Album Reviews
Album Review: ‘Yorkston/ Jaycock/ Langendorf’: A thrilling electro-acoustic escapade from the alt-folk-jazz luminaries.
If ever there was a singer/song-writer laureate being bandied about then surely James Yorkston would be one of the names in the frame. Staggering to think that we’re getting on for a quarter century since ‘Moving Up Country’ swanned over the alt-folk horizon, starting a sequence of unpretentious, profoundly real albums, much loved and much …
Album Review: Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires – Sounds made by humans; Guest review by Sarah Records founder Matt Haynes
Should Bob Dylan have got the Nobel Prize for Literature? Of course not, he wasn’t a poet; as he famously said, he saw himself more as a song and dance man. And did Wordsworth, senses working overtime after a surfeit of daffodils, ever just scrawl awopbopaloobopalopbamboom across the page before hitting the laudanum? Of course …
Album Review : Steve Von Till – ‘Alone In A World Of Wounds’: Powerful, soul-searching psychedelic Americana from the post-metal pioneer.
With last year taken up with a triptych of expansive Harvest Man albums released to coincide with each new moon, the irrepressible post metal pioneer Steve Von Till might have been expected to take a sabbatical and re-charge, but no. Here we have ‘Alone In A World Of Wounds’ a new solo album recorded in …
Album Review: Ellen Beth Abdi – Ellen Beth Abdi; Soulful, smoky, and quietly spellbinding.
In a landscape where genre boundaries are dissolving and artists increasingly draw from deep wells of influence, Ellen Beth Abdi’s debut album arrives as a quietly luminous, confident statement. It is not a work that demands attention with volume or bombast—instead, it beckons the listener inward, rewarding those who linger. With a rich blend of …
Album Review: Cole Pulice – ‘Land’s End Eternal’ : An electro-acoustic touchstone moment from the ambient saxophonist and composer.
Saxophonist/composer Cole Pulice often draws on metaphors to describe their alluring electro-acoustic music. For the 2021 solo debut ‘Gloam’ they suggested the music mirrored shifting patterns of a twisting kaleidoscope whereas the follow up ‘Scry’ was closer to gazing at a stained-glass crystal ball from different angles. You wonder what poetic phrases Pulice might be …
EP Review: John Beltran presents Sol Set – Love Revolution EP
With Love Revolution, John Beltran’s Sol Set project returns in fine form, delivering a sun-drenched, deeply musical EP that radiates warmth and groove. Rooted in Brazilian jazz-funk but stretching comfortably into soulful house, Latin rhythms, and downtempo bliss, this latest chapter in the Detroit-based collective’s journey feels both timeless and joyfully present—a record made for golden …
Album Review: Surprise Chef – Superb; kings of instrumental soul delight once again
Surprise Chef return with Superb, a rich, groove-driven collection of instrumental funk, soul, and jazz that deepens their cinematic sound while loosening the edges. Rooted in the Australian five-piece’s signature blend of vintage textures and head-nodding rhythms, this album expands their palette with bolder moods, freer structures, and a broader sense of place. It’s music made …
Album Review: Azzurro 80 – Flashback; warm 80s fused instrumentals hit the right spot
On Flashback, Azzurro 80 invites listeners into a lush, imagined memory of the 1980s—a world shaped more by the ghosts of old television idents and faded VHS movie trailers than by the actual charts of the era. It’s a beautifully constructed instrumental album where groove, mood, and nostalgia blend seamlessly into a single cinematic vision. Opening …
EP Review: Chapterhouse – White House Demos; early psych-fuzz brilliance from Shoegaze legends
Long before they carved out a legacy as one of the defining names in shoegaze, Chapterhouse were just four gigs in and brimming with raw psychedelic energy. White House Demos, recorded live in a single day in January 1989 at The White House studio in Weston-super-Mare, captures the band in their earliest and perhaps most primal …
Album Review: TVOD – Party Time; loud, jagged and full of heart
Brooklyn’s post-punk firebrands TVOD (Television Overdose) explode onto the scene with Party Time, a debut album that’s loud, jagged, and unexpectedly full of heart. It’s a record built for sweaty clubs and emotional release — an intoxicating mix of snarling guitars, warped synths, and chant-along choruses that channel chaos into catharsis. It’s punk for misfits who …