Moon Duo - Occult Architecture Vol. 1 (Album Review)

Photo: Howard Wise Moon Duo have been producing synth-based drone rock for almost a decade, with each of their records representing a leap forward for their sound. Split into a “psychedelic opus” of two separate volumes representing Yin and Yang, ‘Occult Architecture Vol.1’ is, according to guitarist Erik ‘Ripley’ Johnson, the dark side.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 09 February 2017

Surfer Blood - Snowdonia (Album Review)

Funny old genre, surf rock. Despite sounding light and fluffy, it often seems laced with tragedy, violence and intense musical complexity. It’s a philosophical melange that seems to promote breezy diffidence in the face of hard-edged personal problems.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 08 February 2017

Allison Crutchfield - Tourist In This Town (Album Review)

Photo: Jesse Riggins Allison Crutchfield is no stranger to the lo-fi indie and punk scenes, having racked up records and miles with P.S. Eliot and Swearin’, as well as touring with Waxahatchee, her twin sister Katie’s project. Despite this rich lineage, ‘Tourist In This Town’ is surprisingly the first full-length solo offering from Crutchfield and for this new chapter she drew inspiration from the closing of others, namely the end of her relationship with long-time partner and collaborator Kyle Gilbride.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Wednesday, 08 February 2017

Lower Than Atlantis - Safe In Sound (Album Review)

The tail end of the 2000s gave birth to a crop of once abrasive alt-rock bands that can now be heard regularly on daytime Radio 1. Lower Than Atlantis are among the leading lights to have invaded mainstream airspace and ‘Safe In Sound’ is their latest attempt to perfect the fusion of hard rock and poppy commercialism.

Written by: Liam Turner | Date: Tuesday, 07 February 2017

Cloud Nothings - Life Without Sound (Album Review)

Photo: Jesse Lirola In a 2015 interview, Cloud Nothings frontman Dylan Baldi described the process of bringing a new song to the rehearsal space. “To be honest, we don’t even talk, like when we’re making stuff,” he said. "I’ll just be like, ‘I have this thing”, and I’ll play something and they’ll be like ‘That’s cool’ and, like, play something along with it, and there’ll be a song, you know - right there.”

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Tuesday, 07 February 2017

Elbow - Little Fictions (Album Review)

Elbow are like that piece of well-worn furniture in the corner of your living room: familiar, comforting and snug. Right now, their music is a safe haven from the political madness engulfing the world.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Monday, 06 February 2017

Kehlani - SweetSexySavage (Album Review)

A pop singer’s debut album is the best chance for artist and management to craft the perfect personality. It’s a product launch, and as such involves the same kind of testing (dropping mixtapes), market research (support slots) and brand adjustments you might expect if you were unveiling a smartphone, or political candidate. If this all goes well, the challenge then switches to maintaining relevance in a topsy turvy outside world.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Friday, 03 February 2017

Sacred Paws - Strike A Match (Album Review)

Photo: David Pollock ‘Strike A Match’ may be Sacred Paws’ debut album, but its captivating earworms and flashes of indie-pop brilliance betray Eilidh Rogers and Rachel Aggs’ pedigree as members of Golden Grrls, Trash Kit and Shopping.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Wednesday, 01 February 2017

Aaron Keylock - Cut Against The Grain (Album Review)

Whoever penned the biography for this ‘70s-loving rock ‘n’ roller needs a kick up the caboose for getting their facts wrong. The text hilariously states that he was only 18 years old when this record was made. Seriously? Someone that young could never have written such a classy debut, one that's overflowing with tasteful fretwork and without a single cover version in sight. Could they?

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 31 January 2017

Menace Beach - Lemon Memory (Album Review)

When indie rock ruled the British airwaves in the 1990s, there was a middle class of bands that flourished in the jet stream of the major-label juggernauts. Longpigs, Sleeper and Echobelly never scored a big hit, but they honed and deployed a genuinely independent sound that was freshly parochial and grungily hip. It was a vibrant cottage industry, and there were some seriously good bands operating under its umbrella.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Tuesday, 31 January 2017

Japandroids - Near To The Wild Heart Of Life (Album Review)

Has it really been five years since ‘Celebration Rock’? Brian King and David Prowse left quite an impression on our eardrums with what would ultimately become one of the albums of 2012 - it was certainly winner of ‘Best Driving With The Top Down Anthems’ in my car - and subsequently toured heavily, racking up a couple of hundred sets over the following 18 months.

Written by: Ben Gallivan | Date: Monday, 30 January 2017

Gotthard - Silver (Album Review)

It has been 25 years since these Swiss hard rockers formed, but although named to commemorate that anniversary, ‘Silver’ unwittingly denotes how their once gold-standard sound has become decidedly second rate since the tragic death of frontman Steve Lee in 2010. This is the band’s third album without him and it’s sad to say, with each release, his loss feels increasingly insurmountable.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 27 January 2017

Loyle Carner - Yesterday's Gone (Album Review)

Grime’s had an exciting, colourful 12 months. Skepta and Wiley both dropped career-defining records. Everybody’s still going wild for Stormzy. And Croydon boy Loyle Carner has now added a different dose of brilliance with his debut proper, ‘Yesterday’s Gone’, taking elements of the scene and twisting it into an introspective new shape.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 25 January 2017

Austra - Future Politics (Album Review)

On January 20, Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States of America. On the same day, the Canadian synth-pop outfit Austra released their third LP, ‘Future Politics’. Katie Stelmanis, the band’s creative engine, has dismissed matchup as a coincidence, but it’s hard to deny that Austra’s first full-length release since 2013 has a lot to say about the current state of the world.

Written by: Liam Turner | Date: Tuesday, 24 January 2017

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes - Modern Ruin (Album Review)

“I hate you and I wish you would die,” sang Frank Carter as he charmed his way into the public’s hearts and secured a Top 20 album with ‘Blossom’. His debut with the Rattlesnakes afforded the former Gallows vocalist something of a blank canvas and upon it he splattered blues, rickety punk and lots of words beginning with ‘f’ and ending with ‘uck’.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 23 January 2017

AFI - AFI (The Blood Album) (Album Review)

The word comeback is overused. To call Weezer’s ‘White Album’ a comeback was warranted, because they’d basically been in the shitter for over a decade. To call Faith No More’s ‘Sol Invictus’ a comeback was fine, because that was a legendary band returning to the studio after 18 years apart and still surprising us. Calling ‘AFI (The Blood Album)’ a comeback because it’s got a bit of screaming on it is silly.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Friday, 20 January 2017

Sohn - Rennen (Album Review)

Since James Blake’s 2013 Mercury Prize win for ‘Overgrown’, a particular category of electronica has risen to prominence. It has a more minimal aesthetic, tends to champion production and sound design over songwriting, and lends itself incredibly well to commercial synchronisation (read: adverts). Mainly, that’s because it sounds edgy but actually isn’t.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Thursday, 19 January 2017

Bonobo - Migration (Album Review)

Bonobo’s sixth studio album, ‘Migration’, is a truly existential experience where a melodic fusion of sounds - including flecks of soul, tribal beats and orchestral crescendos - links each track. It conjures emotions ranging from melancholia to euphoria and is the result of Simon Green challenging himself to write his most human record to date.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Thursday, 19 January 2017

Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness (Album Review)

Photo: Jonathan Bouknight In the blurb accompanying ‘Not Even Happiness’ we learn that Julie Byrne, a New York City resident who moonlights as a park ranger, “readily admits she can’t read music and doesn't even listen to it all that much - the first vinyl she owned was indeed, her own”.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 18 January 2017

The XX - I See You (Album Review)

In marketing, there is a highly prized target group called ‘early adopters’.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Tuesday, 17 January 2017