music
From an old record box: Ox – dust bowl revival
What seems a very long time ago I went along to an acoustic spot in Cambridge to catch up with a friend (apologies to both Mark Day and Jon Wright, given that I can’t remember which of the two it was. Perhaps I can recoup some credit by saying I wish they had both been …
ALBUM REVIEW: MATT BERRY – KILL THE WOLF
I came to Matt Berry later than a lot of people. I must have first become aware of him when a friend of mine gave me the DVD of Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, then over the years I repeatedly noticed him in comedy shows like The Mighty Boosh and The IT Crowd. Pretty much whatever …
Track: Ming City Rockers – Chic and the Motherfuckers
I have this friend. we went to University together. Just two ordinary slackers – when it was cloudy/rainy we played Snooker, when it was sunny we played golf. On occasion we actually went into University to see what it was we were supposed to be doing. Not terribly often though. He’s one of those …
Track: Rizzle Kicks reveal new single, Lost Generation
Those cheeky scamps the Rizzle Kicks have released details of their new single, fresh from their appearance at the Glastonbury festival, where they played the BBC introducing stage. ‘Lost Generation’ will come out on August 26th, ahead of the release of their new album ‘Roaring 20’s’ which is out on Island records on September 2nd. …
Little Triggers – St.Bernard (part 2 of Backseat Mafia on Tour: York)
After a little while browsing the record stacks in the aforementioned Inkwell, I came across some, er, Stax. It was one of those record label-issued compilations of their great artists – combining a big hit with a relative ‘flop’ by each. I managed to persuade myself that no matter how brilliant the combination, I already …
Just Lions – Monsters
When I left work on Friday evening I was booze-bound, off to meet my Best Man and friends from home via a quick trip to the Tattershall Castle to drink onboard ship in the sunshine. The opening bars of this song are the ones that I wish I had been hearing as I began my …
Paper Crows – White Noise: New Music
There was a time when my enjoyment of electronic pop was maimed by La Roux. It was a combination of finding her hectoring voice irritating, and the music being a little bit too much throwback 80s (either chart music from that period or something like the soundtrack to a spectrum 128K game). Then Paper Crows …
Kodaline – Love Like This: Single Review
You can’t fault the timing of Kodaline’s record company. RCA presumably have a bank of eggheads working in a basement somewhere under their New York Headquarters running complex predictive algorithms to check the likely content of the British summer. They could have just asked someone. The streets of London are full to the fucking brim …
Album Review: Dot Dash – Winter Garden Light (plus free “Countdown” download)
This is the sort of music that really pushes my buttons. I’m not saying it’s perfect (sorry guys) but when you put guitars, bass, drums and voice together, give them some licence to be loud, and add in songs with pace and hooks, with a classic indie sensibility at the core, I’m in. This is …
NEW MUSIC: LOW AND NIGHT BEDS
When did listening to music become such a solitary habit for me ? Not since the days of a dreadfully miserable teenager wishing for all his heart to be deemed cool enough to like The Stone Roses and Ride, listening to CNFM103’s indie-heaven-in-a-local-radio-show “Jive Alive” on a black-and-electric-blue double-tape-deck and radio stereo in a darkened room lit only …