new music reviews, news & interviews
Kieron Tyler |
“Fuck Thatcher, fuck neoliberalism.” After these words from the stage, an audience response. “Fuck Thatcher” echoes the approving shout from the darkness.
Guy Oddy |
Peaches is primarily known as a purveyor of transgressive, sex positive anthems that have no room for shame whatsoever. This is just as it should be, although her music might not be for the easily offended, and her seventh album is not only one of her best, but possibly her most audacious too.
Kieron Tyler
In November 1975, UK music weekly New Musical Express included an article by Charles Shaar Murray titled “Are You Alive To The Jive Of The Sound Of '…
Sebastian Scotney
It’s been a long wait. More than five years have passed since Maria Schneider’s most recent "magnum opus", the double album Data Lords came out. That…
Katie Colombus
The first time I heard Wuthering Heights I felt a bit like I’d walked into the wrong room – one lit by firelight rather than LEDs. Is this the sound…
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Joe Muggs
The Belfast master of slow, sad club sounds is on peak form
Thomas H. Green
Brett Anderson and co. deliver energy, sing-alongs and punk-tinted kicks
Guy Oddy
Jill Scott’s first album in over a decade is an absolute gem
Jonathan Geddes
A slick show from the duo offered vibrant stagecraft and varied genres
Ibi Keita
A boom bap return that feels as personal as it is timeless
Kieron Tyler
Explosive collection of the Sheffield stylist’s favourite singles
Sebastian Scotney
A look back at the long-gone world of the original songs
Thomas H. Green
Ten tracks that revel furiously in distortion and boundary-pushing
Joe Muggs
International stars flip art-pop classics into highlife, dub, Detroit electro and more
Kieron Tyler
Forethought, formal precision and the odd dive into linear rock
Tim Cumming
Powerful debut set of Anglo-Irish tunes and songs
Kieron Tyler
Double-CD set tracing the thread linking pub rock and punk rock
Thomas H. Green
10 tracks of offbeat sounds that bubble with percussive heft
Joe Muggs
A sprawling epic of Arabic gothic ambition
Guy Oddy
French electro-hipster lays down pop hooks, woozy head-spins and mellow folktronica
Ellie Roberts
A slightly clunky but impressive effort
Kieron Tyler
Thrilling auteur-driven album celebrates its 15th anniversary
Thomas H. Green
Deep-dipped in 1970s riffery but very much its own thing
Joe Muggs
The One Directioner's fourth album risks drowning out personal charm with 'woah woah's
Liz Thomson
Blue-collar righteousness from the Texas troubadour
Jonathan Geddes
The former Grant Lee Buffalo singer was on relaxed form on his solo tour.
Ibi Keita
Fun, gritty and… jazzy?
Kieron Tyler
Spellbinding Ethiopian jazz-inflected soul
Sebastian Scotney
A magnificent listening ethos and flow
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