London Grammar - The Greatest Love (Album Review)

Photo: Tarek Mawad London Grammar have spent the years since their 2013 debut ‘If You Wait’ finessing their sound, drilling down into an emotive space where vocalist Hannah Reid can shine. Their fourth LP ‘The Greatest Love’ is an often excellent amalgamation of mature songwriting and lyrical vulnerability, vividly depicting the trials and tribulations of a romantic relationship.

Written by: Issy Herring | Date: Monday, 23 September 2024

Suki Waterhouse - Memoir of a Sparklemuffin (Album Review)

Photo: Jeremy Soma Suki Waterhouse’s ‘Memoir of a Sparklemuffin’ represents a remarkable step up from her debut, demonstrating growth, confidence in her abilities and no little ambition. This double album’s 18 tracks may seem like a lot to take in initially, but when viewed as a whole each intense, personal segment feels indispensable, as though we are leafing through different chapters in her story.

Written by: Katie Macbeth | Date: Friday, 20 September 2024

Snow Patrol - The Forest Is The Path (Album Review)

Photo: Tom Beard Thanks to huge hits such as Run, Chasing Cars and Take Back The City, Snow Patrol’s pop-rock has been part of the fabric of UK music for the past 20 years. Their eighth album, ‘The Forest Is The Path’, retains their anthemic sound while serving up a mixed bag when it comes to anything outside of their comfort zone.

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Thursday, 19 September 2024

Nilüfer Yanya - My Method Actor (Album Review)

Photo: Molly Daniels There is something deliciously meta about Nilüfer Yanya’s shapeshifting third album — titled ‘My Method Actor’, it finds the guitarist and vocalist inhabiting elements of her 2019 debut ‘Miss Universe’ in order to find the best route forward.

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Wednesday, 18 September 2024

Floating Points - Cascade (Album Review)

Photo: Dan Medhurst Are we in a golden age of UK dance producers? Alongside individuals such as Jamie xx, Jon Hopkins and Four Tet, you also have amazing duos in the form of Bicep and the (still sensational) Chemical Brothers. There is certainly a lot of high quality work out there.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 18 September 2024

Foxing - Foxing (Album Review)

Foxing can’t be accused of lacking ambition. On the road to this fourth album they’ve careened from indie to midwest emo, math-rock and post-rock, with their last two records representing big swings for classic album status that mostly connected. Here, they make the sort of statement that justifies the heavy symbolism of a mid-career self-titled LP. ‘Foxing’ is not only their most experimental work yet — it’s also their best.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Tuesday, 17 September 2024

The The - Ensoulment (Album Review)

Being the first The The album in almost 25 years, ‘Ensoulment’ carries a lot of weight on its shoulders. While it’s true that Matt Johnson has released music during that period — aside from the odd single there are multiple soundtracks and the Cineola spoken word releases — this is a major return that, at one time or another, felt like it may never come.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Monday, 16 September 2024

Midwife - No Depression In Heaven (Album Review)

Photo: Alana Wool Brat summer is over, welcome to slowcore autumn. OK, it doesn’t have the same ring to it. But over the past fortnight, as the nights have started to darken that little bit quicker, a bunch of albums by high-profile slowcore acts such as Duster and 40 Watt Sun have also made their way into the world. Alongside them you’ll find Midwife’s arresting ‘No Depression In Heaven’.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Friday, 13 September 2024

David Gilmour - Luck and Strange (Album Review)

As one of the chief creatives in Pink Floyd, David Gilmour has cemented his place in the musical stratosphere with a guitar sound that is instantly recognisable and endlessly emulated. And despite a vicious subsequent relationship with Roger Waters, the band’s other post-1970 principal songwriter, Gilmour perhaps remains the main spiritual custodian of the Floyd sound.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Thursday, 12 September 2024

Hinds - Viva Hinds (Album Review)

Photo: Dario Vazquez The post-pandemic years have been rocky and uncertain for Hinds, but the arrival of their fourth album offers proof that it’ll take a lot to bring them down. On ‘Viva Hinds’, they sound revived and more vibrant than ever before.

Written by: Nieve Elis | Date: Wednesday, 11 September 2024

Enumclaw - Home in Another Life (Album Review)

You don’t need to Google who put out Enumclaw’s new record. All you have to do is listen. ‘Home in Another Life’ is Run For Cover right down to its fuzz-coated bones, slotting the Washington band into one of punk’s most reliable rosters alongside similarly-minded outfits such as Citizen, Turnover and Fiddlehead. But while their objectives and identity are clear, their second LP can’t always follow through on that promise.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Wednesday, 11 September 2024

Big Sean - Better Me Than You (Album Review)

Photo: Zamar Velez “The past few years making this album have been a journey to say the least, but I’m just glad we finally here,” was how Big Sean announced his sixth album ‘Better Me Than You’ in July, back before the album leaked and he delayed its arrival by another three weeks. At last, though, that journey has come to an end. 

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Tuesday, 10 September 2024

Yannis & The Yaw - Lagos Paris London (Album Review)

Photo: Facebook Back in 2016, Yannis Philippakis received an unexpected invitation to join pioneering Afrobeat musician Tony Allen for a recording session in Paris. It would turn out to be a life changing moment for the Foals frontman, resulting in a blooming friendship and fruitful experience with an icon who remained creatively dialled in throughout the final years of his life.

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Monday, 09 September 2024

Jon Hopkins - Ritual (Album Review)

Photo: Imogene Barron Few musicians collapse the boundaries of ‘pop’ and ‘high’ art like Jon Hopkins, who is as comfortable working on ambient sound collages as he is producing tracks for Coldplay, never sacrificing his commitment to textured and emotive electronica.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Friday, 06 September 2024

Jónsi - First Light (Album Review)

Even on the darkest days, we can find radiant pockets of space in our minds. ‘First Light’, the fourth studio album from Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi, is studded with the momentary glimpses of bliss — it’s a meditative antidote to grey recesses and modern malaise.

Written by: Craig Howieson | Date: Friday, 06 September 2024

Illuminati Hotties - Power (Album Review)

Photo: Shervin Lainez On first listen, it feels like there’s a disconnect between the title of the new Illuminati Hotties record and the music contained within. ‘Power’ throws up a number of suggested meanings: all-consuming sound, empowerment, heaviness. But is that what we expect from Sarah Tudzin’s melody-led indie-rock? Certainly not in a standard way.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Thursday, 05 September 2024

Wunderhorse - Midas (Album Review)

Photo: Polocho Wunderhorse are a band defined by second chances. After the premature demise of punk outfit Dead Pretties in 2017, Jakob Slater retired from music altogether to work as a surf instructor in Cornwall. Over the years the creative itch would gradually return, rekindling his love as his focus shifted from fury to personal reflection in the form of his Wunderhorse project.

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Thursday, 05 September 2024

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Wild God (Album Review)

Photo: Megan Cullen Analysing Nick Cave’s music has become an increasingly difficult proposition for two reasons. Firstly, his outspoken views reveal a deeply complex, contradictory man. Secondly, recent unfathomably tragic life events have lent an oppressive emotional intensity to his accomplished catalogue.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Wednesday, 04 September 2024

Mura Masa - Curve 1 (Album Review)

Photo: Dani Bastidas With ‘Curve 1’ Mura Masa (also known as Guernsey-born producer Alex Crossan) has embraced change. As well as being his first release on his own Pond Recordings label it’s also a departure from earlier pop-leaning works, ambitiously broadening horizons while focusing less heavily on high-profile features.

Written by: Nieve Elis | Date: Monday, 02 September 2024

Zeal & Ardor - Greif (Album Review)

Manuel Gagneux had a brilliant idea and could have spent his entire career cashing in on it. Ten years ago, the Swiss-American multi-instrumentalist started Zeal & Ardor in response to a 4chan troll telling him to mix black metal with “[n-word] music”. Instead of furiously hammering out a response, he decided a better riposte would be to try it and make it good.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Friday, 30 August 2024