Album Reviews
Album Review: Courting – Lust For Life: Chaotic, bold, and relentlessly catchy
Liverpool’s Courting return with their third album, Lust for Life, Or: ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story’, out this Friday via Lower Third. Following a whirlwind year that saw them release New Last Name, tour the US for the first time, and take on the main …
album review: benmont tench: the melancholy season.
This is an album of absolute luxury. Each track on ‘The Melancholy Season’ is decadent and opulent, the vocals from Tench are soothing and velvety throughout while the strings that accompany the vocals are mesmerising and tranquil, all which intertwine with the other elements to envelop the listener in swathes of cascading and lapping tides …
Album Review: Constant Follower – The Smile You Send Out Returns To You; a beautiful, spacial, immersive album
Stephen McAll’s journey to The Smile You Send Out Returns To You is as moving as the music itself. A brutal attack in his teens left him with lasting head injuries, altering his memory and setting him on an unexpected path. Yet, through sheer resilience, he has carved out a space in music, using songwriting …
album review: the wildhearts – satanic rites of the wildhearts
The Wildhearts are back with an absolute barnstormer of an album, ‘The Satanic Rites Of The Wildhearts’, and it is a belter. The album has it all and progresses through a soundscape of rock and roll which is endearing and mesmeric with overflowing addictive qualities. Gingers voice exhibits numerous qualities which are transferred across the …
Album Review: Edwyn Collins – Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation; Charming, heartfelt, and utterly compelling
Few artists have demonstrated the resilience, charm, and sheer songwriting brilliance of Edwyn Collins. From his early days fronting the influential Orange Juice to his solo success with A Girl Like You, Collins’ career has been marked by reinvention and a knack for timeless melody. Following his life-changing strokes in 2005, his music has carried …
Album Review: KEG – Fun’s Over; Chaotic, unpredictable, and ultimately rewarding
It’s hard to pin KEG down. A seven-piece with the chaotic energy of a band half their size but twice as frantic, they operate somewhere between post-punk, jazz, indie, and outright absurdity. Their long-awaited debut album, Fun’s Over, only solidifies their reputation as one of the most restlessly inventive bands in the UK right now. …
Album Review: The Loft – Everything Changes, Everything Stays The Same; Timeless jangle-pop perfection.
Ok. For those that know, you know. For those that don’t – here’s a quick history lesson. The Loft were one of Creation Records’ great nearly-made-it stories, the first of Alan McGee’s bands to break onto TV, top the indie charts, and land major tour invites. Then, in truly dramatic fashion, they imploded mid-song at …
EP Review: The WAEVE – Eternal; Dark, cinematic, and beautifully unsettling.
The WAEVE’s new EP, Eternal, out this Friday via Transgressive, sees Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall continue their journey into the shadowy corners of modern life, crafting a sound that’s as cinematic as it is unsettling. Across its three tracks, Eternal shifts between pulsing synth-pop, jagged post-punk, and lush orchestration, capturing a sense of …
Album Review: Will Stratton – Point of Origin; A masterful showcase of contemporary Americana
Will Stratton’s eighth album, Points of Origin, marks a notable evolution in his musical journey, showcasing a departure from his signature fingerpicking style (although it’s still evident on a handful of tracks)towards a more expansive and richly orchestrated sound. This progression highlights Stratton’s growth as a songwriter, with extended lyrical lines, intricate chord sequences, and …
Album review: SKLOSS – The Pattern Speaks; Heavy, hypnotic, and unexpectedly beautiful
Despite its post-metal and deep psych leanings, also perhaps metalgaze, if such a thing exists (the band prefer Spacegaze) —The Pattern Speaks is far from an exercise in unrelenting heaviness. The debut album from Austin/Glasgow duo SKLOSS balances pulverizing, monolithic riffs with moments of genuine beauty, where floating melodies and ethereal vocals contrast the sheer …