rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Bands are very fluid beasts, few run through their whole career with little or no changes in line-up. In fact most bands coalesce around just a few core members who act as the heartbeat of the band, others coming and going as the considerations of life, family, fashion, career, and everything in between plays out... Continue Reading →
I think as you grow older you fall into one of two (gross) generalisations. You can feel content with your record collection and your own musical equilibrium, and hermetically seal yourself in against encroaching fad and fashion with statements such as “music isn’t as good as it used to be,” and resign yourself to a... Continue Reading →
Princess Thailand seem to use sound in the same way that Jackson Pollock used paint. It’s almost as if they throw it, almost unplanned, at the song creating random explosions of sound, producing striking shapes in random colours which clash just as much as they compliment. And then they hold this all in place by... Continue Reading →
Song titles can tell you a lot about an artist. With a tryptic of intriguing titles making up the middle part of this record, namely “The Biscuit (Who Grabbed My Face)”, “Diet of Worms” and the gloriously named “The President of The United States Is The Breitbart Bimbo” tells me all I need to know... Continue Reading →
Laszlo’s formative years, growing up in an environment where listening to rock music was highly disapproved of, might not have suggested that he would go on to carve out a career as a musician. Listening to First Day of Summer it sounds like it is a role he was born for. It is a song... Continue Reading →
Last time that Going To The Sun passed my way with their glorious and eponymous debut, I’m pretty sure that I may have used the phrase “life-affirming” and it is great to hear that although a not insignificant slice of life has passed since then, they seem to have lost none of their positivity. Hopeful... Continue Reading →
It is often the case that you can listen to a release from a forthcoming album and that song acts as a sort of sonic roadmap, a stylistic signpost as to what the fully formed beast is going to be all about. What was great about Hillbilly Hippie Haiku Heaven was that after experiencing its... Continue Reading →
The best music always has something to say. And it is worth remembering that all movements that matter, from rock’n’roll to hip-hop, from punk to grime, have been born out of dissatisfaction, restlessness and outrage. Throw into that mix Rockie Brown, who has never been shy in coming forward, has never been one to hold... Continue Reading →
I suppose the question isn’t so much why chose to cover such an iconic song but what do you do with it to make the whole process justifiable. Three approaches spring to mind. There is the faithful rendition, which sort of suggests that you feel that original needs someone to take a new, pretty pointless... Continue Reading →