Myles Kennedy - Year of the Tiger (Album Review)

Thanks to the modern trend of cherry picking individual tracks for consumption, crafting a fully-realised album, one that’s both musically and thematically cohesive, is an artform that’s slowly being eroded. Fortunately for those of us who still worship at the altar of this classic format, Myles Kennedy is blissfully unaware of such a sea change.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 19 March 2018

Gwenno - Le Kov (Album Review)

The dreamy soundscapes that Gwenno offers up on her latest record are as lush as the landscapes that inspired them. Picking up where she left off with the closing track - Amser - on her wonderful solo debut, ‘Y Dydd Olaf’, ‘Le Kov’ has been penned and performed in the Cornish language.

Written by: Ben Gallivan | Date: Monday, 19 March 2018

Albert Hammond Jr. - Francis Trouble (Album Review)

Photo: Autumn de Wilde “What the music says may be serious, but as a medium it should not be questioned, analyzed or taken too seriously.”

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Friday, 16 March 2018

Nervus - Everything Dies (Album Review)

The title of Nervus’s sophomore album belies an optimistic streak. ‘Everything Dies’ suggests a bleak outlook and little hope of consolation, but throughout the record vocalist and guitarist Em Foster discusses acceptance, both personal and societal, alongside some frank words about insecurity and the damage done by preconceptions.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Friday, 16 March 2018

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - Tearing At The Seams

Photo: Brantley Gutierrez Is there anything more invigorating, enlivening and downright sexy than listening to a posse of supremely talented musicians casting their spell? For proof, look no further than the Night Sweats, a sublime backing group who - in tandem with bandleader Nathaniel Rateliff - you’d gladly sell your soul to witness in full flow. Especially if you love vintage Americana ensembles like the Band, Booker T & the M.G.’s and Muscle Shoals rhythm maestros the Swampers.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 15 March 2018

Editors - Violence (Album Review)

Although not in the same league as Dylan going electric, there have been a number of shifts in Editors’ style over the years. From the Joy Division-derived gloom of their debut, ‘The Back Room’, to 2015’s ‘In Dream’, where their metamorphosis into a bleak electronica band seemed complete, their transformations have occurred without too much getting left behind.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 15 March 2018

Conjurer - Mire (Album Review)

Riffs. Massive, bestial riffs. Riffs that link thrash to ballads and the epic with outright savagery. Riffs to write home about. Riffs to introduce to your parents. Riffs that pull together bands like Converge and Emperor, Metallica and Mayhem. Riffs that ensure Conjurer are at home alongside such luminaries.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Thursday, 15 March 2018

Young Fathers - Cocoa Sugar (Album Review)

Young Fathers are a hard act to review because they're so wilfully and unapologetically avant-garde. It's virtually impossible to neatly categorise the Edinburgh trio or wax poetic on their lineage. To make matters worse, their albums are too frenetic and overwhelming to play on repeat without taking a lengthy recovery nap.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Wednesday, 14 March 2018

Gengahr - Where Wildness Grows (Album Review)

Gengahr’s sophomore album, ‘Where Wildness Grows’, arrives three years after the London indie-rockers’ refreshing debut, ‘A Dream Outside’, and following several false starts. Early recordings were rejected in favour of starting over, with extensive touring and the ensuing tiredness taking a toll as they looked to capitalise on an excellent opening move. So, was the wait worthwhile?

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 14 March 2018

Judas Priest - Firepower (Album Review)

A full hour of new music from a heavy metal band who have been knocking about since 1969. That sounds tedious, doesn’t it? That sounds painful, right? Embarrassing? No to all three, because Judas Priest have just released their best album in 28 years.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Tuesday, 13 March 2018

Ministry - AmeriKKKant (Album Review)

[Insert witty jibe about Ministry saying they’d break up, only to return a few years later.] Great, now that’s out of the way we can start talking about album 14 from Al Jourgensen’s industrial institution, ‘AmeriKKKant’. Its title, a play on words relating to the state of affairs in the US right now, has been lovingly nicked from Ice Cube’s classic ‘AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted’. There’s a 28 year gap between those two records, yet the joke still lands.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 12 March 2018

Tracey Thorn - Record (Album Review)

If it weren’t for the xx, specifically Romy Madley Croft, you could probably describe Tracey Thorn’s musical oeuvre as completely unique within British music. Her sultry style and low-slung melodies have hovered elegantly just outside of the mainstream for nearly 40 years.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Friday, 09 March 2018

The Men - Drift (Album Review)

It often helps to be uncompromising, whether you’re a DIY purist, a pop perfectionist or simply out to make the most obtuse record you can. The Men have made a career out of it. The Brooklyn band have resolutely stuck to their own path, wandering through gritty punk, shoutalong bar-band rock and campfire acoustic curios and back again on their way to ‘Drift’, their difficult new record.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 09 March 2018

Camp Cope - How To Socialise & Make Friends (Album Review)

Photo: Naomi Beveridge “Just get it all out, put it in a song.”

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 08 March 2018

Moby - Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt (Album Review)

Moby’s had a bit of a raw deal over the years. Granted, the astronomical success of 1999’s ‘Play’ was always destined to become a millstone around his neck. But since then he’s put out 10 albums, including the impressive ‘Innocents’ from 2013, and most flew well under the radar.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 08 March 2018

Andrew W.K. - You're Not Alone (Album Review)

Does the world need a new Andrew W.K. album in 2018? If your answer to that question is a curt ‘no’, then you are turning your nose up at the concept of fun itself. Sure, he’s largely remembered for songs he released almost 20 years ago, but at this point he is more than just a musician.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 07 March 2018

Embrace - Love Is A Basic Need (Album Review)

Following a seven year hiatus, indie-rockers Embrace resurrected their career in superb fashion on 2014’s electronically flavoured self-titled effort. But, rather than continuing down that road, they have immediately returned to their signature sound on ‘Love is a Basic Need’, an uneven record that’s bogged down by an overload of decent, but rarely spectacular, ballads.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 07 March 2018

Rolo Tomassi - Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It (Album Review)

Rolo Tomassi are weird. They’re a weird band. But you can forget bizarre little cartoons. Forget 8-bit silliness. Forget Myspace and rawr and quirky haircuts and all that nonsense. Rolo Tomassi are not anything like that. With their fifth full-length, ‘Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It’, they have cemented themselves as one of the UK’s best bands and contenders on the world stage.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Tuesday, 06 March 2018

Moaning - Moaning (Album Review)

In the promo video for The Same, Moaning frontman Sean Solomon wears a playful denim-cotton cap. It’s the type of cap that one might find in an American Apparel or Urban Outfitters: ‘90s retro with a dash of the university stoner about it. It’s sartorially direct and jaunty, yet it belies a certain foggy introversion. In many ways, that cap epitomises Moaning’s eponymous debut album.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Monday, 05 March 2018

Neal Morse - Life & Times (Album Review)

Photo: Joey Pippin Anyone who has watched The Leftovers, a HBO drama about the aftermath of a rapture-like event where 2% of the world’s population vanished for no apparent reason, will be familiar with a character called Holy Wayne. The leader of a devoted following, he could allegedly take away people’s pain with a single hug. While the validity of his ‘gift’ was debatable, Neal Morse’s new album feels like the real thing. ‘Life & Times’ will wrap its loving arms around you and brighten up your day.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 05 March 2018