Music
Not Forgotten: Caravan – In the Land of Grey and Pink
Along with Soft Machine, Caravan are perhaps the definitive Canterbury Scene progressive rock act. Less jazzy than their more famous neighbours, Caravan weren’t as heavy handed as their more critically lauded peers, but what they did have was a much firmer grasp of pop dynamics and nowhere was this more obvious than their 1971 album, …
Say Psych: Album Review, Mirror by GNOD
Darkness Numbness Anger Hopelessness Emptiness Despair All words to describe how many of us have felt since May 7th 2015 as the forces of capitalism got a huge nose full of ‘fuck you’ powder as our communities and services are dismantled to make way for a frenzy of corporate greed. Meanwhile those in charge …
See: Slow Riot release Trophy Wife video + Gig news
Slow Riot follow up their very well recieved EP ‘Cathedral’ with another cut of classic sounding post-punk. “Trophy Wife” see’s the band from Limerick, a town more notorious for knife play than music (although it did give us The Cranberries ), continue to drive along the new wave style way, twisting the basics laid down …
Album Review: Gwen Stefani – This Is What The Truth Feels Like
Gwen Stefani has always been one of our cooler and kookier pop stars. Her strange fashions, and love for sampling musicals to make quirky but credible hits have always helped her to stand out from the crowd. She is a truly unique artist in her own right. Her long career as front woman of No …
Album Review: White Denim – Stiff
I’m not sure when it first occurred to me, but I’ve now spent many years coming to terms with the fact that I have a problem with rock and roll. Or at least rock and roll in the context of the phrase ‘That’s so rock and roll!’. You see, when used in that context, it …
Not Forgotten: 10cc – The Original Soundtrack
By early 1975, 10cc had extricated themselves from an unfavourable recording contract under which their first two albums had been released. This resulted in The Original Soundtrack being a confluence of the experimental pop of their first two albums, with a boost of confidence and a sense of freedom. 10cc were always group that were …
Not Forgotten: Neil Young – After the Gold Rush
Always knowingly wilful, Neil Young has never been an easy musician to pin down. Having cut his teeth with Buffalo Springfield, his solo career started off with a solid enough debut of relatively standard singer-songwriter fare, a style he almost immeadiately ditched in favour of hooking up with half of garage band The Rockets, renaming …
Live Review: The Neighbourhood, O2 Ritz Manchester – 20.3.16
After dropping their new album Wiped Out! Last year, this is the first chance to fully exhibit the album to the UK fanbase and the wonderfully picturesque O2 Ritz in Manchester is the setting for one of the final shows on the tour for The Neighbourhood. The smoke filled stage plays right into the opening …
Album ReviewBlack Mountain – IV
I’m on my third listen of Black Mountain’s newest opus, the labyrinthine IV. It should be no surprise that I will need a few more listens before I’ve covered all the nooks and crannies of this stately beast of an album, but I can say very confidently that everything they’ve done beforehand has been building …
Live Review: The SSS / The Wired / Franko Fraize, at The Leadmill, Sheffield, 19.03.16
It’s a real Sheffield special over at the Leadmill in the shape of two up and coming acts The Wired and The SSS, effectively sharing the bill and selling out the venue. Not everyone can sell out the Leadmill and many act can claim to have by virtue of selling out the smaller of the …