pop
Meet: The Scaffold’s Mike McCartney on the reissue of the McGough & McGear album
Most novelty number ones are rubbish but a notable exception to this rule is The Scaffold’s flower power classic Lily The Pink which still raises a happy smile five decades on. The Scaffold’s nucleus of comedian John Gorman, poet Roger McGough and songwriter Mike McGear emerged from the fertile early 1960s Liverpool theatre scene before …
Track: Dear Tatiana – Staycaytion
Orlando, Florida quartet Dear Tatiana mix things up with their rhymes and raps working in tandem with their pop-punk attitude. With their new single Staycation, they’ve mixed up some warm, summery synths, with a good helping of RnB infused pop to make something that floats into your senses. One of the quartet, Thayne explains the …
Feature: double albums that are actually worth the time.
For some artists the single disc statement is not enough. It should be though, as the multiple disc release is a difficult beast to master and many of the most famous double albums are at least half a side too long (The Beatles, Blonde on Blonde, Songs in the Key of Life, Physical Graffiti, etc). …
Album Review: SIA – This Is Acting
There is an uneasy amount of hype surrounding Sia Furler’s forthcoming album, This Is Acting – Sia is seen as the new bastion of hope within a bloated pop music scene with her offbeat musical output lauding her to not only critics but more crucially the general populous (no pun intended) of mainstream audiences. You …
Album Review: Foxes – All I Need
In 2014 Foxes released her debut album ‘Glorious’. It took pop music, added in a whole bunch of quirks and an edge, and went on to be one of the best albums of the year. Her Kate Bush-esque dramatic sound, laid over huge pop hooks and dirty electronic beats separated her from so many others …
Reissue: Julia Fordham – Julia Fordham
God, if this album was any more 1980s it would come with a free Ra Ra skirt and fluorescent leg warmers. But despite the overproduced tinny guitars, hideous fretless bass and synthesised keyboards, that are so redolent of the time, it is saved by Julia Fordham’s gorgeous smoky jazz tinged voice. Fordham was one of …
EP: The Winter Typres – Holding Hands In Public
‘The Winter Tyres’ is a five-piece acoustic pop band based in Belgium, that came into existence when Brian Bordello (The Bordellos) found a battered C60 cassette down the back of the sofa, that he’d made aeons ago entitled “Songs For a Girl to Sing”. These songs were sent to his old friend Claire Wilcock, and …
News: Rosie Lowe announces debut album ‘Control’ & UK tour
Rosie Lowe is the latest what seems like an never ending production line of talented English singer/songwriters and on a wave of massive media hype she releases her debut album Control on February 19. The Devon-born musician co-produced the album with Dave Okumu, and her smart songwriting shows exactly why artists like Little Simz, The Invisible, Kwabs, Ady …
Feature: David Bowie (1947 – 2016), In Loving Memory
At the time of writing it has been a week since the death of David Bowie was announced. During that time there have been countless tributes, often from the most unlikely of places, which mark him out as one of the most significant figures of our time. It is impossible to imagine what Western culture …
Track: Polyenso – 17 New Years
“Everyone has a light and a darkness inside them. For us it comes out in our music,” reflects Alex Schultz, of Florida trio Polenso about their forthcoming second album.. “Dichotomy is a huge theme in this record. Head and heart, gluttony and apathy, and love and hate are some of the obvious ones.” The St. …