Author: Mike Rea Page 6
Jose Gonzalez - In Our Nature
Jose GonzalezIn Our NatureAlbum ReviewJose Gonzalez debut Veneer was a breakthrough album from nowhere - the Swedish born singer-songwriter's formula of nylon guitar, plucked and strummed, and gentle hushed voice, nothing new, but so stunningly...
Review posted on 8th October 2007
Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade
Steve EarleWashington Square SerenadeAlbum ReviewSteve Earle is one of the most reliable (and one of the best) of singer-songwriters - a little bit country and a lot Creedence Clearwater Revival rock and roll. On this,...
Review posted on 8th October 2007
Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River
Sea Wolf Leaves in the River Album Review Sea Wolf is the project of Alex Church and stunned many with his debut EP Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low, whose lead song...
Review posted on 1st October 2007
Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog Album Review
Sam Beam, Mr Iron and Wine, has had an interesting lineage to date. A professor of cinematography, he took up music late, but can lay quiet claim to being one of the best songwriters around....
Review posted on 1st October 2007
Foo Fighters - Echoes Silence Patience and Grace
Foo Fighters Echoes Silence Patience and Grace Album Review Dave Grohl's most important lesson from his Nirvana days has surely been that mastering the quieter moments is key to the power of the louder ones,...
Review posted on 1st October 2007
Bruce Springsteen - Magic
Bruce SpringsteenMagicAlbum ReviewThe speed with which Magic follows the Seeger Sessions album has been a surprise for all Bruce Springsteen fans - recorded at the start of 2007, while still pushing the Seeger project, this...
Review posted on 24th September 2007
Akron Family - Love Is Simple
Akron/FamilyLove Is SimpleAlbum ReviewThe third album (in 2 years) from NYC-based Akron/Family builds on the phenomenal Meek Warrior with a rounded out sound and concept. There is no single band that sounds like Akron/Family -...
Review posted on 24th September 2007
O'Death - Head Home
O'DeathHead HomeAlbum ReviewHead Home sounds like some wild-eyed Appalachian hillbillies borrowed Tom Waits' junkyard orchestra and headed to the Balkans, headbanging to electric bluegrass and sizzling punk country, and whirling as hard as the Pogues...
Review posted on 24th September 2007
Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil
Black LipsGood Bad Not EvilAlbum ReviewBlack Lips have spent four records perfecting the trash pop punk sound that could come from any garage in the suburban US. It seems out of tune, sloppily shambolic and...
Review posted on 17th September 2007
Octoberman - Run From Safety
OctobermanRun From SafetyAlbum ReviewIt's rare to be taken aback by a singer-songwriter these days, but the range of talent on display here is almost shocking. Ex-Vancouver resident Marc Morrissette produced a stunning debut in 2005...
Review posted on 17th September 2007
Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
Shout Out LoudsOur Ill WillsAlbum ReveiwOn the Shout Out Louds' debut album, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, they revealed a passion for the sound of the Cure and a ton of 80s indie sound. A Swedish...
Review posted on 17th September 2007
Habib Koit - Afriki
Habib KoitAfriki album reviewAfrica's Musical Ambassador Releases First Studio Album in Six YearsIf you are new to Koite's music and have heard that Bonnie Raitt compared Habib to Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn you...
Review posted on 13th September 2007
Minus The Bear - Planet of Ice
Minus The BearPlanet of IceAlbum ReviewMinus The Bear have always sounded like Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland got fed up with their mediocre bass player and set out to make genuinely intelligent rhythmic rock. On...
Review posted on 10th September 2007
Bishop Allen - The Broken String
Bishop AllenThe Broken StringAlbum ReviewThe Broken String is the first proper studio album from Brooklyn band Bishop Allen, which is essentially two friends and a bunch of musical collaborators. The 'friends' bit is important, as...
Review posted on 10th September 2007
Caribou - Andorra
CaribouAndorraAlbum ReviewCaribou is essentially one man, Dan Snaith, and his box of tricks. Andorra is the fourth Caribou album, and the first for cult American indie label City Slang. A few years in the making,...
Review posted on 10th September 2007
Eef Barzelay - Rocket Science - Original Soundtrack
Eef BarzelayRocket Science - Original SoundtrackAlbum ReviewAny occasion that puts more Eef Barzelay music on the shelves is good news. The front man and songwriter for Clem Snide does indie lyrics better than almost anyone...
Review posted on 3rd September 2007
The Orange Lights - Life Is Still Beautiful
The Orange LightsLife Is Still BeautifulAlbum ReviewIt's not a bad start in life for a debut album to boast the talents of a guitarist from Spiritualized and the keyboard player and songwriter from the Lighthouse...
Review posted on 3rd September 2007
New Pornographers - Challengers
New PornographersChallengersAlbum ReviewWhat a shame. Canada's indie darling 'supergroup' has gone and sucked all the life out of itself by making a record that really wasn't asking to be made. Sapping the energy from Neko...
Review posted on 3rd September 2007
Aqualung - Memory Man
Aqualung Memory Man Album Review Matt Hales, the man behind Aqualung, has had mixed success here in the UK. The single Strange and Beautiful made it big, but his previous albums have had mixed success...
Review posted on 28th August 2007
Luke Temple - Snowbeast
Luke Temple Snowbeast Album Review When Sufjan Stevens and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie suggest someone has one of the most beautiful voices in pop music, there is a reason to pay attention....
Review posted on 28th August 2007
Jason Isbell - Sirens of the Ditch
Jason Isbell Sirens of the Ditch Album Review Jason Isbell was one of the three writers, singers and guitarists of Drive By Truckers, one of the best Southern States rock bands. Having departed that band,...
Review posted on 28th August 2007
Frog Eyes - Tears of the Valedictorian
Frog EyesTears of the ValedictorianLabel - Absolutely KosherAlbum ReviewWhen it comes to 'challenging' lead singers, Carey Mercer takes the biscuit. Frog Eyes is a quartet from British Columbia, Canada, and they'd sound a lot like...
Review posted on 20th August 2007
Okkervil River - The Stage Names
Okkervil RiverThe Stage NamesLabel - JagjaguwarAlbum ReviewOkkervil River have been building a name for themselves in the rootsy-Americana genre, through quiet, introspective, rustic records. They achieved something of a breakthrough with 2005's Black Sheep Boy,...
Review posted on 20th August 2007
Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
Les Savy FavLet's Stay FriendsLabel - WichitaAlbum ReviewThere's a swathe of North American indie bands, like Modest Mouse, Fiery Furnaces and Arcade Fire that you should really be listening to. To that list, New York's...
Review posted on 20th August 2007
The Budos Band - Budos Band II
The Budos Band Budos Band II Album Review Niches may get small, but there are surely few smaller than Staten Island Afro-Soul - instrumental music that wears its Afro-Caribbean roots heavily alongside its Stax soul...
Review posted on 13th August 2007
White Rabbits - Fort Nightly
White Rabbits Fort Nightly Album Review A 6-piece band from Bushwick, New York City, White Rabbits play a new, not-easy-to-pigeonhole music that draws from bands like Cold War Kids, The Walkmen, The Strokes, maybe even...
Review posted on 13th August 2007
Stephen Fretwell - Man On The Roof
Stephen Fretwell Man On The Roof Album Review Stephen Fretwell's gold-selling debut, Magpie, still stands as the 21st century's best singer-songriter disc from these shores... Well, maybe until now. Man On The Roof is devastatingly...
Review posted on 13th August 2007
Newton Faulkner - Hand Built By Robots
Newton FaulknerHand Built By RobotsAlbum ReviewNewton Faulkner's PR is clearly to be applauded as the kinds of people who think Joss Stone can sing soul, that Jack Johnson is sunny fun, and that James Morrison...
Review posted on 6th August 2007
Matthew Good - Hospital Music
Matthew GoodHospital MusicAlbum ReviewMatthew Good was the main man in one of Canada's most successful indie bands, the Matthew Good Band, until dissolving it in 2002 to pursue solo interests like poetry. After an unintended...
Review posted on 6th August 2007
Free Diamonds - By The Sword
Free DiamondsBy The SwordAlbum ReviewFree Diamonds are a trio from Newcastle who combine Arctic Monkeys-style new wave with an infectious 80s punk sensibility - like the Violent Femmes brought bang up to date. Like that...
Review posted on 6th August 2007
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Pretty Fierce talk to us about collaborating with Doja Cat, emetophobia, arena tours and staying "true to yourself" [EXCLUSIVE]
Sheffield's very own all girl group Pretty Fierce are still on a high after the recent release of their debut single - 'Ready For Me'.
Will Varley & Jack Valero - The Astor Theatre Deal Live Review
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WYSE talks to us about her "form of synaesthesia", collaborating with Radiohead's Thom York and the prospect of touring with a band [EXCLUSIVE]
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Colorado raised, Glasgow educated and Manchester based Bay Bryan is nothing if not a multi-talented, multi-faceted artist performing as both...
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Keelan X talks to us about staying true to "your creative vision", collaborating with Giorgio Moroder and being "a yoga nut" [EXCLUSIVE]
Former Marigolds band member Keelan Cunningham has rediscovered his love of music with his new solo project Keelan X.
![Luke De-Sciscio talks to us about having the courage to be yourself, forgiving that which is outside of one's control and following whims [EXCLUSIVE]](/images/home/homepage/luke-de-sciscio-abof-a.jpg "Luke De-Sciscio talks to us about having the courage to be yourself, forgiving that which is outside of one's control and following whims [EXCLUSIVE]")
Luke De-Sciscio talks to us about having the courage to be yourself, forgiving that which is outside of one's control and following whims [EXCLUSIVE]
Wiltshire singer-songwriter Luke De Sciscio, formally known as Folk Boy, is set to release is latest album - 'The Banquet' via AntiFragile Music on...
Annie Elise talks to us about the challenges a female producer has to face and "going through a year of grief and sickness" [EXCLUSIVE]
Electronic music pioneer and producer Annie Elise says that the release of her first EP - 'Breathe In, Breathe Out' feels "both vulnerable and...
![Dekker talks to us about writing with Jose Gonzales, making headway in the U.S and the difficulties associated with wearing a hat! [EXCLUSIVE]](/images/home/homepage/dekker-abof-a.jpg "Dekker talks to us about writing with Jose Gonzales, making headway in the U.S and the difficulties associated with wearing a hat! [EXCLUSIVE]")
Dekker talks to us about writing with Jose Gonzales, making headway in the U.S and the difficulties associated with wearing a hat! [EXCLUSIVE]
Ahead of the imminent release of his second solo album - Dekker, aka Brookln Dekker, took time out to let us know about the musical project he...
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