indie-pop shot through with influences from African music and funk. Since then, Covid and Joe Biden have happened and, perhaps most importantly for this album, Gallab has completed a Master’s degree in Composition. The result is an enormously accomplished work of musical, tonal and generic flexibility.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Friday, 12 April 2024

The Libertines - All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade (Album Review)

Photo: Ed Cooke That The Libertines are still producing music 20 years after their initial break up is nothing short of a miracle. Pete Doherty and Carl Barat’s relationship deteriorated so much during the process of making their second album that the band’s future appeared permanently dashed. 

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Thursday, 11 April 2024

Ride - Interplay (Album Review)

Photo: Cal McIntryre When Ride began working on their seventh studio album, lockdown was very much a recent memory. When they eventually got together, they found inspiration from different avenues: jamming sessions, demos, backing tracks. With each member contributing significantly, drummer Loz Colbert’s suggestion of ‘Interplay’ as a title proved to be right on the money.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 11 April 2024

Khruangbin - A La Sala (Album Review)

Photo: David Black ‘A La Sala’ finds Khruangbin returning to low-key grooves, mixing spaghetti Western guitars with old-school drums and sauntering basslines. It is an excellent addition to the Houston trio’s catalogue, who continue to explore a distinctive, meticulous sound.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 10 April 2024

Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us (Album Review)

Photo: Michael Schmelling Five years in the making, Vampire Weekend’s ‘Only God Was Above Us’ is a far cry from the group’s self-titled debut. Where that 2008 LP offered up insouciant indie-pop, here we have perhaps their most experimental work to date, combining a fixation on raga with slick production and dark, sombre lyrical themes.

Written by: Issy Herring | Date: Tuesday, 09 April 2024

Marcus King - Mood Swings (Album Review)

Photo: JM Collective Stratospheric rises are rarely without their drawbacks. When South Carolina blues prodigy Marcus King burst onto the scene with his band back in 2015 at the age of just 19, guitar fans the world over sat up and paid attention. 

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Monday, 08 April 2024

Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter (Album Review)

Photo: Mason Poole “This is not a country album,” Beyoncé writes in the liner notes to ‘Cowboy Carter’. “This is a Beyoncé album.” There aren’t many artists who can pull off that sort of statement but, then again, there aren’t many artists who can pull whole styles of music into their orbit as she can. This is the second instalment in a shapeshifting trilogy that began with 2022’s disco-infused ‘Renaissance’ and across its mammoth 27 track running order Beyoncé leans into country history in fascinating fashion.

Written by: Katie Macbeth | Date: Thursday, 04 April 2024

Sheryl Crow - Evolution (Album Review)

With a sound that encompasses Americana, rock and country, Sheryl Crow’s 1990s records became the soundtrack to a thousand interstate drives. Meanwhile, her literate and witty storytelling ensured her fanbase stretched across the Atlantic and beyond.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Thursday, 04 April 2024

Elbow - Audio Vertigo (Album Review)

Elbow’s 10th studio album reveals a strength that has not always been apparent in their work: the ability to remain succinct. Around 35 songs were whittled down to 12 for ‘Audio Vertigo’, which was tracked at their own Migration Studios in Gloucestershire. Clocking in at 39 minutes, it fits neatly on two sides of vinyl and does away with anything resembling the lengthy, drawn out efforts that stud their back catalogue. As a result, it skips along nicely.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 04 April 2024

Sum 41 - Heaven :x: Hell (Album Review)

Photo: Travis Shinn Sum 41 didn’t intend to write their own eulogy. Still, it speaks volumes that the Canadian band finished work on their eighth album — a sprawling 21-track opus that covers both their pop-punk side and their metal side — and knew it was the perfect way to close the book on two-and-a-bit decades together.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Wednesday, 03 April 2024

While She Sleeps - Self Hell (Album Review)

While She Sleeps have been undergoing a metamorphosis on their past few releases. Pushing past the metalcore fury of ‘You Are We’ and ‘Brainwashed’, the Sheffield band embraced electronics to greater degrees with ‘So What?’ and ‘Sleeps Society’. Their latest missive ‘Self Hell’ doesn’t just continue in that vein, it does take a sledgehammer to expectations.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Wednesday, 03 April 2024

Empress Of - For Your Consideration (Album Review)

Photo: Kaio Cesar Empress Of entered the scene in 2015 with in-your-face, feminist electronica. In the intervening years she has stood up her own label and refined her sound. But with a move towards club bangers, 'For Your Consideration' places Lorely Rodriguez in a pretty crowded field. 

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Tuesday, 02 April 2024

Gossip - Real Power (Album Review)

To some, Gossip have been defined by one song. It’s been almost 20 years since Standing In The Way Of Control cut through the indie sleaze scene with  groove and dancefloor ambition, making Beth Ditto into an LGBTQ+ icon and setting up a breakthrough album at the third time of asking. 

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Friday, 29 March 2024