Some bands take their unique recipe and keep on serving up the same music over and over again. For many this spells staleness but for others it can mean a progressive refinement of something special and the continuation of the search for the perfect song. 78 Saab are into their fifteenth year and with album number four they give us everything we have come to … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: 78 Saab – Good Fortune (2010)
written by Chris Familton Cast aside short-lived hype and blogosphere hyperbole and the wide world of music hasn’t thrown up many artists in the last decade that are quite as unique as Antony Hegarty. Round these parts I still bump into people who talk in awe of his Opera House appearance as part of the Leonard Cohen tribute and as a witness to said performance … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Antony & The Johnsons | Swanlights
written by Chris Familton On the opening track Caseman, Andrew Wilson sings “I’m not giving up on our love” and it sums up the approach Die! Die! Die! have taken on their third album Form. They still sound vibrant with that heady, controlled rush of chaos, tinged with desperation and angst. With the greatness of their second album Promises, Promises the band didn’t receive anywhere … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Die! Die! Die! | Form
written by Chris Familton The Walkmen have always fallen short of the crowning moment in their canon – 2004 single The Rat – and as such they are the type of band you keep coming back to, hoping they have pulled it together and scaled the same lofty heights as that surging, emotive calling card. Lisbon sees them settling somewhat further into their own skin … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: The Walkmen | Lisbon
written by Chris Familton Dark folk music has been receiving a lot of attention over the last decade, perhaps as a response to the rise of shiny indie music. Introspection never really goes out of fashion, even if it morphs into different forms over time and Matt Bailey’s solo debut takes the template and weaves its own style with consummate skill. A former member of … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Matt Bailey | The Three I’s
written by Chris Familton Subscribing to the punk aesthetic of anyone can create music, Coolies emerged from South Auckland, New Zealand in the mid to late nineties with a rough and ready sound that combined splatter punk, deconstructed art rock and no-fi hip hop. They played shows, released a 7” and became underground heroes. Master collects a bunch of songs the trio recorded over the … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Coolies | Master
written by Chris Familton It has been quite fascinating to watch Deerhunter evolve and develop their craft over the last few years. From the tripped out, grab-bag shoegaze of 2007’s Cryptograms to the produced and tighter sounds of 2008’s Microcastle theirs has been a progression towards indie pop royalty not dissimilar to the path taken by Pavement. Halcyon Digest sees the quartet changing direction once … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Deerhunter | Halcyon Digest
written by Chris Familton The new Interpol album appears at a definite junction in the band’s career. Over their first three records they gradually evolved a Joy Division, gothic indie rock sound from dark corners into widescreen epic gestures. One senses that Interpol heralds a re-stating of their intent, both with the name of the album and the singular theme of the artwork, focusing all … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Interpol | Interpol
written by Chris Familton From the first opening melodic buzz of Kudos it is clear that Surf City are continuing the legacy of skewed kiwi guitar pop that has been crawling out of the practice rooms of New Zealand for the last thirty years. The key facilitator of the wealth of those musical riches has been Flying Nun Records but they were on a relative … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Surf City | Kudos
written by Chris Familton Nic Dalton has compiled all the golden moments of Smudge’s career between 1991and 1998 in a twenty-seven track summation of a band that straddled the 90s and epitomised the best and worse of music during that period. The Lemonheads connection has always been a blessing and a curse for Smudge. Sure it brought attention to their music that they may not … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Smudge | This Smudge Is True
written by Chris Familton The cyclical nature of guitar music is such that the recycling of genres is happening at a quicker pace with every turn. As soon as you read that grunge is back there is another garage rock explosion on the horizon or prog rock is the flavour of the month. Thankfully the bands that rise above the hype are the ones that … Continue reading REVIEW: The Soft Pack | The Soft Pack
Doubtful Sounds 