rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Less music has been written about on the site than usual this week so I have gained some inspiration from the "to do" pile, so plenty of previews of music reviews to come. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5lY1VjxDOtiJ0xniUDN2Cb?si=068f291364184478
Not that I am trying to second guess this fabulous band but before the virtual needle hits the digital record, I made a mental list of what I thought that this new album from The Two Man Travelling Medicine Show would include. I suspect that it would be full of infectious blends of frantic folk... Continue Reading →
Okay, this site is generally a receptacle for new, original music, after all, there are plenty of other places that help promote covers, tributes, and the more established band. But, if a band comes to me with a cover of, not only a Tom Petty song but a killer Tom Petty song…though weren't they all…I'm... Continue Reading →
Oliver Earnest seems to be able to capture myriad opposite ideas in his songs and his debut album, The Water Goes The Other Way, is the perfect example of this. It is an album that seems to be more than just a collection of songs, great as they are, but actually a creative conjuring trick... Continue Reading →
The last single, Hammered in An Airport, takes a bit of beating. It is hard to think of any recent song, or indeed any song at all, that combines the same wit and infectiousness, lyrical wordplay and satirical stance, downbeat vibe and upbeat groove. In fact, the only band that would stand a chance of... Continue Reading →
The single Half In, Half Out, was the perfect teaser for the album of the same name. Its psychedelic grooves and rock moves were great, obviously, but the louche swagger and wilfully lazy vibes made you wonder about the contents of any album that this track was part of. Is this the sonic pinnacle of... Continue Reading →
As usual, loads of cool music and groovy people have wandered under the pen and onto the page. Please support these artists by buying some merch, liking the page, playing their music. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/45nij9JU2vQwOWoumedsda?si=b422b122f71b41c3
You can make music as funky and infectious, as unique and groovy, as sassy and stimulating as you like but if you don't infuse a song with a lyrical component as powerful and poignant as the instrumental blends that drive, then you are missing a trick. Thankfully, Loud Apartment is too smart to miss such... Continue Reading →
Having decided to drip-feed out his latest batch songs in the form of three ep's, all themed towards certain aspects of life and humanity, reflection and hope, following hot on the heels of Love… and Life… Byorn Gold now presents us with People In Hindsight, the last sonic segment in the series. His approach to... Continue Reading →
To say that Lone Cabin Crow is a strange album is both an understatement and the utmost compliment. It is strange in that it seeks new pathways through recognisable genres or blends of genres and taking sonic roads less travelled that at least skirtclose to the familiar. And I do mean strange as a compliment.... Continue Reading →
Any song worth its salt is worth revisiting, re-imagining and giving a new lease of life. And that is exactly what Philip Parfitt has done with this four-track ep, John Clare. As a means of passing the song through a creative filter, each version found here matches one of the sacred days of the pre-Christian... Continue Reading →
Always behind the curve me. But then if my review pile of CD's gets any bigger, I might just use them to build an extension on the house! Still, I got here in the end and, as expected, the new one from It's Karma It's Cool is a belter. It's an album built on many... Continue Reading →
If hip-hop is seen as the home of edgy, authentic music when compared to pop music's more lightweight creations, it is where the two meet that Tom Orlando can be found. It is the perfect place to reside and his music proves it. Here, his rap-sung lyrics and deft deliveries are cocooned in infectious grooves,... Continue Reading →
Sitting somewhere between the more discerning new metal and alternative scene, and a more cinematic gothic soundscape, 13th Moon takes its inspiration from horror movies and mythical tales of monsters and the macabre. It is full of tension, feeling like any moment the song will burst from its more considered grooves and understated almost story-telling... Continue Reading →
If you want to know the difference between Rock and its big brother Rock 'n' Roll then just listen to a song like Don't Need Anybody by Dmitri Wild. Rock music might gloat about the fact that it is big and heavy and bombastic and technical and over the top...but who needs any of that... Continue Reading →
It doesn't matter if a song is in a language other than your own if it has got groove. Groove is the universal language of rock and roll and Monttu, the latest release from Avot Ahter, has it in no small amount. It drives along on real rock energy, punchy, full of swagger and blending... Continue Reading →
If you want to find a label to slap on Vibes For Miles, the latest album release from Scott Waters, forget clever generic pigeon-holes or stylistic categorisation, just call it radio-friendly. In some elitist quarters, such music is looked down on but I would say that if music is designed to be accessible and entertaining,... Continue Reading →
Waiting for an album to come out, especially one where the trailing singles have done their job, whetted your musical appetite and built up your expectations, can be a fraught business. There are always lots of questions raised about the relationship of the advanced singles to the album. Are they representative of the album as... Continue Reading →
Following the October release of his 'Mockingbird Love' EP comes the much-anticipated ‘next’ full-length album from legendary Scottish music-sculptor Robin Guthrie, titled 'Pearldiving'. On this journey of 10 new tracks, Guthrie returns to his signature instrumental genre, evoking an atmosphere and sound so instantly recognizable, and yet so very personal. From the slow-burning opening notes of ‘Ivy’ to the last swelling distortion... Continue Reading →
Where I Am a Rocketship fits into the musical landscape is not the issue, I doubt that you could get two people to agree on that anyway, all that matters is that they exist. And if their music is the epitome of genre-hopping…or better still genre-swerving…sonic creativity then they are beating a path that others... Continue Reading →
When Carameladora states that her music “exists between the boundaries of genres,” she is exactly right and Traces is the perfect showcase of exactly that. Rising out of a gorgeously hypnotic classical-esque, acoustic riff, it quickly gathers around it gentle clubland beats, washes of electronica, cinematic guitar lines, chiming electronica, sweeping strings and angelic and otherworldly drones. And if... Continue Reading →
Proving that an "official no-budget home video" (their words, not mine) can still be an engaging, watchable and groovy experience, Don't Skip are back with another slice of upbeat, clubland pop. And as always, it isn't just about the mellifluous melodies, the neo-soul vibes, the easy groove and infectious snap of the song, though that would be... Continue Reading →
A bit late but stil the usual collection of cool grassroots music, off the radar songs and about to happen artists. Buy merch, like pages, go to a gig…you know the drill. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5xKnQisD3MlxsraQgpmEpA?si=f5e2ba19222a4f9c
After the drifting, haunting ambience of opener Sea Howl, TRAITRS move on to their signature sound, and Mouth Poison is the perfect showcase of their heady blend of Cure-esque, dark alt-rock elegance, more modern digital dreamscapes and electronic adventure. Perhaps what flavours the album more than any conscious sonic decisions by Sean-Patrick Nolan and Shawn... Continue Reading →
Brooklyn-based underground music veterans Jarvis Earnshaw and Trevor Dunn are gearing up to release their first collaborative album as the TRAVIS DUO - a collection of improvisations based on a set of line drawings and diagrams drawn during lucid dreams. Aptly titled 'Hypnagogia' of or pertaining to the period of the transitional state between waking life and dreams: hypnagogic hallucinations). For this project,... Continue Reading →
The art of making devotional music in the modern age is to produce something so infectious, so effective, so addictive that it appeals to a wide range of people, no matter their outlook on life or views on religion. That way, even if someone is not part of the usual target audience, they still find... Continue Reading →
Initially this recording sounds like it may have come from turn of the century Seattle but it develops into a much more interesting record throughout its journey. There are some recognizable Dinosaur Jr phrasings and periodic Nirvana like circular rhythmic mechanisms at play but they don't detract significantly from an enjoyable and original post rock... Continue Reading →
Rising from a slow-burning, atmospheric and slightly cinematic opening passage, Vision then bursts into life, evolving into a salvo of deft and dexterous vocals running on a platform of skittering beats and depth-charge bass pulses. Lyrically reflective and musically dark and edgy, it plays with some wonderful sonic dynamics before fading out, like a musical... Continue Reading →
The last few years have, for some very obvious reasons, been unusual times, particularly for anyone involved in anything of a creative and communal nature. But for all the hardship thrown up by Covid, the lockdowns and the isolation of recent times, there have been a few silver linings too, usually in the form of... Continue Reading →
Who says that dance music can't be smart? Or that pop music can't be deep and meaningful? And does nostalgia have to be an exact sonic replay of what has gone before? And if all of those statements sound a little bit oxymoronic then it is only because you haven't yet stumbled across Telefís. Take... Continue Reading →
