Humbug, the Arctic Monkey’s third album is the band’s darkest to date. Their trademark style of new-wave, choppy indiepop is undoubtedly still there but it has been significantly beefed up with a mature, epic edge. Moody and grand-scale recording locations… Continue reading
Reviewing a Robert Pollard album is a difficult business for me. Given that I own more records by him (predominantly with Guided By Voices) than any other artist I find it hard to give even a semi-objective account, but I’ll… Continue reading
In a perfect world every town would have a band like Box Elders. A ramshackle rock outfit, made up of brothers Clayton and Jeremiah McIntyre and drummer/keyboardist Dave Goldberg, that revels in every gloriously fun moment of being in a… Continue reading
With lyrics such as, “it’s time to put God away” on ‘Faith Void’, the final track from his excellent latest album Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, a church was perhaps a questionable choice of venue to see Bill… Continue reading
“After the release of their debut in 2007, their love for cinematic themes and classic pop needed to be more than that… it needed to be realized on a grand scale in a way that still said: ‘The Postmarks were… Continue reading
Frank Turner’s work ethic is certainly not in doubt. For the video to promote his recent single ‘The Road’, from his third album Poetry of the Deed, he successfully carried out the startling feat of performing 24 gigs in 24… Continue reading
Open Fields, the 2007 debut by former Concretes singer Victoria Bergsman under the name Taken By Trees, was a pleasing enough indie-folk album. Its largely acoustic guitar and orchestral sound did a good job of showcasing the Swedish singer’s distinctive… Continue reading
The album title is kind of a joke, after all Yo la Tengo are never going to be a popular band. But at the same time they are a much loved and critically acclaimed band, so in some ways it… Continue reading
Darren Hayman is a dying breed, the true indie pop performer. Before his set he sat patiently at the merchandise table talking to fans (including me) and selling copies of albums from his back catalogue. On stage he is an… Continue reading
I firmly believe that Prefab Sprout’s album Steve McQueen is one of the all time great albums, and in the top five albums released in the 1980s. As such I was very excited when I heard that the reclusive Paddy… Continue reading