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

Honeyblood - Babes Never Die (Album Review)

Do you remember the time before you had fears of student debt, mortgage repayments and the Great British Bake Off scandal rattling about in your skull? A time when you could fill it with glorious, sun-soaked melodies instead? Well, it’s time to rewind with Honeyblood.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Thursday, 03 November 2016

The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Third World Pyramid (Album Review)

‘Third World Pyramid’ is the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s 15th full length in 21 years, but it’s all the stuff that emerges inbetween the band’s records that sets the seal on leader Anton Newcombe’s remarkably prolific creative drive.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 02 November 2016

Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage (Album Review)

Three years ago, ‘Hail To The King’ made genuine stars of Avenged Sevenfold. Orange County’s best-dressed metallers took their sixth album’s stomping, mid-tempo rock and used it to fashion a festival-headlining, arena-traversing template. It was a bit safe, but it worked. Surely the stage is, ahem, set for more of the same this time around?

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 31 October 2016

Kings Of Leon - WALLS (Album Review)

It’s very easy to rip on Kings of Leon. Over the years, they’ve mutated into a sort of bloated, arena-filling titan that resembles U2 without Bono to provide comic relief. But, despite sailing close to the wind on 2010’s ‘Come Around Sundown’, their recording career has never delivered a real abomination. Until now.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 31 October 2016

Eden's Curse - Cardinal (Album Review)

Any decent football manager, or Roy Hodgson, knows that having a settled squad of players is crucial. The higher the turnover of personnel, the less cohesion a team will have, leading to poor performances and inconsistent results. Although it’s tempting to say the same logic also applies to the line-up of a great band, melodic metallers Eden’s Curse consistently defy any such notion, ringing the changes with each release but seemingly always emerging stronger.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 27 October 2016

Hooton Tennis Club - Big Box Of Chocolates (Album Review)

Hooton Tennis Club are back with a second album just over a year since their debut, ‘Highest Point In Cliff Town’, delivered a volley of Britpop-influenced lo-fi slacker rock.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 27 October 2016

Lady Gaga - Joanne (Album Review)

There is a vocal flourish on Diamond Heart, the opening track of  Lady Gaga’s ‘Joanne’, that must feel like home to long-time Little Monsters. During the line ‘Young, wild American, come on baby, do you have a girlfriend?’ the syllable ‘friend’ hits three semiquavers on a downward trajectory before the beat drops and the phrase is repeated with extra brio.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 26 October 2016

The Radio Dept. - Running Out Of Love (Album Review)

From the outside, Sweden perhaps seems all fånga dagen, ice skate until Fika then unwind by a log fire with some melodic death metal. But, like the rest of the world, the Scandinavian country is buckling under the weight of modern life’s uncertainties. The Sverigedemokraterna (the anti-immigration Swedish Democrats, basically their version of UKIP) are making gains. And opposition to the rise of the country’s far right makes the perfect material for The Radio Dept.’s meandering dream pop, right? Right?

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Tuesday, 25 October 2016

American Football - American Football (Album Review)

Photo: Shervin Lainez “Where are we now? Both home alone in the same house.” The house plastered on the front-cover is the same as it was 17 years ago, but American Football have grown up a bit.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 24 October 2016