The opening (and title) track to Mr. Dynamite begins with a series of unearthly synth notes, as if Klaatu and Gort have returned for more in a sequel to the classic 1950s sci-fi movie The Day The Earth Stood Still. The alien comparison is fitting on an album that…
Preoccupations have notably matured as musicians with each name change and album. New Material sees the Canadian’s in a (slightly) more positive disposition, as they again create intense soundscapes intersected with stereotypical intricate rhythms. If the deafening post-punk of Viet Cong and the penetrating darkness of Preoccupations set the scene, then New…
There is something about the bleak desolation of Iceland that has called like a siren to artists of all types over the years, a land that is capable of forming a creative bubble for inspiration to spring from, undisturbed by trappings of the modern world. So it was with…
At last. The release of You Are Someone Else marks the moment when one of Brighton’s very finest bands of recent years deliver on all that potential. Those years spent honing their craft run through the very core of this highly polished and supremely confident debut album. It perfectly…
In what seems like an age in the making, The Magic Gang have finally got round to releasing their debut record. The result from the Brighton-based group is a rich catalogue of life-affirming slacker pop anthems that make up one of the best UK guitar debuts in years. The album…
Indie heroes Yo La Tengo have funk legends Sly & the Family Stone to thank for their album title. There’s a Riot Going On’s title came from Sly & the Family Stone’s seminal 1971 album There’s A Riot Goin’ On, and it’s got a similar atmosphere of uprising and oppression…
The back catalogue of this much-loved American band is strewn with literate, epic and theatrical indie-folk-rock. However, while the theatricality is still in evidence, frontman and songwriter Colin Meloy has branched out considerably on I’ll Be Your Girl, musically speaking, embracing synths (gasp!), fretless bass and dance grooves, as well…
The debut album from Mono Club is an easy going listen. One that’s full of promise and charm and an easy on the ear treat for listeners. There’s a clean-cut attitude throughout Sky High & Submarine that invites you in instead of inviting itself in. The music comes with a…
Troubled times give rise to great art. This seems to be the general consensus, a truism even, and artists the world over, since time immemorial, have toiled away, tapping the sap of life’s suffering. So it is for David Byrne, after a protracted solo silence. 14 years is a long…
Turbowolf’s third album, The Free Life, is a very enjoyable snapshot of distilled chaos. They’ve created a beast that gets let loose and flails around on recording, a great record to throw yourself about in your bedroom to. Their first, self-titled album from 2011 tapped into a sound which would…