Big Eyes - Stake My Claim (Album Review)

Kait Eldridge has hit power-pop paydirt with Big Eyes before. As early as the second song on the band’s debut - Pretend To Care from 2011’s ‘Hard Life’ - she had nailed her aim of pairing sick guitar riffs with pop melodies between the eyes. To date, though, that balance has been tough to sustain across the course of a record. ‘Stake My Claim’ is Big Eyes ironing out the creases.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 24 August 2016

Ezra Furman - Big Fugitive Life EP (Album Review)

‘Big Fugitive Life’ is Ezra Furman drawing a line under things. The six tracks that make up the EP have been described as “orphaned songs” from his solo debut, 'The Year of No Returning', and last year’s 'Perpetual Motion People', with focus set to turn to new avenues of expression.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Wednesday, 24 August 2016

Rae Sremmurd - SremmLife 2 (Album Review)

‘Second album syndrome’ is a challenge for any successful musician, but it's particularly difficult for one whose initial message was rooted in gritty tales about busting out of poverty. Atlanta-based trap duo Rae Sremmurd may have found a temporary fix with their new release, the sequel to 2015’s ‘SremmLife’: rein in the hard-bitten lyrics in favour of hedonistic sloganeering while revisiting the musical primitivism inherent in trap.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 24 August 2016

The Cadillac Three - Bury Me In My Boots (Album Review)

If you cut the Cadillac Three straight down the middle you’d probably find the word ‘southern’ grinning back at you with an empty bottle of whiskey in one hand and battered pack of smokes in the other. Faithful to their Tennessee heritage and genuine to a fault, they’ve poured heart and soul into ‘Bury Me In My Boots’, a truly special second album that, without a hint of compromise, retains the band’s roughhouse swagger while adding electrifying mainstream appeal.  

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 23 August 2016

Noname - Telefone (Album Review)

‘Telefone’ might be Noname’s debut mixtape, but it’s also the first time that she has truly broken out of her shell. It’s brimming with confidence and character, something that we might not reasonably have expected to be saying as recently as a year ago.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Monday, 22 August 2016

Asylums - Killer Brain Waves (Album Review)

Asylums appear to mark themselves as a good fit among the current crop of chart indie bands on their debut album, ‘Killer Brain Waves’, but the Southend band also succeed in placing themselves outside of the mainstream with their blend of erratic energy, social commentary and strong DIY ethics.

Written by: Jennifer Geddes | Date: Monday, 22 August 2016

Puppy - Vol. II (Album Review)

Now this really shouldn’t work. At all. On their second EP, Puppy have travelled further down a rabbit hole of influences that would normally make for uneasy bedfellows and produced something deeply, unfathomably enjoyable. From its love of guitar harmonies to its power-pop hooks and - to gasps from the gallery - even a nu metal riff or two, ‘Vol. II’ is an examination of enthusiasm as a binding agent.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 16 August 2016

Moose Blood - Blush (Album Review)

Among emo and pop-punk’s rank and file, Moose Blood’s success story stands out. It’s one based on a strong touring ethic and critical regard, but also on the sort of transatlantic appeal that many bands shoot for and miss. ‘Blush’, their second album, doubles down on that formula.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 15 August 2016

Gov't Mule - The Tel-Star Sessions (Album Review)

If this archival release from American rockers Gov’t Mule were a blockbuster movie, its trailer might sound something like this: “If you thought you knew how it began you’d be wrong. Dead wrong. Buried for over two decades. Unearthed for their fans. Prepare to witness the genesis of a southern rock legend. Brace yourselves for the birth of the Mule.”

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 12 August 2016

Nao - For All We Know (Album Review)

Debut records often stand or fall on an artists’ ability to effectively curate their own influences as a manageable whole. On ‘For All We Know’, Nao does just that. But there’s something else. Propelled by her effervescent delivery, each nod to the ‘90s, every snappy beat and each strange melody sounds brand new.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 11 August 2016

Russian Circles - Guidance (Album Review)

Of all the instrumental rock bands doing the rounds at present – and let’s face it, there are innumerably more than there were 10 to 15 years ago – few have attracted more deserving praise than Russian Circles. ‘Guidance’ is the trio’s sixth effort within a decade, one that has seen them rise in popularity to the extent that they have headlined the festival that has swiftly become Europe’s premier destination for off-beat guitar music: Bristol’s ArcTanGent.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Thursday, 11 August 2016

Dinosaur Jr - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not (Album Review)

Since reforming unexpectedly in 2005, the original Dinosaur Jr. trio have bucked trends. ‘Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not’, their fourth post-reunion album, confirms all the reasons why. Despite the fact that, on the face of it, they are peddling a sound that hasn’t been fashionable for a good 20-plus years, Dinosaur Jr. continue to win over new fans. More importantly, these four additions to the band’s catalogue rank among the finest in their history.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 09 August 2016

Wild Beasts - Boy King (Album Review)

Aren’t Wild Beasts meant to sound…wild?

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Monday, 08 August 2016

Owen - The King of Whys (Album Review)

‘The King of Whys’ is the first album of new material from Mike Kinsella under the Owen moniker since the reformation of one of his storied former bands, American Football.

Written by: Jennifer Geddes | Date: Wednesday, 03 August 2016

Rooney - Washed Away (Album Review)

A wise philosopher named Forrest Gump once claimed that peas and carrots went together perfectly, but if he’d grown up as a fan of Californian pop-rock then his example might have been a little different. You see, few things combine better than Rooney and the blazing summer sunshine and, after six years away, they’ve returned with an album that’s so radiant it should really come with a free bottle of sunscreen.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 02 August 2016

Bear's Den - Red Earth & Pouring Rain (Album Review)

Bear’s Den released their debut LP, ‘Islands’, in 2014 through Communion, a label partly owned by the band’s Kevin Jones alongside Mumford & Sons’ Ben Lovett and producer Ian Grimble. A largely well received folk-pop effort, the record drew inevitable comparisons with Lovett’s band, whom they had supported on a number of occasions.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Monday, 01 August 2016

Billy Talent - Afraid Of Heights (Album Review)

As ‘Afraid Of Heights’, the fifth album from Billy Talent, begins there is tension in the air and a number of inquisitive grumblings. Does a band that some think peaked in the early ‘00s have enough to say to sustain another spin around the block?

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Monday, 01 August 2016

Descendents - Hypercaffium Spazzinate (Album Review)

Descendents are familiar with the art of the comeback. In 1996, they released their second solid gold classic LP, ‘Everything Sucks’, after a layoff of nine years. Its follow up, the patchy but entertaining ‘Cool To Be You’, wouldn’t hit shelves for another eight. Twelve summers have fizzled since Milo was last scrawled on an album sleeve, the longest gap in a career pock-marked by absences, but ‘Hypercaffium Spazzinate’ resets the counter in some style. It’s fast, funny and home to some of the best straight-up pop songs this band have ever committed to tape.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 29 July 2016

Look Park - Look Park (Album Review)

Not everyone will know the name Chris Collingwood, but aficionados of sun-soaked power pop will certainly be familiar with Fountains of Wayne, the band he’s fronted since 1995. With that group on a protracted - possibly permanent - hiatus, the singer has returned with a very different outfit, eschewing wry character tales and power chords in favour of an enchanting and intimate melancholic pop sound.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 27 July 2016

Good Charlotte - Youth Authority (Album Review)

It's been a while. For those who have lost track of time, it’s been six years since Good Charlotte's last outing, ‘Cardiology’, and 14 since their second album, ‘The Young and the Hopeless’, helped their brew of self-loathing and glossy pop-punk pull the genre into a realm presided over by a few chart-dominating heavyweights.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 26 July 2016