pop
Album Review : Wye Oak’s ‘The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs’
I came across Wye Oak around the same time I came across Phantogram. I’d heard their album The Knot right around the same time as I’d heard Phantogram’s Eyelid Movies. I was impressed with the whole guy/gal dynamic in both bands. They weren’t doing the whole garage rock thing which I really wasn’t into. Wye …
Classic Album: Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends
For those that purchased Bookends when it was first released in 1968, it might have come as something of a surprise that a folk-pop duo would have taken on board some of the psychedelic influences of some of their rowdier contemporaries. Yet there are the heavy electronic sounds that open up “Save the Life of …
Album Review : Holy Wave’s ‘Adult Fear’
There’s a dusty, ‘road trip to nowhere good’ vibe to Holy Wave. They make the kind of grainy, 8mm-type of garage rock that feels like one of those gloomy yard sale finds. Searching through a damp cardboard box of LPs marked “.50 or best offer” you find various copies of Herb Albert & The Tiujana …
See: Kylie releases new video for ‘Stop me from falling’
Taken from her forthcoming album Golden, out via BMG on April 6th, ‘Stop me from falling’ is the new video from Kylie Minogue. For the first time, she has co-written every track on the album, with British songwriters Steve McEwan (whose credits include huge Country hits for Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood), and …
Feature: Vinyl Reissue vs streaming
With the vinyl re-issue of Annie Lennox’s Diva, me and Spouse decided to put vinyl versus streaming to the test. I’m a simple soul who likes good music well played, but Spouse is an actual musician and former science teacher, with a fairly extensive vintage vinyl back catalogue. He has VIEWS on music quality. We …
Album Review: Band of Gold – Where’s the Magic
I’ve always had a quiet regard for Scandi-pop. Maybe it’s the to do with the enunciation, something which can give a sense of cool detachment from the lyrics. Whatever the case, Band of Gold’s second album, Where’s the Magic, comes across as well executed smart art pop. Band of Gold consist of Nina Mortvedt and …
News: Elvis Costello and the Imposters announce ten UK & Ireland dates this Summer
Following his acclaimed DeTour solo tours of 2015 and 2016, Elvis Costello returns with The Imposters for 10 unmissable UK & Ireland Dates this summer. Joined by backing vocalists Kitten Kuroi and Briana Lee, Elvis Costello and The Imposters (drummer Pete Thomas, keyboardist Steve Nieve and bassist Davey Faragher) will be performing songs from their incomparable back catalogue. With the release of …
Album Review : Yo La Tengo’s ‘There’s a Riot Going On’
I got into Yo La Tengo pretty late. Like my first record experience with them was 2009s Popular Songs. I don’t know what took me so long to jump into the Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew world, but as soon as the the nearly 16-minute album closer “And the Glitter Is Gone” ended …
See: Squeeze reveal new video for ‘Rough Ride’
Taken from their 15th studio album, The Knowledge, Rough Ride is the new single from Squeeze, and it’s Tilbrook and Difford comment on the current state of the British welfare crisis, and features guest performers from the bands home patch of South London, namely Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir and the Thorntree School Choir. A …
EP: Before Breakfast – Sticky Sweet
Sticky Sweet is the debut EP from Sheffield four-piece Before Breakfast, combining their strong vocal harmonies and soaring classical influences to create something passionate, honest, and vulnerable. The EP opens with its title track, immediately capturing your imagination with exquisite harmonies and bewitching lyrics. The pace is slow and steady as it takes you on …