Premiers
Video Premiere: Breath – Silver Summer (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If ever there was a song that encapsulated the idea that less is more, then “Breath,” the latest single from Silver Summer, is surely it....
Rock/Punk/Metal
Take Two – Effusion 35 (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
We shouldn’t live in the past, but it never hurts to revisit it from time to time, especially when you have been a band...
Post Punk/Goth
Pretty at Dawn – Golem Dance Cult (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The great thing about Golem Dance Cult, or, I should say, one of the many great things, is that although their music might vary in velocity...
Shoegaze/Dreampop
Fertile Mind – Frank Joshua (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If, to those still bothered about genres and musical pigeon-holing, the singer-songwriter conjures images of acoustic precision and folk finesse and dream-pop, blends of...
Indie
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight – Plans to Sand (reviewed by...
If the Postal Service’s original is a wonderful meeting of beat and beauty, a sublime swirl of ambience and gentle energies, Plans to Sand’s take on...
Pop/Power Pop
Lettres Sous la Pluie – Leyla Romanova (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As soon as you hear even the first bars of "Lettres Sous la Pluie," you are transported to the beauty of the rain-soaked streets...
Folk/Country
White Hydrangeas ft. Sapphire Star Studios – Monique Grimme (reviewed by...
Over several releases spanning the last year or so, Monique Grimme has established a signature sound that blends rock drive with more subtle sonics,...
Singer-Songwriter/Acoustica
Tremble – The Quiet North (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The ability to move so effortlessly between understatement and anthemics is just one of the traits that make "Tremble," the new single from The...
R&B/Soul
Fell in Love Again – Heron (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is a wonderful tension at the heart of “Fell in Love Again,” a ebb and flow through a number of genres that never...
Reggae/Ska/Dub
Album Premiere: Lost Files – JaDon Blaxx (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If Dancehall arrived in the seventies as reggae's leaner, faster, more street-charged younger sibling, then Lost Files is a clear snapshot of where that...
Dance/EDM
The Woven Project – Laura’s Kitchen – Intro/Outro (OuNoSoGo Remixes) (reviewed...
The Woven Project's music is, for the most part, a quietly mercurial experience, more sound as atmospherics or sparingly collated strands of ambience than...
Hip-hop/Rap
Invincible – 40pzz (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If you’re still clinging to that worn-out notion that rap doesn’t evolve, Invincible should put that idea out of its misery in under four...
Jazz/Blues
It’s Called Love…It’s Called The Blues – Wattmore (reviewed by Dave...
Pop music might have cornered the market for infectiousness, rock for energy, but the blues has always been the place where emotion reigns supreme....
Classical/Instrumental
Video Premiere: Boreal – Seven Crows (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Continuing with the singles that pre-empt the release of the full album, Powers of Observation, Chris Murphy now gives us “Boreal,” another delicate and emotive sonic...
Avant Garde
A Glimpse For Bobby – When Mountains Speak (reviewed by Dave...
Although written in tribute to the recently departed Bob Weir, visionary musician and one of the founder members of The Grateful Dead, you could...
Interviews
Power to the People: A catch-up with Power Down’s dynamic duo,...
Separated by generations, Dan Voss Jr. delivers sucker punches of ’80s and ’90s rock edge—echoing his days writing and producing for major artists—while Zeus propels their sound forward,...
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
Rooks – M3G (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The word ethereal is used a lot in music. Too much, really. Not least by overly-verbose scribblers like me. But sometimes no other word will do....
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
White Hydrangeas ft. Sapphire Star Studios – Monique Grimme (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Over several releases spanning the last year or so, Monique Grimme has established a signature sound that blends rock drive with more subtle sonics,...
Sugar Man – Midniter (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
He cut his teeth on punk and rock and roll bands, dresses like a sleaze-rock 1970’s John Lennon, and makes music best described as...
Fertile Mind – Frank Joshua (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If, to those still bothered about genres and musical pigeon-holing, the singer-songwriter conjures images of acoustic precision and folk finesse and dream-pop, blends of...
Emotion Ocean – Bear Jr (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If rock music is often characterized by a sound that is forceful and forward, in your face and brash, with his latest single, “Emotion...
Remnants – Licorice Chamber (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is something new afoot in the Licorice Chamber camp, and it is apparent right from the start of “Feign,” which kicks off their new three-track...
New Car – Vé/Zé (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Ahhh, the smell of the new car. The thrill of the open road. The wind in your hair, the radio turned up, the feeling...
