Album Reviews
Album Review: Benjamin Samuels – ‘Dissensation’: New name, nu jazz, new thrills – an album set to make an impact.
Straight after any hugs or handshakes the first thing musicians ask each other when they meet up is ‘Are you busy’? For sax-player, clarinettist and composer Benjamin Samuels the answer for some time now has been a ‘yes’. He’s worked with Californian fusionist Balkan Bump and Brighton’s own global beat pioneer Seb Taylor (aka Kaya …
Album Review: The Rah’s – Common Ground
After wowing with the debut album ‘When Does It Become Real’ the East Lothian rockers have returned with 2024’s explosive ‘Common Ground’. Sighting bands like The Arctic Monkeys, The Enemy, RHCP, Black Keys, BRMC as influences, Jack Mcleod (vocals), Neale Gray (drums), Jordan McIntyre (guitar), Lee Brown (bass) and Jack Miller (keyboards and acoustic guitar) have dropped …
EP Review: Melanie Baker – Burnout Baby
Newcastle-based indie newcomer Melanie Baker has released her new EP ‘Burnout Baby’ via Daemon T.V. the EP follows on from the recent singles ‘All My Plants Have Died’, ‘I Don’t Cry Like I Used To’, and anthemic latest effort ‘Double Decker Death Machine’ that announce the EPs arrival. Detailing the origins of ‘Burnout Baby’, Baker revealed: “This EP is about …
EP Review: Dead Freights – The Fury Tapes
Noisy indie-rock outfit Dead Freights have released their debut EP ‘The Fury Tape’ alongside Gary Powell’s (The Libertines) 25 Hour Convenience Store Records. The EP follows on from recent singles, ‘How Much To Call My Daddy‘ and ‘Call Me On The Wildside‘ and now the bands new single ‘Shot girl Summer’. Gary Powell comments, “The Dead Freights are a unique beast, in that they …
Album Review: Rowan Smith unveils songs ‘in the key of kintsugi’ – an assemblage of exquisite sonic treasures framed in gold.
Rowan Smith is songwriter and founding member of Melbourne bands Macguffins and Barefoot as well as writing a series of solo albums. The MacGuffins played between 1988 and 1992 before recently reforming and have links to the Underground Lovers with Philippa Nihill a member. Smith has just released a solo album entitled ‘in the key …
Album Review: (strangely)(emotional) sees Dave Graney and Clare Moore paint a vivid portrait of life on a whimsical canvas.
Surely the coolest couple in the antipodean music scene, Dave Graney and Clare Moore have today released their new album ‘(strangely)(emotional)’ and it is a journey into the magnificently astute and erudite world of Graney’s fervent imagination. And yet this world is firmly grounded in reality as song titles such as ‘I’m Already Missing The Lockdown’ and …
Album Review: Indie-Rock Artist Leo Unveils Their Introspective and Vulnerable Debut EP, ‘Please Leave Quietly’
From the heart of Naarm/Melbourne’s music scene emerges Leo, a soulful storyteller blending raw emotion with infectious indie-rock melodies. With hits like ‘Doctor‘ and ‘Half Unconscious‘, Leo has already made waves with their unfiltered lyricism and captivating individualism. Now, with the release of their debut EP, ‘Please Leave Quietly‘, Leo invites us into their intimate …
Album Review: ‘FYEAR’ – a phenomenal, poetic statement from the Montreal post-jazz ensemble (aka. FYEAR)
Music and poetry, poetry and music, the Montreal convened collective FYEAR show how potent this combination can be on this self-titled debut, out now via Constellation. Led by poet/novelist Kaie Kellough and composer/saxophonist Jason Sharp, FYEAR the ensemble has been evolving through a project-based approach for several years now culminating with the ambitious, multi-movement composition …
Say Psych: Album Review: Maquina – PRATA
9/10 Lisbon trio Maquina (Machine) recently released their second LP PRATA on Fuzz Club Records. Having seen their name suddenly appearing everywhere I was keen to check them out, and I was not disappointed. Drawing from minimal krautrock repetition, pounding industrial techno and EBM, Maquina explore the boundaries of these genres with force, carving out …
EP Review – Millsart – Neo Tantric Parts
“Rationalizing our place amongst the Stars is a referendum. A mandate in the scale of a space-time continuum, which is a task that might seem infinitely cavernous to most, but a lifelong mandate to others. As nature’s allowance of time just isn’t favorable to an average human lifespan of a 100 years, this task must …