Architects - The Here And Now (Album Review)

It's staggering to think that this five piece from Brighton are a band who, since 2006, has released a total of four full length albums and an EP. This, combined with the fact that front man Sam Carter is a mere 21 years of age must leave those with even a basic knowledge of this industry fairly gob smacked.

Written by: Owen Sheppard | Date: Thursday, 03 February 2011

Sleeper – ‘Smart’/‘The It Girl’ (Re-issue Reviews)

Pulp are reforming, Ocean Colour Scene are re-issuing and touring ‘Moseley Shoals’ and Suede are playing their first three albums live in May. It’s the return of Britpop. But what could come next? After the reunions of Cast and Blur over the last couple of years, it was probably about time Sleeper made a reappearance of some kind as well. However, as there’s been no sign of a reunion announcement yet, we’ll all just have to make do with these Deluxe Edition re-issues of their two biggest albums ‘Smart’ and ‘The It Girl’.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Tuesday, 01 February 2011

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Go Down Under (EP Review)

Following their previous adventures having a ball, blowing in the wind and ruining Jonny’s Bar Mitzvah, Hawaiian shirt-wearing, punk rock covers band and supergroup Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are back with their latest EP ‘Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Go Down Under’. This time around, having already covered the ‘70s, the ‘60s and Broadway as well as both R&B and country music, the five-piece have chosen to take on and pull apart some hits from the wonderful world of Oz.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Monday, 31 January 2011

Hold Your Horse Is - Forgive And Forget (Single Review)

Hampshire/Surrey trio Hold Your Horse Is are making a name for themselves with catchy, off-kilter alt-rock anthems. Last year’s ‘Rammin’ It Home’ EP was their first release on Big Scary Monsters and earned them praise from numerous quarters, much like their energetic live performances.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 31 January 2011

N*E*R*D – The Best of N*E*R*D (Album Review)

The “Best Of” album is a curious thing nowadays. Sorry to get all nostalgic, but the “Best Of” album used to represent a well thought out selection of classics by a band that had been around long enough to qualify for such a thing. These days, however, it seems that anyone with a handful of singles to their name can arguably release their own “Best Of”. That certainly seems to be the case with this latest compilation from Pharrell Williams’s N*E*R*D. Especially as, depending on your own definition of the “Best Of N*E*R*D”, it doesn’t even encompass the full extent of the trio’s chronology. What this is, in fact, is a “Best Of” the two albums that N*E*R*D released on Virgin Records, therefore excluding 2008’s Top 20 album ‘Seeing Sounds’ and last year’s ‘Nothing’. Hardly a genuine “Best Of”, some may argue, but if you were only really a fan of N*E*R*D’s biggest hits then this could be for you.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Friday, 28 January 2011

Glamour Of The Kill - 'The Summoning' (Album Review)

It would be fair to say that since their formation in 2007, Glamour of the Kill have had their share of achievements with just EPs in their back catalogue. Since supporting big names such as Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet for my Valentine and opening the main stage at Download ’08, the band have been working on their first studio release ‘The Summoning’.

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Thursday, 27 January 2011

Lemmy: The Movie (DVD Review)

Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister, love him or hate him you cannot deny that he is one of the greatest rock'n'roll icons of all time. With rock biopics being turned out left right and centre in recent years, Iron Maiden's 'Flight 666', Saxon's 'Heavy Metal Thunder' and Anvil's 'The Story Of Anvil' to name but a few, the arrival of a documentary – or should that be 'ROCKumentary' – profiling Lemmy comes as little suprise.

Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Thursday, 27 January 2011

Travis Barker - Can A Drummer Get Some (Single Review)

To most Travis Barker is a pop-punk icon but in a side-step from Blink-182, he has been working on an ambitious solo album aiming to flaunt his eclectic influences. With an impressive list of collaborators including Tom Morello, Lil Wayne and Corey Taylor, Barker has definitely left expectations high for his upcoming album 'Give The Drummer Some'. 

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 24 January 2011

Cold War Kids - Louder Than Ever (Video Review)

Cold War Kids returned at the end of 2010 with ‘Louder Than Ever’; a teaser taste of the Californian band’s third LP, ‘Mine Is Yours.’

Written by: Hayley Taylor | Date: Sunday, 23 January 2011

Hospitality - Drum And Bass 2011 (Compilation Album Review)

‘Hospitality Drum and Bass 2011’ is the newest and freshest mix album to come out of the Hospital Record steam engine, and it packs as much as punch, pace and pulse as any of the heavyweight CDs they’ve put out in the past!

Written by: Elliott Batte | Date: Thursday, 20 January 2011

Tally Koren - 72 Names (Album Review)

Israeli vocalist Tally Koren’s sophomore record could best be summed up as a frustrating learning curve. '72 Names' is a puzzling album that doesn’t quite know what it wants to be; it features western electronic influences, as well as a percussive, middle-eastern undercurrent. Sure, the production is absolutely meticulous (it’s co-produced by Yoad Nevo of Pet Shop Boys fame), and this record is definitely, um, varied.

Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History (Album Review)

"It’s going to be a fast paced, electro pop album. That’s our aim." Well it's been almost a year, and I think it's pretty safe to say, that Two Door Cinama Club have managed to achieve their aim.

Written by: Sophie Monk | Date: Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Ollie Stewart - ‘Night Bell’ (EP Review)

The end of 2010 sees the launch of an interesting singer/songwriters career. Looking to further bridge the gap between modern mainstream pop, experimental electronic sounds and 70’s, 80’s 90’s influences Ollie Stewart comes into the frame with his debut EP ‘Night Bell'.

Written by: Tom Austin | Date: Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Sleepwalkers - 'Pause' (EP Review)

Right now there seems to be loads of 'electronic' bands making an appearance on the scene. New technology becoming a lot more accessible to the masses means your limits are endless. The main problem is most of these bands sound the same. They lack originality and for all the effort of trying to stand out, it's heard to distinguish them just by listening to them. Sleepwalkers are no such a band. Comprising of talented midlanders Richard Siddall-Jones and Ben Marsden, they have been making music together since they where schoolboys but only now have things started to get serious. Creating that all important individual style they come to the fold with their debut EP 'Pause'.

Written by: Tom Austin | Date: Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Amplifier - The Octopus (Album Review)

Starting with atmospheric swells of noise and electronic beeps, 'The Octopus' is a complicated beast to say the least. It’s taken Amplifier four years to make and it’s a behemoth of a record. Over two full discs, Amplifier have brought the music world a double album of overwhelming proportions.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Eliza Newman - Ukulele Song For You (EP Review)

Icelandic singer Eliza Newman first grabbed attention with her appearance on Al Jazeera News to perform her song 'Eyjafjallajökull' in the aftermath of the ash cloud. Although the word is still a mouthful, the video of her appearance garnered hundreds of thousands of views within a week from those attempting to pronounce the name themselves.

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Tuesday, 18 January 2011

The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (Album Review)

For any band that has been single-handedly trying to build themselves a successful career brick by brick over a number of years, it must be a huge and welcome relief to finally reach the stage of your first full-length album. This is almost certainly the case for North Wales trio the Joy Formidable who, after several years of gigging, self-recording, playing the festival circuit and just generally making a big noise, will at long last be delivering their debut album ‘The Big Roar’ at the end of the month. In fact, the Joy Formidable have become so familiar over the past twelve months or so, it may even come as a huge surprise to discover that this is only their first long-player. Listening to the album for the first time, it’s also easy to confuse them for a much more experienced and established band.

Written by: Rob Sleigh | Date: Sunday, 16 January 2011

Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Album Review)

It's been three years since Mogwai released 'The Hawk Is Howling', which has given everybody plenty of time to grow that disgusting looking post-rock facial hair. 'Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will' is the bands seventh studio album which has yet another elegantly intelligent title and is about to bring post-rock smashing into 2011.

Written by: Rhys Morgan | Date: Saturday, 15 January 2011

Avril Lavigne - What The Hell (Single Review)

At 26, Avril Lavigne has a new offering in the form of ‘What the Hell?’, her first single from her fourth studio release 'Goodbye Lullaby'. It’s become an accepted fact that Avril has moved on greatly from her debut 'Complicated', but you can’t deny the lyrics sound like that of a relatively hormonal teenager looking for a good time. 

Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Thursday, 13 January 2011

Brother - New Years Day (Single Review)

Slough. Not exactly the epicentre of rock ‘n’ roll. Or the hub of “cool”. No, it’s most recent route to fame has been as the home of Wernham Hogg, the fictitious workplace of David Brent and co. in 'The Office'. But wait, all that is about to change with Slough’s newest export, the UK’s “next big thing”, 4-piece indie rock ‘n’ rollers, Brother. It’s been a while since a new band has swanned in and staked their claim on being the new owners of Britain’s indie-rock crown, and I’ve certainly not seen such hype or excitement from the music industry and press since the early days of the Arctic Monkeys.

Written by: Katie Territt | Date: Wednesday, 12 January 2011