Album Reviews
Psych Insight: Album Review, Zement:Werk by Zement
I’m going to break with tradition here and begin with a the band’s press bio, basically because it tells you all you need to know: “This duo is less about an inorganic building material and more about an improvised jam to drift away. More analog meets digital as a bulk product. Repetitive meet psychedelic sounds, …
Say Psych: Album Review, Dandelion Sauce of the Ancients by Terminal Cheesecake
Fans of 1980s/90s psychedelia will no doubt be aware of Terminal Cheesecake, a band so in your face that not even a death mask would stop them from giving you serious attitude; one of those bands who always seemed to be on the edge sometimes tipping over in to the abyss of inaccessibility. Well hold onto …
Album Review: Honeyblood – ‘Babes Never Die’
Honeyblood haven’t just survived second album syndrome – their triumphant sophomore record, ‘Babes Never Die’, proves they’ve thrived on the challenge. The follow up to the 2014 eponymous debut album from the Glasgow-based duo, of Stina Tweeddale and drummer Cat Myers, has been eagerly awaited. Having appropriately fallen for Honeyblood around thirty seconds into ‘Fall …
Reissue: Terry Allen – Lubbock (On Everything)
I’m not a huge fan of ‘country’ music. Sure, I can appreciate its narrative qualities, I have a well chosen Johnny Cash compilation in my album collection, I love the output of Dr Hook before they took the full-on cheese-ballad route, I have a healthy respect for the music of Frankie Laine and Marty Robbins, …
Album Review: Kristin Hersh – Wyatt at the Coyote Palace
October 28th sees the release of the third book/album combination of Kristin Hersh’s career. The title, Wyatt at the Coyote Palace, is inpsired by her autistic son’s fascination with an abandoned building taken over by Coyote’s, and while the album features much of the confessional and personal songwriting that has littered her career, it’s not …
Album Review: Red Fang – Only Ghosts
I’ve been digging into the Red Fang discography for the last few days, ever since I picked up their newest album Only Ghosts on the always trusty Relapse Records. I have to say, with the exception of a few songs I’m not all that moved by these Portland stoner rockers. I’d heard the track “Cut …
Album Review: Folk Devils – Beautiful Monsters; Singles and Demo Recordings 1984-86
Filed firmly under the criminally ignored banner during their lifetime, a brief flame that was snuffed out almost as soon as it has caught fire in the middle of the 80’s. It’s a light that didn’t look likely reignite either, despite this (and previous) retrospectives, due to the death of frontman Ian Lowery back in …
Say Psych: Album Review, Mantra Music by Megaritual
One of the comments that I often make in this blog is something along the lines of “I can’t believe that only 2/3 people are making all this great noise”. With Megaritual I need to go a stage further because this album is the work of just one man, Australian multi-instrumentalist Dale Walker (also member of …
Album Review: Xylaroo – Sweetooth
Harmony pop is a difficult art to master, but in Xylaroo we have an act who have seemingly leapt to the top of this difficult to ascend tree in a single bound. Fronted by sisters Holly and Coco Chant, Xylaroo have already toured widely and paid no small amount of dues, so perhaps it is …
Say Psych: Album Review, Confusion Moderne by DTCV
Every so often I like to take a breather from the dark distortion-filled basement of fuzz that I tend to occupy. I consider it to be good for my mental health to get some sonic fresh air now and again. This tends to happen when something comes to me out of the blue (happy sun-soaked …