Wilson - Full Blast Fuckery (Album Review)
It's hard to please anyone in the metal scene at the moment. Hardened veterans sneer at anything recorded after Bruce left Iron Maiden, while the whippersnappers aren’t any better: 'Black Sabbath ain't even heavy, man – listen to some Chelsea Grin'. We are in a state of disarray. We need something to bring the camps together. We need Wilson.
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Morrissey - World Peace Is None Of Your Business (Album Review)
Photo: Michael Muller Thirty years on from the release of ‘The Smiths’, Morrissey still revels in his role as one of music’s most polarising figures. Is he an arch, rakish wit, or a perpetual sixth former? ‘World Peace Is None Of Your Business’, his 10th solo record and first in five years, will provide plenty of ammunition for both sides of the argument.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Night By Night - NxN (Album Review)
With Voodoo Six and Sisters Of Mercy featuring on the CVs of singer Henry Rundell and guitarist Ben Christo respectively, it’s no wonder Night By Night have begun to make waves.
Written by: Gemma Johnson | Date: Monday, 14 July 2014
Eugene McGuinness - Chroma (Album Review)
There’s a difference between being aware of something and understanding it fully. Eugene McGuinness, now four albums into his career, clearly has British pop down. ‘Chroma’ displays a deep well of affection for and knowledge of its best moments, jumping from subtly psychedelic melodies to driving Kinks guitars in a flash.
Written by: Matt Williams | Date: Friday, 11 July 2014
Manic Street Preachers - Futurology (Album Review)
Few bands are brave enough to take turns into new territory nearly 30 years into a successful career, and even less do so by forging retro-futuristic records inspired by painters, philosophers and a German expressionist art movement. With renewed fire and a desire to experiment in their bellies, Manic Street Preachers have created a masterful album by doing just that.
Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 10 July 2014
Example - Live Life Living (Album Review)
‘Live Life Living’, Example’s fifth album, is one that spends the majority of its running time looking back. Elliot Gleave’s latest collection of dancefloor imperatives mines his influences for inspiration, creating an air of mid-’90s Top Of The Pops amid more of the melodies that have made him a chart staple in his own right.
Written by: Gavin Rees | Date: Thursday, 10 July 2014
Braid - No Coast (Album Review)
Don’t call it a comeback. Braid, 16 years on from the release of ‘Frame & Canvas’, have set a new benchmark. ‘No Coast’ is a record that not only goes toe-to-toe with the band’s finest hour, it pulls the rug out from beneath a few of the scene’s new boys. This is no exercise in nostalgia.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 09 July 2014
Sia - 1000 Forms Of Fear (Album Review)
If you count yourself as a pop fan, there’s a good chance that Sia Furler’s fingerprints are all over something you love. Formerly of Zero 7, the Australian is currently one of the world’s most sought-after hitmakers, with her midas touch yielding major songs for Beyonce, Rihanna, Katy Perry and Britney Spears in recent years.
Written by: Gavin Rees | Date: Tuesday, 08 July 2014
George Ezra - Wanted On Voyage (Album Review)
Remember this: you are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. And, with that said, it’s just fine to enjoy something that’s done well, even if you’ve heard it all before. George Ezra has broken precisely zero moulds on his debut, ‘Wanted On Voyage’, but nevertheless it’s an engaging record imbued with great promise.
Written by: Matt Williams | Date: Wednesday, 02 July 2014
Every Time I Die - From Parts Unknown (Album Review)
A Warrior Splash just won’t cut it. ‘From Parts Unknown’, Every Time I Die’s seventh album, kicks like a Hogan big boot.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 01 July 2014
Ministry - Last Tangle In Paris: Live 2012 (Album Review)
So, 2014 seems like a good time to be Al Jourgensen. Having unleashed the best Ministry album in over a decade – 'From Beer To Eternity' – last year, completed a successful stint in rehab and seemingly announced plans to tour one last time, things are on the up for Uncle Al.
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 30 June 2014
Greys - If Anything (Album Review)
Greys sound like a bunch of other bands. They’re indebted to the Dischord roster, Nirvana, Jawbox and a few Canadian acts of the late ‘90s. And, you know what? It doesn’t matter one bit. ‘If Anything’ is a great record.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Hamilton Leithauser - Black Hours (Album Review)
If you're checking out Hamilton Leithauser's stuff, chances are you're a fan of the Walkmen. Their "extreme hiatus" is now about seven months old and has, to date, produced a trio of solo records. ‘Black Hours’ is Leithauser’s and perhaps, thanks to his remarkable voice and its ties to his former band, the most anticipated.
Written by: Natalie Lam | Date: Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Ed Sheeran - 'x' (Album Review)
Ed Sheeran’s rise to pop’s stratosphere has been one lifted straight from the underdog handbook. He seems like a nice bloke, he's endearingly messy, has worked tirelessly and he can play a bit. He’s the everyman that we can get behind, right?
Written by: Gavin Rees | Date: Monday, 23 June 2014
Tomas Doncker Band - Moanin' At Midnight: The Howlin' Wolf Project (Album Review)
Tomas Doncker has described ‘Moanin’ At Midnight’, his tribute to Chicago blues legend Howlin’ Wolf, as a “hardcore blues record”.
Written by: Sam Hailes | Date: Monday, 23 June 2014
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence (Album Review)
Wading through the hundreds of thousands of words written about Lana Del Rey since ‘Born To Die’ makes one thing abundantly clear: it’s still hard to get a read on her. Hers is a persona buffed to a post-modern sheen, seemingly impervious to traditional understanding.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 20 June 2014
Tim Bowness - Abandoned Dancehall Dreams (Album Review)
Photo: Charlotte Kinson If there’s one major positive from Steven Wilson’s decision to focus on his solo career at the expense of recording a new No-Man album with long-term collaborator Tim Bowness, then it’s that ‘Abandoned Dancehall Dreams’ proves just how talented a songwriter Bowness is in his own right.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Thursday, 19 June 2014
Clean Bandit - New Eyes (Album Review)
Already one of the UK's biggest breakthrough dance acts of the year, thanks to the mega hit Rather Be, Clean Bandit's long awaited debut album, 'New Eyes', has arrived and settled in towards the top of the charts.
Written by: Natalie Lam | Date: Wednesday, 18 June 2014
White Lung - Deep Fantasy (Album Review)
Photo: Piper Ferguson “Women are not supposed to be lions,” Mish Way wrote in a Talkhouse editorial, dissecting the appeal of Kat Bjelland's Babes In Toyland. “We’re supposed to be lambs, and lambs do not scream ‘motherfucker’ while tearing open a Rickenbacker like a beast ripping the feathers off its prey.”
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun (Album Review)
Mastodon have a lot to live up to. Since the release of their debut LP, 'Remission', back in 2002, the Georgia quartet have defied expectations, shunned conformity and done a good job of creating some of the most forward-thinking, skin-peelingly visceral music of the 21st century.
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 18 June 2014
