Premiers
Single Premiere: Move the Needle – Frank Gappa (reviewed by Dave...
I’ve always loved music made in that certain sweetspot, the one where the growl and groove of rock and roll washes up on more...
Rock/Punk/Metal
Single Premiere: Move the Needle – Frank Gappa (reviewed by Dave...
I’ve always loved music made in that certain sweetspot, the one where the growl and groove of rock and roll washes up on more...
Post Punk/Goth
Visions From the Frontier – Noise Factory United (reviewed by Dave...
As you work your way through the six songs that make up Noise Factory United’s Visions From The Frontier, you quickly realise that the frontiers that...
Shoegaze/Dreampop
Birthday Cake – Ava Valianti (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If I were one of those more pedantic writers, I would probably be giving you a potted history of the early eighties post-punk scene...
Indie
The Laws Of Life – Lois Powell + Night Wolf (reviewed by...
It is fair to say that this ongoing collaboration between Night Wolf and Lois Powell is producing some fantastic results. Not that you would...
Pop/Power Pop
Bad Feeling – Rowhome (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I love songs that sit on the cusp, or in the case of this latest one from Rowhome, many cusps. I get it if you like...
Folk/Country
Glitter Up The Dark – Jessye DeSilva (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
You hardly have to be told that Jessye DeSilva and her collaborator and producer, Aaron Lee Tasjan, set out to explore the idea of unabashed joy on...
Singer-Songwriter/Acoustica
To Cold To Swim – Art Schop (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
There is always a deeper story running through Art Schop’s songs, not for him throwaway lyrics or offering up merely more of the same old,...
R&B/Soul
Call Me Crazy – Gregory Ackerman (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I’m not sure if “Call Me Crazy” is an echo of a golden age of music past or a sonic signpost to a better...
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 Touch – Raymond Castronovo (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I am just about old enough to remember that time in the late seventies when the long-haired, guitar-wielding community felt so threatened by the...
Hip-hop/Rap
Mind How You Go – PanthaDogg (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Hip-hop has come a long way from its birthplace in the South Bronx all those years ago. And while all genres move with the...
Jazz/Blues
Video Premiere: Hearts Like Caves – Dilly Dally Alley (reviewed by...
As I sit here writing, the spring sun streaming through the window, the cat following the warm spot across the floor, green things sparking...
Classical/Instrumental
Rust Mountain (Monochrome Piano Version) – Aptøsrs (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It is one thing to listen to and enjoy a song; it is another to understand it, or at least get a feeling for...
Avant Garde
True Human Trough – Bell Barrow (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Comfort zones? Who needs them? Well, not Bell Barrow that’s for sure. Anyone already familiar with any music that Jeremy Moore has made under this or any other...
Interviews
Home From Home: Ben E Davis talks London, LA, his musical...
With the single “Hometown” dropping, I caught up with Ben E Davis to talk about being that American Boy in London, how he got started in...
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
Glitter Up The Dark – Jessye DeSilva (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
You hardly have to be told that Jessye DeSilva and her collaborator and producer, Aaron Lee Tasjan, set out to explore the idea of unabashed joy on...
Rising From The Ashes – Brunhilde (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Backed up by a run of European gigs starting later this month, Brunhilde’s latest release, “Rising From The Ashes,” reminds us of all the things...
Single Premiere: Move the Needle – Frank Gappa (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I’ve always loved music made in that certain sweetspot, the one where the growl and groove of rock and roll washes up on more...
Melt – Poison Oak (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Poison Oak has always been one of those bands brilliant at balancing the fresh with the familiar. Listen to any one of their songs, and...
Flight – Near Death Experience (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I’ve been writing about Near Death Experience for a while now, and even with a handful of their releases under my pen, I would be hard...
Inside – Byorn Gold (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I have always praised Byorn Gold's approach to releasing music. Dividing his long-players into three EPs and releasing them as a staggered series before...
