HEALTH - Death Magic (Album Review)

HEALTH were always weird. In fact, they were probably too weird. There’s a point somewhere along the scale at which weirdness stops being interesting and, at various times on their first two full-lengths, they crossed it.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 07 August 2015

Frank Turner - Positive Songs For Negative People (Album Review)

​ 'Positive Songs For Negative People’ is an apt title for Frank Turner’s latest go around. Here the folk-punk troubadour continues to adopt a ‘glass half full’ approach, pushing ahead in the face of of pessimism and self deprecation. The intent here is not to scream at his demons from the rooftops, but to win them over.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 06 August 2015

Titus Andronicus - 'The Most Lamentable Tragedy' (Album Review)

There remains an element of novelty to the punk concept album, but it’s one that Titus Andronicus don't entertain. Having already woven together ‘The Monitor’, Civil War allegory turned throat-shredding shoutalong, ‘The Most Lamentable Tragedy’ represents a hugely ambitious, deadly serious move, but one firmly within the wheelhouse of Patrick Stickles.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 05 August 2015

Mac DeMarco - Another One (Album Review)

A simple, slow sense of ease runs through Mac DeMarco’s music. It’s the kind of ease that would usually betray a simple, hassle-free attitude. But still waters run deep, and stating the obvious is not a characteristic his music is associated with.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Tuesday, 04 August 2015

The Chemical Brothers - Born In The Echoes (Album Review)

Remaining relevant across a couple of decades in any sphere of music is tough, but to continue to cut through the technological advances, stylistic innovations, and regressions, of electronic music’s patchwork quilt requires both dedication and rapid adjustments.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 29 July 2015

Team Sleep - Woodstock Sessions Vol. 4 (Album Review)

Let's be honest: if you've listened to Team Sleep before, you're definitely a Deftones fan. After all, without the relevant context – namely that Chino Moreno is the architect behind this project – it makes little sense for a band to put out a semi-live album a full decade after their sole previous release, which itself is a record largely forgotten by the world at large.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Tuesday, 28 July 2015

Lamb Of God - VII: Sturm und Drang (Album Review)

Much has been said about Randy Blythe's incarceration, acquittal and subsequent badassery. We already know this stuff, so let's delve into 'VII: Sturm und Drang', the return of Lamb of God, and see if it's worth the wait.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Friday, 24 July 2015

Joe Satriani - Shockwave Supernova (Album Review)

Imagine Jimi Hendrix hadn’t died back in 1970, but instead became an intrepid explorer of the billions of galaxies out there. On his return to earth, the experience cast his playing against interstellar soundscapes and fiery blues-rock, the collision creating a sonic journey through time and space. That, pretty much, is what you get with Joe Satriani.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 23 July 2015

White Reaper - White Reaper Does It Again (Album Review)

Garage punk’s love affair with atmospherics is often a neat crutch, making it easy to sound the part while glossing over any missing hooks or recycled riffs. White Reaper ply their trade in such fuzzy confines, but their debut full length is a tumbling, gleeful wreck of melody and Ramones-meets-Ronettes style. Far from relying on trickery, ‘White Reaper Does It Again’ busts open some reverb-soaked affectations to get to the sugar rush of the songs within.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 21 July 2015

Tame Impala - Currents (Album Review)

Some artists create music to enhance the environment around them, adding context and colour to the passage of time. Kevin Parker, frontman of Australian psych-wanderers Tame Impala, sonically lassoes his listeners’ total attention. Tumbling down a wormhole of delicious, imaginatively nonsensical music, their sound breaks down the barriers separating reality from dreams, hallucinations and forgotten memories.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Monday, 20 July 2015

Veruca Salt - Ghost Notes (Album Review)

Despite ‘Ghost Notes’ representing Veruca Salt’s first new music in nine years, and the first release from this line up in 18, they slip back into a comfortable mould pretty seamlessly. For that reason, their return is a welcome one, but not a particularly impressive one. Those hoping for more of the same will not be disappointed. Those expecting a shift in priorities or new-found maturity will.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Friday, 17 July 2015

Heather Woods Broderick - Glider (Album Review)

The 'girls-with-guitars' pigeonhole has become an appalling cliché in recent years, both reductive and offensive. It would be particularly unfair to apply it in the case of multi instrumentalist Heather Woods Broderick, a veteran songwriter and bandmate of Sharon Van Etten, who conveys her Americana-influenced sound through arrangement more than anything else.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Thursday, 16 July 2015

Years & Years - Communion (Album Review)

When was the last time you said “they’re going to be huge” and meant it as a genuine, from-the-heart compliment? There is a gap, which shows little sign of closing, between pop ubiquity and perceived quality and it’s one into which Years & Years have strayed on ‘Communion’, their debut album.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 15 July 2015

Cradle Of Filth - Hammer Of The Witches (Album Review)

So much shines brightly in the twinkling flashbacks to yesteryear: Turkey Twizzlers, The Simpsons and realistic, manageable student debt all linger in that rose-tinted realm. Some basement-dwelling keyboard warriors believe Cradle of Filth belong there, too. But they are wrong.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Friday, 10 July 2015

Four Tet - Morning/Evening (Album Review)

In consolidating his position at the helm of non-genre-specific electronic music, Four Tet has delivered an album that does not take a traditional form, instead winding its way through two feature length segments.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Thursday, 09 July 2015

Ezra Furman - Perpetual Motion People (Album Review)

Rarely has artistic development been as apparent as it is on ‘Perpetual Motion People’, the new record from the prolific Ezra Furman. Writing in the Guardian recently, the Chicagoan thanked Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground for opening a door in his head during his youth. Well, thank god they came-a-knocking.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Wednesday, 08 July 2015

Saint Raymond - Young Blood (Album Review)

As multi-purpose as chart pop can be, the element of surprise is still a vital ingredient. It’s what prevents melodies from becoming retreads and choruses from disappearing into the ether without making an impact. It’s largely missing from Saint Raymond’s debut full length, ‘Young Blood’, which struggles to break free of its status as a competent, somewhat beige, collection.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 08 July 2015

Sleaford Mods - Key Markets (Album Review)

“I look like the Michelin Man,” spits Jason Williamson as Live Tonight introduces 'Key Markets'. It's not quite the cry of “McFlurry!” that pocked 'Austerity Dogs', but it's still ridiculous and still unquestionably Sleaford Mods.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 06 July 2015

Refused - Freedom (Album Review)

Since its release, many bands have attempted to make another 'Shape Of Punk To Come'. One by one, they have all failed. It's a trap that Refused have opted to avoid in the simplest manner available to them: they haven't bothered trying.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 01 July 2015

Fraser A. Gorman - Slow Gum (Album Review)

A part-time carpenter with a love of American rock ‘n’ roll, Fraser A. Gorman is a man of many talents. Luckily ‘Slow Gum’, his debut full length, displays one of them throughout: a knack for penning wonderfully understated songs.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Tuesday, 30 June 2015