Album Reviews
EP Review: DJ Cosworth – Hard30 EP; fierce and finely tuned UKG/tech-house from Hardline boss
Bristol’s own DJ Cosworth takes the wheel with Hard30 EP on his own Hardline imprint, with a debut that lives up to its name – three fierce, finely-tuned cuts that fuse tech house toughness with the rolling swagger of UK garage. This is music for dark rooms, low ceilings, and high energy. Opening track Nuff Gyal kicks things off …
Album Review: Arjuna Oakes – ‘While I’m Distracted’: a lush, sophisticated contemporary pop soundscape, rich in soul-jazz understanding.
Even if you’ve picked up on any of singer-songwriter/pianist Arjuna Oakes’s previous offerings, it’s unlikely you would have predicted the scale and ambition of his debut album ‘While I’m Distracted’. Not that the New Zealander’s earlier EP’s lacked flare or impact. His first release ‘The Watcher’ from 2019 stirred things around with its exquisite blend …
Album Review: Arjuna Oakes – ‘While I’m Distracted’: a lush, sophisticated contemporary pop soundscape rich in soul-jazz understanding
Even if you’ve picked up on any of singer-songwriter/pianist Arjuna Oakes’s previous offerings, it’s unlikely you would have predicted the scale and ambition of his debut album ‘While I’m Distracted’. Not that the New Zealander’s earlier EP’s lacked flare or impact. His first release ‘The Watcher’ from 2019 stirred things around with its exquisite blend …
Album Review: Glass Caves – Back To Earth
Glass Caves release the radiant new album Back To Earth via Scruff of the Neck Records A decade on from their formation, Glass Caves deliver their most anthemic work to date with Back To Earth. Produced by Andy Gannon at Manchester’s House of Chella, the 12-track release shimmers with clarity and tight musicality, showcasing just how refined the …
Review: Prima Queen – The Prize; Melancholy, melody, and indie magic.
Every album needs a portal. The Prize, the radiant debut from Prima Queen, opens with “Clickbait”—a shimmering 40 seconds of ambient fog, like the band’s way of saying: “Give us a moment, we’re about to turn on the lights.” What follows is something both starry-eyed and deeply grounded: a collection of songs that walk hand …
Album Review : Sami Galbi –‘Ylh Bye Bye’ : fresh and feisty electro-pop from a new voice on the world fusion airwaves.
Genevan label Bongo Joe has been sneaking out singles by Swiss/Moroccan electronic artist Sami Galbi since March last year but now the teasing is over. The full whammy, his debut album ‘Ylh Bye Bye’ has landed on the shelves and should soon be flying off them at speed, it’s that strong. Galbi really is a …
Album Review: Heligoland’s Karen Vogt releases the shimmering, ambient solo album ‘Haunted Woodland, Volume 5’.
Australian-born Karen Vogt plays in the Melbourne dream pop shoegaze band Heligoland – who a few years back toured Europe and forgot to return home, ending up based in Paris. And while Heligoland have been relatively quite (although there is movement on the horizon), Vogt has continued to explore the world of atmospheric, ambient dreamy …
Album Review: Emma-Jean Thackray – Weirdo; Grief grooves with funk-fueled resilience.
Emma-Jean Thackray’s new album Weirdo is a bold, technicolour triumph — deeply personal, fiercely original, and bursting at the seams with groove-laden jazz funk. Self-produced, self-performed, and self-mixed in the solitude of her South London flat, it’s the work of a visionary artist refusing to compromise. Across 17 tracks, Weirdo is a kaleidoscopic journey through …
Album Review: Manuel Pasquinelli – ‘Heartbeat Drumming/ Bellmund Session’: Beyond an experiment, a jazz-rock drummer’s statement from the heart.
And now for something (well almost) completely different- Bern based jazz rock drummer Manuel Pasquinelli is venturing into the world of bio-music on his new album ‘Heartbeat Drumming’. Of course others have explored the human body’s musicality before. The great Ron Geesin, Floyd collaborator, possibly kicked things off in the pop arena with his seventies …
Album Review: Christopher Coleman & the Soft Knees Band release the gorgeous ‘Live At The Chapel’.
The poet laureate of the southern hemisphere Christopher Coleman & the Soft Knees Band collectively dispense heart rending lyricism over the most ethereal instrumentation in their new album ‘Live at the Chapel’, just released through Coleman’s label Oscar Treehouse Records. The combination of Coleman’s silken, yearning, aching vocals with the delicacy of the music and his …