rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Why make noise when you can manipulate silence? And odd thing to say perhaps but if anybody can make a noise (and they pretty much can) trapping silence inside exquisite sonic bubbles take a whole different set of skills. But that is what Mr Dog The Bear continues to excel at. Already you could level... Continue Reading →
Rock music may change as the fickle finger of fashion dictates but rock ’n’ roll endures. A bold statement perhaps but one that I will always stand by. And what do I mean by that? Well, as music coalesced into rock, hard rock, heavy metal…call it what you will, it seemed to become inflexible at... Continue Reading →
Writing this at the time of a worldwide lockdown, we are starting to see more clearly the things which really matter. Just as it is underpaid medical staff and not the CEO’s or bankers who will get us through these times, so it is grassroots music which is providing the most direct and intimate contact... Continue Reading →
With F I S H B O W L / T E R R E S T R I A L about to land in the public marketplace, I sat down with the artist behind Alienbaby Collective, Liu Mottes to find out how this new musical path came about, what are its drives and inspirations... Continue Reading →
In a world where roots music seems to be going through a watering down process to try and make it seem “cool” to the “kids,” where words like alt-, anti- and post- get attached to generic labels which have done the job just fine for years, Sam Lewis is like a breath of fresh air.... Continue Reading →
Somewhere between rock ’n’ roll and a hard place, between past glory days and the future sound of rock, between aggression and melodicism, between groove and grind, power and poise is where you find Radiofix. Making music is all about finding the sweet spot, the place where the various sonic ingredients complement rather than contrast... Continue Reading →
Anthemic is usually a term associated with rock music -- a big stage, stadium filling, foot on the monitor, sky-searing sound. But Savannah is living proof that there is such a thing as anthemic pop and We Are Us is the evidence to back up such a statement. If pop is more often built on... Continue Reading →
If you were looking to pin a genre on Dave Sandersfeld’s music you might be hard pushed to settle on any one form. Not because it is really trying to be that ahead of curve or creating its own new pigeon-hole, that never works anyway, but because it skirts the edges of so many established... Continue Reading →
There is nothing wrong with wearing your influences openly on your sleeve for all to see. Especially when your influences appear to be the late 60’s and particularly the Rolling Stones and Buffalo Springfield. I’ve also said that Alias Wayne knows how to work with covers. Ring of Fire proved that and here he applies... Continue Reading →
There’s a difference between rock and rock 'n' roll. All to often rock sounds as if it is created by pushing large boulders ups endless hills; hard work, full of grunting and sweating, loaded with misplaced intensity, seemingly more about the repetitive act than the end result which is then generally too rigid and all... Continue Reading →
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 →
With a new album Going Home about to be released, I sat down with Therese Karlsson and Tim Spelman to find out about the bands unusual beginning, its fascinating development, influences, hidden depths and where they are heading next. Tiny Fighter has grown out of a studio project to become a full touring band, tell... Continue Reading →
Wille & The Bandits have rescheduled the rest of their UK tour to July to November 2020. The band features a brand-new line up, further increasing their immense and immersive sound by moving from a trio to a four piece. The band will now feature screaming Hammond organ and second guitar as well as 3-way... Continue Reading →
I think it would be very easy for Charlotte Grayson, given her age and the pressure to fit into the young pop kid mould - as dictated by those in the ivory towers of the music industry - to have taken a different route. Perhaps a brasher, more obvious, shallower one. No-one would judge her... Continue Reading →
There is a lot of nodding to the eighties going on these days. That much maligned time has finally shaken off it’s naff crown as the decade with no taste and, with enough distance between us, has now been embraced via shows via Stranger Things, films such as Ready Player One and by a wave... Continue Reading →
With “Prepared For A Nightmare” about to drop, the time felt right to sit down with Mayflower Madame and discuss the album, what influences their sound, generic labels, touring on both sides of the Atlantic and everything in between. Post-punk seems like an archaic term but do you think it is applicable to the music... 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 →
Somewhere at a point where soul and rock, jazz and blues all collide, you find Pointdexter. Their sound is created not so much by the colliding of those sonic worlds themselves, but more out of the mixed and cross-pollinated remains once the initial big bang has subsided. As the dust clears what appears is a... Continue Reading →
With his latest album Urban Gothic Blues painting such a vivid picture of the ever changing nature of the modern city, as well as being such a fantastic collection of songs, I spoke to Harry Stafford about the thens, the nows and the where next for him, his band, his music and the city which... Continue Reading →
When the Zombies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Rod Argent, Hugh Grundy and Colin Blunstone, stood Chris White, and rightly so. As co-producer and co-writer of Odyssey and Oracle his place in the annals of music history are of course assured, further work with Argent and his songwriting finding... Continue Reading →
The one thing that hip-hop and all its sub-genres has always been good at is the quick hit, the knife edge incision, the punch to the chest that comes through deftly wielded lyrics and pugilistic beats. And whilst Nath does bring plenty of that to the table, the real selling point is the almost symphonic... Continue Reading →
This recording starts with a beautifully spacious sonic landscape that took me back to the time when Kate Bush experimented with the latest in Fairlight synthesizer technologies. Towards the end of the first track, big crescendos build from nothing to a dazzling ball of musical complexity. 'Bluebird' is driven along by a lo-fi 8 bit... Continue Reading →
There is an art of building a song, to creating understated atmosphere and tingling anticipation before unleashing into the musical Sturm und Drang that is the pay-off. And if part of that art is to keep the listener hanging on for as long as possible until they have abandoned all hope that there is even... Continue Reading →
Some music seems to not concern itself with conforming to this style or that genre but instead heads straight for the part of the music annals which concerns itself with the classics. A bold statement but Panicis one of those songs. One which feels as if you might easily have been listening to it for... Continue Reading →
Titles can tell you a lot about music. Not so much what that music might sound like but it does suggest something about the way the artist behind it thinks. Anyone who capitalises their title and introduces unnecessary spacing, writes track names in lowercasewithnospacing, removes vowels from a ttl or uses one title to reference... Continue Reading →
Where does hip-hop end and pop begin? Where does soul start to give way to R&B? What happens at those meeting points? The answer to all three of those questions is Complications. Vancouver rapper Emotionz seems to make music in just those musical creative collision points, where the rigidity of one genre is tempered by... Continue Reading →
If only as an antidote to the madness of the world at the moment, the hustle and hassle, the knee-jerk reactions and the lack of thought, the self-centred view points and the narrow-minded visions, a new album from Astronomical Twilight feels like the perfect healing process. The first thing that hearing such ambient drifts and spacious... Continue Reading →
The first time I saw Flour Babies play live I blubbed like a ludicrous 57 year old giant bald baby. This is reaction that is not unfamiliar to me or my despairing and tutting wife but in my defence my blub threshold is set pretty damn high. To put this in perspective my blub to... Continue Reading →
Music tends to fall into one of a few categories; there are the musicians who deserve the title, they know their instrument inside out, know music theory inside out and can create and structure a piece like an architect. Everything in its correct place, the building blocks are the chords, melody and rhythm, yet they’re... Continue Reading →
When cd’s get delivered to me I usually have an A4 piece of paper to accompany the album, it’s normally PR spiel giving a brief biography and hints for the finished review, artists that the bands are likened too and often there are quotes and praise for former releases. On the sheet of paper that... Continue Reading →
