Brian Eno and Fred Again - Secret Life (Album Review)

‘Secret Life’ is an ambient collaboration album between muzak pioneer and reluctant national treasure Brian Eno and downtempo house producer Fred Again. The two met in the early 2010s when the latter was still a teenager, and the result has been a kind-of menteeship as he has moved through the grades of electronica.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 17 May 2023

Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite (Album Review)

Photo: Nick Van Vidler Who’d have thought that a deathgrind band named Cattle Decapitation (famed for their macabre album artwork) would become one of the most thoughtful and acclaimed metal bands of recent years?

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Tuesday, 16 May 2023

The Smashing Pumpkins - Atum (Album Review)

Photo: Paul Elledge Smashing Pumpkins frontman and band leader Billy Corgan has described his latest opus 'Atum' as “going in a million different directions”. When the infamously self-indulgent Corgan is labelling one of his projects in this way, you know the release is going to feature plenty of ups and downs.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Friday, 12 May 2023

Billy Woods & Kenny Segal - Maps (Album Review)

Billy Woods doesn't want the limelight. He never has. The New York-based rapper has always been tantalisingly faceless, with official images scrambled or blurred and balaclavas worn in videos and at live shows to keep an air of mystery about the straight-talking storyteller.

Written by: Jack Terry | Date: Thursday, 11 May 2023

Ed Sheeran - - (Album Review)

Photo: Annie Leibovitz Ed Sheeran has been at the top of the pop game for more than a decade now, becoming one of the world's best selling artists while executing genre-hopping collaborations with everyone from Stormzy to Cradle Of Filth. His fifth album '-', though, is his most stripped back yet, arriving influenced by depression, loss and loneliness.

Written by: Jack Terry | Date: Wednesday, 10 May 2023

Drain - Living Proof (Album Review)

California hardcore is having a moment, with cities across the state bursting at the seams with exciting bands. Very few scenes have caught on like the interconnected ones in San Jose and Santa Cruz, though, with genre-shaking albums emerging from the morass like it’s nothing. Few groups embody that spirit quite like Drain.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Wednesday, 10 May 2023

Indigo De Souza - All This Will End (Album Review)

Photo: Angella Choe Not unlike the opener of her previous LP ‘Any Shape You Take’, Time Back is a curve ball of an introduction to Indigo De Souza's latest release. The first song on ‘All This Will End’ is a dialled up fusion of Phoenix's indie-pop and EDM, flipping the script on a reputation that has situated the guitarist among the ranks of ‘90s indie-rock revivalists.

Written by: Craig Howieson | Date: Tuesday, 09 May 2023

Jessie Ware - That! Feels! Good! (Album Review)

On Jessie Ware’s previous record, 2020’s 'What’s Your Pleasure', the London singer rebranded herself as a disco soul act, presenting elegant grooves and retro melodies that really built out her sound. New album 'That! Feels Good!' continues the development of those themes with tracks that are larger and more diverse.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Friday, 05 May 2023

Silver Moth - Black Bay (Album Review)

For a group of musicians looking to escape the confines of lockdown and immerse themselves in some semblance of a life they recognised, the Isle of Lewis may seem a strange choice. After all, the Outer Hebrides are not renowned for hustle and bustle.

Written by: Craig Howieson | Date: Thursday, 04 May 2023

Rodrigo y Gabriela - In Between Thoughts…A New World (Album Review)

Rodrigo y Gabriela have now achieved something that many recording artists dream of, by managing to completely own their sound. If you hear duelling Spanish guitar pop playing in a public space, it is almost certainly going to be them.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Thursday, 04 May 2023

The National - First Two Pages of Frankenstein (Album Review)

For many years, the National’s sound was defined by the baritone of frontman Matt Berninger. By introducing a phalanx of guest vocalists to complement his recognisable rumble, 2019’s ‘I Am Easy To Find’ delivered a considerable surprise. It’s less surprising, then, that the doors to collaboration remain open on their ninth album ‘First Two Pages of Frankenstein’.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 03 May 2023

Feist - Multitudes (Album Review)

Feist first came to international attention when her pop ballad 1234 was featured on an Apple iPod commercial in 2007. Since then, the Canadian singer-songwriter has released two excellent albums including 2017’s ‘Pleasure’, a record of deft tones and spiritual fullness. Despite the six year break, ‘Multitudes’ picks up the story with finesse.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 02 May 2023

The Mars Volta - Qué Dios Te Maldiga Mí Corazón (Album Review)

Lately, releases by the Mars Volta have arrived like buses, with a 10 year drought of music answered by two bodies of work in the space of seven months. Technically, though, they’re the same album. ‘Qué Dios Te Maldiga Mí Corazón’ is a complete acoustic reimagining of the El Paso duo’s self-titled effort, which was released in September of last year.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Friday, 28 April 2023

Enter Shikari - A Kiss For The Whole World (Album Review)

Photo: Jamie Waters Enter Shikari are a tough band to pin a label on. Their last album, 2020’s 'Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible', was worlds away from their debut 'Take To The Skies' in sound and yet there's nobody else out there who could have made either album. ’A Kiss For The Whole World’ continues that inimitable run with another head-spinning foray into drum ‘n’ bass-infused post-hardcore.

Written by: Jack Terry | Date: Thursday, 27 April 2023

Kae Tempest - Nice Idea EP (Album Review)

When Kae Tempest released their fourth album ‘The Line Is A Curve’ last year, it felt like a real lightning-in-a-bottle moment between spoken word and hip-hop. And, after such an accomplished release, you’d expect a quiet period. But when you’re a Mercury-nominated rapper, Ted Hughes Award-winning playwright, Sunday Times bestselling novelist and renowned poet, rest is clearly the last thing on your mind.

Written by: Jack Terry | Date: Wednesday, 26 April 2023

Metallica - 72 Seasons (Album Review)

Photo: Tim Saccenti For Metallica fans who grew up worshipping the band throughout their early ‘80s to mid ‘90s creative peak, it’s almost too easy to dismiss this seemingly derivative 10th studio album based on a few cursory spins. But to rush head first into premature judgement territory with ‘72 Seasons’ might represent a severe mistake.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 25 April 2023

Angel Olsen - Forever Means EP (Album Review)

Photo: Luke Rogers Angel Olsen introduces her latest EP, ‘Forever Means’, over a sultry, sombre piano score. As a saxophone and electronic organ breeze through in the wake of Olsen’s crooning vocals, opening track Nothing’s Free shines. “Here it comes, no way to stop it now,” she sings. 

Written by: Rebecca Llewellyn | Date: Friday, 21 April 2023

The Tallest Man On Earth - Henry St. (Album Review)

Photo: Stephan Vanfleteren Be it his rapid fire finger picking, loquacious vocal delivery or restless stage presence, Kristian Matsson, better known as The Tallest Man On Earth, has always given the impression of someone striding at considerable pace into the future. 

Written by: Craig Howieson | Date: Thursday, 20 April 2023

Jesus Piece - ...So Unknown (Album Review)

Photo: Alexis Jade Gross Jesus Piece blew the doors off with their 2018 debut ‘Only Self’, bringing together elements of industrial, D-beat, and beatdown hardcore with feral energy that’s remained largely unmatched. Five years on they’re on their way to becoming one of the most revered names in the scene and their second album ‘…So Unknown’ will only speed the process along.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Wednesday, 19 April 2023

DMA's - How Many Dreams? (Album Review)

Photo: Reuben Bastienne-Lewis In recent years, DMA’s have become one of Australia’s best exports, with their strand of indie-rock winning them sufficient acclaim to warrant touring slots alongside both Gallagher brothers and Arctic Monkeys. They’ve also achieved relatively high billing at Reading and Leeds on their way to becoming an arena draw in their own right.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 18 April 2023