Album Reviews
Not Forgotten: Tom Waits – Rain Dogs
Sinister, mad and disturbing old Tom. By the mid 80s he was ploughing a furrow that nobody could follow, not because they didn’t want to, but because they weren’t sure how stable the earth was that Tom was ploughing. But on he ploughed, churning out sea shantys, burnt out blues and insane polkas. He just …
Album Review: Rustie – Green Language
Maybe it was the superlative nature of his debut, Glass Swords, that led to the expectation surrounding Rustie’s second long player for Warp Records, Green Language, being so monumental. The Glaswegian producer, aka Russell Whyte, has made a follow up that, in his words (or at least those of the press release) “reflects his early …
Not Forgotten: Sparklehorse – It’s a Wonderful Life
It must have been mid-2003 that Nibbsy first recommended Sparklehorse to me, but it was in the middle of a period of musical exploration for me, so they just got added to the list of acts that I had to take time out and listen to in the future. As time went on more and …
Album Review: Pete Fij / Terry Bickers – Broken Heart Surgery
Old rockers, it seems, don’t necessarily have to grow old disgracefully. Former Creation labelmates Pete Fij and Terry Bickers made noiser, more aggressive records in their guises in Adorable and Polak (Fij) and in particular Bickers in his role in The House of Love and Levitation. Here they’ve made a record that is funny poignant …
Not Forgotten: Neil Young – On the Beach
Some albums become legendary because of the huge amounts they sold (The Joshua Tree, The Dark Side of the Moon), some because they made a distinct cultural impact, (Revolver, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars) and some just because they contained utterly brilliant music (Blood on the Tracks, Catch …
Mixtape: Saba – Comfort Zone
Chicago’s getting weird. Away from the attention grabbing drill-scene, the nihilistic soundtrack to the city’s gang wars, a growing number of artists have been creating lush, experimental music closer in spirit to the Pharcyde and De La Soul than Chief Keef. Saba, who guested on Chance the Rapper’s breakthrough mixtape ‘Acid Rap’ (one of the …
Not Forgotten: Villagers – Becoming a Jackal
They’ve taken their time about it over the last two decades, yet slowly but surely Domino Records has established itself as a sign of quality, much like Elektra had become in the late 60s. With acts like Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and u.n.p.o.c. on the roster, it’s evident the label has an ear for talent …
Album Review: White Fence – For The Recently Found Innocent
I’ll start off by saying I’m not the diehard fan of this garage rock revival that so many others are. I recognize the greatness guys like Ty Segall, John Dwyer, and White Fence’s Tim Presley possess. Their musical output is quite staggering, and to the newbie it can be rather intimidating. Much like someone walking …
Album Review : Corrosion of Conformity – IX
I didn’t start listening to Corrosion of Conformity till 1994. It was the next phase in their sound. Before the album Deliverance they were a hardcore punk band. They had street cred and lots of hardcore punk fans. But Deliverance saw the band head in more of a dirge-filled, Sabbath-oozing direction. Pepper Keenan as lead vocalist the band embarked …
Not Forgotten – Half Man Half Biscuit – Cammell Laird Social Club
From mid 80s post-punk beginnings which welded basic musicianship to barbed lyrics about life in Thatcher’s Britain, to a more competent and dynamic sound backing witty and wise wordsmithery throughout the 90s, Half Man Half Biscuit have continued to become slightly more sophisticated as time has gone on, without losing whatever it was that made …