Underworld - Strawberry Hotel (Album Review)

Since forming in 1987 Underworld have helped redefine British electronic music with a style that is hard to put your finger on but familiar and easy to get lost in. ‘Strawberry Hotel’ is their 11th studio album and their first since 2019 and, with 15 tracks spanning close to 70 minutes, it is another highly ambitious project that shows the duo of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Monday, 04 November 2024

Laura Marling - Patterns In Repeat (Album Review)

Photo: Tamsin Topolski Laura Marling’s no longer playing house. On 2020’s ‘Song For Our Daughter’,  the singer-songwriter made the transition into starkly sparse arrangements as she wrote guidance for a fictional daughter. Its follow up, ‘Patterns In Repeat’ follows its title’s lead — delving into motherhood again, but for real this time. Despite pulling zero punches, it still offers the warmth of a winter morning’s freshly roasted coffee.

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Monday, 04 November 2024

Beth Hart - You Still Got Me (Album Review)

To listen to Beth Hart's music is to know her. Pouring her experiences into songs that reflect the daily emotional roller coaster of living with bipolar in an increasingly turbulent world, there’s a level of necessity to her songwriting that moves beyond simply processing complex feelings. More than ever, music feels like her salvation on this thrill ride of a record.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 01 November 2024

Amyl and the Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness (Album Review)

Photo: John Angus Stewart We already know that Amyl and the Sniffers are loud and boisterous, and that they have a penchant for a trip to the pub. But thanks to ‘Cartoon Darkness’ we also know that they haven’t been too busy clowning to stop and take notice of the slowly deteriorating world around them. On album three their gritty punk vibrancy remains firmly intact, but there are added shades of grey that make any washes of bright colour pop even more.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Friday, 01 November 2024

Halsey - The Great Impersonator (Album Review)

Halsey’s ‘The Great Impersonator’ was introduced with a bit of hero-worship. Recreating  iconic photoshoots from Fiona Apple, Aaliyah, Dolores O’Riordan, Britney Spears, Stevie Nicks, and Bruce Springsteen, she provided a fascinating peek into the musical influences that informed album five. Equally, though, it was shaped by her experience of living with lupus and a rare T-cell disorder while being a young mother. As a result, this is a profound exploration of identity, illness, and the power of music.

Written by: Katie Macbeth | Date: Thursday, 31 October 2024

Courteeners - Pink Cactus Café (Album Review)

Manchester’s Courteeners have been one of the UK’s leading indie bands since the release of 2008’s ‘St Jude’, a record that set out blueprints for rock-solid songwriting and communal feeling. The group now return with the eclectic ‘Pink Cactus Café’, which takes their sound in some intriguing and ambitious directions, resulting in one of their most accomplished and varied records to date. 

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Thursday, 31 October 2024

Pixies - The Night The Zombies Came (Album Review)

Photo: Travis Shinn It feels like every new Pixies album gets praised by some as a reinvention and criticised by others for being too familiar. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Today, as they always have done, the band revel in taking small left turns, while retaining their signature quirky pop songwriting chops.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Wednesday, 30 October 2024

Megan Thee Stallion - Megan: Act II (Album Review)

It seems inevitable these days that whenever a major artist releases a new album, it’s swiftly followed by a deluxe re-release within about six months. Such is the case with ‘Megan: Act II’, which follows just three months behind Megan Thee Stallion’s eponymous third album.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Tuesday, 29 October 2024

Confidence Man - 3AM (LA LA LA) (Album Review)

Photo: Julian Buchan Confidence Man have recently graduated from a guilty pleasure to key players in the UK dance scene. In 2022, the Australian electro-pop outfit’s stock rose considerably thanks to their  second album ‘TILT’, and after following it up with a viral Glastonbury performance and a 2023 summer hit in Now U Do (with DJ Seinfeld) their appeal has only grown.

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Monday, 28 October 2024

Bon Iver - SABLE EP (Album Review)

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon will always be an enigma. Since 2007’s ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ stumbled from a Wisconsin hunting cabin into the hearts and homes of people seeking emotionally intelligent indie-folk, he has been remodelling their music to serve whatever purpose he sees fit. On their first new release since 2019’s Marmite, ‘i,i’, the ‘SABLE’ EP serves as a stripped-back system reboot.

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Monday, 28 October 2024

Japandroids - Fate & Alcohol (Album Review)

When it comes to making a final album there are umpteen approaches you could take. But, really, it boils down to this: are you going to double down on what has endeared you to fans on previous releases, or are you going to take one last chance with something new? Japandroids very much go for the former on ‘Fate & Alcohol’, but in a way that manages to avoid feeling old hat.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Friday, 25 October 2024

Kylie Minogue - Tension II (Album Review)

Photo: Erik Melvin Sometimes things take on a life of their own. What began as a few more songs for an extended version of 2023’s ‘Tension’ turned into a sequel for Kylie Minogue, and one that matches its predecessor. Here the Australian icon showcases her ability to evolve while keeping the shimmering dance-pop coming.

Written by: Nieve Elis | Date: Thursday, 24 October 2024

Porridge Radio - Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me (Album Review)

With a band name like Porridge Radio, you’d be forgiven for expecting a certain degree of fun musical whimsy. The Brighton band’s first couple of records delivered that, exuding colourful, if straightforward, indie energy with charming vigour, leading to them steadily becoming one of the UK touring circuit’s most cherished darlings.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Wednesday, 23 October 2024

Myles Kennedy - The Art of Letting Go (Album Review)

Photo: Chuck Brueckmann During a recent interview on Justin Hawkins’ YouTube series, Myles Kennedy was heralded as “the pre-eminent rock vocalist of our time” by someone who should know. But although that claim is merited, the Alter Bridge man’s hard-rocking third solo album once again showcases an artist who’s got more to offer than a recognisable voice. ‘The Art of Letting Go’ showcases his potent all-round game, from instinctive compositional smarts and sublime guitar playing to pensive lyricism and dynamic craftsmanship.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 22 October 2024

Touché Amoré - Spiral In A Straight Line (Album Review)

Photo: Sean Stout You can feel the emotion that roars from Jeremy Bolm’s voice in your bones and to know anything about Touché Amoré’s music is to know that their frontman should have been broken a long time ago. The California hardcore band’s previous two records dealt with the gravitational pull of grief following the death of his mother, finding catharsis but not necessarily a way out. Now, ‘Spiral In A Straight Line’ maps the way to exit. 

Written by: Jack McGill | Date: Monday, 21 October 2024

Goat - Goat (Album Review)

Goat’s sixth studio record sees the masked Swedish rockers saunter through afrobeat, funk, pastoral folk and more in a psychedelic journey of extreme joy. The result is a record of interstellar overdrive and creative overflow that jinks and zigs and spirals while just about hanging together.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Thursday, 17 October 2024

Caribou - Honey (Album Review)

If earlier Caribou albums hadn’t already, ‘Honey’ proves that Dan Snaith is a sure pair of hands for energetic and musically intellectual dance music. But what sets it apart from previous endeavours is the pace. From the opening track, Broke My Heart, this record picks up momentum that evolves throughout and never wavers.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Wednesday, 16 October 2024

Drug Church - Prude (Album Review)

Photo: Manuel Barajas On the surface, Patrick Kindlon is one of the most comically cynical writers in hardcore’s recent history. But Drug Church’s fifth album ‘Prude’ is so much more than that — there is painfully catchy and arresting guitar work that keeps the record moving, along with genuine depth of feeling.

Written by: Jack McGill | Date: Tuesday, 15 October 2024

The Hard Quartet - The Hard Quartet (Album Review)

Photo: Atiba Jefferson The Hard Quartet’s lineup reads like a Comic Con lineup for indie heads, bringing together Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus, The Cairo Gang’s Emmett Kelly, Chavez’s Matt Sweeney, and Dirty Three’s Jim White. Reflecting its members’ wandering tastes, the supergroup’s self-titled debut is a sprawling buffet of decades and genres.

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Friday, 11 October 2024

Jake Bugg - A Modern Day Distraction (Album Review)

Photo: Kevin Westenberg When Jake Bugg burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old, his debut album’s distinctive throwback blend of indie, folk and skiffle set him up as a future giant. In the decade since, though, he has opted to experiment with different sounds, incorporating elements of country and electronic music with varying degrees of success. His latest ‘A Modern Day Distraction’, sees a return to the more raw sound of his early work. 

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Friday, 11 October 2024