When a band loses a key component they can either attempt to replicate it, to normally to poor effect, or instead move in a new direction. For their third album TOY have chosen the latter in what is perhaps not their best, but most consistent effort to date. Alejandra…
It seems that on their sixth album, San Diego’s Crocodiles have at long last found a focused, deliberate sound. Their previous albums have found a few hits but have seldom held your attention throughout the entire piece. 2010’s Sleep Forever found its way occasionally; the Pitchfork slating ‘Mirrors’ was…
Back in 1997, Joan Wasser's then boyfriend, Jeff Buckley, disappeared after swimming in a river, never to return. Whether coincidentally or not it was around this time that Wasser started writing her own songs, after spending almost all her previous life as a musician and performer of other people’s…
WALLS is the seventh studio album by Kings of Leon and they’ve decided to try and step outside of their comfort zones this time. For the first time since 2003’s What I Saw EP, the band have parted ways with producer Angelo Petraglia in favour of Markus Dravs, who is…
Following on from Horse Dance, their debut album released a mere year ago, Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation have hit back with their sophomore, Mirage. The Swedish krautrock group have cast a cult like armor around themselves. They are as enigmatic as their label mates and fellow Swedes, Goat,…
Two Door Cinema Club’s latest album, Gameshow, certainly makes for a challenging listen. Although the band have well and truly stepped away from their comfort zone, a move that has been encouraged following their last two albums, their new release is professional yet disorderly. The success of their 2012…
So, the cat is finally out of the bag. Seasick Steve is not quite who he claims to be. But, really! This has been an open secret for years. There are those in the industry who knew all along. Articles had been published, facts laid bare. But, like the…
The latest of Brighton’s bigbands to release an album, Town of Cats are well-known for their raucous live shows, where upwards of ten members cram onstage, turning venues into seething dance-pits. As with any large band, the difficulty come recording day is transferring their huge sound clearly onto record,…
Could Utopia Defeated be one of the best albums of the year? The seamless amount of hype surrounding Melbourne-born D.D Dumbo, aka Oliver Perry, definitely puts his debut album in contention. Perry started making impressions in 2013, most notably at SXSW when he performed solo with a 12-string…
It’s easy to imagine historians of the future looking back at the ‘quarter life crisis’ as a phenomenon specific to the early 21st century. A result of increased expectations enforced by older generations who with the other hand have taken away the very same opportunities. Julia Jacklin’s debut is…