Miranda Lambert - The Weight Of These Wings (Album Review)

Country fans may have been eagerly anticipating Miranda Lambert’s retort to ex-husband Blake Shelton’s ‘If I’m Honest’ album, but this double disc opus is too mature and classy to file anywhere near petty mud-slinging. Although both inspired by their divorce, Shelton’s alleged truth teller was workmanlike, occasionally underhanded and mostly written by other people. ‘The Weight Of These Wings’, on the other hand, is a wilfully artistic, authentically expressive and emotionally complex confessional from a very gifted songwriter.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 02 December 2016

Solange - A Seat At The Table (Album Review)

Some records take a hammer to their surroundings. They show us the world and then tear it down before our eyes, eager for us to understand and embrace their rage. Solange’s ‘A Seat At The Table’ almost does the opposite. She relates lyrics driven by anger and repeated pleas for understanding over songs that are very rarely less than palatial and, to the last note, immaculately constructed. This is a record of remarkable poise and a rare example of an artist speaking with absolute conviction as both a lyricist and musician.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 29 November 2016

The Weeknd - Starboy (Album Review)

It’s been just over a year since Abel Tesfaye released ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’, the record that truly launched the Weeknd as a mainstream concern and exposed the masses to his brand of dark, moody alt-R&B. Its follow up has now arrived in short order, with the appropriate amount of hype. But ‘Starboy’ is a sizeable body of work that works hard to justify its lengthy running time.

Written by: Liam Turner | Date: Monday, 28 November 2016

The Neal Morse Band - 'The Similitude Of A Dream' (Album Review)

If there were such a thing as the prog rock Oscars, 2016 would be a fairly fruitless year for every group that isn’t the Neal Morse Band. ‘The Similitude Of A Dream’ is a double concept album that’s as grandiose and intense as it is subtle and playful. It’s Ben Hur.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 24 November 2016

Sad13 - Slugger (Album Review)

Photo: Shervin Lainez Nestled at the heart of Speedy Ortiz’s tangled web of riffs are melodies that look like the best moves of pop’s biggest names reflected in a circus mirror. The band’s vocalist and guitarist, Sadie Dupuis, is a writer with a knack for delivering hooks that are sickly, memorable and ever so slightly strange all at once and on ‘Slugger’, her solo debut under the Sad13 moniker, she finds a rich vein of inspiration in the comparatively low-key world of bedroom synth-pop.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 23 November 2016

Justice - Woman (Album Review)

Over the past 20 years, French EDM has gone from a hipster specialism to full-blown mainstream concern. But while Grammy awards, Hollywood soundtracks and festival headline slots may have blunted the genre's inherent edginess, producers like Daft Punk and DJ Snake have managed to maintain a high degree of integrity while collaborating with a host of blue-chip artists on mind-bogglingly popular tunes.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 23 November 2016

Metallica - Hardwired...To Self-Destruct (Album Review)

Last time we had a new Metallica album, we were in the last thrashings of George W. Bush’s presidency, Michael Jackson was still alive and everyone was convinced e-books were just a flash in the pan. Times change. So do Metallica.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Friday, 18 November 2016

Sleigh Bells - Jessica Rabbit (Album Review)

‘Jessica Rabbit’, the new album by Sleigh Bells, is an ambitious beast. It takes the brutish contradictions present in their all-or-nothing noise pop and amps them up even further, venturing deeper into mainstream waters while offering concrete reminders of their distorted power. It wants to bludgeon and caress in equal measure, but ends up keeping its twin ambitions at arm’s length from one another.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 18 November 2016

Bowling For Soup - Drunk Dynasty (Album Review)

As any pop-punk fan knows, three things are certain in life: death, taxes and Bowling for Soup creating infectious as hell, up-tempo songs about girls, drinking and getting into trouble. 

Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Thursday, 17 November 2016

A Tribe Called Quest - We Got it from Here…Thank You 4 Your Service (Album Review)

Photo: Trevor Traynor Between 1985 and 1998, A Tribe Called Quest established themselves as one of hip hop’s most dynamic and thoughtful acts. Balancing commercial success with artistic innovation across five LPs, they channelled sample-led party grooves alongside conscientious and erudite rhymes.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 16 November 2016

Bon Jovi - This House Is Not For Sale (Album Review)

Jon Bon Jovi has spent the best part of four decades encouraging us to pick ourselves up off the canvas. And, following the departure of guitarist Richie Sambora, label wrangling, persistent, sometimes unpopular, rumours linking him to the purchase of an NFL team and age catching up with him, the frontman has taken his own advice and re-emerged with the best album of his career. Sort of.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 16 November 2016

Common - Black America Again (Album Review)

A recent cover of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo featured a cartoon of a terrified Barack Obama fleeing a hail of police bullets, accompanied by the headline ‘Obama, an ordinary citizen once again’. Its message is clear: the eight years served by America’s first black president didn’t result in a more tolerant society but, following the surprise election of Donald Trump, ended with a dangerous groundswell of racism among America’s white population.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Tuesday, 15 November 2016

Superjoint - Caught Up In The Gears Of Application (Album Review)

Photo: Jody Dorignac Sometimes, it’s nice to enjoy the quiet. Soak up the serenity. We all love a juicy rock star beef/scandal/Twitter spat, but it’s also good when they know when to, y’know, shut up. ‘Caught Up In The Gears Of Application’, the third album by the band formerly known as Superjoint Ritual, is one of those instances when you long to separate art from artist, but it’s a bit tricky to do that.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 14 November 2016

Kenny Chesney - Cosmic Hallelujah (Album Review)

There are many reasons why Kenny Chesney is one of country’s modern day greats, most of which have conspired to make ‘Cosmic Hallelujah’ a life-affirming chunk of feelgood music.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 11 November 2016

American Wrestlers - Goodbye Terrible Youth (Album Review)

The title of American Wrestlers’ sophomore album gives a good indication as to its content. It’s a half-hour long rendering of frontman Gary McLure’s experiences of growing up and, in this case, barely any of the memories are happy ones.

Written by: Ben Gallivan | Date: Friday, 11 November 2016

In Flames - Battles (Album Review)

Another In Flames record, another chance for them to further alienate an audience unfairly expecting a sequel to ‘The Jester Race’, right? Well, while ‘Battles’ is far from a breakneck, breakeverything album in the stylings of the band’s youth, it actually has a crack at uniting the camps on either side of the post-‘Clayman’ divide.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Thursday, 10 November 2016

Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues (Album Review)

It seems impossible to say the name Jimmy Eat World without adding ‘Kings of Emo’ or something similar as an afterthought. You’d have to ask the band  whether they’re happy with the tag, but ‘Integrity Blues’, their ninth studio album, suggests they are pretty comfortable with it.

Written by: Ben Gallivan | Date: Wednesday, 09 November 2016

Tove Lo - Lady Wood (Album Review)

‘Queen of the Clouds’, Tove Lo’s debut album, was defined by its extremes. Its emotions were overwhelming, while its melodies were wide in scope and always accompanied by a dramatic sweep. Its follow up, the brilliantly titled ‘Lady Wood’, seeks to operate on a more even footing. Where its predecessor was at its best when it exploded into life, this is more of a slow burn.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 08 November 2016

Lambchop - FLOTUS (Album Review)

Despite being released in the same week that the most spiteful and underhanded presidential election in US history reaches its conclusion, Lambchop’s 12th long-player, ‘FLOTUS’, is in no way focused on the office of the First Lady or, in fact, anything political. FLOTUS, in this case, is an acronym for a much prettier sentiment: For Love Often Turns Us Still. The sleeve image’s stylised rendering of the presidential seal may suggest otherwise, but you’ll have to give me the benefit of the doubt.

Written by: Ben Gallivan | Date: Monday, 07 November 2016

A$AP Mob - 'Cozy Tapes Vol 1: Friends-' (Album Review)

Photo: Kimi Selfridge Like their fellow New Yorkers in the Ramones, the A$AP Mob take their names from the group itself. Thus, its members include A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg, A$AP Nast, A$AP Bari and, well, you get the idea.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Friday, 04 November 2016