Album Reviews
Album Review: They Might Be Giants – Why?
Music for children is often an awkward art to master. Obviously you want something tuneful and memorable, but you also want to avoid adult themes. Another thing you want to avoid is the music itself being ‘childish’, otherwise it will inevitably grate on the nerves of the parents and therefore only get played under duress. …
Album Review: Car Seat Headrest – Teens Of Style
I recently read a rather poignant article over at Pitchfork about Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous. In it they talked about when he’d write a song that was deemed to “poppy” by his inner critic he’d add sonic grime over top to dirty it up. He’d also use $20 junk yard mics to record his vocals with …
Album Review: Tracey Thorn – SOLO: Songs and Collaborations 1982 – 2015
Tracey Thorn has always been a part of my life, although I was a little late to the party. As a teenager I fell in love with Everything But The Girl’s huge club anthem ‘Missing’ and her Massive Attack collaboration ‘Protection’. Throughout the next few months I went to buying up their back catalogue, and …
Album Review: Richard Thompson – Still
Good grief. I’ve had this album forever and I’ve been totally unprofessional and sat on it, and sat on it, and sat on it. Why? Well firstly, because I had been hoping that it would be as good as ‘Semi-Detached Mock Tudor’, which is the best of the, er, two Richard Thompson albums that I own. …
Album Review: The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol – ‘Masters Of The Mole Hill’
‘Masters of the Mole Hill‘ is the 9th LP by TBWNIAS – The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol, perhaps Cana-duh’s best kept secret. Last year’s ‘Pathfinder’ opus, introduced to the baying UK pack by Cardinal Fuzz, rightly left the uninitiated salivating for more – ‘Masters of the Mole Hill’ consummates that fevered tryst. ‘Masters of the …
Album Review: Deerhunter – Fading Frontier
Since 2005, Bradford Cox and the Deerhunter boys have consistently released interesting and unique music. Whilst essentially they would fit into the indie/rock department of your local record store (if such a thing still exists) they have constantly shifted through genres like new outfits. Throughout their career they have moved through rock, phsyc, ambient, and …
Album Review: Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear
Bella Union have been on a massive – and I mean massive – roll this year. In 2015 they’ve released the long overdue return albums by B.C. Camplight, Mercury Rev and John Grant and Ezra Furman’s breakthrough album. In among all these was Father John Misty’s second album, I Love You, Honeybear, which saw J. …
EP: Alex G – ‘Share Your Story’
One of the things I’m constantly amazed by is how music can become a tool for transformation. A tool for coming to terms with inner emotions and that it has the power to change an outlook. The latest release from Alex G is one that has an incredible concept to it. Taking personal and individual …
Album Review: Def Leppard – Def Leppard
It’s been seven years since Def Leppard’s last album, “Songs From the Sparkle Lounge”, and the musical landscape has continued to evolve at a bewildering rate in their absence. Things have changed for Def Leppard too, as their new eponymous album is their first without the support of Mercury Records. Listening to their new album, …
Album Review: Beach House – Thank Your Lucky Stars
While I consider Beach House to be a special sort of band, I’d never consider then to be particularly prolific. This is a band that takes a good couple years in between albums in order to cultivate and organically grow a Beach House record. That sort of melancholy and malaise doesn’t just grow on trees(unless …