Premiers
Video Premiere: Hypnotic – The Gods They Made (reviewed by Dave...
Sitting between a post-punk past and a forward-thinking indie future, The Gods They Made is a reminder that all music, all creativity, all art, is...
Rock/Punk/Metal
Never Present – Thorn Haven (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
A lot happens in the first minute of the first song of this, the debut album of Denver alt-rockers, Thorn Haven. Tribal beats pound, tension rises, guitars explode...
Post Punk/Goth
Treachery – TATV GRAL (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Just because music technology evolves, it doesn’t mean we stop looking to the past for inspiration. And if that is certainly the case regarding...
Shoegaze/Dreampop
please – sadplanet (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Ahead of the autumn release of their debut EP, slowing down, sadplanet drops their second single from it, “please.” Here, they give us an immersive cocoon of...
Indie
Kickback – The Fods and Night Wolf (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
A quick reference check and I find the original version of this song, from The Fods 2024 album, Don’t ARgue to be a neat slice of indie rock...
Pop/Power Pop
Star Ride – Barry J Walsh (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Having plied his sonic trade with Irish power-pop band The Fireflys, it is no surprise that, as a solo artist, Barry J Walsh continues to mine a similar sonic...
Folk/Country
Kind of Woman (Who Makes the Morning Look Good) – Todd...
Before we get to the woman in question, Todd Adelman and his sonic gang make the sort of sound that makes country music (Americana, alt-country…call it...
Singer-Songwriter/Acoustica
A Dangling Thread – Gary Hubber (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Proving that pop and rock were never the opposing camps that their followers often thought, or at least if they were, they were opposites...
R&B/Soul
Still Love You – Lee Knox (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
With Still Love You, Lee Knox has fashioned an album that comfortably explores the space where classic R&B, commercial soul, and contemporary pop grooves...
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
Keep Dancing (remix) – Schkeuditzer Kreuz (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Even if you can’t make out the vocals, which are both minimal and obscured beneath the raw, abrasive sonics and the industrial, delirious dance...
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
1979 – Bernell Jones II feat. Julius Rodriguez (reviewed by Dave...
“1979” is less a song and more a feeling, and perhaps even a destination. Its smoky textures and urban groove suggest a late-night uptown...
Classical/Instrumental
Prelude in E Minor (Op. 28, No. 4) – Ben Aubergine...
Ben Aubergine poses an intriguing question with this reimagining of “Prelude in E Minor (Op. 28, No. 4)”: What might Frédéric Chopin’s music sound like if...
Avant Garde
Testing the Ground – Milarepa’s Cave (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It makes perfect sense that "Testing the Ground" is the soundtrack to a forthcoming film. Not just because of the track's length, nearly an...
Interviews
Playing the Long Game: A chat with Dan Wheetman about the...
With a new album, Honky Tonk, just out to mark 40 years in the game, I sat down with Dan Wheetman of Marley’s Ghost to find out more about the...
Live
The Crack – En Heat (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If, like me, you feel that mainstream music is all a bit safe, merely appealing to fads and fashions, comfort zones and marketing reports,...
Swindon
Back where it all began. A Big Day out with EXTC
Terry Chambers will always remember his twenty-first birthday. After all, who would forget being subjected to their friend’s TV show reel, fifteen minutes (well,...
News
‘Mariachi El Bronx IV’ out February 13 Marks Alter Ego of...
On February 13 LA trailblazers Mariachi El Bronx will release Mariachi El Bronx IV, their long-awaited new album, and first in over a decade. MEB is the alter...
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
A Dangling Thread – Gary Hubber (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Proving that pop and rock were never the opposing camps that their followers often thought, or at least if they were, they were opposites...
Bad Gag – Lurcher (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is a very confrontational and uncompromising vibe to Lurcher, not just musically but in the barked and often barking mad lyrics that goes with...
Surrender – Bleach Dreamer (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If the hymnal and heartfelt “Heaven Sent” is not the most stunningly glorious song you have heard in a long time, then you need...
The Bongo Boy Rock ‘n’ Roll TV – Episode 06 Season 15 – Oh...
It seems that more music than ever is being made these days, too much, really, so finding artists worthy of your time can feel...
My Sun – Mishell Ivon, Jerome Brooks, Jr., Leyla Romanova (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Why do musicians insist on limiting themselves to labels? Rock guitarist, hip-hop artist, metalhead, indie darling, soul singer—surely anything beyond the simple description of...
Kickback – The Fods and Night Wolf (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
A quick reference check and I find the original version of this song, from The Fods 2024 album, Don’t ARgue to be a neat slice of indie rock...
