Karl Blau experienced a taste of wider critical acclaim on the back of his last album Introducing Karl Blau. The title and the fact that it was a collection of country covers was somewhat misleading, given that he’s has already released something more than 20 albums. With Out Her Space, Blau has shape-shifted into the world of avant rock, funk and soul, eschewing his lo-fi … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Karl Blau – Out Her Space
U2 are a band that have always traded in grand gestures, yet at their finest and self-defining moments they’ve always tempered the pretension with mystery, mood or atmosphere. The spacious textures of the Daniel Lanois-indebted The Joshua Tree, the emotive post-punk chime and sparkle of those early singles and the dark grooves of Achtung Baby all showed a creative and experimental group who, on Songs … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: U2 – Songs Of Experience
Music that is precise and austere is often tagged as being overly clinical and lacking soul – and by association, substance. It can be a fine line to tread and The Weather Station perform a balancing act on their fourth album. The self-titled affair takes a dash of Joni Mitchell, adds a splash of Beth Orton and paints it in the kind of melancholic indie with … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Weather Station – The Weather Station
Eight years since the release of the last Jet album Shaka Rock, frontman Nic Cester has finally stepped out under his own name with his debut solo album. Sugar Rush isn’t a great stylistic departure from the band’s last record, but it does dial back the rock elements, instead taking a trip into a tantalising stew of soulful psych-pop and Black Keys-flavoured boogie rock grooves. … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Nic Cester – Sugar Rush
Now up to album number twelve as Destroyer, Dan Bejar, one-time member of The New Pornographers, has fully embraced the world of lush and literate sophisticated synth pop. Think New Order’s primitive machine sound, the avant, collage-like work of The The and Morrissey’s lyrical twists and turns of phrase and you’re in the right region. Musically there are plenty of glorious post-punk melancholic moments with … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Destroyer – ken
Adam Granduciel has called this album A Deeper Understanding but it could’ve quite easily been called A Clearer Understanding given the clarity he’s applied to his songs this time around. He approaches them with direct and confessional lyrics that sound unquestionably autobiographical but he’s also pared back some of the hazy, gauze-like qualities of the dreamy approach he’s taken to the music in the … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The War On Drugs – A Deeper Understanding
This is album number two for Darren Cross (Gerling) and Jessica Cassar and it finds them expanding their monochromatic and ethereal world into darker corners where mystery slowly reveals itself and both hope and despair are around every slow bend. Their debut was clearly a interpretation of folk music but here they use even more swooning strings, piano and billowing reverb to add a ghostly … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Jep And Dep – They’veBeenCalled
Beck’s much anticipated 13th album follows the lush and melancholic Morning Phase and though Colors is equally lush, it’s an album built on widescreen technicolor, bold sonic brushstrokes and a saturated pop aesthetic. On first listen it feels like the quirks and eccentricities that made Beck so iconic are absent on this album but dig below the pop-laminated surface and you’ll find an equally audacious … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Beck – Colors
Protomartyr immediately stood out from the rest of the anguished post-punk pack when they first emerged four years ago with their debut album All Passion No Technique. They went from strength to strength over their next two albums, twisting Joe Casey’s mantra rants over caustic punk, dark indie guitars and tumbling drums before arriving at their most realised set of recordings to date. Relatives In … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Protomartyr – Relatives In Descent
Gold Class seemed to hit the ground running when they released their debut album It’s You in 2015 and backed it up with urgent and emotional shows centred around the controlled drama and tension of singer Adam Curley. On their new album Drum they’ve cemented and built on their already impressive post-punk sound. Control is the order of the day on Drum. The songs feel … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Gold Class – Drum
The fascinating evolution of Joshua Homme continues on this, the band’s seventh album. He’s spoken of not wanting them to become a parody of their own original sound and if you rewind back to Regular John, the opening track on their self-titled debut it sounds positively primitive and a million miles away from how they sound now. Back then he was peddling Kyuss mark II … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Queens Of The Stone Age – Villains
Out Of Silence is unique for the fact that it was rehearsed and then recorded live at Finn’s Auckland studio, whilst being streamed live to the world via Facebook and You Tube. It was a fascinating insight into a logistical and creatively adventurous undertaking. Even for those who didn’t see or know about the process, the spirit and communality of the session is imbued in … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Neil Finn – Out Of Silence
Doubtful Sounds 