HEALTH - DISCO4 :: PART II (Album Review)

Photo: Daniel Roland Tierney HEALTH cut their teeth with squat gigs in Los Angeles before making their name as an ambitious, uncompromising industrial-noise band. But with 2020’s ‘DISCO4 :: PART I’ they pushed into uncharted waters, eschewing their earlier sound for a collaborative approach that threw together hip hop stars such as JPEGMAFIA with hardcore legends Full of Hell and synthwave maestro Perturbator.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Wednesday, 06 April 2022

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Unlimited Love (Album Review)

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 12th studio album reunites them with the dream team of guitarist John Frusciante and producer Rick Rubin behind the mixing desk. The result is a 17-track record of terrific poise, focus and musicality, and while it doesn't break completely new ground for the band, it is their freshest and most confident record in years.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Tuesday, 05 April 2022

Camp Cope - Running With The Hurricane (Album Review)

Photo: Nick Mckk Some people believe only unhappy people make good music. Camp Cope’s third LP, ‘Running With The Hurricane’, reckons otherwise. Vocalist and guitarist Georgia Maq explained in recent interviews that the Australian band are now more at peace, but that’s not to say they’ve abandoned their candid songwriting for empty tracks about love and unity. They continue to tackle topics completely on their own terms, successfully avoiding tropey pitfalls in the process.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Monday, 04 April 2022

Destroyer - Labyrinthitis (Album Review)

Photo: Nicolas Bragg Destroyer’s 13th studio album comes at you like a hot mess. It’s a chaotic blend of ideas, tropes and sounds welded together by the ever-melodious warblings of songwriter Dan Bejar.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Thursday, 31 March 2022

Phife Dawg - Forever (Album Review)

Six years after his death, the first posthumous release from the A Tribe Called Quest rapper born Malik Taylor has been put out by his friends and associates. The result is a respectful record of throwback boom-bap beats with Taylor’s bars providing mostly thoughtful poetry over the top.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Tuesday, 29 March 2022

Aldous Harding - Warm Chris (Album Review)

Aldous Harding’s music appears to be constantly unfolding, its eccentricities shifting and surprising in the most delicately unpredictable manner. Her brand of alt-folk/chamber pop initially appears gentle and poised, but just beneath the surface lie intricate workings and alarming contortions.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Monday, 28 March 2022

Rosalía - Motomami (Album Review)

Photo: Daniel Sannwald On Rosalía’s third album, the Catalan star has delivered a spectacular 16 track explosion of wit, innovation and rugged beauty that uses collaborations from several grandees sparingly and wisely.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Friday, 25 March 2022

Midlake - For the Sake of Bethel Woods (Album Review)

Photo: Barbara FG Nine years after the release of their fourth (and many thought, final) album, Texan indie-proggers Midlake have returned with an album of deft, intricate songs that land between the dreamy satire of Grizzly Bear and the low slung mysticism of Grandaddy.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Thursday, 24 March 2022

Charli XCX - Crash (Album Review)

Charli XCX had already turned the game on its head with her bold, hyperpop-influenced ‘Pop 2’ and ‘Charli’, but ‘Crash’ is a bold leap forwards, embracing both new and old on a riveting, innovative work that upends the pop sphere all over again. 

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Thursday, 24 March 2022

The Shires - 10 Year Plan (Album Review)

It doesn’t count as sticking your neck out to say that if you loved The Shires’ first four albums there’s absolutely no reason you won’t fall Stetson over spurs for ‘10 Year Plan.’  On a bright and cheery effort, the hugely likeable duo once again execute their intentions with characteristic, down-to-earth charisma and even push the envelope a little further to boot. The only question is, will they need to give it a bigger nudge in future?

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 23 March 2022

Rex Orange County - Who Cares? (Album Review)

Photo: Alexandra Waespi On Rex Orange County’s fourth album, the Surrey softboi troubadour has served up 11 tracks of pleasant DIY chamber pop, somewhere between the 1970s tween chanson of Leo Sayer and the mid-Atlantic chutzpah of Ed Sheeran. It’s likeable, occasionally impressive music that will certainly land with his youthful audience, but it lacks depth, a sense of risk taking, and vocal derring do. 

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 23 March 2022

Bryan Adams - So Happy It Hurts (Album Review)

Bryan Adams has nothing left to prove and little still to achieve, which might explain why the Canadian’s last few albums, some fine moments aside, have been as bland as a cardboard omelette. ‘So Happy It Hurts’ isn’t perfect, but its ebullient rock-based songs represent a sizeable improvement on recent offerings. 

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 22 March 2022

Hurray for the Riff Raff - Life on Earth (Album Review)

Photo: Akasha Rabut Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Segarra has never fallen short when challenging life. Across six studio albums they have not been shy in speaking about things that weigh heavy on their shoulders, while intertwining them with ‘80s electro, punk, rock, and Americana. Regardless of what undertones are carrying their voice, Segarra has managed to bring ferocity and elegance together.

Written by: Jessica Howkins | Date: Tuesday, 22 March 2022

Ghost - Impera (Album Review)

Some of life’s greatest things were the result of accidents. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by accident. Coca-Cola was invented by accident. And, for their fifth album, Ghost have accidentally written a rock opera. 

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Monday, 21 March 2022

Stereophonics - Oochya! (Album Review)

There is something vaguely ridiculous about Stereophonics. Even in their swaggering turn-of-the-century heyday they felt a little vintage—rolling back the years with sludgy guitar, casual rock arrangements and formulaic balladry.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Friday, 18 March 2022

The Weather Station - How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars (Album Review)

Photo: Danielle Rubi The Weather Station, the project of Toronto artist Tamara Lindeman, released a critically acclaimed record with 2021’s ‘Ignorance’, adding rock elements and unwavering momentum to a tapestry of intricate instrumentation and death-defying vocal grace. 

Written by: Matty Pywell | Date: Wednesday, 16 March 2022

Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There (Album Review)

Photo: Rosie Fletcher The whiplash changes and complex time signatures of jazz can be disorienting and confusing when sewn into rock structures. But London septet Black Country, New Road have always been different. Their 2021 debut ‘For The First Time’ was a dizzying feast, and on ‘Ants From Up There’, we see the band step back and refine their sound.

Written by: Jessica Howkins | Date: Tuesday, 15 March 2022

Tears For Fears - The Tipping Point (Album Review)

Photo: Frank Ockenfels Almost 18 years after the release of the erroneously titled ‘Everybody Loves A Happy Ending’, Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal have returned with a mightily impressive album that, by sounding like classic Tears For Fears without a hint of anachronism, has swerved the potential pitfalls that can befall artists who don’t stay true to themselves.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 11 March 2022

Vein.fm - This World Is Going To Ruin You (Album Review)

There’s not much to cheer about in the world right now. Our social and political fabric is being pulled apart at the seams. Vein.fm’s ‘This World Is Going To Ruin You’ serves as a potent reaction to the encircling crises—it is a foaming-at-the-mouth rampage, lashing out at all in its path.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Thursday, 10 March 2022

Avril Lavigne - Love Sux (Album Review)

Photo: Ryan McFadden This was always going to happen. Pop-punk is basking in a nostalgia-fuelled resurgence, with fans past and present running back to worship at the altars of Mark Hoppus, Hayley Williams, and of course, Avril Lavigne. 

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Tuesday, 08 March 2022