Archives
NOT FORGOTTEN – RANDY NEWMAN – BAD LOVE
Way back in my late teens and into my early twenties, I fancied myself as a poet. I thought I was pretty damn good at it too. So did others actually, to the point where some of my fellow students with musical ambitions would ask me to help out on some of their more lyrically …
Southern Sunrise – Elspeth
Before we get into this, I ask that you set aside the tweeness of naming a song “Elspeth” and the connection that will inevitably form in your mind between the guitars in this song and Noah and the Whale’s execrable “5 Years’ Time” (pedant’s note: fuck’s sake, they didn’t even add the apostrophe – I …
Lapland – Metal Lungs
There’s something reassuring and comfortable about the way “Metal Lungs” starts – straight into its rhythm without intro as though it’s a story you were already part-way through, the next track on an album you had already started listening to. That sense is echoed by the insistent strains of repetitive guitars and warm, soft snare …
Streets of Laredo – Hey Rose
Despite obvious problems with their national rugby union side, I have a massive soft spot for Kiwis. I didn’t know this bunch were from NZ (albeit now based in Brooklyn in New York), but I’m also a sucker for country and a bit of folk and their name seemed to fit that bracket. I was …
New Single: Josef Salvat – Every Night/Till I Found You
London-based Aussie singer Josef Salvat releases his new single, more timeless (mainly synth) pop-soul in the form of double-A-side “Every Night” and “Till I Found You”. Out on December 9th on Fingers & Thumbs. We’ve met Josef before, back in April when we reviewed his previous single “Hustler” (you can read about it here). There …
Not Forgotten – The Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs
The first thing that hits you about 69 Love Songs, before you even hear the first note of the music is the scale of the damn thing. Three CDs. Three hours of music on one theme. A big statement that sits between your Magic Numbers and Manic Street Preachers albums. It takes some nerve to …
Psych Insight: Album Review: Wooden Shjips – Back to Land
There have been few new albums out this year that I have been eagerly awaiting more than the latest Wooden Shjips album, Back to Land. The problem with this is that this can mean that I will almost certainly be disappointed with the outcome, so high are my expectations. When I was thinking about this …
Clara Engel – A Pound of Flesh (In Particulate Shards)
Look, I don’t like doing this any more than you should like reading it, but I’m writing this from the top deck of the 91 bus and time is tight. Besides which, these comparisons have merit so listen up. This sombre thrum reminds me of Kristin Hersh’s “Hips and Makers”, although it lacks the distracting …
NOT FORGOTTEN – JASON LYTLE – YOURS TRULY, THE COMMUTER
“The last thing I heard I was left for dead” – Now that’s an arresting way to open your solo debut, especially if you were the main creative force of one of the best, yet almost universally overlooked bands of your generation. Sometimes you just don’t realise what you had until it’s gone. Grandaddy were …
Your Favourite Enemies – I Just Want You To Know
It always feels pretty strange, coming to a band that have been around for a while and already have such an international following. Your Favourite Enemies hail from Canada, and are releasing their first single into the UK market on Monday 4 November. The band have been going since 2006 and have a strong following, …