Not Forgotten: Little Feat – Dixie Chicken
The third album from Little Feat saw a subtle move towards a more groove-laden funk style. While Lowell George was still band leader, he was starting to share more in the way of songwriting duties, and the addition of new band members, Paul Barrere and Sam Clayton, saw Little Feat approach Dixie Chicken with a …
Live Review: Super Furry Animals – The Leadmill – 26 April 2016
It’s twenty years since The Super Furry Animals last played The Leadmill, thirteen years since my friend Nibbsy introduced me to the band’s idiosyncratic charms (needless to say, I became an instant fan) and five years since I met the wonderful woman with whom I am celebrating the fifth anniversary of meeting for the first …
Not Forgotten: The Divine Comedy – Casanova
Released during a time when a generation were generally in thrall to the simple pleasures of Britpop, were pilled-up moon-eyed dancers, or still moping around listening to American angst merchants, The Divine Comedy’s Casanova was an album that stuck out like a sore thumb with its bright and breezy charms. Sophisticated without being self important, …
Not Forgotten: Spirit – The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
Spirit are a band I knew by reputation rather than any familiarity with their music, at least until I picked up a copy of The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus late last year. While at the moment they are best known for being the band that Led Zeppelin are currently accused of plagiarising (despite the …
Album Review: The Posies – Solid States
While power-pop has undergone something of a resurgence in the last decade or so, in truth, it really hasn’t gone away since the hey-day of At Budokan. Prior to that much of power-pop’s groundwork had been laid by the likes of Raspberries, but it was Big Star who are now regularly name-dropped as the cornerstone …
Feature: Prince – An obituary
I was peeling the potatoes for this evening’s meal, when my other half came in the kitchen, obviously in a state of shock. She showed me the message on her phone. Fuckin’ hell. Prince has gone. 2016 has been a terrifyingly brutal year for cultural heroes, and some will effect the individual more than others, …
Not Forgotten: Half Man Half Biscuit – Some Call it Godcore
Although it has remained one of their least celebrated albums, Some Call It Godcore occupies an important part in the Half Man Half Biscuit discography. You see, HMHB are almost unique in the fact that they officially split up, only to come back and release a body of work which was the equal of, if …
Album Review: We Are Scientists – Helter Seltzer
The ever–growing manufactured pop industry has many flaws, but perhaps it’s greatest crime is the fact that it has continued to redirected the limelight and record label resources away from a whole generation of non-manufactured acts who would otherwise be enjoying big hit singles and be celebrated by being carried shoulder-high through any town they …
Not Forgotten: Bad Company
As radio-friendly hard rock went in 1974, Bad Company were about as generic as it gets. It’s not that they were particularly bad, it’s just that they never really went for broke or took any risks. The initial line up of Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Mick Ralphs and Boz Burrell never really advanced artistically from …
Not Forgotten: Sparks – Lil’ Beethoven
Having comprehensively out smarted Roxy Music with their art pop in the mid-70s, and proved you could be an influential synth pioneer and still have a sense of fun by the end of the decade, the 80s and 90s had seen Sparks become an uncelebrated act that had nevertheless influenced countless acts that followed in …