Album Reviews
Not Forgotten – Aerosmith – Rocks
The general consensus seems to be that Aerosmith were at something of a creative peak in the mid 70s and would never again to reach the such lofty heights again, regardless of their later commercial success. Now this is a bit simplistic for me, as in their post-Run-D.M.C. days, they’ve released some of the finest …
Not Forgotten: Ice-T – Original Gangster
By 1991, although my roots were still embedded in Hip Hop, the rest of me was leaning ever more towards the ends of indie rock and the birth of britpop. I had just moved to Cirencester from Loughborough and was still getting to grips with the shift in culture when, one lazy and hungover Saturday …
Table Scraps : More Time For Strangers
Birmingham, England’s Table Scraps are a duo that sound like more than the sum of their parts. The racket they make on their debut album More Time For Strangers is that of a Gothic Ty Segall; a hollowed-out, ghostly Stooges haunting Blue Cheer on some abandoned, dilapidated Michigan farm. This is dark, bellowing garage rock coming from …
Psych Insight: EP Review – Array 1 by Loop
When the Pixies released the first of their three EPs after a prolonged absence, back in 2013, many suspected that the decision to stagger their new material was deliberately made to circumvent the critical emphasis that would have been inevitably placed on the songs, had they been released together in the traditional album format. It’s …
Album Review: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – The High Country
Springfield, Missouri five piece Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, despite the fantastic name, were a band that had largely passed me by. So reviewing The High Country, the bands fourth album – out now on Polyvinyl, was a voyage of discovery for me. As it turns out it was a very enjoyable journey as …
Album Review: Jamie xx – In Colour
In Colour is a great title for the debut record by producer Jamie xx. It’s crisp, tight, brimming with hues, shapes, and various shades of light. It doesn’t feel like a producer showing his programming chops off. It’s not a Mark Ronson-like spectacle where Jamie xx is bringing in all of the famous pals he knows …
Album review: Pins – Wild Nights
Sometimes having big money thrown at you can take the edge of off a band but with Pins it has made them stronger. Yes, the edges are smoother thanks to Dave Catching after they travelled to the Joshua Tree to work at his Rancho De La Luna, but that’s no bad thing. The vocals and …
Album Review: Bunnygrunt – Vol. 4
Even the name has this sense of contradiction. The cutesy of the bunny, doing something rough, unexpected, with the grunt. And so it is with the band Bunnygrunt, who have spent the last forever ploughing this field between c86 indie pop and messier DIY punkish behaviour, sadly, much to the ignorance of the masses, but …
Album Review: Pearl TN – A Dog Called Rat
A ‘Dog called Rat’ is the second album from Pearl TN, self-styled ‘Purveyors of Mountain Pop’ with a pedigree in music spanning several decades and genres. It was recorded at Charlie Harts ‘Equator Studios’ as well as at Jools Hollands ‘Helicon Mountain Studios’. Jools is a staunch supporter of Pearl TN and has given them …
Say Psych: Album Review – Space Jungle Mantra by Lay Llamas
The Lay Llamas had something of a delayed impact on me last year. I bought the Rocket Recordings album ‘Ostro’ but it remained on the shelf largely unplayed for several months. When I did get it out again I really wondered why it had not clicked with me before, I loved it to such an …