Wonderland - Wonderland (EP Review)

Well this is a strange review for me to be writing. I don't usually dedicate my time to listen to new, stereotypical girl bands who I just happened to hear on the radio late one night. But I decided I'd do something a bit different, and I'm actually very much glad that I did.

Written by: Sophie Monk | Date: Sunday, 10 April 2011

My Passion - Inside This Machine (Album Review)

Having had their follow up to ‘Corporate Flesh Party’ sitting in waiting for around a year, My Passion can breathe a sigh of relief and the fans can become amped with excitement as ‘Inside This Machine’ is finally about to be unleashed into the world.

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Sunday, 10 April 2011

The Retrospective Soundtrack Players – Cool Hand Luke (Album Review)

Not every band would invite an audience member up on stage to try and eat 50 eggs in three minutes (fried egg sweets, mind), but that just the kind of band The Retrospective Soundtrack Players are: full of cunning ideas and not afraid to sound slightly gimmicky.

Written by: Chris Jefferies | Date: Sunday, 10 April 2011

Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows - D.R.U.G.S (Album Review)

Super groups seem to be popping up all over the place these days with the likes of Them Crooked Vultures, The Damned Things and anything of Jack White’s design from the last four years all stirring up headlines. So here is to anyone who thought the US punk and post hardcore scene was on the descent. An out of this world, face slappingly unprecedented collision of Chiodos' frontman Craig Owens joining forces with ex-members of Story of the Year,  From First To Last, Matchbook Romance and Undermined. With credentials like these, It didn’t take long before this mammoth gathering of artists were united under a signing from Sire Records and now their self titled release has hit the UK shores.

Written by: Owen Sheppard | Date: Friday, 08 April 2011

Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (Album Review)

Despite the lukewarm response to ‘Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace’ in 2007 Foo Fighters have spent the ensuing years establishing themselves as a Worldwide stadium rock band and ‘Wasting Light’, which will be released on April 11th, has had a bigger sense of anticipation than anything they’ve done previously.

Written by: Dave Ball | Date: Thursday, 07 April 2011

Letlive – Fake History (Album Review)

With track titles like ‘The Sick, Sick 6.8 Billion’, it’s already clear to see that LA post-hardcore rockers letlive have got somewhat of an oddly comical and twisted view of things. But does that come across in their music? Let’s hope so. Here, for their third LP release and debut on Epitaph Records, letlive are trying to break past the multitude of existing so-called hardcore bands and lead the way in something that they could – almost – call their own.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Wednesday, 06 April 2011

Thursday – No Devolucion (Album Review)

Is it really true? Have New Jersey hardcore screamsters Thursday really gone soft for their latest album? Well… kinda. Fans of the band may have read in recent reports that the post-hardcore sextet have opted to take things a bit darker and slower for their sixth offering ‘No Devolucion’. However, if you’re already starting to imagine a much duller effort this time around, think again. Thursday may have lost some – and I do mean some - of their original ferocity, but the intensity is certainly all still there.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Wednesday, 06 April 2011

Blackfield - Welcome To My DNA (Album Review)

It’s always hard to know exactly why Blackfield exist. That is no slight on the work the group have produced, just an acknowledgement of the fact that the two perpetrators of the melancholic alt-rock that comes under the Blackfield name are two musicians with careers that are both critically, and to an extent, commercially successful. Aviv Geffen is a bona fida rock superstar in his native Israel, despite his often controversial left-wing political positions. Steven Wilson is known the world over, predominantly for his work as main man in modern art rock giants Porcupine Tree, but also for a wide variety of other experimental music projects.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 04 April 2011

Gang Of Four - Who Am I? (Single Review)

“Who can steal when everything is free?  Who am I when everything is me?”

Written by: James Ball | Date: Monday, 04 April 2011

Toy Horses - Toy Horses (Album Review)

It's only April and you're probably already tired of hearing about the 'next big things' in music. Toy Horses, however, are something else. This indie rock duo, made up of Adam. D. Franklin and Tom Williams from South Wales, release their self-titled debut album this month which is full to the brim with offbeat and loveable tracks.

Written by: Elin Sutton | Date: Monday, 04 April 2011

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