rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Most music is made with only entertainment in mind. Some might occasionally give you something to think about. Less often it might inform you or at least have immersed you, however briefly, in a place new and unexpected. Very rarely does it present whole new and beguiling topics to muse upon, does it make you... Continue Reading →
Okay, I missed last week so this is another long list. But sometimes you can have both quality and quantity and this is one of those times. So have a listen, explore the artists back catalogues, buy a CD... think of it as a warm up for getting back out to gig going. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3nJQo0ZEhJiWXtmw4zqaUQ?si=0baaef6d80a4479b
Mixing an orchestral, chamber pop vibe with angsty vocals, just before the halfway mark, It Is Finished… decides to reinvent itself into a swirling, post-rock landscape. It really is a song of two halves, as sports pundits might say. Initially, guitars seem to squall and howl, chop and charge as Nick Hudson punches home the... Continue Reading →
There is a point in the process of trying to describe an album where genres and other such journalistic shorthand just doesn't cut it anymore. Then again, Nick Hudson, whether in solo form, as he is here, via bands such as The Academy of Sun or collaborating with such original minds as Mogwai or members... Continue Reading →
Both as a solo composer and as frontman of the gloriously experimental The Academy of Sun, Nick Hudson has been responsible for some gorgeous and creative, not to mention gorgeously creative, music. Some of it has pushed the boundaries of what alternative rock can be, at other times it has taken more graceful and ornate... Continue Reading →
By way of readying the more discerning music fan out there for the arrival of a new album this spring, Nick Hudson has quietly ushered out a couple of tracks to get the juices flowing. And why do I use the phrase "discerning listener?" Well, because, without wanting to sound elitist, Nick's music fits into... Continue Reading →
A bit of a quieter week on the music review front but still lots of great sounds from emerging artists, underground bands and off-the-radar acts for you to wrap your ears around. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/00hJX2xw9YWj0DigtF93T5?si=XW4BBecAQ2uIAUjEtFcZeA
And so another week has passed, more music has flowed under the pen, into the site and, hopefully new sets of ears. And if you want a quick snapshot of the fab and groovy waxing which have graced us with their audio presence, plus a few old favourites, then give this a wizz whilst you... Continue Reading →
As the recent brace of songs, “Rose Devoid of Form” and “Everything at Once Forever”, makes clear, The Academy of Sun is equally at home with the heart-aching and cinematic as it is with full on rock ’n’ roll. Perhaps tell me about the bands influences and musical plan of attack? Nick Hudson: We don’t... Continue Reading →
Look at me getting with the times and making playlists. Well, everyone else is doing it so why not. But with s much music flitting through the site these days I defy anyone to keep up with everything we write about so I thought that I would try to produce a weekly round up of... Continue Reading →
Whilst this latest gem from Brighton’s The Academy of Sun feels like it is wandering through the same sort of territory that Nick Cave has explored from time to time, whereas the emotions our antipodean dark lord builds from err towards the bleak and torn, Rose Devoid of Form uses a more elegant, lilting beauty... Continue Reading →
When you find yourself listening to a song which was written to sate a “desire to 'reconsecrate' 16th Century Hungarian countess and noblewoman Elisabeth Bathory,” then you know that you have stumbled across something a bit more interesting that most of the things doing the rounds at the moment. Not all songs have to be... Continue Reading →
