indie albums
Album Review: Ty Segall – Possession; the relentlessly creative Segall releases one of his best albums to date
Ty Segall’s Possession is a technicolor journey through the underbelly of modern America—psychedelic, melodic, and bursting with invention. His 16th album is one of his most sonically adventurous yet, moving effortlessly from gentle acoustic brushwork to brass-fueled psych-pop blowouts, stitched together with Segall’s uniquely off-kilter charm. It’s an album that invites you in with sweet melodies and …
Album Review: Ty Segall – Possession; inventive, melodic and one of his best yet
Ty Segall’s Possession is a technicolor journey through the underbelly of modern America—psychedelic, melodic, and bursting with invention. His 16th album is one of his most sonically adventurous yet, moving effortlessly from gentle acoustic brushwork to brass-fueled psych-pop blowouts, stitched together with Segall’s uniquely off-kilter charm. It’s an album that invites you in with sweet melodies and …
Album Review: Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires – Sounds made by humans; Guest review by Sarah Records founder Matt Haynes
Should Bob Dylan have got the Nobel Prize for Literature? Of course not, he wasn’t a poet; as he famously said, he saw himself more as a song and dance man. And did Wordsworth, senses working overtime after a surfeit of daffodils, ever just scrawl awopbopaloobopalopbamboom across the page before hitting the laudanum? Of course …
Review: Prima Queen – The Prize; Melancholy, melody, and indie magic.
Every album needs a portal. The Prize, the radiant debut from Prima Queen, opens with “Clickbait”—a shimmering 40 seconds of ambient fog, like the band’s way of saying: “Give us a moment, we’re about to turn on the lights.” What follows is something both starry-eyed and deeply grounded: a collection of songs that walk hand …
Album Review: Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE; A love story in two halves.
After six long years, Bon Iver returns with SABLE, fABLE, a two-part odyssey that explores love, longing, and transformation with his trademark emotional depth and sonic inventiveness. More than just an album, it feels like a narrative split across two discs—SABLE, a prologue of hushed reflection and sadness, and fABLE, a blossoming, kaleidoscopic response full …
Album Review: The Nightingales – The Awful Truth; Post-punk chaos meets twisted pop brilliance.
The Nightingales return with The Awful Truth, their first album since 2022’s The Last Laugh, proving once again that Robert Lloyd and company remain as sharp, unpredictable, and essential as ever. Released on Fire Records, the album is a tangled, exhilarating mix of post-punk urgency, surrealist storytelling, and skewed pop sensibilities—an acerbic, sideways glance at …
Album Review: Florist – Jellywish; a warm, intimate exploration of uncertainty
Florist’s Jellywish is a delicate yet expansive exploration of life’s biggest uncertainties, delivered with their signature warmth and intimacy. Across its ten tracks, the band weaves together folk, ambient textures, and hushed, dreamlike melodies, creating an album that feels deeply personal yet quietly transformative. It’s a record that doesn’t offer answers but instead lingers in …
Album Review: Jetstream Pony – Bowerbirds and Blue Things; collective of indie legends play to their strengths while continuing to evolve.
Jetstream Pony return with Bowerbirds and Blue Things, a shimmering collection of indie pop that balances sweetness with a touch of melancholy. Since their self-titled debut, the Brighton/Croydon-based band—featuring members of The Luxembourg Signal, The Wedding Present, The Popguns, and more—has built a reputation for crafting jangly, slightly rough-edged pop that harks back to the …
Album Review: Hannah Cohen – Earthstarr Mountain; An effortlessly cool and melodic journey
Hannah Cohen’s latest album, Earthstar Mountain, is a deeply personal and beautifully crafted collection of songs that feels both weightless and rooted, delicate yet assured. Inspired by her life in the Catskills and shaped by years of quiet reflection, the record captures the quiet beauty of change—both the kind that happens around us and the …
Album Review: Dean Wareham – That’s the price of loving me; beautiful addition to indie legends extensive canon
Dean Wareham’s latest album, That’s the Price of Loving Me, showcases his enduring talent for crafting melodic indie pop infused with psychedelic nuances. Reuniting with producer Kramer after 34 years, this collaboration rekindles the synergy that marked Wareham’s earlier works, resulting in a collection that feels both nostalgic and fresh. The album opens with “You …