Joy Crookes - Juniper (Album Review)

Photo: Ewen Spencer Joy Crookes’ ‘Juniper’ offers a particularly potent pleasure: letting time melt away while succumbing to her hypnotic voice. It’s a feeling that persists throughout a record that has a noticeably nostalgic pull, reminiscent of the British soul and R&B scenes that produced Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Adele in short order. 

Written by: James Palaczky | Date: Friday, 26 September 2025

NewDad - Altar (Album Review)

Photo: Peter Eason Daniels Galway’s NewDad launched themselves onto the scene at the start of 2024 with ‘Madra’, a debut that displayed an infectious blend of shoegaze, indie-pop and indie rock. They now return barely 18 months later with their sophomore record, ‘Altar’, which underlines their status as one of Ireland’s fastest-rising bands and shows real progression from their debut. 

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Friday, 26 September 2025

Wednesday - Bleeds (Album Review)

Photo: Graham Tolbert Wednesday’s sixth studio album announces them as creative alchemists, transforming the emotional wreckage of relentless touring throughout 2024 and the dissolution of vocalist Karly Hartzman and guitarist MJ Lenderman’s romantic relationship into their best work yet. Lenderman’s presence looms large across these 12 tracks, many written before the split but prescient in capturing the entropy of romance.

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Thursday, 25 September 2025

Nation of Language - Dance Called Memory (Album Review)

With a sound that incorporates elements of pop, post-punk and heavy synths, Nation of Language’s sound is eclectic and inviting, with their fourth LP ‘Dance Called Memory’ suggesting once again that they should be on more people’s radars.

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Thursday, 25 September 2025

KennyHoopla - conditions of an orphan// (Album Review)

Photo: Brittany Young When you hit shuffle on KennyHoopla’s discography you’re met with a whiplash-inducing mix of sounds. Across the past few years, the Wisconsin-born musician has gleefully hopped between genres, from pop-punk and emo revival to indie-pop and new wave-tinged alt-rock. The 28-year-old has zig-zagged between sounds at an impressive rate, but on his latest EP conditions of an orphan//’ he plants his feet firmly in the jagged, sweat-soaked world of mid-2000s dance-punk.

Written by: Maddy Howell | Date: Wednesday, 24 September 2025

Baxter Dury - Allbarone (Album Review)

Photo: Tom Beard On his ninth studio album, Baxter Dury is still dabbling in dry wit and observational storytelling, elevated by electro-pop and dance beats. It’s a tried and tested formula that has garnered him critical acclaim but, while there are moments of brilliance on ‘Allbarone’, at times it feels like he is trying to be a bit too clever.

Written by: Sarah Taylor | Date: Tuesday, 23 September 2025

Ho99o9 - Tomorrow We Escape (Album Review)

Photo: Nick Fancher Ho99o9 have always been tough to define. Punk-rap, hardcore hip-hop, horrorcore, noise-punk — all of these labels and more have been affixed to the New Jersey duo’s music, which is a chaotic blend of electronics and rock instrumentation, poetic lyrics and anarchic yells. Within this context, the band’s third album flips expectations in a wholly new way.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Monday, 22 September 2025

JADE - That's Showbiz Baby! (Album Review)

Following her success as a member of Little Mix, many expected big things from JADE as a solo artist. Her debut album ‘That’s Showbiz Baby!’ doesn’t just meet those expectations, it exceeds them in every way. Pushing back against the difficulties of going it alone, this is loud, powerful and innovative pop music.

Written by: Laura Mills | Date: Friday, 19 September 2025

Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Perimenopop (Album Review)

Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s post-Saltburn resurgence continues with ‘Perimenopop’, a record that showcases the singer at her most confident and self-assured. Following Murder On The Dancefloor’s viral TikTok resurgence in late 2023, her eighth LP stays true to the sounds that made her a megastar at the turn of the millennium, putting out infectious chart-topping hits in quick succession.

Written by: Issy Herring | Date: Thursday, 18 September 2025

Algernon Cadwallader - Trying Not To Have A Thought (Album Review)

Photo: Scott Troyan As the Boss once sang: maybe everything that dies some day comes back. We are haunted by recursions and revivals. In music, this has manifested largely as defunct acts rarely staying dead. Streaming technology means that we no longer consume art in a perpetual present, meaning that bands of the past are, essentially, as alive today as any active band.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Thursday, 18 September 2025

Nova Twins - Parasites & Butterflies (Album Review)

Photo: Nicole Chen Nova Twins have certainly been living up to their name. With the one-two of their 2020 debut album ‘Who Are The Girls?’ and the ensuing ‘Supernova’ accompanied by some massive live shows, vocalist-guitarist Amy Love and bassist Georgia South have been burning bright. But the duo’s third album ‘Parasites & Butterflies’ dims their light a little.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Wednesday, 17 September 2025

Ed Sheeran - Play (Album Review)

Photo: Petros Studio   Ed Sheeran always seems to be riding high, topping charts, scooping platinum records and selling out stadiums, but ‘Play’ shows that he’s still able to adapt to changing surroundings. Following the mixed reception afforded to his last couple of LPs, it is his attempt at a gamechanger, seeking to offer a slice of individuality while pulling from some wide-reaching influences. 

Written by: Issy Herring | Date: Wednesday, 17 September 2025

Djo - The Crux Deluxe (Album Review)

Photo: Piers Greenan Until recently, Joe Keery was best known for portraying lovable jock Steve Harrington in the global Netflix hit Stranger Things. Lately, though, he’s changed that perception by finding success in the music world as Djo. In March, a Brit Award nomination came for hazy online sleeper hit End of Beginning and, in May, his third studio album ‘The Crux’ arrived to critical acclaim. Now, he’s re-upped that record with a deluxe edition that is, essentially, a whole new record.

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Tuesday, 16 September 2025

Shame - Cutthroat (Album Review)

Shame’s ‘Cutthroat’ brings fierce, intense energy from the get-go, reinforcing the idea that the south London post-punks are a band unafraid to try new things.  Produced by John Congleton, whose oddball pop approach has been employed by everyone from St. Vincent to Mannequin Pussy, it’s a bold record that justifies their confidence.

Written by: Laura Mills | Date: Monday, 15 September 2025

Suede - Antidepressants (Album Review)

Photo: Dean Chalkley Suede never quite fit into the blokey Britpop box in the 90s, though their self-titled debut could be said to have pioneered the genre, and they have subsequently done much to distance themselves from the label, instead pointing to the importance of glam-rock and grittier post-punk  in shaping their sound. Now 10 albums into their career, and five into their dazzling second act post-reformation, ‘Antidepressants’ drives that idea home in fine style.

Written by: Sarah Taylor | Date: Friday, 12 September 2025

Big Thief - Double Infinity (Album Review)

Not many bands have been quite as prolific and consistent as Big Thief over the past decade. From their aptly named 2016 debut ‘Masterpiece’ to 2022’s ambitious ‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You’, they have produced some of the most beautiful and celebrated alternative music in recent memory. A three year gap between albums, then, has built quite the sense of anticipation for ‘Double Infinity’.

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Thursday, 11 September 2025

CMAT - Euro-Country (Album Review)

After a string of triumphant festival appearances and a viral Tik-Tok dance craze, CMAT is finally having her moment. The country-pop singer’s signature tragicomic songwriting and enviable vocal range are turned up to 11 on ‘Euro-Country’, a third full length LP that runs on sharp song-writing and brutally honest self-assessment.

Written by: Sarah Taylor | Date: Thursday, 11 September 2025

Saint Etienne - International (Album Review)

Photo: Rob Baker Ashton It’s never easy saying goodbye. In a year already heavy with cultural farewells, Saint Etienne’s announcement that their 13th studio album would be their last carried a particular sting. For three decades Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell have been purveyors of bittersweet pop, folding club textures and wistful references into something recognisably their own. ‘International’ is their parting shot — a colourful, guest-heavy affair that’s less a solemn wake and more a leaving do in a pub with a cake.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 10 September 2025

David Byrne - Who Is The Sky? (Album Review)

Photo: Shervin Lainez Thanks to his peerless work with Talking Heads, David Byrne needs no introduction. But, in the years since the seminal post-punk group disbanded, he has continued to make pioneering music that spans genres. ‘Who Is The Sky?’ is his first album since ‘American Utopia’ arrived in 2018 and it shows an artist continuing to push boundaries and further define his legacy into his 70s.

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Tuesday, 09 September 2025

Blood Orange - Essex Honey (Album Review)

Photo: Vinca Petersen Dev Hynes is a singular talent: a genre-hopping auteur with an exquisite ability to capture a feeling in scattered soundscapes. Informed by grief at the death of his mother and the rose-tinted nostalgia of revisiting his hometown of Ilford, his fifth album as Blood Orange, ‘Essex Honey’, does all that and more, its reflections on life and loss held aloft by complex melodies and poignant vocal performances.

Written by: Sarah Taylor | Date: Monday, 08 September 2025