rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Fast becoming a master of the avant-garde, dark-pop sound she’s become synonymous with. Belgian songwriter Blanche returns this Spring with her new album ‘Empire’, and the outstanding new single ‘Fences. The album showcases a multi-faceted artist, with elements from all ends of the musical spectrum used to create an emphatic piece of alt-pop bliss. “Meetings,... Continue Reading →
In an ideal world, the release of a new Fassine album would be something which brings the whole country together, like a new series of Love Island or the hunt of a serial killer. And to be fair, given their increasing popularity with each release, they will probably get there. But for now they are... Continue Reading →
As he proved so eloquently before on Shadow Visions, Earl Donald’s music has a wonderful softness to it without ever resorting to being too fragile or overly delicate. He makes a sort of ambient, electro pop but he does so by first building a strong, though often spacious, backbeat. And it is this solidity which... Continue Reading →
If any more proof were needed that the modern music maker has out grown genres, The Glow Up is a lesson in mixing familiar styles together to make wholly new creations. It runs on a laid back urban beat, one woven from slow trippy back beats and a triplet-trap percussive energy. But it then steps... Continue Reading →
This album opens with a track that's driven along by pounding tribal drums offering a feel of marching to an unknown destination and an unknown conflict. A new sense of urgency is evident as a vocal line spits out a message that feels like it can no longer be suppressed. These guys have clearly been... 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 →
Pop-Hop, that’s what the man behind the music calls his sonic creations and to be honest, as far as genres go, it sums things up perfectly. Blending the flow and lyrical dexterity of the latter with the infectiousness and dance-floor groove of the former, if ever there was a more succinct or more apt musical... Continue Reading →
Tired of looking for indie/pop artists who are genuinely doing something new with their chosen genre, who are moving beyond the usual chart template and who are looking elsewhere for inspiration? Look no further, Jubilee is definitely one to listen to for some outside the box musical thinking. With a childhood which wandered between Bahia,... Continue Reading →
Scars is one of those songs which goes beyond merely being a pop song, if pop it even is. It runs on a balladic, throbbing, understated musical line, energised by a wave of tension and a dark undercurrent, melodic certainly but more hypnotic and beguiling than what you might call infectious. But that is a... Continue Reading →
The word on the street is that Jonny Polonsky writes “interstellar anthems for a new generation of mindfreaks,” and to be honest, whether that is true or not, anyone who merely evokes that sort of language has got to be work a listen. And even if you dismiss that as mere hyperbole, the fact that... Continue Reading →
That’s how you start a song. If you want to draw the listener in gradually, tease them with a few pre-song musical morsels, whip them up into a state of intrigue and anticipation before you have nearly started the song proper, then the first 30 or so seconds of Must Admit is a masterclass in... Continue Reading →
First impressions are massive in life, that split second when your mind sub consciously decides whether something can be trusted or not, liked or not, goes a long way to how you feel about something long term. Music is the same, the opening few notes of an album can keep you interested or make you... Continue Reading →
With a vocal delivery sitting somewhere between contemporary r’n’b and, at it’s most rapid, lyrical rap flows, Lifeline is pretty much all you need to know about where alt-pop, for want of a better term, is at today. Alt-pop might be an unexpected label to give this track but Lifeline certainly ticks the required boxes... Continue Reading →
As the world becomes a smaller place it is only logical that sounds and styles merge, cultures and musical traditions weave together and even languages become interchangeable. Not that Acapulco, Mexico and California, USA, the two places that La Sinclair has called home, are that far apart but her ability to deliver her songs in... Continue Reading →
What’s in a name? Well, in the case of the curiously named Gemtarra, plenty. A combination of two Italian words Gemilli’ which means twins and ‘Chitarra’ which means guitar, it is a name which sums the band up perfectly. We are used to seeing brothers in the same bands - from The Kinks to Oasis... Continue Reading →
Fathom, the single, was an unexpected pleasure, so much so that it made me keen to hear what else this musically astute duo had up their sleeves. With the arrival of a four-track e.p. of the same name the question is answered and alongside the title track we are offered up three more slices of... Continue Reading →
It’s always great watching acts grow to fulfil their full potential. It’s one thing to have good songs, and Ben Sydes has never had a shortage in that department, but it is tough to deliver the song that is in your head when you are racing around the country in a solo, plug in and... Continue Reading →
Wandering well-trodden paths and staying within comfort zones is all very well but surely life is about seeing what is around the next corner, about trying new experiences and feeling new sensations. And that is as true for those making music as those listening to it. But sometimes that feeling of being too far from... Continue Reading →
I don’t want to get all “old man sporting a 30-year old band t-shirt” but there was a time when we would have called songs which sounded like Feel It merely pop music and have done with it. Okay maybe New Pop or Alt-Pop but pop none the less. I mean it ticks all the... Continue Reading →
Like all artists worth bending your ear at in the pop market, it is Jimmy Laine’s desire to warp the format that keeps him ahead of the game. Bones, his latest in a run of recent stand alone singles, takes elements of pop, the bounce of the beat, the accessibility, and mixes it with a... Continue Reading →
Stay Lunar has to be one of the more interesting young bands straddling the indie-pop divide at the moment and I’m not saying that just because they probably know where I live and no, I don’t owe them money. It’s true. Indie seems to have become a tad formulaic of late, the realm of airbrushed... Continue Reading →
Collisions between the classical and contemporary music world have always gone on and to varying degrees of success. I guess where one is the realm of discipline and exactitude the other is more often the home of feeling and improvisational jamming. Getting the two to work together probably relies on being able to switch mindsets... Continue Reading →
Even before you get to the music itself there is something wonderfully endearing about going on here. With a song title which just says that fad and fashion isn’t their game, take us or leave us, and a band name which is both confident of their skills yet slightly wacky in the way that they... Continue Reading →
They say that just because you lose the vote, doesn’t mean that you have to stop making the argument. So even though the country that Paul Cavanagh and Dave Jackson call home has recently swung politically to the right, and done so in no uncertain terms, that doesn’t stop them commenting on the situation. But... Continue Reading →
There is a beguiling combination of sounds that makes up the musical DNA of Descender, a compelling blend of cool classical infused vocals and sultry pop grooves. And it is such, seemingly opposites, attracting that have always made Post Louis a fascinating band. Here, the clarity of Stephanie Darin’s voice and the way it is... Continue Reading →
Given the musical theatre surroundings which formed Maxime’s formative years, it is hardly surprising that the drama and style of some of that world has crept into his music. But this formal approach is tempered by the fluidity of pop, folk and indie sounds and the result is an album which benefits from the best... Continue Reading →
I was, for a long time, concerned about the state of music. Not sonically speaking but that in these darkening and divided times it had lost its true voice. After all rock ’n’ roll, punk, hip-hop, grunge and most other important musical scenes grew out of disenchantment and frustration and if the state of the... Continue Reading →
Somewhere between the infectious but empty sounds of modern chart pop and the lyrically interesting but over-earnest musings of the modern indie troubadour is a small cross-over point. It is in this section of the musical Venn diagram where the commercial nature of the former mingles with the cultish vibe of the later that you... Continue Reading →
The Big Takeover have just posted my latest interview with Paul Furio of Watch Clark. To find out about what's going on in, on and around his latest album Couch and what the future holds for him have a read here. http://bigtakeover.com/interviews/AquickconversationwithWatchClark
Ahhh, Fassine, it’s been a while. Far too long. But all that will be put right soon with the announcement of Forge, a new album for March next year. In the mean time Limbs has been sent out into the world to test the water. So what has changed? Well, they seem to be a... Continue Reading →
