Album Reviews
Album Review: Peter Björn & John — Breakin’ Point
During the recording of Swedish pop wizards Peter Morén, Björn Yttling, and John Eriksson’s latest album Breakin’ Point, after a five-year hiatus, they actually did contemplate splitting up. Instead they brought in a few gifted outside producers for the first time, listened to a lot of ABBA, and created an exquisite collection of some …
Album Review: Lone – Levitate
Matt Cutler, more commonly known as electro-maximalist Lone, is the master of (to use a phrase) stuffing ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag. Except, instead of shit, it is gold: pure, audible gold. His 2012 album ‘Galaxy Garden’ was a massive hit with damn near everybody (myself included) and since then I …
Album Review: Mourn – ‘Ha, Ha, He.’
Catalonian four-piece Mourn make a welcome return with 26 minutes of youthful exuberance. ‘Ha, Ha, He.’ (out now via Captured Tracks) is the second album released by Mourn in the past two years. It would have been released even sooner, if it hadn’t been for label issues, and everything about this album adds to the …
Album Review: Gold Panda – Good Luck and Do Your Best
Gold Panda’s first album, ‘Lucky Shiner’, is – to me – one of the electronic albums of recent years. I credit it (along with Mount Kimbie’s ‘Crooks & Lovers’ and Baths’ ‘Cerulean’) with completely re-shaping my perspective on electronic music. As a long-time lover of drum n’ bass and the likes of Aphex Twin, Boards …
Album Review: Thylacine – Transsiberian
A concept album composed over a 5,000 mile journey between Moscow and Vladivostok, Artist William Rezé (Thylacine) sampled sounds along the way and blended them over music he created from the confines of a tiny cabin along the Trans-Siberian Railway. His Travels took him through nearly 6,000 miles of landscapes resulting in a piece of work that reflects his discovery …
Album Review: The Erised – Room 414
When you think of Hospital Records, you no doubt think of drum & bass madness. They have launched the careers of the likes of High Contrast, London Elektricity and Danny Byrd. But their sister label Med School has given fans of electronic music something different; something more experimental. And with the release of the debut …
Album Review: Letlive.- If I’m The Devil…
There is one thing that needs to be straightened out about Letlive.: there is nobody like them. Their live show, their persona, their music- everything is created and brought to life in a way that could never be duplicated, or even closely so by any other band. If I’m The Devil… has been a long …
Album Review: William Tyler : Modern Country
William Tyler doesn’t make music as much as he paints aural landscapes. There’s a vast space within his records as a solo musician. The former Lambchop guitarist -over the course of three studio LPs- has created a musical world of dusty fields, endless horizons, and open roads that seem to never end. On his newest …
Album Review: Minor Victories – Minor Victories
Minor Victories, if you haven’t read our review of debut single “A Hundred Ropes”, are Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai), Justin Lockey (Editors) and his brother James (Hand Held Cine Club, responsible for the exquisite videos that accompany some of these tracks). Originally conceived as part of Justin’s intention to make a ‘noise record …
Album Review: Phoria – Volition
Melatonin, the opening track of Volition, the long overdue debut album from Brighton based electonic group Phoria, sums it up. Shades of James Blake (an almost constant influencer in these days of electronic soul) purvey througout, but there’s also some Sigur Ros in there with its winsome melodies and ambitious musical sensibilities and some of …