Premiers
Single Premiere: Something in the Water – AudioGust (reviewed by Dave...
There is no substitute for good songwriting. Forget all the studio gimmicks, the clever tricks, and zeitgeist-driven sonic fashion statements; if there isn’t a...
Rock/Punk/Metal
Neverending Night – Rough Grind (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There can be a temptation for bands in the realm of rock music to approach every new album as if they have to reinvent...
Post Punk/Goth
In The Blur (remixed) – Waves Crashing (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As I have stated many times before, I am a big fan of the remix. I’m old enough to remember when remixing tracks was...
Shoegaze/Dreampop
Sky Bleeds – MothBreath (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Most of the music that lands on my desk is merely work. Of course, I put the effort in, but at the end of...
Indie
Tides – The Bergamot (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I have waxed lyrical about Nathaniel Paul’s gorgeous and graceful music many times before on this platform, so it was fantastic to read that The Bergamot is...
Pop/Power Pop
t-shirt sleeves – teo tala (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Do you believe that pop music should be instantly infectious from the first beat and bar? Do you like witty music? Relatable? Nostalgic? Do...
Folk/Country
Witness – The Life of Christ – Miguel De La Wiest...
Instrumental music is, by its very nature, a more expressive form of communication than mere words. Where music that relies on lyrics to tell...
Singer-Songwriter/Acoustica
unfinished conversations – Meli Foster-Turner (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
We are constantly hearing about the industry movers and shakers looking for the new Dylan or the successor to Joni Mitchell. I must admit, it all gets...
R&B/Soul
Freeze – Adrielle Bow Belle (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Singles can be just that: stand-alone pieces of music. But that isn’t always the case; something that gets slightly lost in this age when...
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
Little Gold Spark – Melissa Reed (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Music can be many things, and at its most extreme, it can shoulder the weight of the world, exploring complex emotions, difficult truths, and...
Hip-hop/Rap
00′ Shawty – Ja Fearce (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Taken from the EP of the same name, Ja Fearce's latest single, "00' Shawty", sits in a beguiling middle ground between artistry and energy....
Jazz/Blues
Mojo Maker – Jim Blair (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Jim Blair is known as the man with the slide guitar and the gravel voice, not a bad combination. For many years, either fronting bands...
Classical/Instrumental
9/8 – Leyla Romanov (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
A dance track that is tricky to dance to? Who would do such a thing? Well, that is the sort of boundaries we find Leyla...
Avant Garde
David – Mazmere (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
David is an EP of music connected by a stark theme: loss. It wasn’t intended that way, but both via subject matter and collaboration,...
Interviews
Groovers on Manoeuvres: Sgt. Splendor reporting for musical duty
With the new single, “Brave, Rough and Ready To Go,” just out, I managed to grab a few minutes with Sgt. Splendor to find out...
Live
Grasslands @ The Richard Jefferies Museum, Swindon, 4th July 26
If ever an artist and a gig location were perfectly suited, it was watching Grasslands in the shaded courtyard outside the museum dedicated to...
Swindon
Grasslands @ The Richard Jefferies Museum, Swindon, 4th July 26
If ever an artist and a gig location were perfectly suited, it was watching Grasslands in the shaded courtyard outside the museum dedicated to...
News
Chris Murphy announces new Seth Lakeman produced single, Songs From The...
Los Angeles-based Americana/roots rocker/world Musician Chris Murphy is excited to announce his new single ‘Songs From The Trees’ on June 19th. It’s the second...
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
Welcome To My Heart – Zachary Mason (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
With Welcome To My Heart, we find Zachary Mason at his most vulnerable, three intimate songs that are unambiguous, not to mention brave in their openness and...
Better Off Lost – The Songs of Butler & Cupples (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If this is the future of indie-folk, then I’m all for it. If this is a vision of what Americana might be if it...
t-shirt sleeves – teo tala (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Do you believe that pop music should be instantly infectious from the first beat and bar? Do you like witty music? Relatable? Nostalgic? Do...
You Can’t Spell Sweetheart Without Thea – carolesdaughter (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is a clever conundrum at the heart of the music found on You Can’t Spell Sweetheart Without Thea, a juxtaposition of music that is...
Castles in the Sky – Alias Wayne (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
This seductively simple and wonderfully graceful new song from Alias Wayne covers a lot of ground, explores many hidden depths, and weaves together some...
Pouring Rain – Clarity Liao (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is dream-pop, and then there is dream pop. Let me explain. If the former refers to a genre, a place of shimmering soundscapes...
