Joanne Shaw Taylor - Wild (Album Review)

“If you’re not blown away, I’ll give you your money back.” When Kevin Shirley, producer of ‘Wild’, made that bold statement prior to the record’s release, it immediately smacked of a brazen PR soundbite. He always talks a good game, but this superlative fifth effort from British guitar heroine Joanne Shaw Taylor packs enough musical TNT to make his words feel more prophetic than an example of shameless marketing spin.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 05 October 2016

Pixies - Head Carrier (Album Review)

Replacing long-standing bassist and backing vocalist Kim Deal with someone else called Kim (in this instance Kim Shattuck, leader of LA punks the Muffs) was, on the Pixies’ behalf, perhaps a bit silly. Maybe they hoped we wouldn’t notice? Anyway, the alt-rock legends are back with their sixth LP (or fifth, depending on how you view the ‘Indie Cindy’ collection) and have roped in Paz Lenchantin, of A Perfect Circle fame, to fill Deal's boots on ‘Head Carrier’.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Tuesday, 04 October 2016

AlunaGeorge - I Remember (Album Review)

Aluna Francis and George Reid are back. And in fine style. The creative double act behind AlunaGeorge released their first LP ‘Body Music’ back in 2013 and ‘I Remember’ marks a hugely anticipated second coming.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Tuesday, 04 October 2016

Feeder - All Bright Electric (Album Review)

Feeder have taken their fair share of criticism over the years, but in truth it’s hard to dislike them. They have, after all, given us plenty of uplifting moments in the last couple of decades: Day In Day Out, Feeling A Moment, Buck Rogers, Seven Days In The Sun. Take your pick.  

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 04 October 2016

Every Time I Die - Low Teens (Album Review)

Every few years since 2001, like clockwork, Every Time I Die have churned out a face-meltingly visceral album. ‘Low Teens’ is no exception. This is the Buffalo-based band at their most urgent, with frontman Keith Buckley channelling uncertainty, pain and love into his writing while his wife, Lindsay, lay in hospital fighting for her life following the birth of their daughter, Zuzana.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Monday, 03 October 2016

Warpaint - Heads Up (Album Review)

Warpaint are, perhaps, one of those bands who can’t really win in the eyes of some of their detractors. When New Song, the first single from their third album, ‘Heads Up’, debuted a couple of months ago one could scarcely stream it without tripping over internet commentators disgruntled at its funky pop bravado. This air of disgruntlement jars, of course, with previous criticisms that the group has been too focused on whimsical dream pop atmospherics at the expense of direct songwriting.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 30 September 2016

The Computers - Birth/Death (Album Review)

The Computers first bludgeoned their way into earshot back in 2008 with their debut mini-album ‘You Can’t Hide From The Computers’. The Exeter five-piece’s early sound was all about deafening noise, with Al Kershaw’s screeching vocals piercing eardrums aplenty.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 29 September 2016

Opeth - Sorceress (Album Review)

You can’t rely on Sunny D to turn your children’s skin orange anymore and you can’t expect Opeth to deliver an hour’s worth of death growls either. Things change. Fruit-to-artificial-ingredient ratios fluctuate, as do the creative desires of Swedish musicans. And you thought soft drinks and rock music had nothing in common.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Mac Miller - The Divine Feminine (Album Review)

This is why we try to avoid cataloguing first impressions for posterity. Mac Miller, the Pittsburgh rapper who might once have looked at home only with a red beer cup clasped in the opposite hand to his microphone, has become something of a chameleon.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Touche Amore - Stage Four (Album Review)

You can walk through the doors at a hardcore show full - of anger, love, hate, longing or a million other things - and leave empty. They inspire an outpouring of energy. That could mean being the first person to leap from the stage, or the last one to stop yelling out a lyric. Touché Amoré’s live sets have long stuck to this script.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 27 September 2016

Vince Staples - Prima Donna EP (Album Review)

Most people readily accept that every artist’s process is different. Being honest, do we really care that our favourite band has decided that disappearing to a remote shack to take copious amounts of LSD is best for their creativity? What matters to listeners is the final product.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Tuesday, 27 September 2016

Against Me! - Shape Shift With Me (Album Review)

Four years on from coming out as transgender in an interview with Rolling Stone, Laura Jane Grace has decided it’s time to change the conversation again. Having put out the excoriating, captivating ‘Transgender Dysphoria Blues’ 18 months after sitting down with the magazine, Grace’s focus has shifted to a trans perspective on love and sex with Against Me!’s ‘Shape Shift With Me’.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Monday, 26 September 2016

Giraffe Tongue Orchestra - Broken Lines (Album Review)

It’s not a supergroup’s members that make it ‘super’. It’s the quality of the music and, where this type of thing is concerned, that usually means flaccid songwriting and lots of rubbing of hands as money lands in bank accounts.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 26 September 2016

Trentemoller - Fixion (Album Review)

Anders Trentemøller’s brand of electronica has brushed shoulders with many of its sub-genres since his debut, ‘The Last Resort’, dropped a decade ago. That record - his first in his current guise – was propelled to the top reaches of many critics’ end of year lists and gained favourable comparisons to fellow Scandinavians Röyksopp (whom he has since remixed) and the hugely influential Brazilian producer Amon Tobin. It was a dark affair, focusing primarily on dub electronica with a pinch of lighter, ambient techno thrown in for good measure.

Written by: Ben Gallivan | Date: Friday, 23 September 2016

Airbourne - Breakin' Outta Hell (Album Review)

After three records of head-cracking, ear-dicing, nun-kicking rock ‘n’ roll insanity, Aussie hellraisers Airbourne have completely revamped their sound on album four. Perched on stools with acoustic instruments in hand, the newly short-haired gents have crafted a tender, introspective effort that explores masculine insecurity, environmental issues and overwhelming feelings of sexual inadequacy. And if you believe that…

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 23 September 2016

King 810 - La Petite Mort or a Conversation With God (Album Review)

La Petite Mort: The Little Death. In the language of love, we’re talking the throes of an orgasm. There is nothing about King 810’s second LP that would induce that blissful state, unless you’re into some really weird shit. Which is fine.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Thursday, 22 September 2016

Cymbals Eat Guitars - Pretty Years (Album Review)

Photo: Shervin Lainez Almost five minutes into Jackson, the first song on Cymbals Eat Guitars’ 2014 LP ‘LOSE’, Joseph D’Agostino tumbles into a guitar break. At this point on previous records, the band might have spiralled away and left any sort of structure behind altogether. But here, they refuse to let go of a captivating hook. The solo roars into life, wrenching more emotional weight from a song already heavy on it, before seamlessly slipping back into the chorus. It’s immensely satisfying. Like the giddy, harmonica-driven punk of Xr, the song became emblematic of a change in focus for a band that had previously only looked inward. It gave the crowd what they wanted. Two years later, they are inviting us to join in more than ever before.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 21 September 2016

Joe Bonamassa - Live At The Greek Theatre (Album Review)

Photo: Christie Goodwin Following 2014’s highly acclaimed Muddy Wolf tribute shows, Joe Bonamassa again set out to honour his heroes when, earlier this year, he staged a number of shows devoted to the groundbreaking music of Freddie, Albert and BB King. Recorded at Los Angeles’ famous Greek Theatre on the final night of that tour, this is a dazzling testament to those legendary bluesmen, highlighting the immortal power of their music as it continues to find new life beyond any one artist or generation.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 21 September 2016

Deap Vally - Femejism (Album Review)

There is an annoying habit shared by some west coast Americans: they will respond to a joke by saying ‘that’s hilarious’ instead of laughing. ‘Femejism’ is a title engineered to solicit that response. It seems to allude to humour without necessarily making you smile.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 21 September 2016

Bastille - Wild World (Album Review)

Describing a song, or a melody, as “arena-sized” is a popular backhanded compliment. It implies ambition and grandeur, but with a qualifying sense that the whole thing is a little calculated. It suggests a band writing to suit their future plans rather than following the pure artistic impulse we hope is at the heart of the music we enjoy. Bastille’s second studio album, ‘Wild World’, is arena-sized.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 20 September 2016