Album Reviews
Album Review: Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury – EX-MACHINA (Soundtrack)
Ex-Machina is a psychological thriller which follows the story of Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) a 24-year-old Coder who wins a competition to spend a week at his CEOs retreat. Nathan (Oscar Isaac) plays the reclusive CEO who has planned to use Caleb in an experiment involving the first true artificial intelligence robot which comes in the shape of …
Album Review: Motörhead – Overkill / Bomber / Ace of Spades vinyl reissues
Out today (March 30th) on Santuary / PIAS comes the first installment a mammoth nine album Motörhead vinyl reissue series. It starts with the bands second, third and fourth albums – Overkill, Bomber and Ace of Spades. They were the three albums that propelled the group into the peoples consciousness (and, lets not forgt, the …
Reissue: Rush – 2112
Over the last four decades Rush’s fusion of heavy metal and prog has seen them solidify their position as one of the most consistently popular rock bands on the planet. Their self-titled album had been a collection of straight ahead Led Zeppelin influenced rockers, however the departure of drummer John Rutsey and the recruitment of …
Say Psych: Album Review – Wicked Sun by Narco States
Narco States are one of those bands who, on the surface, sound like many others who you could safely file under ‘garage’. There are the MC5/ Stooges wails and lo-fi drums, and thrumming bass. There is the sort of wailing organ swirling in and out of the mix which is redolent of any number of …
Not Forgotten: David Byrne – Feelings
In retrospect Feelings is probably the last time that David Byrne made a conscious effort to make an album that might sell to an audience beyond his most obsessed fans. Where his previous self titled album had been a mature mix of material with a very definite adult feel about it, Feelings was partly a …
Not Forgotten – The Cult – Electric
The Cult, bless their ridiculous hairstyles, couldn’t have found it easy to follow-up their unexpectedly successful album Love, particularly as it had included one of the key rock songs of the decade, “She Sells Sanctuary”. Although they apparently attempted to make a bigger and better version of their previous album, The Cult got bogged down …
Album Review: Union Blak – Street English
Despite the fact that it has now been out for over a month, it is surely not too late to welcome an album which overwhelmingly defies the commonly-heard aphorism that ‘real’ Hip Hop is dead. It exists, a subterranean animal, evidenced only when deliberately sought out or inadvertently stumbled upon – proof incarnate of this …
Album Review: Björk – Vulnicura
Very few solo artists are as diverse and experimental as Björk. In a career spanning 22 years (not counting her album released when she was 12), she’s released music ranging from Alternative Rock, to Trip Hop, Jazz, Ambient and even Avant-Garde. Every album takes the listener to a new musical destination as Björk really gets …
Album Review; Ghostpoet – Shedding Skin
Every now and then, an artist comes along who confuses those music critics and fans that like to put music into certain boxes or genres. Ghospoet is undoubtable one of those people. Singer/songwriter? Rapper? Poet? Yeah, I guess you could say he falls into all of the above. There are elements of hip-hop, but with …
Album Review: Melanie De Biasio – No Deal (Remixed)
Beligian/Italian singer Melanie de Biasio made a record last year, No Deal, a record that showcased her singing, songwriting, even flute playing. With a voice that approached both Karen Carpenter and (more pertinently) Nina Simone, at least stylistically, it was a wake up call that soul jazz was very much alive and well. Despite picking …