reviews
click here to view albums archive
5/12/2008 4:14:07 PM
Cajun Dance Party
The Colourful Life (XL)
“riddled with brass, strings, piano trills; there is something reminiscent of a sunny day on the riverside about the whole thing…”; release – ‘08
5/7/2008 4:20:21 PM
Pela
Anytown Graffiti (Great Society)
“it's like a little dog on a retractable leash flying off and levelling out when the slack is taken up…”; release – ‘08
5/7/2008 3:58:29 PM
Blood Red Shoes
Box of Secrets (V2)
“while ineptitude and resignation are recurring themes throughout, box of secrets never feels maudlin or self indulgent. In fact these themes have rarely sounded so fun…”; release – ‘08
5/7/2008 3:46:59 PM
Tapes ‘n Tapes
Walk It Off (XL)
“it starts brilliantly and is very immediate and then it forgets what it’s good at and tries to bury the melodies under it’s own importance…”; release – ‘08
5/7/2008 3:40:22 PM
Matmos
Supreme Balloon (Matador)
“no mics, no sounds of semen on paper, no bible pages, no crayfish nerve tissue no whoopee cushions and no polish trains. what we are left with is essentially seven and-a-bit tracks of matmos stuck in a sega megadrive and thrust into space…”; release – ‘08
5/1/2008 2:21:05 PM
Be Your Own Pet
Get Awkward (XL)
“fans will probably be able to nominate themselves without hearing a single track– if shouty, loud, fast and upbeat music is your thing, get awkward should be just what you’re looking for…”; release – ‘08
5/1/2008 2:18:13 PM
MIT
Coda (Half Machine)
“you feel that between the swirling of synths and the incomprehensible barking orders form an unnamed source, you’ve likely just been ordained into some unholy cult…”; release – ‘08
5/1/2008 2:12:25 PM
The Black Ghosts
Mixtape (Southern Fried)
“innovation can sometimes be an over enthused component when all most people are looking for is good music…”; release – ‘08
5/1/2008 2:06:01 PM
The Kills
Midnight Boom (Domino)
“the kills have, of late, become a name synonymous with more than just music. however, midnight bloom doesn’t offer up any alarming change of direction in sound or ethos…”; release – ‘08
4/29/2008 1:16:18 PM
Ladyhawk
Shots (Jagjaguwar)
“as driediger bleats “i know there’s no such thing as endless love” you beginning wishing that someone would just get him a stiff whiskey, remind him that his guitar would never have the audacity to cheat on him, and implore him to crank it all up again…”; release – ‘08
4/29/2008 1:12:57 PM
Kail
True Hollywood Squares (Big Dada)
“this is a clever, effortless album, rich with humour, tasty beats and intelligent characterisation. make no mistake, kail has the potential to kick it with the big boys…”; release – ‘08
4/29/2008 1:08:45 PM
Bumblebeez
Prince Umberto & the Sister of Ill (Modular)
“choice cuts include “i know that you want some of this punani” and “my jeans are tight and show off my ass.” clearly she sleeps with a copy of the female eunuch by her bedside…”; release – ‘08
4/29/2008 12:52:35 PM
Clinic
Do It! (Domino)
“clinic will allow you to bathe briefly in pools of their rebellious, brilliantined pop - but you’re going to have to work pretty hard for the pleasure…”; release – ‘08
4/25/2008 11:32:38 AM
Jim Noir
Jim Noir (My Dad)
“winston churchill said “short words are best, the old ones best of all”, and to that end I could’ve summed up this review by simply saying “ace”…”; release – ‘08
4/24/2008 1:51:55 PM
Dave Cloud & the Gospel of Power
Pleasure Before Business (Fire)
“that warm electric piano; that fuzzy guitar that softens up when it needs to, like a house-trained wolverine; those drums trying to crash out of that boxed-in frequency range…”; release – ‘08
More Album Reviews:
5ive – Hesperus (Hydrahead) Does It Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into (EMI) Adam Green - Sixes & Sevens (Rough Trade) Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles (Last Gang) Bordedoms – Super Roots 9 (Thrill Jockey) The Breeders – Mountain Battles (4AD) Land of Talk - Applause Cheer Boo Hiss (Rebel Group) B for Bang - Across the Universe of Languages (KML)
click here to view singles archive
5/7/2008 4:08:40 PM
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
Who Built The Road (V2)
“isobel campbell (former member of belle & sebastian, looks like she wouldn’t hurt a fly) and mark lanegan (former singer with screaming trees, looks like he’d eat your kidneys) are back with new single…”; release – ‘08
5/1/2008 2:09:30 PM
The Corrections
Barcode (EMI)
“it’s almost a brave move to begin your band name with ‘the’ now, such is the speed with which the name can be confused/ forgotten or simply slip unnoticed somewhere between the courteeners and the connells…”; release – ‘08
5/1/2008 2:00:46 PM
Mystery Jets
Young Love (679)
“it would be hard at the best of times to fault, let alone actively dislike the mystery jets, and this latest slice of Eel Pie life doesn’t disappoint…”; release – ‘08
4/29/2008 1:00:12 PM
The Last Shadow Puppets
The Age of the Understatement (Domino)
“audio masturbation for successful artists who want to branch out and use their credibility and success to fire something measly (in comparison to their previous offerings) into the public domain…”; release – ‘08
4/25/2008 11:44:36 AM
iLiKETRAiNS
We Go Hunting (Beggars Banquet)
“a reminder (if you needed one) that history lessons are often not all that fun…”; release – ‘08
4/25/2008 11:23:24 AM
Robyn
Who’s That Girl (Konichiwa)
“it will be interesting to see where she goes next, hopefully she can avoid the ‘get timbaland to fix it even though it’s not broken’ route currently travelled by many of her peers…”; release – ‘08
4/25/2008 11:04:06 AM
Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake
4 Minutes (Warner)
“madonna, for all her use of younger talent, has previously always been able to take unknown producers and put them in the spotlight, whilst here she’s literally barely audible, playing second fiddle on her own track…”; release – ‘08
4/25/2008 10:29:43 AM
Fleet Foxes
Sun Giant (Bella Union)
“one has to really admire bands like Fleet Foxes who can play together without any hint of ego; you cannot make something sound this perfectly layered without enjoying listening to every other musician’s parts almost as much as playing your own…”; release – ‘08
4/24/2008 2:19:28 PM
Duels
Regeneration (This is Fake DIY)
“how to take the word ‘juxtaposition’ by the horns…”; release – ‘08
4/24/2008 2:01:59 PM
Four Tet
Ringer EP (Domino)
“ever present is his elegant sense of restraint, patient and terse, building to the point of repetitiveness by which time he’s introduced a new element, skilfully staving off boredom and turning it into something enthralling…”; release – ‘08
4/24/2008 1:38:51 PM
The Envy Corps
Story Problem (Vertigo)
“i actually became concerned that the lyrics were so sickly sweet and syrupy that they might give me diabetes…”; release – ‘08
4/23/2008 12:30:56 PM
We Are The Physics
You Can Do Athletics, BTW (This Is Fake DIY)
“up-tempo, charmingly repetitive, with anthemic lyrics and catchy melodies; it’s a recipe we may have tasted before, but all the same, we’d still happily go mental for it every time…”; release – ‘08
4/22/2008 2:17:10 PM
Kid Harpoon
The Second EP (Young Turks)
“songs are earnest, lyrically astute and often just great…”; release ‘08
4/22/2008 11:54:04 AM
Fucked Up
Year of the Pig (Vice)
“this behemoth staggers on for close to 18-minutes with little or no respite – landing bludgeoning punches until the listener stops moving…”; release – ‘08
4/17/2008 12:24:04 PM
R.E.M.
Supernatural Superserious (Warner)
“whenever a new r.e.m. album looms i get nervous like a parent waiting for their child’s exam results - will this be an all a’s report with headmaster commendations, or a humiliating wall of d’s that I will once again have to shy away from, nervously laughing…?”; release – ‘08
More Single Reviews:
Ida Maria - Stella (Waterfall/RCA) The Long Blondes - Century (Rough Trade) The Teenagers – Love No (Merok) Vincent Vincent & the Villains – Pretty Girl (EMI) Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong – Lonely Buoy (Mercury) British Sea Power - No Lucifer (Rough Trade) The Enemy - This Song Is About You (Wea) Elbow - Grounds For Divorce (Universal)
click here to view concerts archive
5/2/2008 2:57:01 PM
Boris & Growing
ULU, London – 24/4/08
“after the initial excitement of the riff pounding you start to listen more carefully. and after a while of intense focusing, boris begin to work away on you until the corners of your mouth slowly fold upwards…”
5/1/2008 12:19:06 PM
The Teenagers
The Thekla, Bristol – 5/4/08
“i’m incensed by the time they’re done! teenagers, how can you be so great on record and on paper and yet such a shambles live…?”
4/28/2008 3:39:20 PM
Bjork
Hammersmith Apollo, London – 14/4/08
“i cried a lot during the gig. it was that powerful. and i don’t think i’ve ever been so sad about the time being 11pm…”
4/21/2008 3:42:41 PM
Portishead
Civic Centre, Wolverhampton – 13/4/08
“gibbons has never been some bauble or fashionable accoutrement employed to detract attention away from faceless collaborators, rather more an incredible, singular talent capable of arresting vocal performances…”
4/10/2008 3:54:28 PM
Willy Vlautin & Paul Brainard/Richmond Fontaine
The Boogaloo/Luminaire, London - 1/4/08 / 11/8/07
“the grim urban strait that is the kilburn high road and the leafy suburbia of highgate are pretty far removed from the dusty western states of america, but for one night each side of the london winter the luminaire and the boogaloo are transformed into the sun-baked blue collar america inhabited by the motley collection of down and outs that wander nomadically through vlautin’s songs…”
More Concert Reviews:
Yeasayer – ICA, London – 6/3/08 Islands - Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London - 26/2/2008 R.E.M. - Royal Albert Hall, London – 24/3/08 Supergrass – The Roundhouse, London – 14/3/08 Laura Marling - Union Chapel, London – 9/3/08 Loose Salute – The Borderline, London – 3/10/08 Billy Bragg, Dan Le Sac & Scroobious Pip – Roundhouse, London – 5/3/08 Tapes n Tapes – The Old Blue Last, London – 3/3/08
click here to view festivals archive
5/13/2008 5:37:13 PM
Red Stripe Camden Crawl
North London - 18&19/4/08
agaskodo teliverek, kode 9, cage the elephant, lykke li, robyn, slow club, fanfarlo, m83, ipso facto, official secrets act, elle s'appelle, future of the left, acoustic ladyland, metronomy, johnny foreigner, lo fi fnk and post war years made all the crawling worth it.
More Festival Reviews:
(SWN) Festival – Cardiff – 9-11/11/07 Ladyfest – Bristol, 27/8-2/9/07 Loop Festival – Brighton, 18/8/07 The Carling Weekend – Reading & Leeds – 24-26/8/07 1234 Shoreditch - Shoreditch Park, London - 5/8/07 Green Man - Glasnuck Park, Brecon Beacons - 17-19/8/07 V Festival – Hylands Park, Chelmsford – 18&19/8/07 Field Day – Victoria Park, London – 11/8/07
click here to view DVD archive
1/9/2008 3:10:31 PM
Kaada & Patton
Live (Ipecac)
“does mike patton really know what he is doing? or does he just constantly find himself in these weird situations?...”; release – ‘07
More DVD Reviews:
The Flaming Lips – U.F.O.s at the Zoo DVD (Warners) Pink Floyd – P*U*L*S*E (EMI) Green Day - 'Bullet In A Bible' (Warners) Sex Pistols - 'The Great Rock N' Roll Swindle' (SonyBMG) Graham Coxon - 'Live At The Zodiac' (Parlophone) Various Acts - 'Glastonbury Anthems' (EMI) Pitchshifter - 'PSI-entology' (Sanctuary) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 'Tell Me What Rockers To Swallow' (Polydor)