Album Reviews
Say Psych: Album Review: MIEN – MIEN
The so called super-group MIEN released their debut self-titled LP on Rocket Recordings last week too much hype and anticipation. The seeds for this collaboration were sown as long ago as 2004, when Rishi Dhir found himself in a chance encounter with Alex Maas whilst performing sitar with his former band on a bill at …
Album Review : Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s ‘Sex & Food’
Ruban Nielson, from the beginning of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, has dabbled musically in darker terrain. There’s always a sense of groove and a funky nature to the music he creates, but even on the lightest days the songs sound as if they were aged in a time capsule and then dipped in some kind of …
Album Review : Wye Oak’s ‘The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs’
I came across Wye Oak around the same time I came across Phantogram. I’d heard their album The Knot right around the same time as I’d heard Phantogram’s Eyelid Movies. I was impressed with the whole guy/gal dynamic in both bands. They weren’t doing the whole garage rock thing which I really wasn’t into. Wye …
Album Review: mastersystem – Dance Music
‘Dance Songs’ is the fantastic debut album from mastersystem, an indie supergroup of brothers. The band consists of Scott Hutchinson and Grant Hutchinson from Frightened Rabbit, Justin Lockey from Editors and his brother James Lockey from Minor Victories who have come together to produce something that has its own unique identity. ‘Dance Music’ is far …
Album Review: Zeke – Hellbender
It’s hard to fault a band like Zeke, as they do exactly what they set out to do. If it’s relentless hardcore punk you’re after then that’s what you are going to get. Not a single song on this album gets past the 2 minute mark. It’s superb and thrashy all the way through with …
Say Psych: Album Review: Nest Egg – Nothingness Is Not A Curse
Nest Egg are a three-piece from Asheville, North Carolina and are comprised of Harvey Leisure (guitar/vocals), Ross Gentry (bass/keys) and Thom Nguyen (drums). Formed back in 2011, the band have built up a formidable reputation in the US live circuit, describing their sound as ‘mood music for nihilists’. Following a handful of tapes and singles, …
Album Review : Holy Wave’s ‘Adult Fear’
There’s a dusty, ‘road trip to nowhere good’ vibe to Holy Wave. They make the kind of grainy, 8mm-type of garage rock that feels like one of those gloomy yard sale finds. Searching through a damp cardboard box of LPs marked “.50 or best offer” you find various copies of Herb Albert & The Tiujana …
Album Review: Adam Stafford – Fire Behind The Curtain
Oh bollocks. I lack the vocabulary to do justice to this record. Any knowledge of minimalism I have is, well, minimal. That BBC4 documentary a few weeks back was enough to whet the appetite and draw out the musical and historical threads between things instinctively liked over the years. From the more direct lines running …
Album Review: Death Alley – Superbia
After a period relentless touring and turmoil, the Dutch powerhouse Death Alley is re-invented, reborn, and ready to take on the world with their refined brand of infectious yet challenging rock n’ roll with their new album ‘Superbia’. This albums starts with a slow burning intensity akin to Tool or Neurosis, which is at the …
Album Review: The Vaccines – Combat Sports
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this album. I like The Vaccines a lot, and it’s easy to forget just how quickly they blew up and how massive they got when they did; they appeared on Jools Holland before they even had a record deal, and “If You Wanna” and “Norgaard” …