Premiers
Single Premiere: you.Love – Co.LeGa (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If the previous single, 'Digitally Modified', had an element of early eighties synth pioneering in its hypnotic and slightly mechanical ways, the new one,...
Rock/Punk/Metal
Annunciation – Mary Strand (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I still marvel at Mary Strand’s ability to make music that reminds me of every great pop-rock band in my record collection; play her body...
Post Punk/Goth
Dream – Hollow Star (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Some music, the best music, certainly, comes close to the act of time travel. Play a record, and sometimes something jumps out at you,...
Shoegaze/Dreampop
Down To You – Broken Horses (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
‘Down to You’ sounds, and indeed feels, like the progeny of all that great music that smoothed and coloured the serene fringes of post-punk...
Indie
Dogstar1 – I Give My Friends Flowers (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Jacob Klein, the man behind the glorious moniker I Give My Friends Flowers, might have honed his musical skills through formal training and a career in...
Pop/Power Pop
I Can See Clearly Now – Rusty Reid (reviewed by Dave...
Although the best-known version of ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ is by Jimmy Cliff, its appearance on Rusty Reid’s tribute to the songwriters of Texas, Lone Stardust,...
Folk/Country
The Light Behind – Ruby Greenberg (self-released)
The idea of the acoustic guitar wielding singer-songwriter might seem like a simple musical form, but that is really the point. With little to...
Singer-Songwriter/Acoustica
Shambala Warrior – Blind Uncle Harry (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Blind Uncle Harry is one of those people who perfectly blend subversiveness and silliness into their ragged, reactionary music. And while there is usually...
R&B/Soul
Always Be Mine – Ed Sykes and Friends (reviewed by Dave...
A lifetime of listening thanks to the day job (there is a pun in the band name if you look deep enough) means that...
Reggae/Ska/Dub
A Fistful of Covers – The Hempolics (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
A band releasing an EP of recordings covering their favorite songs is nothing new. A band doing that while also offering a dub reworking...
Dance/EDM
Single Premiere: you.Love – Co.LeGa (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If the previous single, 'Digitally Modified', had an element of early eighties synth pioneering in its hypnotic and slightly mechanical ways, the new one,...
Hip-hop/Rap
Vienna – Son of Dior (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
All genres follow the same sort of evolutionary flow. Core artists define a sound; others copy it, and over time, those who follow move...
Jazz/Blues
Planet Android – Shapes (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It’s not that Shapes don’t fit easily into one genre; it’s more that they fit too easily into many. But not through some lack of focus...
Classical/Instrumental
Gelino – Satoshi (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If you wanted any further proof that music is a constant force in the world, one that moves and evolves through the ages, changing...
Avant Garde
The Shadows of Alienation – Spectrum of Disorder (reviewed by Dave...
Beyond the questions and themes raised by the spoken words and lyrical fragments on this EP, there is a broader question that faces the...
Interviews
The Method in the Musical Madness: A conversation with Anastasiya Bazhenova...
Less a debut album, rather what Anastasiya Bazhenova prefers to call her “first complete artistic statement”, the release of From Mendelssohn to Madness was the perfect opportunity to sit...
Live
Speak to Me – Kathy Sabol (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Although the songs on Speak to Me were written over several years, they took on new meaning following Kathy Sabol's life-threatening illness last year....
Swindon
The Shadows of Alienation – Spectrum of Disorder (reviewed by Dave...
Beyond the questions and themes raised by the spoken words and lyrical fragments on this EP, there is a broader question that faces the...
News
A Shared Experience – recollections of Jimi Hendrix
The authors of a new book on Jimi Hendrix are looking for your help. Following the well-received first volume of 'A People's History of...
Playlist
That Was The Music Week That Was – 080825
Another busy week at Dancing Towers, plenty of cool grassroots artists put under the pen, lots of great music mused over, and lots of...
Books
How Not To Write About Music – III: Starting the Week...
One of the joys of writing about new music is that it stops you from getting trapped in the past. Of course, bands like...
6 of the best
pieces of me – Kate Loraine (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Music is cyclical; the signature sounds from the past always seem to find their way into modern music. It’s just the way of the...
African Breezy – SCooby Trillion (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
African Breezy, the new EP from SCooby Trillion, is a reminder that all music moves with the times. That even the most ancient and...
Ghost – Sonnen Blume (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is an heady blend of, largely, understated guitar work and that gorgeously brooding cello that runs through ‘Ghost’ that immediately puts me in...
Voodoo Dream – Andrew Clendenen (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Hear the word Voodoo and your mind probably conjures up all manner of dark and perhaps sinister ideas. But that take on it is...
Dogstar1 – I Give My Friends Flowers (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Jacob Klein, the man behind the glorious moniker I Give My Friends Flowers, might have honed his musical skills through formal training and a career in...
The Light Behind – Ruby Greenberg (self-released)
The idea of the acoustic guitar wielding singer-songwriter might seem like a simple musical form, but that is really the point. With little to...
