Each and every year I look through the Mercury Prize list and tally it up with the list I have in my head. Sometimes the list is good and includes virtually everything that I too considered to be the best of that period. Other times, and particularly in recent years, the list seems to consist [...]
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The Wireless event (still loathe to call it a festival…!) has attracted some big names over the past few years, even coaxing some back together and out of hiding. Two of their biggest draws have been the reformed Britpop behemoths Blur in 2009 and just this last weekend, Pulp continued their comeback with a blistering [...]
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London has been my home now for nearly ten years. Roughly about the same length of time that British Sea Power have been signed to Rough Trade. It startles me a bit to think that I’ve been going to gigs in this part of the world now for so long that entire band’s careers are [...]
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I’ve been away for a while. Now I’m back to bring the blogging back to this here blog. I’m going to try and take a different approach to this in 2011, make it a bit more flexible, give it some variation beyond reviews of gigs and albums. Have some fun. Sure, there’ll be shows and [...]
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There’s so much love in the Queen Elizabeth Hall; Collins is determinedly walking with the aid of a stick to his spot at the front of the stage, his band pumping out Chic’s Good Times. Sometimes, the applause of a performer onto the stage can be a little perfunctory, but there’s no hint of that [...]
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In some ways, Bang Goes the Knighthood is very different from Neil Hannon’s past work. Long time fans on pressing play for the first time will expect the stirrings of a string section or the familiar rat-a-tat of his signature drum beat - but there is no grand opening this time.
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There’s something mechanical about the way the Fever Ray show starts, that wonderful rumble that opens last year’s magnificent debut album from Karin Dreijer Andersson. As the band lurches into If I Had A Heart the bass is deadening, it’s the kind of noise you feel as much as hear – for me it reverberates around the top of my stomach.
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Our new feature sharing the shady innards of my public inbox with you every week! This week some post-punk electronica from Breton, a spanking Kele remix from PUNCHES, some gentle indiefolk from Villagers and a laid back remix from Pete Lawrie. Enjoy!
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A new Chemical Brothers album. Not news to stir the emotions is it? Five years since their last decent track (Galvanize, if you were wondering) and much further back since their last full length really hit the spot; you could be forgiven for immediately writing Further off without a second thought.
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After almost 30 years of writing and performing in some form or another, it wouldn’t be surprising if James settled into that established act of yester -year phase. Like The Cure or Depeche Mode, they could be recycling their old ideas in increasing less-essential albums, mopped up by the faithful, whilst live they perform greatest hit sets to casual fans, young and old.
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Sat in the sunshine at my local station this morning, listening to my 'new favourite band', Washed Out, I got to thinking about how I got into music. I still remember, as I'm sure many of you who read this post will, what my first album was. Now, I'm going to hit you straight - no lies to retrospectively cool-up myself, no altering of history. Boss Drum by The Shamen.
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Despite being a band that essentially consists of one man, Neil Hannon has never actually toured solo before, or at least not since hitting the big time. Normally he’s seen on stage backed with anywhere up to 35 players. But - for his latest tour Hannon has unexpectedly gone back to basics; it’s just him, his piano and his guitar.
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It isn’t normally a good sign when a late-in-their-career artist brings out a covers album. It normally signifies a significant drop in bankability and the chase of a fast buck; in the desperate hope that tried and tested tunes will earn them some attention.
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It was Record Store Day this Saturday. A serious lack of moolah in the Jealousy wallet meant no new purchases for me this year, but there was some great stuff available; Blur, MGMT, Foals, Black Keys etc. Most of it you can probably find for a fortune on Ebay, not that it was that cheap [...]
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This debut LP from the Dum Dum Girls is a tease. You see, in name, in style, in hype they're retreading ground already gleefully stamped all over by the wonderful Vivian Girls.
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Different gigs have different vibes. Archie Bronson Outfit may not be about to cross over to the mainstream just yet, but there were clearly people here at ULU who were really, really excited to see them...
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Laura Marling's second album has a fair amount to live up to. Her debut LP was Mercury nominated, critically lauded almost universally - rightly so. It was a quiet, sometimes fragile album with many moments of wispy beauty. At times on her debut her youth revealed itself; her wonderful voice at times hiding amongst the shadows.
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Tindersticks don’t play London gigs often, which was why the dedicated were out in force tonight. The notoriously chatty Shepherds Bush Empire (which Stuart Staples professes a dislike for) was almost totally without back whispers. It was quite a nice change.
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Vex'd never got to finish this album, however, when you listen to this it sounds like nothing less than a finished, darkly shining, masterpiece.
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