Album Reviews
NOT FORGOTTEN – THE POSIES – FROSTING ON THE BEATER
Over time tastes can change. When I was a child I hated the taste of cheese and onion crisps, preferring the sharp bite provided by salt and vinegar, however the onset of adulthood brought with it a distaste for my former favourites and their overpowering attack on my tastebuds and I started to find the …
NOT FORGOTTEN – CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN – CHANGELING
Camille O’Sullivan was not an artist I was familiar with prior to hearing Changeling, though a little Googling quickly ensured I had the basics, which was enough to give the impression that she’s a rather fascinating character. Born in London, raised in Ireland, she’s a vocalist, cabaret artist and actress. She studied fine art but …
NOT FORGOTTEN – RANDY NEWMAN – BAD LOVE
Way back in my late teens and into my early twenties, I fancied myself as a poet. I thought I was pretty damn good at it too. So did others actually, to the point where some of my fellow students with musical ambitions would ask me to help out on some of their more lyrically …
Not Forgotten – The Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs
The first thing that hits you about 69 Love Songs, before you even hear the first note of the music is the scale of the damn thing. Three CDs. Three hours of music on one theme. A big statement that sits between your Magic Numbers and Manic Street Preachers albums. It takes some nerve to …
Psych Insight: Album Review: Wooden Shjips – Back to Land
There have been few new albums out this year that I have been eagerly awaiting more than the latest Wooden Shjips album, Back to Land. The problem with this is that this can mean that I will almost certainly be disappointed with the outcome, so high are my expectations. When I was thinking about this …
NOT FORGOTTEN – JASON LYTLE – YOURS TRULY, THE COMMUTER
“The last thing I heard I was left for dead” – Now that’s an arresting way to open your solo debut, especially if you were the main creative force of one of the best, yet almost universally overlooked bands of your generation. Sometimes you just don’t realise what you had until it’s gone. Grandaddy were …
Not Forgotten: Kenickie – At the Club
The guitar bands that rose to prominence in the UK through the mid 90s in the UK were a mixed bunch. There were a handful of thoroughly enjoyable bands, but on the whole as it was largely either ridiculously pretentious, impossibly dull or lowest-common-denominator rubbish. It was even worse for the female fronted groups, as …
NOT FORGOTTEN – BILLY JOEL – COLD SPRING HARBOR
What the hell is this? A Billy Joel album in this ongoing A to Z of underappreciated albums? When I first started this series of reviews, I never imagined that of all of the acts that come under the letter J in my collection, it would be Billy Joel’s solo debut that would leap out …
Album Review – Corsicana Lemonade by White Denim (Downtown Music)
I am the first to admit that I am a bit of a snob when it comes to music. I know what I like and by the same token I know what I do not, and for some reason I am not very keen on bands who become too popular. I am not sure what …
NOT FORGOTTEN – THE ISLEY BROTHERS – SHOUT!
How hard must it be to write a brilliant pop song? You know, one of the all time, genuinely timeless greats that doesn’t rely on the technology or gimmicks of the age, one that can withstand any number of heavy-handed and unsympathetic cover versions by even the most cloth-eared performer. “Shout” is one of those …