Dream Theater - Parasomnia (Album Review)

Photo: Mark Maryanovich In prog circles there are few bigger deals than ‘Parasomnia’, Dream Theater’s first outing with returning drummer Mike Portnoy since 2009’s ‘Black Clouds and Silver Linings’. Wearing that weight of expectation lightly, the record is a typically complex labyrinth, blending nightmarish metal soundscapes with razor-sharp thrash riffs.

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Tuesday, 11 February 2025

Inhaler - Open Wide (Album Review)

Photo: Lewis Evans Inhaler’s sturdy, reliable brand of indie has made them a breakthrough act in recent years, with two commercially and critically successful albums already under their belt. In that context, the young Dubliners’ third LP ‘Open Wide’ is a canny move, moving in some fresh directions while retaining their established style.

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Monday, 10 February 2025

Circa Waves - Death & Love, Pt. 1 (Album Review)

Photo: Polocho Over the summer of 2015, Circa Waves quickly became one the UK’s hottest new bands and the toast of the country’s festival circuit. Their mainstream appeal was obvious and indie anthems such as T-Shirt Weather and Fossils felt tailor-made for soundtracking carefree days in the sunshine.

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Wednesday, 05 February 2025

Brooke Combe - Dancing at The Edge of The World (Album Review)

Photo: Sam Crowston Brooke Coombe has really made a name for herself of late thanks to a throwback approach that dials up the sound and feeling of Northern soul classics. The Scottish vocalist may have appeared on some listeners’ radar thanks to her work on Courteeners’ ‘Pink Cactus Café’ but with her debut LP she steps out on her own in wonderful style.

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Monday, 03 February 2025

Anna B Savage - You and i are Earth (Album Review)

Photo: Katie Silvester  During the past few years, almost everyone will have felt the urge to escape our polarised digital present, if only for a short while. Escaping into nature is a welcome panacea, like sinking into the moss and ferns on the cover of ‘You & i are Earth’.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Thursday, 30 January 2025

Mogwai - The Bad Fire (Album Review)

Photo: Steve Gullick Few rock bands do instrumental music as well as Mogwai. The Scottish post-rock veterans are one of the greats of the genre, crafting dynamic, almost entirely vocal-free music that nonetheless courses with rich storytelling and emotion.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Wednesday, 29 January 2025

FKA Twigs - Eusexua (Album Review)

The title of FKA Twigs’ new record requires some unpacking. Coined at a rave in Prague, ‘Eusexua’ is a neologism encapsulating the transcendent feeling of losing oneself entirely in the present moment. Whether it's channelling the ecstatic abandon of all-night dancing or the intoxicating intimacy of a deep connection, the accompanying collection captures that blissful state of oblivion. 

Written by: Katie Macbeth | Date: Friday, 24 January 2025

Mac Miller - Balloonerism (Album Review)

It has been almost seven years since Mac Miller’s death, but in that time we have received regular reminders of his creative genius. Originally recorded between 2013 and 2014, ‘Balloonerism’ is the latest of them — an experimental, introspective record that leaves a bittersweet aftertaste.

Written by: Issy Herring | Date: Thursday, 23 January 2025

Jasmine.4.t - You Are The Morning (Album Review)

Photo: Matt Grubb Brimming with tales of heartache, loss, love, self-acceptance and finding a place to belong, ‘You Are The Morning’ is an authentic, defiant body of work that justifies every ounce of hype behind jasmine.4.t.

Written by: Nieve Elis | Date: Wednesday, 22 January 2025

David Gray - Dear Life (Album Review)

Photo: Robin Grierson As David Gray returns with his first album since 2021, the shadow of his greatest achievement remains long. While later albums have been warmly received, it remains true that the singer-songwriter has struggled to replicate the impact of 1998’s ‘White Ladder’, one of the biggest-selling albums in the history of the UK charts. Having gone to the nostalgia well with an anniversary tour for that breakout release, he’s now rekindled his distinctive folktronica blend for ‘Dear Life’, which is a fine example of the form.

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Ringo Starr - Look Up (Album Review)

Photo: Dan Winters With the recent success of Martin Scorcese’s Beatles ‘64 documentary and Sam Mendes’ ambitious series of Beatles biopics in the works, the seemingly never-ending lust for Fab Four nostalgia isn’t going away anytime soon. But, in the background, the band’s surviving members are still cooking, remaining present in the here and now.

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Thursday, 16 January 2025

Moonchild Sanelly - Full Moon (Album Review)

Moonchild Sanelly has her own lane. With 2015’s ‘Rabulapha!’ and 2022’s ‘Phases’ her “futuristic ghetto funk” bridged the gap between sounding like it’s come from 50 years in the future while remaining rooted 50 years in the past. With ‘Full Moon’ she displays her whole self in a body of work that’s wholly unapologetic without always nailing the fizz and fire of her best music.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Monday, 13 January 2025

Franz Ferdinand - The Human Fear (Album Review)

It has been a while since Franz Ferdinand became one of the biggest indie success stories in the UK off the back of a few indelible hits, and don’t they know it. The Glasgow band’s first studio album in seven years, ‘The Human Fear’, offers a return of sorts to the sound of their early work, but shown through a prism of everything the intervening period has taught them.

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Friday, 10 January 2025

Ethel Cain - Perverts (Album Review)

Photo: Silken Weinberg It’s not a new question, but it is a pointed one: how do you follow up a debut album that catapulted you into the mainstream consciousness? If you’re Ethel Cain, you opt to do so by delving into the most impenetrable, experimental noise you can.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Wednesday, 08 January 2025

White Denim - 12 (Album Review)

Photo: Charlie Weinmann White Denim may have changed line ups several times, but they’ve remained a consistently excellent rock ‘n’ roll band for nearly two decades now. The Texan outfit began as raucous garage-rockers on their 2008 debut ‘Workout Holiday’ but in the intervening years they have developed towards a more polished, bluesy style that remains difficult to pin down.

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Friday, 20 December 2024

Angel Olsen - Cosmic Waves Volume 1 (Album Review)

Photo: Maxim Ludwig Since emerging in 2010 with the EP ‘Strange Cacti’, a collection of stripped-back songs teeming with folk influences, Angel Olsen’s palette has rapidly expanded. While remaining a constant in the indie sphere, the singer-songwriter has dabbled in country, pop and heartland rock while collaborating with artists including Sharon Van Etten, Mark Ronson and Emile Mosseri.

Written by: Nieve Elis | Date: Thursday, 19 December 2024

The National - Rome (Album Review)

Photo: Graham MacIndoe The National have almost delivered the perfect live album with ‘Rome’, which positions you side stage for a career-spanning show where these unlikely world-conquerors breathe entirely new life into cuts old and new. 

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Monday, 16 December 2024

Lauren Mayberry - Vicious Creature (Album Review)

Photo: Charlotte Patmore Following more than a decade as singer of Scottish synth-pop trio CHVRCHES, Lauren Mayberry has now stepped into the spotlight solo, promising “an exercise in empowering myself to listen to my own intuition” and largely delivering on ‘Vicious Creature’. 

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Friday, 13 December 2024

ROSÉ - Rosie (Album Review)

Photo: Kenneth Cappello ‘Rosie’ is the debut from BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ, with the K-pop superstar appropriately using her first solo outing to delve into her most vulnerable and honest work yet. Here she fully showcases the extreme nature of growing up in the public eye, with social media trolling walking arm in arm with heartbreak.

Written by: Issy Herring | Date: Wednesday, 11 December 2024

Dua Lipa - Live From The Royal Albert Hall (Album Review)

Photo: Elizabeth Miranda With her distinctive blend of pop and neo-disco, Dua Lipa has become one of the most well-loved pop stars to emerge from the UK in recent years. This live album is both a celebration of that fact and a reset of sorts.

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Monday, 09 December 2024