Rainer Maria - S/T (Album Review)

Photo: Shawn Brackbill If there’s one thing to be said about Rainer Maria in 2017 it’s that they can now be regarded as one of the most consistent indie-rock bands of the last couple of decades. In their pomp they held the simple belief – correctly in hindsight – that you could release a record every couple of years, tour it ruthlessly and gain a steady, passionate following.

Written by: Ben Gallivan | Date: Friday, 25 August 2017

The Sherlocks - Live For The Moment (Album Review)

The Sherlocks’ frontman Kiaran Crook recently spoke of his belief that the band could be new “pioneers” of guitar music. Let’s chalk that up to a poor choice of words. Pioneering anything these days is practically impossible and, given the band sound like a throwback to a time when their Yorkshire neighbours in Arctic Monkeys stormed the scene, revivalists is probably a more accurate tag.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 23 August 2017

Kesha - Rainbow (Album Review)

To understand ‘Rainbow’, look to its lead single, Praying. In the shadow of Kesha’s well documented (and ongoing) legal battle with producer Dr Luke following allegations of sexual and emotional abuse, the song is a gospel-fuelled salute to a new artistic era.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Wednesday, 23 August 2017

Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins (Album Review)

Photo: Tom Hines Alongside Alt-J, Metronomy and (to some extent) Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear occupy a particular space in modern indie. They produce some of the most thoughtful, innovative pop music around while lacking one key component: a superstar front-person.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Tuesday, 22 August 2017

The Cribs - 24-7 Rock Star Shit (Album Review)

That the Cribs have released an album called ‘24-7 Rock Star Shit’ makes plenty of sense. The title’s mix of side-eye and snark is a Jarman go-to, much as the record’s febrile mix of yelped melodies and filthy guitars will be instantly familiar to anyone who’s followed and enjoyed their semi-pro approach to being a punk band.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 22 August 2017

Everything Everything - A Fever Dream (Album Review)

It wasn't all that long ago that commentary on current affairs was reserved for those who had something to say and knew how to say it. Those days are long gone.

Written by: Liam Turner | Date: Monday, 21 August 2017

Downtown Boys - Cost of Living (Album Review)

How long can a band keep their foot down? That’s always the concern when faced with a debut record as ferocious as Downtown Boys’ 2012 self-titled LP, which saw vocalist Victoria Ruiz spitting vitriol at breakneck pace. Its follow up, 2015’s ‘Full Communism’, charged along a similar path. ‘Cost of Living’, though, is where Providence band smooth out some of their rougher edges.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Friday, 18 August 2017

Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds From Another Planet (Album Review)

‘Psychopomp’, Michelle Zauner’s first LP as Japanese Breakfast, was an album that came to be inextricably tied to the time and place of its writing. Assembled in her home state, Oregon, following the death of her mother, the record would become a byword for grief in the coverage that followed.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 11 August 2017

Foster The People - Sacred Hearts Club (Album Review)

Foster the People have always possessed more ability than they’ve been given credit for. Pumped Up Kicks, their big breakout single, arrived in 2010 off the back of the ‘landfill indie’ years and it was hard to escape the track’s earworm groove, which was later used on everything from talent shows to adverts to sitcoms.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Thursday, 10 August 2017

Lana Del Rey - Lust For Life (Album Review)

Thwarted in her attempts to discover a redefining love that might heal each painful loss she has endured, Lana Del Rey defiantly pursues that which she cannot have. Purring her siren songs, the irony in her every lyric is poetic.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Wednesday, 09 August 2017

Randy Newman - Dark Matter (Album Review)

Photo: Pamela Springsteen Over 50 years, 11 studio albums and some 24 film scores, Randy Newman has gone from a b-list mercenary songwriter to an American musical institution.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Tuesday, 08 August 2017

Alice Cooper - Paranormal (Album Review)

Every time Alice Cooper releases a new album there is the hope it will equal his classic records. Why? Because he’s a rock star, a pioneering performance artist, wonderful raconteur and, of course, a mean golfer. How can anyone not warm to such an intriguing and endlessly entertaining character? Fortunately, we don’t have to work too hard to enjoy ‘Paranormal’, which is possibly his strongest release of this century.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 07 August 2017

Milk Teeth - Be Nice (Album Review)

When people compare your band to Nirvana, Sonic Youth and the Pixies, you should probably realise you're on to something half-decent. Milk Teeth have taken this on board and, instead of becoming a carbon copy of the bands they reference or going all out viking death metal in an attempt to distance themselves from their influences, they've found the hallowed middle ground.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Friday, 04 August 2017

Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile To The Surface (Album Review)

Manchester Orchestra have seen their career gradually build like a crescendo across four studio albums and the trend continues on the excellent ‘A Black Mile To The Surface’, the Atlanta band’s new LP.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 03 August 2017

Mr. Big - Defying Gravity (Album Review)

A lot can happen when the pressure is on. Just ask pop-rock veterans Mr. Big, who put together their new LP, ‘Defying Gravity’, in six days. The gauntlet was thrown down by the band’s label and the workload of returning producer Kevin Elson but, under the gun, they have emerged with a surprisingly strong effort.   

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 01 August 2017

Arcade Fire - Everything Now (Album Review)

Arcade Fire gave us a modern classic with their debut, ‘Funeral’, following it up with two further top notch albums of ambitious indie-rock on ‘Neon Bible’ and ‘The Suburbs’. With the release of the occasionally overblown and over-hyped double LP ‘Reflektor’, though, cracks began to show after an almost flawless start to their career.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Monday, 31 July 2017

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - Lay It On Down (Album Review)

When Kenny Wayne Shepherd began writing for ‘Lay It On Down’, his eighth 'solo' record, his aim was low on ambiguity and high on ambition. He wanted to put the emphasis on songwriting and produce his best music to date. After the dust settles around this splendid concoction of melodically lustrous, bluesy rock ‘n’ roll, one thought immediately leaps to mind: mission accomplished.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 28 July 2017

Nine Inch Nails - Add Violence (Album Review)

Spending an extended period of time in Trent Reznor’s mind is terrifying. It’s not that you shouldn’t do it, just that ‘Add Violence’, Nine Inch Nails’ second EP in a proposed triptych of new material, is enough to give you nightmares. And not sexy nightmares, either. The nasty kind.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Thursday, 27 July 2017

Tyler, The Creator - Flower Boy (Album Review)

Tyler, the Creator hasn’t been an easy guy to like over the years. Sure, he’s funny and charismatic when he wants to be, but his confrontational and aggressively homophobic lyrics have understandably turned off a lot of listeners.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Thursday, 27 July 2017

Oh Wonder - Ultralife (Album Review)

Attempting to encapsulate happiness, sadness, optimism, innocence and anger in a single aesthetic is a tough challenge, even for the most accomplished of musicians.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Wednesday, 26 July 2017