Trixie Whitley emerged as the singer in Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub project a few years back and her voice immediately stood out as a versatile, emotional and powerful instrument. Here it is given all the space and time it needs and for the most part Whitely nails it both vocally and as a songwriter. ‘Pieces’ in particular is a classic slice of jazz and blues … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Trixie Whitley | Fourth Corner
The curse of the ‘next big thing’ has been the downfall of many a band, particularly those coming out of the UK indie scene over the last few decades. The latest to get the media leg-up are a quintet from Leeds called Eagulls and the immediately refreshing aspect of the band is that they haven’t polished their rough edges to gain acceptance, instead they’ve left … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Eagulls | Eagulls
Wild Beasts have been on something of an evolutionary arc with each album showcasing their willingness to dig deep into creative corners and musically chance their hearts and heads. Present Tense continues that trend, taking them further into the world of lush electronica. They’ve always been a band built on the tremendous voices of Haydn Thorpe and Tom Fleming, a strength they readily accept and … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Wild Beasts | Present Tense
Neil Finn is an artist who is always searching for and experimenting with new ways to satisfy his muse. He’s a pan-genre musician capable of immersing himself in pop, art-rock, acoustic balladry and groove-based experimentalism and he masters most of them. On Dizzy Heights he applies a new psychedelic and fantastical pop-art filter to his songs with mixed results. Finn worked with producer Dave Fridmann … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Neil Finn | Dizzy Heights
Wooden Shjips have been mining the same rich vein of droning, psychedelic space rock over three albums and a couple of compilations yet here, on their fourth, they show no signs of going stale as they slyly inject subtle variations into their tried and true style. If Back To Land has anything to differentiate itself from previous releases it is in the looser and lighter … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Wooden Shjips | Back To Land
Noisy psych guitar pop is in abundance in New Zealand at the moment and the cream of the crop like Popstrangers, Surf City and these fine gentlemen, T54, are improving with each new release. Flying Nun is a natural home for the band as they deal equally and unassumingly in melody and adventurous sonics, soaking up the influence of their predecessors like 3Ds, JPS Experience … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: T54 | In Brush Park
Three years after their debut album, Surf City return with another batch of songs that maintain the dense, opulent melodies and archetypal kiwi indie sonics but now built around a more confident compositional core. From the outset the band fall straight back into the deep end of their hooky, slacker vocal delivery with oohs and doo doos aplenty. Their songs are deceptively simple, based around … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Surf City | We Knew It Was Not Going To Be Like This
This is Cave and cohorts fourth live album, capturing them at in interesting junction in their career with Grinderman running its course, Push The Sky Away being the first album to not include founding member Mick Harvey and unlike some of its more varied predecessors it is for the most part considered and restrained in its delivery. Live from KCRW continues that mood, even when … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | Live From KCRW
J Walker returns with a new collection of dreamy and inventive songs that simultaneously serenade and gently challenge the listener. Ostensibly the solo project of J Walker, Machine Translations is now eight albums deep in a discography that has proven to be one overflowing with inventiveness, creativity and in many cases unassuming genius. Walker is one of those musicians who flies under the mainstream radar … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Machine Translations | The Bright Door
Le Bon’s third album finds her retreating/advancing from the warmth and intimacy of her earlier releases and taking her quirky voice into stranger and more experimental pop places with mixed results. Instrumentally her songs have for the most part been stripped back to guitar, bass drums and organ and repeatedly the art rock pillars of The Velvet Underground (the deconstructed guitar solo of Cuckoo Through … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Cate Le Bon | Mug Museum
Anna Calvi’s debut album in 2011 marked her as a bold and confident songwriter that was matched by her exceptional voice and guitar playing. Two years later we have One Breath, a record that finds her retaining the dramatic and virtuosic elements of her music but also expanding its sonic scope by experimenting with new sounds and song structures. Eliza is an early standout with … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Anna Calvi | One Breath
The Grand Rapids’ debut album possesses a striking sense of purpose and confidence. This isn’t the skinny, frazzled-nerve psych rock that many contemporary acts trade in, this is muscular music; widescreen and bold. They employ many of the classic elements of drone and psych rock (effects, repetition and tumbling rhythms) but nothing sounds particularly generic, referencing all manner of rock from Jane’s Addiction to The … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Grand Rapids | Great Shakes
Doubtful Sounds 