Album Reviews
Album review: Various artists – ‘Home – Volume One curated by Ali Tillett’: a beautifully tessellated, warming set of old-skool chillout
Y’KNOW, it’s not just the people out front – the bands, the writers, the DJs – who know a thing or three about music; there’s plenty of people quietly working away behind the scenes who have incredible appreciation and knowledge of the sounds we fall for, too. One such gent is Ali Tillett, who’s deep …
Album review: The Allergies – ‘Promised Land’: on a hot streak with huge melodies
IN THESE days, months, or years even, when everything has been dominated by viruses, or at least one in particular, there have been many earnest releases focusing on the despair, isolation and loneliness that these have caused us all. There’s nothing wrong with that at all; after all art reflects life (or near enough anyway) …
Album review: Cluster – ‘Cluster 71’: the German electronica scene on the cusp of breaking through, lovingly reissued
AS WELL as hosting a whole stable of contemporary bands that are mainly spinning in the leftfield electronics and synthpop galaxies, Hamburg’s Bureau B has also been doing sterling work in curating the krautrock archive, keeping the torch burning with deep dives into the unreleased tapes of Conrad Schnitzler, reissuing lost gems and offering that …
Album review: Mumble Tide – ‘Everything Ugly’: a short, sweet-as mini-album burst from the insouciant Bristolians on their way to massive things
MUMBLE TIDE have a sweet and unusual back story: the Bristol bedroom pop duo of Gina Leonard and Ryan Rogers first met through a Gumtree ad which singer Gina had placed, looking for a bassist. But there was a proper meeting of minds, they saw that the musical thing they had going on was more …
Album review: Jim Wallis & Nick Goss – ‘Pool’: immersive, ocean-going, pastoral ambience
MODERN NATURE might be flying under your radar, but the Bella Union band who’ve just one full-length and one-mini album to their name – 2019’s How To Live and last year’s Annual, respectively – are someone you should be wrapping your head around, especially if the post-rock pastoral brilliance espoused by Mark Hollis and Talk …
Album Review: Converge and Chelsea Wolfe – Bloodmoon: I
One of 2021’s most satisfying post-metal albums.
Album Review: Various Artists: The Roots Of Indie Pop 1980-1984
Cherry Red seem to have become the masters of the box set compilation in recent years, with the C86 and C87 sets some choice punk and new wave compilations; and now The Sun Shines Here, the natural follow-up to the Scared To Get Happy Box set, which in fact proved so popular it has recently …
Album Review: Richard Dawson & Circle – Henki
Think of those records inspired by plants…Stevie’s sprawling ‘Journey Through The Secret Life of’, Edgar Froese’s pondering on ‘Epsilon in Malaysian Pale’, Genesis hailing a ‘Return of the Giant Hogweed’ or maybe the Cocteau’s glistening ‘Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drops’. Judged sublime or ridiculous depends on your starting point but one thing is clear, the mix of botany …
Say Psych: Album Review: Sei Still – El Refugio
Mexican five-piece Sei Still return with their second album El Refugio, out today on Fuzz Club Records. The new album follows their self-titled debut released in April 2020, which is already on its second vinyl pressing after selling out extremely quick first time around. The band was born when they decided to take a random trip …
Album Review: Fluxion – Parallel Moves
Overview: Fluxion continues to carve his own musical path, taking us all together to a personal journey in his inner world, moods and moments, showcasing the importance of being influenced by none other than real life moments, people, expectations, joy, dreams and disappointments. Expressing what comes from the inside, instead of the outside.Creating a more …