Stereoboard Albums Of The Year: The Neal Morse Band - The Grand Experiment

td#right {display:none !important;} Photo: John Zocco Nothing inspires fear quite like having to compile an end of year list, except maybe choosing my numero uno album. Critiquing individual records is one thing, but whittling down my favourites, which run a gamut of styles and deliver a divergent selection of sonic pleasures, fries my brain.  After much soul searching, some night sweats and hours curled up in the foetal position, here's how I ended up choosing The Neal Morse Band's 'The Grand Experiment' as my favourite record of 2015.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 17 December 2015

Stereoboard Albums Of The Year: Grimes - Art Angels

td#right {display:none !important;} My grandfather was a carpenter and ceramist. My house is dotted with dishes, boxes and kitchen utensils that he made. Shoulder to the wheel, I managed a D in year 9 woodwork. There are gaps in our knowledge and practical abilities that we seek to fill and others that we simply can’t. This is one of the latter. “You can do anything if you set your mind to it,” the inspirational posters scream, but not this time. Do not, under any circumstances, ask me to build you a coffee table.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 17 December 2015

Stereoboard Albums Of The Year: Clutch - Psychic Warfare

td#right {display:none !important;} Download Festival 2015: sun, rain, blood, sweat, beers. Clutch are rocking the tits off the main stage and they suddenly drop a new song, tentatively titled X-Ray Visions. It’s so good, a guy in the crowd does a backflip. But these are the expectations we have for any new Clutch album: backflip-inducing rock ‘n’ roll goodness.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 16 December 2015

Stereoboard Albums Of The Year: Ezra Furman - 'Perpetual Motion People'

td#right {display:none !important;} ‘Perpetual Motion People’ had already been cemented as my favourite album of 2015 by the time Ezra Furman turned in the live performance of the year at his Bristol show back in November. On record, he unnerved me with his cynical candour and at the same time reassured me with an optimistic outlook. When playing live he was just as contradictory. Strutting across the boards of the O2 Academy he emanated an awkward confidence, confessing to the crowd that the band consider the stage their playground. If they wanted to play, it would be by their rules.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Wednesday, 16 December 2015

Noise Not Music: End of Year Round Up 2015

It’s December 2015 and it’s time to sum up what’s been a fantastic year in the (slightly bizarre but hopefully always entertaining) world of sonic extremes covered by Noise Not Music. Before that, however, there are yet more new releases to look over…

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 16 December 2015

Stereoboard's Albums Of 2015: Part Three

td#right {display:none !important;} It’s the most wonderful time of the year...list time. It might seem like a lot to take in, but here are some solid gold picks from 12 months of reviews at Stereoboard. They’re not in any order, so think of this as a digital vinyl bin. Happy discovering/reminiscing/listening. Make a note to check out parts one and two and stay tuned later this week as we go full Rob Gordon for our shiny top five albums of 2015 features.

Written by: Stereoboard | Date: Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Stereoboard's Albums Of 2015: Part Two

td#right {display:none !important;} It’s the most wonderful time of the year...list time. It might seem like a lot to take in, but here are some solid gold picks from 12 months of reviews at Stereoboard. They’re not in any order, so think of this as a digital vinyl bin. Happy discovering/reminiscing/listening. Make sure to also check out parts one and three and stay tuned later this week as we go full Rob Gordon for our shiny top five albums of 2015 features.

Written by: Stereoboard | Date: Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Stereoboard's Albums Of 2015: Part One

td#right {display:none !important;} It’s the most wonderful time of the year...list time. It might seem like a lot to take in, but here are some solid gold picks from 12 months of reviews at Stereoboard. They’re not in any order, so think of this as a digital vinyl bin. Happy discovering/reminiscing/listening. When you're done here, dive in to parts two and three and keep your eyes peeled later this week as we go full Rob Gordon for our shiny top five albums of 2015 features.

Written by: Stereoboard | Date: Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Playful Perfectionism: Vennart On 'The Demon Joke' And Life After Oceansize

One of the abiding clichés in contemporary music is the the ageing ‘dinosaur’. You can picture them now: the middle-aged vocalist of a progressive rock band who takes a decidedly more mainstream pop route for their solo career. Phil Collins is the most obvious example, but Rush’s Geddy Lee and Yes’ Jon Anderson have also occupied shallower waters when going it alone.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Monday, 14 December 2015

PREMIERE: HMS Morris Get Festive With This Mistletoe Is Mine

HMS Morris via Twitter: “2 days to go until we smash you with Christmas like it or not.”

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 04 December 2015

PREMIERE: Watch The Video For Up River’s Youth/Apathy

Brighton post-hardcore quartet Up River have spliced together two songs, Youth and Apathy, from their debut album, ‘Undertow’, for a new tour video and we’ve got the premiere right here.

Written by: Jennifer Geddes | Date: Monday, 30 November 2015

Alternate History: Bruce Springsteen, 'The Ties That Bind' And 'The River'

We love a myth, just as we adore an underdog hero. Bruce Springsteen has created his share of the former and been the latter to a lot of people. In 1979 - call it a Sliding Doors moment, or Jeff Winger throwing a die - his timeline split. On one side, the Boss returned a year later and scattered recession-hit laments, ruminations on ageing and free-spirited rock ‘n’ roll throughout a sprawling double album, ‘The River’. On the other he stuck to the original plan and the follow up to ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ was a clipped 10 song set called ‘The Ties That Bind’.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 27 November 2015

Motorhead: Many Happy Returns To 'Ace Of Spades'

Months after World War II came to an end, late in the summer of 1945, thoughts turned to a peaceful Christmas as rebuilding began in earnest. The year had already seen the births of numerous future rock superstars - Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Ian Gillan, Van Morrison and Pete Townshend among them - but Christmas Eve would produce possibly the biggest legend of all: Ian Fraser Kilmister.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 25 November 2015

Noise Not Music #14: Wolf Eyes, Blood Folke, Coil

Photo: Wolf Eyes It’s a bumper edition of Noise Not Music this month, with 12 largely essential releases to get through, ranging from avant-garde post-industrial noise to defiantly original extreme metal and deformed contemporary techno. So, without further ado…

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 18 November 2015

EXCLUSIVE: Stream Baby Brave's New EP 'Tacky Birthday'

Baby Brave, the Welsh indie-pop quartet, are set to release their latest EP, ‘Tacky Birthday’ on November 21 via Drum With Our Hands.

Written by: Jennifer Geddes | Date: Tuesday, 17 November 2015

Trust Fund: Ellis Jones, Accidental Choruses And 'Seems Unfair'

td#right {display:none !important;} What you will always get with Trust Fund is Ellis Jones. Arranged behind him on any given day, though, are musicians who in another time or context might be considered hired hands. They aren’t.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 16 November 2015

EXCLUSIVE: Stream My Name Is Ian's 'In The Best Case Scenario We'd Die At The Same Time'

My Name Is Ian, the Cardiff-based garage-pop trio, combine scuzzy lo-fi guitar and heavy bass with abstract, amusing lyrical musings.

Written by: Jennifer Geddes | Date: Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Stuck, But Not For Long: Introducing Peaness

The phrase 'rail replacement bus service' is writ large on the gates of hell.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 09 November 2015

Wet Plate Portraits: Skindred's Benji Webbe

Photograph: Gareth Jarvis In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade, let us introduce you to Benji Webbe. Formerly the frontman of Dub War and currently the mouthpiece of Skindred, who last week put out their sixth studio album, ‘Volume’, he’s one of the most recognisable, widely-loved faces in the UK metal scene.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Wednesday, 04 November 2015

'I Don't Look Back': Chelsea Wolfe Enters The Abyss

Photo: Shaina Hedlund With ‘Abyss’, the mysterious figure of Chelsea Wolfe reached out to a wider audience than ever before. The California-based musician’s fourth full-length album is quite a journey, one where dystopian electronics often dominate even as Wolfe’s tendency towards fragile and delicate sounds is retained. Their presence, meanwhile, only affirms the darkness of the title.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 23 October 2015