Biffy Clyro Are Taking Their Tops Off At The Metro Arena
Currently preparing for a European tour, Kilmarnock band Biffy Clyro must find it hard not be constantly smug at the moment. Having recently added a headline slot at Leeds and Reading Festivals to...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Daughter – If You Leave
Daughter If You Leave (4AD) ****~ (4/5) Long term darlings of the small club touring scene, Daughter finally step up to the nation’s record store shelves and Amazon baskets this month with their...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: BRMC – Specter At The Feast
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Specter At The Feast (Abstract Dragon Records) ***~~ (3/5) BRMC have always slightly disappointed me, because having saddled themselves with one of THE great rock ‘n’ roll...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Laish – Obituaries
Laish Obituaries (Folkwit) ****~ (4/5) Laish come burdened with the ‘indie folk’ tag – a poisoned chalice, and not entirely accurate: their intricate, string and wind driven baroque sound suggests...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: The Smoking Hearts – Victory!
The Smoking Hearts Victory! (Bomber Music) ***~~ (3/5) There’s something about Victory! that doesn’t quite gel for me, and I think it’s the vocals: singer Ben Mills seems to be in a different band...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Die! Die! Die! – Harmony
Die! Die! Die! Harmony (Smalltown America) ***~~ (3/5) Awful name! Awful name! Awful name! Remove that from the equation though, and you’re left with a rather nifty little power-trio here. On their...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: The Flaming Lips – The Terror
The Flaming Lips The Terror (Bella Union) ***~~ (3/5) There’s a lot riding on this record. I’ve been a Lips fan for 25 years and never thought they’d use up the love I had for them, but that time was...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Hey Colossus – Cuckoo Live Life Like Cuckoo
Hey Colossus Cuckoo Live Life Like Cuckoo (MIE) ***** (5/5) This album is a fucking BEAST! 10 years after they formed, and a few months after they absolutely killed it at Supersonic, Hey Colossus are...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Mudhoney – Vanishing Point
Mudhoney Vanishing Point (Sub Pop) ***~~ (3/5) 25 years after Touch Me, I’m Sick, you find yourself wondering if the world even needs a new Mudhoney album. It probably does, but sadly not this one....
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Edwyn Collins – Understated
Edwyn Collins Understated (AED) ****~ (4/5) This is Edwyn Collins 8th solo album. That’s right, 8th! That isn’t counting any of his infectious 80’s work with former band Orange Juice. Previous album,...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Annie Dressner – East Twenties EP
Annie Dressner East Twenties EP (Self-release) ****~ (4/5) Annie Dressner’s debut album, Strangers Who Knew Each Other’s Names (2011), makes you yearn for more sunny days and walks in the park. Her...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Midas Fall – Wilderness
Midas Fall Wilderness (Monotreme) ****~ (4/5) A harrowing album which produces haunting vocals, Midas Fall have spent around three years carving out this album with its distinctive and captivating...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Hiss Golden Messenger – Haw
Hiss Golden Messenger Haw (Paradise Of Bachelors) ****½ (4.5/5) If anyone ever asks me what time and place in musical history I would I go back to the answer is always the same – Laurel Canyon, LA, in...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Fine Times – S/T
Fine Times S/T (Light Organ Records) **~~~ (2/5) Fine Times kind of remind me of the pavement, or the colour of my wallpaper – just there. This is synth-pop to the core. Whilst this album is catchy,...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Mister Lies – Mowgli
Mister Lies Mowgli (Lefse) ***~~ (3/5) As the final track of Mister Lies’ first full LP, Mowgli, expires in swirling looping motifs, and reaching (but inaudible) vocal samples, this new set of music...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Lower Plenty – Hard Rubbish
Lower Plenty Hard Rubbish (Fire Records) **~~~ (2/5) Relishing in the muffled tones of guitars and the rustles of irregular percussion, Lower Plenty disguise their tight musicianship, framing their...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Dear Reader – Rivonia
Dear Reader Rivonia (City Slang) ***~~ (3/5) At a time when musicians actively avoid tackling any real issues or events, Rivonia by Dear Reader (aka Cherylin MacNeil) is a breath of fresh air. This is...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Kurt Vile – Walkin On A Pretty Daze
Kurt Vile Walkin On A Pretty Daze (Matador Records) ***** (5/5) The eponymous track is a rich, nine and a half minute strummer on which Vile coos “yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah”. In doing so he turns the...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Meat Puppets – Rat Race
Meat Puppets Rat Race (Megaforce Records) ***½~ (3.5/5) Barely in tune, languorous vocals, arrangements that run all over the shop, utterly woeful album art…yep, there’s no mistaking Rat Race for the...
View ArticleALBUM REVIEW: Iron & Wine – Ghost On Ghost
Iron And Wine Ghost On Ghost (4AD) ****~ (4/5) As has become the norm, Sam Beam recorded alongside a long list of musicians. There is a massive soul feel to the majority of the tracks; while Grace For...
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