rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Not heard anything from Folk Devils for around thirty years, so this was a welcome surprise. Big bendy guitars crash in with a wall of dirty but tuneful sound behind. No space for filler in here, just big powerful chords, rhythms and melody. It has a confidence that comes with age and experience. Although the... Continue Reading →
Power-pop. It’s an interesting term. It’s a much misunderstood term. To some it might imply that navigating its mysteries require you to merely crank up the guitars in a pop tune. Or swap sonic weight for more infectious melody in a rock number. Well, yes, it is sort of about that but it is about... Continue Reading →
Metal, especially the more technical end of that particular spectrum, and classical music have always made slightly odd but perfectly compatible travelling companions. But require high levels of skill, dedication and dexterity, both revel in florid and intricate soundscapes, byzantine sonic structures and whatever the opposite of the “less is more” approach is. Both also... Continue Reading →
The on-going pandemic has led to many different reactions from people trapped and traumatised by such unprecedented times. Anger fear, compassion, a renewed sense of unity, even laughter as a survival mechanism and everything in between. And music artists are no different but they do have a more public platform through which to express themselves.... Continue Reading →
There are many myths and fallacies to be found witinin music. The biggest has to be that it is a younger persons game. Perhaps from a marketing point of view for fly-by-night indie bands or transient pop-tarts, but when it comes to what really matters, the music itself, how can it not improve as the... Continue Reading →
What separates metal from plain, old, work-a-day rock music is often less to do with the technicalities of what is being played and more to do with the scope of the vision the band employs. Whereas rock has always revelled in industrial strength riffs, thunderous back beat, soaring vocals and coiled and claustrophobic textures, metal... Continue Reading →
Another week of working with cool sounds made by even cooler people. Here are some of the finest moments. Check them out, buy some merch, keep the grassroots scene alive. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2NwXo6wIGgk9CAqdfVVJwi?si=5HJJz5_QSaeqxUw_wr61sg
Short, sweet and to the point. But that has always been the charm of rap music. It knows what it wants to say and it gets straight on with it, and you can’t accuse Sen Lombardi of outstaying his welcome. Repetitive to the point of hypnotic, minimal to a point that it seems to eventually... Continue Reading →
A lot of modern rap and hip-hop, and the music which has sprung from these forms, seems to be powered by a glitchy, skittering trap percussion. An engine room bookended by depth-charge bass beats and skittering, chiming chirps. Last Night manages to put a new spin on such a rhythmic approach, with the percussive beats... Continue Reading →
There are two assumptions that could be drawn when you listen to any album which seems to wander between a whole range of genres and heads off to explore various musical tangents. Either the artist is unfocused, inconsistent, perhaps even unsure of themselves or they feel unbound by generic convention and they chose the style and... Continue Reading →
Although he has so far built his reputation on a sound very much in the acoustic, singer-songwriter genre, Christopher Dallman is also nothing if not open to exploration. So High, a calling card for his album Digital Blue, marks a deft change of direction. Here he blends relaxed electronica beats, cinematic soundscapes and the merest... Continue Reading →
As the opening salvo of Yesterdays, the song which first turned me on to the delights of this band, rolls confidently out of my speakers, oddly enough the first thing I think about is how small the world is, how cyclical music can be and how great ideas are not governed by time and place.... Continue Reading →
There has always been a sweet spot to be found between rock weight, indie cool and pop infectiousness, and the search for it has become a legendary quest for a sort of sonic Holy Grail. It is only in such sacred places that the effect of these three influences mixes with perfection, a heady blend... Continue Reading →
I have always loved Cyborg Asylum’s future nostalgic blurring of time lines. Future because their music always seems to be the soundtrack to some dystopia cataclysm yet to happen, the rallying cry for the under dogs in some yet to come Big Brother, oppressive police state. Nostalgic because whilst pursuing those futuristic visions, they also... Continue Reading →
As always, amongst the many great qualities to be found in Emily Breeze’s music, that smart combination of wit and wisdom is tantamount. Even the song’s evolution from a tongue-in-cheek lecture about how to play the game, not make waves and get on in the music industry into a middle-finger tirade, railing against such conformity... Continue Reading →
City Inside The Desert is, in many ways, a love letter to Phoenix, Arizona. But it is also one based in reality. Rather than mythologise and pander to the cities image, Rocadopolis takes an honest look at his home town's beating heart, pulling no punches whilst clearly proud to be from that place. And it... Continue Reading →
Although more often found weaving together musical building blocks with a more nostalgic and classic sound, In The Dark reminds us that, just like everyone else, The Jorgensens live in and are affected by the events of the modern world. Musically it embraces a much more contemporary sound, albeit one built around brooding cello undercurrents... Continue Reading →
Husband and wife duo, The Jorgensens, have always been good at finding their inspirations in some long passed, classic sounds and then adding their own polish and poise, integrity and originality so that the end result is modern music for nostalgic hearts. They wander through the early days of contemporary music, gathering jazz vibes and... Continue Reading →
If a picture paints a thousand words, just imagine how powerful a video can be. In the right hands that is. Too many artists use the medium of the music video just to push the sales of the single in question, but that is, in many ways, a missed opportunity as a video can, and... Continue Reading →
Considering that Ike Kawaguchi’s back story is one which includes him running away from home at fifteen to couch surf, skate, and perform in local metal bands, Fresh Till Death might come as a bit of a surprise. Rather than the pop-punk or emo-infused rock which such a start in life might suggest, it is... Continue Reading →
They say that you can tell a lot about a person by the company that they keep. You can similarly tell a lot about a musician by the people they call on to play on their record. Dare To Hope features a host of names, people who have played with everyone from Dixie Chicks and Mary Chapin... Continue Reading →
Paul Lappin has never shied away from the obvious 90’s, particularly Brit-pop influences, which weave their way through his music, but Broken Record is where it all gets a bit “meta.” Meta because if you are the sort of person who analyses such things too deeply, and apologies dear reader but I am that person,... Continue Reading →
Perhaps one line out of all of the things I have read about Robert A. Wagner, the co-founder and mainstay of The Little Wretches, tells you everything you need to know about the man and the band that he leads. “Personally, I’m sick of Tom Joad.” As the son of Slovakian immigrants who came to... Continue Reading →
Quite a busy week spent capturing music between pen and paper so planty for you to check out. Also please explore the artists a bit more if you have time, perhaps even buy a CD...an artist is for life, not just lockdown...or something. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2DebKZkfaH4uQW7aLOFaYC?si=OumpFjPgS52n7jdVp6h09g
I’m not sure how I feel about this. But that has to be a good thing, right? Music should confuse rather than conform... shouldn’t it? And the coming together of such a well-respected producer and artist and such an iconic song is going to blip on a lot of people's radars. But anyone expecting a... Continue Reading →
With a brooding and shrouded bass sound which pulls the listener immediately in at the deep end, Siegfried 1969 is a swirl of gothic and post-punk sonic troupes. Clinical, electronic beats, buzz saw guitars, chilling and obscured lyrics…even if you are fluent in German…explosives dynamics releasing salvos of sonic shards, Cold War allusions, stark European... Continue Reading →
If you are going to choose to cover a song, especially one by a band known for having such a signature sound, you really need to be bringing something interesting to project. Otherwise what is the point? The Pull of Autumn really understands this and this cover of The Bee Gees' Holiday has so many unique... Continue Reading →
It probably says more about me, my age and the fact that I might need some new, more up-to-date reference points, but the fact that Memories I Don’t Want reminds me, in part, of Dream Academy’s masterful Life in A Northern Town, fair warms my nostalgic heart. There is a similar intimate quality to the... Continue Reading →
Music and video games have always had a close relationship. Some musicians make a healthy living providing the scores to blockbuster games and most gamers spend their game-time immersed in the sonic textures and musical washes that act as the backdrop to their adventures and exploration, melee and the mayhem. But it is surprising, given... Continue Reading →
David Noah himself has posed the question “Does country music need another whiskey song?” I think that the answer is a resounding yes…or should that be “hell yeah!” It’s a bit like asking if rock and roll still needs ridiculously long guitar straps and a foot on the monitor. Like suggesting that indie music isn’t... Continue Reading →