Walter Trout - Luther's Blues (Album Review)

Following 2012's 'Blues For The Modern Daze', Walter Trout pays tribute to late, great Chicago bluesman Luther Allison on 'Luther's Blues', the first covers album of his esteemed career. With unstoppable passion and dedication, Trout and his electric band tear through a winning selection of Allison classics, expertly reworking the energised cocktail of soul, funk and blues rock that was his trademark. The result is sonically Trout, and spiritually Allison.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 10 June 2013

SHY & DRS Feat. Nazareth - I've Got (Enough Love) (Single Review)

Don't tell anyone, but I think we have a kick-ass tune for summer on our hands. In fact, it may be kick-ass classic. The third single from hip hop duo SHY & DRS features 1970s rock giants Nazareth, and it's a powerful 'rap ballad' that, to put it bluntly, is awesome.

Written by: Helen Marie Grant | Date: Monday, 10 June 2013

Kyte - Love To Be Lost (Album Review)

Leicestershire's Kyte seem to spend a large amount of time away from home these days, having carved out a reputation for themselves in Japan. Perhaps this should not be a surprise. The subtle electropop of ‘Love to be Lost’ sounds tailor-made for a sleek, smart Tokyo. 

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 10 June 2013

Dinosaur Pile-Up - Nature Nurture (Album Review)

It hasn’t been an easy road for Dinosaur Pile-Up since their 2010 debut ‘Growing Pains’. With a revolving door policy that would make Spinal Tap weak at the knees, frontman Matt Bigland could have been forgiven for throwing in the towel long ago.

Written by: Daniel Lynch | Date: Monday, 10 June 2013

T.E Morris - And You Were The Hunter (Album Review)

It’s difficult to listen to a T.E Morris solo record without thinking of his better-known work as frontman of Her Name is Calla. World-weary vocals aside, his individual compositions occupy much the same atmospheric territory as his band. 

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 07 June 2013

Jimmy Eat World - Damage (Album Review)

It’s tougher than you think being Jimmy Eat World. They may be the much-loved elder statesmen of emo-tinged alt-rock but things still hurt and, more importantly as far as their musical output is concerned, they are a band built largely upon their limitations.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 07 June 2013

Misty Miller - Next To You (EP Review)

'Next To You', Misty Miller's latest EP, is packing a whole lot of angst. Still in her teens, the Londoner has penned a collection that takes her further from her acoustic beginnings and into a murky mixture of pop, blues and punk.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 05 June 2013

Taffy - Lixiviate (Album Review)

Taffy are back, and they're gunning hard for a spot on your summer playlist. Their second full-length, 'Lixiviate', comes on like a fuzzed-up Britpop revival meeting, picking up where their playful debut 'Caramel Sunset' left off.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 05 June 2013

City And Colour - The Hurry And The Harm (Album Review)

There’s no doubt that Dallas Green’s vocals are some of the most consistently brilliant around. From Alexisonfire to his own solo project, City and Colour, he brings character and conviction to everything he touches and 'The Hurry and The Harm' is no exception. 

Written by: Katie Vowles | Date: Tuesday, 04 June 2013

Noah And The Whale - Heart Of Nowhere (Album Review)

It wasn’t until ‘L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.’ – the lead single from Noah And The Whale’s third studio album ‘Last Night On Earth’ – first hit the airwaves in 2011 that the mainstream took the folk-pop darlings to their hearts.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Monday, 03 June 2013

The Trade - FU-GO (Album Review)

The Trade, now something of a musical institution in Dundee, have released their second full album ‘Fu-Go.’ Following on from their 2010 debut ‘Lie in the Dark,’ it’s a much more varied and developed effort.

Written by: Daniel Lynch | Date: Sunday, 02 June 2013

Shining - One One One (Album Review)

It wouldn’t be too much of an exaggeration to claim that, when they released ‘Blackjazz’ in 2010, the Norwegian Shining were one of the most exciting bands in the world. Their cocktail recipe of avant-garde jazz and industrial metal created incendiary heaviness out of two ingredients that had no place belonging together. Whilst the idea had already been utilised with far more extremity by the likes of Naked City, Shining pulled the mix together into territory that was brain-meltingly obtuse and astonishingly accessible. This was not the sound of a band solely focused on extremity and, as a result, something new was born.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Sunday, 02 June 2013

The National - Trouble Will Find Me (Album Review)

Consisting of two sets of brothers and a singer with a distinctive baritone, The National are not your normal run of the mill indie rock band; formed in 1999 in Cincinnati, Ohio, their album catalogue now reaches six - predominantly morose and dark affairs - with the release of ‘Trouble Will Find Me’.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 23 May 2013

Dark Tranquility - Construct (Album Review)

‘Construct’ is Dark Tranquillity’s tenth album and it breathes with the confidence of a band nearly twenty-five years into their career. The true masters of the Gothenburg melodic death metal sound, Dark Tranquillity have never quite reached the level of popularity of their closest associates, In Flames, or the the level of acclaim afforded to At the Gates’ classic ‘Slaughter of the Soul’ either, but there are complicated reasons for that. In Flames drastically altered their sound to reach ever bigger audiences and At the Gates split up before they had a chance to damage their legacy. Dark Tranquillity have, in the meantime, knuckled down and got on with producing brilliant record after brilliant record, with only a couple of slip-ups in their discography to date.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Thursday, 23 May 2013

Steak Number Eight - The Hutch (Album Review)

As a teenager, most of us considered trying our hand at being a band. For some - who would prefer to remain nameless - it involves cramming friends into your bedroom to attempt an all-female version of anything from Metallica to The Smiths in hope to find something that worked; nothing came of it, other than a lot of high pitched Hetfield 'Yeah's and something to cringe about in years to come. 

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Wednesday, 22 May 2013

Monster Truck - Furiosity (Album Review)

You know, Canada has been home to a lot of great music - Rush, Cancer Bats, Alexisonfire, Billy Talent, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young - and, after all of this, they just don't want to stop fuelling great music. And, luckily for rock fans, they've found another offering nestled within their borders. That band is Monster Truck. 

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Wednesday, 22 May 2013

Laura Marling - Once I Was An Eagle (Album Review)

Hype can be damaging when scrutinising the worth of an artist. Laura Marling is a young talented songwriter that I have not necessarily given the light of day. Maybe it was her association with the likes of Mumford & Sons and Noah and the Whale that affected my judgement, or perhaps I just struggled to identify her value in our dime a dozen industry – after all we already have Bat For Lashes, Martha Wainwright, Fiona Apple, Joanna Newsom...  

Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Wednesday, 22 May 2013

Eluvium - Nightmare Ending (Album Review)

Matthew Robert Cooper has been making music under the Eluvium moniker for a decade now. In that time he has become, relatively speaking, something of a big name in the ambient music world but, for many, he is still yet to release a definitive record for his project. With the epic ‘Nightmare Ending’ it feels like Cooper is going for broke to a certain extent. Is this the definitive statement that listeners have been waiting for?

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa - Seesaw (Album Review)

There was a telling lyric on the first album of sweltering soul & blues covers from former wild child Beth Hart and omnipotent guitar god Joe Bonamassa; 'well, well...getting to know you so well'. Turns out, that's exactly what they were doing. For whilst 2011's 'Don't Explain' was a huge success, it's follow up is bigger, brassier and sassier on every level. By breathing a contemporary fire into classics from Etta James, Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin, alongside modern efforts courtesy of Slackwax, Lucinda Williams and Melody Gardot, they've created an album overflowing with passion, vitality and class. If 'Don't Explain' was the sound of a musical first date brimming with potential, 'Seesaw' is very much the head-over-heels-in-love honeymoon phase.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 20 May 2013

Airbourne - Black Dog Barking (Album Review)

It's been half a decade since these ageing Aussies released 'Black Ice', the 15th studio album of their hugely influential forty year career. And now.....the wait is over! Angus and the boys are finally back!! It's time to load your guns and board the boogie train for rock & roll central, as the all conquering AC/DC are ready to don schoolboy uniforms, fire canons and seduce vixens the world over following the release of their best new record in donkeys years. What's mightily impressive about 'Black Dog Barking' is it's sheer nuclear energy, as the boys serve up a spellbinding speedball of an album that drags back the clock in sizzling style, featuring ten raucous rockers shot through with so much youthful spunk you'd swear they were actually 30 years younger. Oh, hang on a minute.....

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 17 May 2013