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
Mondo Judex – Judex (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
When you read through the annals of music history, it is never the big success stories and multi-platinum-selling bands, the artists that make enough...
Post Punk/Goth
Coming Home – The Real Anthem (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Sitting in a space that touches the generic fringes of all the sounds that have been a constant in my life – post-punk, alt-rock,...
Shoegaze/Dreampop
The Noise Is Ours – Seasurfer (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As the chiming, crystalline vocals of ‘Flurry Glory’ give way to equally chiming and crystalline, yet dark and dense shoegaze textures, we find Seasurfer leading us...
Indie
Losing (The Only Game In Town) – The Scarlet Goodbye (reviewed...
Not that you can ever pin down The Scarlet Goodbye as they creatively careen and sonically skid all over the musical map, or at least the...
Pop/Power Pop
One Shot – Bliss Carmxn (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” Okay, a quote from a Rocky...
Folk/Country
The Inner Temple (Songs of Transformation) – Monique Grimme (reviewed by...
It has been fascinating to watch Monique Grimme's music gradually move from the more mainstream, rock-leaning territory of her earlier work into something increasingly...
Singer-Songwriter/Acoustica
Farewell The World – Carlos Grassot (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Some people keep a record of their life through a journal, a place where they can write down their intimate thoughts and muse on...
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
Parakeets – Oaken Wires (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I really enjoyed Oaken Lee’s run of spacious, modern-folk singles that drifted into the review pile last year, but this latest release, which sees him...
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
Get Up Ya Honky Tonk – Cam Cole (reviewed by Dave...
It is perhaps, in part at least, the process of modernisation and homogenisation, sanitisation and bastardisation that has taken place in blues music in...
Classical/Instrumental
Things Fall Apart – Nathan Amundson (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Music and literature are my twin passions, so it is always great when the two occupy the same space for me. Not only is Nathan Amundson's...
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
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....
The Noise Is Ours – Seasurfer (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As the chiming, crystalline vocals of ‘Flurry Glory’ give way to equally chiming and crystalline, yet dark and dense shoegaze textures, we find Seasurfer leading us...
The Bee Charmer – Emily Ashberry (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Emily Ashberry has one of those voices, one of those crystalline, timeless, and Joni-esque sounds that feels as if it would sit perfectly in any...
Buck Up/Sweet Tooth – Samantha Starr Stefanik (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
New Jersey singer-songwriter Samantha Starr Stefanik has built a reputation for a very distinct signature sound. But it is hard to place on the...
Always Be Mine – Ed Sykes and Friends (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
A lifetime of listening thanks to the day job (there is a pun in the band name if you look deep enough) means that...
Ben Lester – Ben Lester (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Ben Lester has been forging his own signature sound from an early age, combining intricate melodies, ambitious arrangements and a fascination with studio potential. Like...
