indie albums
Album Review: Gengahr – A Dream Outside
A lot of the time these days we’re constantly reminded that yes; guitar music is dead, or no; guitar music isn’t dead. Then we have punky bands like The Vaccines, Palma Violets and Catfish and the Bottlemen that resurrect rock music like Frankenstein’s monster. But I’ve been of the mind that instead of insisting that …
Album Review: Palma Violets – Danger in the Club
The London based Indie Rock outlet Palma Violets broke through to the mainstream with their debut album 180, released in 2013, after a successful lead single and significant promotion from the likes of NME. Comparisons have been drawn from the likes of The Libertines, The Strokes, and the whole Garage-Rock revival. Admittedly, I was not …
Album review: I Am Kloot – Hold Back The Night
It seems to be a great mystery why smug dullards like Elbow are packing out arenas when the infinitely superior Kloot are operating a couple of levels below. This splendid live album provides the answer as the sort of people who love soulless stadium shows would pee their pants faced with John Bramwell’s twisted poetry …
Album Review: Tracey Thorn – Songs From ‘The Falling’
My love for Tracey Thorn goes way back. From those early beautifully mellow ballads she did with Everything But The Girl, to the ultra-cool dance tracks such as ‘Missing’. and ‘Walking Wounded’. The thing that has always astonished me about her, is her ability to portray so much raw emotion in her vocals, without even …
Album Review: Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color
On Alabama Shakes debut album, Boys & Girls, they proved an affinity for the roots-y rock ‘n roll. They were a tight band with a vocalist in Brittany Howard that rivaled pretty much any young up and coming soul singer record labels were attempting to shove down our collective throats. Not only could Howard sing so …
Album Review: Blur “The Magic Whip”
It’s been a long time coming and a lot of water has passed under a lot of bridges in the 16 years since Blur released their last studio album as a four piece but “The Magic Whip” has put Blur firmly back in the spotlight. It’s their 8th studio album in their 25 years or …
Album Review: Passion Pit – Kindred
‘Nineteen-eighty five was a good year’ sing Passion Pit on the opening track of the new album ‘Kindred’. Is it me, or is there an enormous amount of nostalgia at the moment for the decade that fashion forgot? Well if it’s good enough for Swifty, then it’s good enough for me. The track I’m speaking …
Album Review: San Cisco – ‘Gracetown’
I need to give full disclosure straight away here. I love San Cisco. My love affair began back in Barcelona last August when their infectious “Awkward” was on heavy rotation on my hotel music channel and it’s only grown stronger in the months between. I’d barely got to grips with enjoying their debut eponymous album …
Album Review: Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
Not since Seven Swans has Sufjan Stevens put out such a confessional, introspective, and heartfelt record. Even more, while Seven Swans was heartfelt and confessional, it was a generalization of those feelings of life, loss, and love. Carrie & Lowell is an album of grief pulled straight from Sufjan’s own life. The album is named after Stevens’ mom and stepdad, and …
Album Review: Stornoway – Bonxie
Oxford four-piece Stornoway are back with a new album called ‘Bonxie’, released on 13th April through Cooking Vinyl. It’s the first of Stornoway’s albums to take the services of a producer, their previous releases being very much DIY efforts, but not DIY in quality I hasten to add. The producer in question is none other …