Haim - Days Are Gone (Album Review)

Nostalgia is a powerful tool, and a dangerous one when wielded by the wrong band. Luckily, Haim have skirted the thorny divide between authenticity and parody on their debut album, turning in a batch of songs built for a golden age of radio.

Written by: Gavin Rees | Date: Monday, 30 September 2013

Drake - Nothing Was The Same (Album Review)

Drake’s an emotional guy, and he’s not your garden variety hip hop star either. ‘Nothing Was The Same’, his third full-length, finds him indulging this side of his persona again, while pushing his music in a few new directions.

Written by: Katie Vowles | Date: Monday, 30 September 2013

Nirvana - In Utero: 20th Anniversary Edition (Album Review)

If any record has new things to say 20 years after its initial bow, it’s Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’. Released at a time when Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl were chewing their way through the inevitable backlash that accompanied ‘Nevermind’, it has since become a prisoner of tragic circumstance, evoking time and place in a manner that wasn’t intended by its creators.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 27 September 2013

Dregen - Dregen (Album Review)

Of all the rock stars to have graced the planet in the last 20 years, few are as underappreciated as Dregen. Having spent time at the helm of Backyard Babies and the Hellacopters, the guitarist recently put out ‘Horns And Halos’ as part of Michael Monroe’s band, and here we find him solo and in fine form.

Written by: Gemma-Louise Johnson | Date: Friday, 27 September 2013

Kids In Glass Houses - Peace (Album Review)

‘Peace’ might just be the biggest statement in Kids In Glass Houses’ career to date. The quintet have built strong foundations over the last seven years and in that time they’ve turned in three full-lengths and a batch of well-received singles.

Written by: Katie Vowles | Date: Friday, 27 September 2013

Devin Townsend - The Retinal Circus

The world changed on October 27, 2012. The messiah wasn’t born, we didn’t stumble across the meaning of life, but on that hallowed day, Devin Townsend set foot on the stage of the Camden Roundhouse and unleashed something that had been meticulously planned and mulled over for the better part of a year. This was the biggest headline show of the man's entire career.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Thursday, 26 September 2013

Saves The Day - Saves The Day (Album Review)

It’s been a while since Chris Conley and Saves The Day sounded this vibrant. Maybe it’s the cover, in all its grapefruity glory, or maybe it’s the fact that the conceptual strings that bound ‘Sound The Alarm’, ‘Under The Boards’ and ‘Daybreak’ have been cut.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 25 September 2013

More Than Conquerors - Everything I've Learnt (Album Review)

Formed in 2009, More Than Conquerors are a dynamic, alternative punk outfit from Belfast.  Why it has taken them so long to release their debut album, ‘Everything I’ve Learnt’, is anyone’s guess, but it has definitely been worth the wait.  

Written by: Lee Johnston | Date: Wednesday, 25 September 2013

Tonight Alive - The Other Side (Album Review)

On their debut, Aussie pop-rockers Tonight Alive asked, 'What Are You So Scared Of?'. Well, when you’ve made a dent with a solid debut, the idea of producing a successful follow up is pretty scary. The balance between developing your sound and ensuring that you please the fans is a fine one, but on 'The Other Side' Tonight Alive are in confident mood.

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Wednesday, 25 September 2013

Dream Theater - Dream Theater (Album Review)

Releasing a self-titled album after almost 30 years as a band may seem strange, but this record is a roaring statement of intent that embodies and expands on every element of Dream Theater's unrivalled progressive metal sorcery. As such, it's the perfect fit.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 24 September 2013

Scar The Martyr - Scar The Martyr (Album Review)

“Slipknot have three drummers; that's why it's all so fast.” Many a time has this phrase been uttered by uneducated mouths. While Shawn Crahan may have been there right at the inception of the Iowan behemoth, his main job on stage is to dick about on top of a metal keg. Slipknot's inhuman BPM count is provided almost entirely by man-machine Joey Jordison. Since rising to fame as part of the masked nine, he's gone on to drum with Korn, Ministry, and Satyricon among others. To call the man a workaholic is a gross understatement.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Tuesday, 24 September 2013

Kings Of Leon - Mechanical Bull (Album Review)

Arriving three years after ‘Come Around Sundown’, ‘Mechanical Bull’ is Kings Of Leon’s sixth studio album, but following various setbacks, fall-outs and tour cancellations it’s a wonder that it’s here at all.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Monday, 23 September 2013

The Kev Walker Band - Biding My Time (Album Review)

Despite  having worked with some great artists in his career, Kev Walker is not a familiar name to many. ‘Biding My Time’ is his third album, but it follows some 30 years after his second. It's hardly surprising, then, that he may have slipped under a few radars.

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 23 September 2013

Placebo - Loud Like Love (Album Review)

Placebo’s last effort, ‘Battle For The Sun’, received mixed reviews upon its arrival in 2009, with critics seemingly only interested in comparing it to the angst-ridden albums of old. While it is unlikely that many bands will be able to maintain the same level of relevance over a 20 year period as Placebo have, perhaps the focus should have been on the material within, rather than a longing for the past.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Monday, 23 September 2013

The Flatliners - Dead Language

For most, growing up is hard to to. The Flatliners have made it look easy. ‘Dead Language’ is the Canadian punks’ fourth record, their third under the Fat Wreck umbrella, and is a natural extension of the sound they began to refine on ‘Cavalcade’.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 20 September 2013

The Glassguns - The Ugly Truth

​ Having slogged their way through the foothills of ‘70s-infused hard rock since 2010, the Glassguns paint the perfect picture of sex, drugs and a whole lot of high voltage rock ‘n’ roll on their new EP ‘The Ugly Truth’.

Written by: Gemma-Louise Johnson | Date: Friday, 20 September 2013

Touché Amoré - Is Survived By (Album Review)

Sometimes it’s the subtle changes that make the biggest difference. ‘Is Survived By’, Touché Amoré’s superb third full-length, is undoubtedly a companion piece to ‘Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me’, but by embracing a few structural changes and some sunny guitar flourishes, they’ve ensured that this younger sibling doesn’t get lost in the crowd.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 19 September 2013

MGMT - MGMT (Album Review)

Forget the rulebook. This is art, man. If there’s one thing you can say about MGMT with absolute certainty, it’s that they’ve got the guts to do what they want. Their third album, and follow-up to the much-maligned ‘Congratulations’, is wilfully difficult and arrives shrouded in murky synths.

Written by: Gavin Rees | Date: Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Birdy - Fire Within (Album Review)

When we first met Birdy, or Jasmine van den Bogaerde, she was just 15 and had released a debut album packed with covers, including her breakthrough take on Bon Iver’s Skinny Love. Her outstanding voice had already been recognised by those in power, namely Radio 1, and she was duly thrust into the limelight.

Written by: Katie Vowles | Date: Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Elton John - The Diving Board (Album Review)

There comes a time when even legends have to hang up their spurs. Or, in Elton John’s case, the spangly jackets. Luckily, though, ‘The Diving Board’ proves that there are plenty of chapters yet to be written in this particular story.

Written by: Sam Jones | Date: Tuesday, 17 September 2013