Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Sideways To New Italy (Album Review)

Photo: Peter Ryle There is a push-pull dynamic at the heart of ‘Sideways to New Italy’, the superb second album from Melbourne indie-rockers Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. Binding it together are memories of home, snatched glimpses of loved ones, and the desire to remain connected, but the music itself is built for wide open spaces and stretches of blacktop.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 05 June 2020

The 1975 - Notes on a Conditional Form (Album Review)

Since they first appeared with their self-titled debut in 2013, the 1975 have progressed from indie-rock boyband to global stars through the medium of catchy pop songs, bridging the gap between industry buzz and guilty pleasure.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 03 June 2020

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

The act of revisiting one's chequered past isn’t for the faint of heart. Especially if, in the case of reigning Americana king Jason Isbell, your history of substance abuse led to some pretty dark days. Following three post-sobriety records that charted the Alabama songsmith’s recovery, ‘Reunions’ finds Isbell bravely venturing down memory lane, his characteristically personal, yet universally relatable, storytelling bolstered by a more accessible, polished sound.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 27 May 2020

Badly Drawn Boy - Banana Skin Shoes (Album Review)

The return of any successful artist following a lengthy hiatus is likely to cause a spike in interest. But when it’s a previous Mercury Prize winner, then it’s guaranteed. It’s been eight years since Badly Drawn Boy’s ‘Being Flynn’ soundtrack was released and a full decade since Damon Gough’s last studio album proper, ‘It’s What I’m Thinking Pt 1 – Photographing Snowflakes’. So where’s he been, exactly?

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 26 May 2020

Rose City Band - Summerlong (Album Review)

Photo: Jason Quigley When Rose City Band released their self-titled debut last year, it flew under the radar like a passing gnat. Perhaps that was because of the discreet presence of Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo guitar wizard Ripley Johnson. Had it been more widely known that this was another vehicle for his sonic walkabouts then its arrival might have been more widely heralded.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2020

Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately (Album Review)

Photo: Camille Vivier The fifth Perfume Genius album is an exploration of sounds stitched together with Mike Hadreas’ usual bleeding edge tenderness. On ‘Set My Heart on Fire Immediately’ he draws inspiration from past strengths while indulging in a stylistic range and sense of sonic diversity that was merely hinted at on 2017’s critically acclaimed ‘No Shape’.

Written by: Spencer Lawes | Date: Tuesday, 19 May 2020

Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now (Album Review)

Charli XCX’s ‘How I’m Feeling Now’ is an album for and of our time. It was made under quarantine conditions, with the producer isolated in her L.A. home with her housemates and boyfriend Huck Kwong.

Written by: Alex Myles | Date: Monday, 18 May 2020

Kehlani - It Was Good Until It Wasn't (Album Review)

Since the release of her ‘Cloud 19’ mixtape in 2014, Kehlani has parlayed early hype and a start in TV talent shows into continued growth as a musician and songwriter, grappling with love and loneliness as the primary themes behind her work.

Written by: Rhys Thomas | Date: Thursday, 14 May 2020

Hayley Williams - Petals For Armor (Album Review)

Throughout her life, Hayley Williams has faced challenges, setbacks, and mental health problems. The Paramore vocalist’s debut solo album is as much about those circumstances as it is a compelling diary of learning how to dig out old roots in order to blossom anew. ‘Petals For Armor’ is an act of defiance, channelling a sense of vulnerability that is not a weakness, but a radical form of resistance.

Written by: Matty Pywell | Date: Wednesday, 13 May 2020

Diet Cig - Do You Wonder About Me? (Album Review)

Photo: Emily Dubin Diet Cig's 'Do You Wonder About Me?' washes over the listener like a warm wave on a sandy beach. Running to just 25 minutes over 10 songs, it’s brimming with feel-good magic as the quirky grunge-pop aesthetic of the two-piece creates a lasting impression.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Thursday, 07 May 2020

Car Seat Headrest - Making A Door Less Open (Album Review)

Photo: Carlos Cruz Will Toledo could be labelled a genius for the route he walked alone before building a band to flesh out his ideas as Car Seat Headrest. We all love an underdog, and we found one in this nerdy looking bedroom musician who happened to be making some of the best lo-fi, low key indie-rock around. It’s an endearing story.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 05 May 2020

Umbra Vitae - Shadow of Life (Album Review)

Supergroups. For every Audioslave, there’s a Brides of Destruction. For every Velvet Revolver, there’s a Rock Star Supernova. For every the Damned Things, there’s…almost any other Scott Ian side project.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Wednesday, 29 April 2020

Thundercat - It Is What It Is (Album Review)

Photo: The1point8 After his monumental 2017 effort ‘Drunk’ blasted Thundercat’s space-age, bass-led jazz fusion into the ears of hordes of new listeners, ‘It Is What It Is’ arrives as his most highly anticipated release to date.

Written by: James Lawson | Date: Tuesday, 28 April 2020

Trivium - What The Dead Men Say (Album Review)

Kiddie metal. Kiddie metal. Fifteen years after their breakthrough with ‘Ascendency’; after touring alongside Slayer, Obituary, Gojira, and Annihilator; after working with Ihsahn, frontman of the legendary black metallers Emperor; after just releasing a single that opens with Matt Heafy screaming “Bloody corpses, broken bones reveal”, Trivium are kiddie metal.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 27 April 2020

Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters (Album Review)

Fiona Apple’s fifth album, ‘Fetch The Bolt Cutters’, is the perfect lockdown gift. Each of its 13 tracks require time to unwrap, providing precisely what we need in these strange, uncertain times. This is a thrilling hour of music bursting at the seams with raw emotion, compositional brilliance and deft humour.

Written by: Spencer Lawes | Date: Friday, 24 April 2020

Joe Satriani - Shapeshifting (Album Review)

Photo: Joseph Cultice If a guitarist’s ability to blend together sublime melodies, virtuosity and a heavenly tone was rewarded with the kind of letters PhDs drag behind their surnames, Joe Satriani would have an alphabet trailing his instantly recognisable moniker. The six-string professor’s latest record is unsurprisingly full of those trademark skills, except this time he’s freshened up his songwriting with a chameleonic approach that sees him aping everyone from Van Halen to the Police. Highly entertaining, yes, but is the resultant material as strong as it could be?

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 23 April 2020

Enter Shikari - Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible (Album Review)

Photo: Derek Ridgers Over the course of almost two decades, Enter Shikari have risen from electronicore scenesters to arena headliners, building and maintaining a cult following along the way. Appealing to a wide range of ages and a diverse set of musical inclinations, while initially creating within a divisive genre, the band are pioneers who continually pose challenges with their left-field productions.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Tuesday, 21 April 2020

Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter (Album Review)

Photo: Justin Tyler Close As we reframe the way we live in light of the current global predicament it may be that our attention spans broaden for a time, allowing us to absorb art without instantly dashing off for the next quick fix. That doesn’t just mean consuming albums as full bodies of work, but truly listening to the artistry within marvellous records like this quietly magical effort from Laura Marling.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 17 April 2020

The Strokes - The New Abnormal (Album Review)

“And the ‘80s bands, oh, where did they go?” Julian Casablancas sings on Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus, a highlight from the Strokes’ comeback effort ‘The New Abnormal’. Take a look at your own album is the obvious answer—on the song in question, is it any coincidence that its staccato keyboard chord sequence mirrors that of New Order’s Bizarre Love Triangle?

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 16 April 2020

The Sleep Eazys - Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell (Album Review)

Stepping down from his blues-rock throne to flex some seriously eclectic muscles, Joe Bonamassa’s new side project is a full-blown instrumental affair intended to pay tribute to one of the most underappreciated guitarists of all time: the late Danny Gatton. Proving that any musical endeavour will reflect the personality of its creator, Bonamassa’s strengths and weaknesses are evident on an album that, although full of wonderfully performed compositions, is let down by a lack of cohesion and unfocused execution.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 15 April 2020