Radius System - Architects of Yesterday (Album Review)

French experimental rockers Radius System explode back into life with the release of their new record ‘Architects of Yesterday’. The Parisian duo, founded ten years ago by Gregory Hoepffner and Axel Dallou,have been conspicuously quiet since their 2008 release ‘Escape/Restart’. The difficulties they faced transferring that record to a live audience saw the pair dissolve the live band altogether and the frustration and anger felt during this period is evident in ‘Architects of Yesterday’, but this is not a bad thing.

Written by: Patrick Gormley | Date: Monday, 04 April 2011

Fight Like Apes - Jenny Kelly (Single Review)

Since release of their debut album 'Fight like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion' a steady buzz has been growing around the alternative indie scene for this Irish quartet who this time have picked up a signing from Model Citizen Records. What's more, Its been almost a year of painstaking writing and recording with Gang of Four's Andy Gill and after all their toil the end product, their second full length release 'Body Of Christ and Legs Like Tina Turner' is only weeks away from its long awaited arrival on the 25th of April. Andy Gill himself has awarded them with praise as great as to name them "the best band I have worked with in years" and as if we weren't excited enough, the band have just dropped this absolute gem of a single 'Jenny Kelly' to stir up interest even more.

Written by: Owen Sheppard | Date: Thursday, 31 March 2011

Sick Puppies - Tri-Polar (Album Review)

“Sick Puppies? Where have I heard that name before?” It is okay if this is your current train of thought, and no, the answer isn’t the latest RSPCA advert. This post-grunge trio have helped notch up an impressive 67 million views on Youtube with their song 'All the Same' being the soundtrack to ‘Free Hugs Campaign’, one of the most heart-warming videos on the entire internet.

Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Thursday, 31 March 2011

Alvarez Kings - Patience is Strength (EP Review)

Thanks to a firmly built live reputation, this Sheffield quartet are hardly new to proceedings, and here on 'Patience is Strength' they’ve established a strong sound of their own before even releasing a full LP.

Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Thursday, 31 March 2011

The Black Angels - Haunting At 1300 McKinley (Single Review)

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding The Black Angels at the moment Stateside. Lucrative slots on Conan, a recent performance alongside Queens of the Stone Age and a Billboard Top 50 Album already under their belts, it’s about time they showed their mettle over here in the UK, right?

Written by: James Ball | Date: Thursday, 31 March 2011

Eliza Doolittle - Mr Medicine (Single Review)

It seems like forever since the first single from pop singer Eliza Doolittle hit our ears so I was a little bit surprised to find out that this track, 'Mr. Medicine', is still from the same album, her self-titled debut.

Written by: Liam Gascoigne | Date: Thursday, 31 March 2011

Adele - 21 (Album Review)

There isn’t much to say about Adele that hasn’t already been said. If you’re reading this now in Spring 2011 then you won’t be able to leave your house without hearing Adele at some point during your day. If you’re reading this in, say, Spring 2021 then Adele will probably be the Prime Minister and she’ll be singing your budget to you in order to try and make it sound that little bit less depressing. She is certainly popular enough.

Written by: Liam Gascoigne | Date: Thursday, 31 March 2011

Chris Brown - Look At Me Now (Single Review)

I’m going to be honest, like most people, Chris Brown isn’t top of my list of people to share a pint with but ever since smashing on the scene with ‘Run It’, his musical talent has been obvious and has evolved through every album.  This single has been taken from the album ‘F.A.M.E’ which stands for ‘For All My Enemies’ and is strangely endearing and I shall tell you why.

Written by: Steve Wellman | Date: Thursday, 31 March 2011

Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels (Re-Released Album Review)

It’s hard to believe that ‘Searching for the Young Soul Rebels’ is over 30 years old. It sounds fresh and draws influences from an eclectic mix of genres that are still present in the charts to this day.

Written by: Ali Shutler | Date: Thursday, 31 March 2011

Kevin Rutkiewicz - Fair Drawin In (Single Review)

It would have been so, so easy to make fun just before even listening to this. Picture the scene:  You are a footballer just nudging your thirties. You played for the mighty St Johnstone and Aberdeen (before being loaned off to Dunfermline) but have had a career, like many footballers, that have seen an injury or seven. Therefore, as a side venture, a hobby, or a possible setup for a new post-SPL career, you decide it’s a good idea to pick up a guitar and microphone. Rutkiewicz has said he started writing music due to a long injury layoff and the birth of his daughter, which is nice to know but doesn’t stop the dread as the CD begins the spin inside the player.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Thursday, 31 March 2011

Mastodon – Live at the Aragon (Album Review)

Mastodon are not the kind of band to do things in small measures. Their last album ‘Crack the Skye’ was, in a way not dissimilar to their previous three releases, a rock record of mammoth proportions, as their name suggests. Fortunately, ‘Live at the Aragon’ is no exception. ‘Crack the Skye’, the fourth album from the band, captured Mastodon at their ferocious and genre-challenging best, mixing gigantic riffs and rhythms with mind-bendingly abstract lyrics and song structures. This live album, recorded in Chicago in 2009, takes things a step further.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Tuesday, 29 March 2011

J Mascis - Several Shades of Why (Album Review)

J Mascis has worked hard to make himself one of the most respected and recognisable musicians to emerge from the USA’s underground rock scene. He is of course most famous for his work with seminal alt-rock band Dinosaur Jr. and his famous “monolithic” guitar riffs.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Sunday, 27 March 2011

Scumbag Philosopher - Scumbag Philosopher (Single Review)

Scumbag Philosopher (formerly the hilariously titled Fuck Dress) do like to keep things simple it seems. The duo behind the wonderfully titled 'God is Dead so I Listen to Radiohead” grumble their way through this slab of dirty avant-garde rock without really doing anything that catches the ear. Or at least it seemed after the first listen.  Stick this on in the background while doing the dishes and all you’ll hear is a simple drumbeat backed up by a dribbling vocal and a guitar riff that would make Hendrix turn.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Friday, 25 March 2011

Hyper - The Panic (Album Review)

When your day job is to be a DJ, a Producer and a Label Boss you’re going to be a busy boy. Especially when writing your third studio album, writing tunes for the soundtracks of hit shows and films such as CSI, Ugly Betty and Borat. Not to mention the countless remixes for everyone from Foals to Pink and everyone in between. Hyper is a man filled with ideas and every single one he’s ever had seems to have been planted somewhere in this third studio offering 'The Panic'.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Friday, 25 March 2011

Das Fluff - Happy People/Hey You! (Double A-Side Single Review)

Ooh. Now this is dirrrrty.

Written by: James Ball | Date: Friday, 25 March 2011

The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? (Album Review)

From hearing all the hype about The Vaccines over the past few months, I wasn't sure exactly what I did expect from The Vaccines.

Written by: Liam Gascoigne | Date: Monday, 21 March 2011

Noah And The Whale - L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. (Single Review)

I feel like I’ve heard Noah and the Whale’s new single somewhere before, there’s something about the breathless delivery of the verses that’s very familiar, and the way the name of the song is spelled out in the choruses is giving me a certain sense of déjà vu.

Written by: Jonathan Cockburn | Date: Monday, 21 March 2011

Blackwater James – Vol. 1 (EP Review)

Blackwater James from Nashville, Tennessee play music that sounds exactly like what you’d expect a rock band from Nashville, Tennessee to sound like – hard-rockin’ party tunes interspersed with heavy blues riffs doused in an ample amount of Jack Daniels. Unlike fellow Tennesseans Kings of Leon, Blackwater James have chosen not to wander into trendy indie territory as the Followills have and are instead sticking with their old school influences.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Sunday, 20 March 2011

Noah And The Whale - Last Night On Earth (Album Review)

Noah and the Whale’s career so far reads like a book; a continuing autobiographical account that tracks the naivety, excitement and the plights of youth. Their debut ‘Peaceful The World Lays Me Down’ introduced them as whimsical, innocent and a little twee, whilst the follow up ‘First Days of Spring’ progressed into a realisation that love can actually hit you hard and smash you to pieces.

Written by: Hayley Taylor | Date: Wednesday, 16 March 2011

Green Day - Cigarettes & Valentines (Single Review)

Premiering in a live capacity on Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown World Tour and said to be a song on the unreleased album of the same name from the band’s history, the track ‘Cigarettes and Valentines’ is finally getting an official release on their upcoming release ‘Awesome as Fuck’. 

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Wednesday, 16 March 2011