Author: Mike Rea Page 7
Alela Diane - The Pirate's Gospel
Alela DianeThe Pirate's GospelAlbum ReviewSinger-songwriter albums are not always relaxing affairs, and, unlike Stephanie Dosen, Alela Diane takes the Cat Power direct tension, rather than Chan Marshall's voice. The Pirate's Gospel is an in-your-face affair,...
Review posted on 30th July 2007
Scott Matthews - Passing Stranger
Scott MatthewsPassing StrangerAlbum ReviewWolverhampton doesn't have many famous musicians to namecheck, but Robert Plant is probably all the singer that's needed for Scott Matthews' heritage to be locked down. With any justice, Matthews will be...
Review posted on 30th July 2007
Stephanie Dosen - A Lily For The Spectre
Stephanie DosenA Lily For The SpectreAlbum ReviewBella Union is rapidly becoming a pretty reliable shorthand for a certain folky alternative excellence, and Stephanie Dosen deserves her place alongside Midlake, Fionn Regan and The Dears. With...
Review posted on 30th July 2007
Sea Wolf - Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low
Sea WolfGet To The River Before It Runs Too LowAlbum ReviewSea Wolf is a band name for a band that is occasionally put together around singer-songwriter name name. And what a discovery this first EP...
Review posted on 23rd July 2007
Pitchfork Music Festival Sampler
Various ArtistsPitchfork Music Festival SamplerAlbum ReviewPitchfork is an American online music site that is regarded as so critical to an indie band's success that a good or bad rating can kill or elevate sales. So,...
Review posted on 23rd July 2007
Josh Rouse - Country Mouse
Josh RouseCountry Mouse, City HouseAlbum ReviewIt is hard to tell, throughout this disc, if those are bass drum beats, or the sound of the musicians falling asleep and hitting the floor. A lazy, not-even-half hearted...
Review posted on 23rd July 2007
Garbage - Absolute Garbage
GarbageAbsolute Garbage A & E Records Album ReviewShirley Manson was for many, the Karen-O of the mid-to-late nineties and beyond, her provocative and unpredictable nature made her captivating and intriguing in equal doses. This nostalgic...
Review posted on 16th July 2007
Buffalo Tom - Three Easy Pieces
Buffalo TomThree Easy PiecesLabel, New WestAlbum ReviewIn the UK, Buffalo Tom never really achieved the level of acclaim that their honest indie rock deserved. They suffered from (rather unfair) comparisons to Dinosaur Jr, although their...
Review posted on 16th July 2007
The Vincent Black Shadow - Fear's In The Water
The Vincent Black ShadowFear's In The WaterLabel, BodogAlbum ReviewFear's In The Water doesn't need a review. If you ever wanted No Doubt to rock out and go a bit Goth, Vincent Black Shadow are your...
Review posted on 16th July 2007
Hopewell - Beautiful Targets
HopewellBeautiful TargetsLabel, TeePeeAlbum ReviewMercury Rev's climb to fame peaked with Deserter's Songs, which was when keyboard player Jason Russo decided he'd like to give it a go by himself. Which is fair, as Mercury Rev...
Review posted on 16th July 2007
Farrah - Cut Out and Keep
FarrahCut Out and KeepAlbum ReviewFarrah are a 4-piece pop-rock band that do anthemic and jangly really well. They sound like a spitting image of Fountains of Wayne (or Weezer on a lighter day) and Teenage...
Review posted on 9th July 2007
The Hours - Narcissus Road
The HoursNarcissus RoadAlbum ReviewThe Hours' front man Ant Genn is a long-time there or thereabouts man, having spent time in Pulp, and Elastica, as well as producing Grace Jones and UNKLE. Partner Martin Slattery played...
Review posted on 9th July 2007
Air Traffic - Fractured Life
Air TrafficFractured LifeAlbum ReviewAn astonishingly assured debut from this Bournemouth band, who take indie rock and make it sound elegant, interesting, and seductively, arrogantly great, as if Muse covered Keane with a dash of swagger....
Review posted on 9th July 2007
Broken Family Band - Hello Love
Broken Family BandHello LoveAlbum ReviewYou wouldn't know it from watching the BBC's coverage, but Cambridge-based the Broken Family Band were one of the best sets of the whole weekend. Hello Love is the band's fourth...
Review posted on 2nd July 2007
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
Ryan AdamsEasy TigerAlbum ReviewIt's a rare review of Ryan Adams that doesn't refer to inconsistency in quality of his released recordings. If you get Ryan Adams, there's little doubt that more is better than less...
Review posted on 2nd July 2007
Battles - Mirrored
BattlesMirroredAlbum ReviewSome music is clearly meant to be easy to digest, but Mirrored is not. Battles are a four-piece band from New York who make the most infuriatingly intellectually addictive genre-bending noise possible. Comparing it...
Review posted on 2nd July 2007
Beasts of Bourbon - Little Animals
Beasts of BourbonLittle AnimalsAlbum ReviewSome rock music is written from the head, some from the heart, and some from a bit further south... The Beasts of Bourbon are an Aussie band, formed in 1983 and...
Review posted on 26th June 2007
Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation
Blitzen TrapperWild Mountain NationAlbum ReviewMost bands that ape the Beach Boys do the woozy harmony vocals thing - step forward Panda Bear. But the exciting Beach Boys music, the Good Vibrations/ I Get Around/ Barbara...
Review posted on 26th June 2007
White Stripes - Icky Thump
White Stripes Icky ThumpAlbum ReviewWhatever acclaim Get Behind Me Satan achieved, including its Grammy, it was an awful mess of an album for this now iconic band. Thankfully, the White Stripes' sixth album is a...
Review posted on 26th June 2007
Mouthful of Bees - The End
Mouthful of BeesThe EndAlbum Review Bands like Blur, The Smiths, The Cure and the Doors were all amazing bands when their singers weren't singing, and all polarised opinion when they were. Mouthful of Bees seem...
Review posted on 19th June 2007
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
SpoonGa Ga Ga Ga GaAlbum Review Spoon are one of those indie bands who, like The Shins or The Eels, have managed to cross over into mainstream success. It's hardly been overnight - the Austin,...
Review posted on 19th June 2007
Social Distortion - Greatest Hits
Social DistortionGreatest HitsAlbum Review Social Distortion are one of the greatest bands you've probably never heard of - a band whose fans include Bruce Springsteen, and who have influenced bands such as Green Day and...
Review posted on 19th June 2007
Queens of The Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
Queens of The Stone AgeEra VulgarisAlbum ReviewIf only all hard rock could be this inventive. Queens of The Stone Age fifth album rocks as hard as any before, and Josh Homme has roped in Julian...
Review posted on 11th June 2007
The Boggs - Forts
The BoggsFortsAlbum ReviewThe Boggs are a band from New York (by way of Berlin), and Forts may well be the most infectiously great disc you'll hear this year. With an album that at times recalls...
Review posted on 11th June 2007
Bruce Springsteen - Live in Dublin
Bruce SpringsteenLive in DublinAlbum ReviewWhen Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions hit the shelves, with its jazz, folk, Dixieland, celtic and gospel leanings, many didn't quite know how to take it. Its remarkable joy persuaded most. Any...
Review posted on 11th June 2007
The Concretes - Hey Trouble
The ConcretesHey TroubleAlbum ReviewThere were a lot of people who were pretty unhappy that The Concretes seemed to come to the end of their journey last year when lead singer Victoria Bergsman quit the band...
Review posted on 4th June 2007
Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
Silversun PickupsCarnavasAlbum ReviewFinally released in the UK, Carnavas is Silversun Pickups' (or sspu's, for those in the know) first album, after an acclaimed EP in 2005. The vault into that Smashing Pumpkins space where fuzzy...
Review posted on 4th June 2007
Loney Dear - Loney, Noir
Loney, DearLoney, NoirAlbum ReviewLoney, Dear is the Swede Emil Svanängen, and Loney, Noir is the follow up to the quite remarkable Sologne, where his gentle Simon & Garfunkel meets Sufjan Stevens quiet folk music.., well,...
Review posted on 4th June 2007
Ample Branches - True Vine
Ample BranchesTrue VineAlbum ReviewIn the genre of music which could have been made any time between Woodstock and now, bands like Califone, Akron/ Family, Dr Dog and Gomez have added multiple instruments into a folky...
Review posted on 29th May 2007
Dungen - Tio Bitar
DungenTio BitarAlbum ReviewSwedish band Dungen scored a breakthrough hit with Ta Det Lugnt, a psychedelic prog rock album sung entirely in Swedish. Its thick organ and elegant rock guitar made the language unimportant. Tio Bitar...
Review posted on 29th May 2007
Suggested
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
Three nights before the end of his current tour Will Varley returned to his home town of Deal to delight a sold out crowd in The Astor Theatre.
WYSE talks to us about her "form of synaesthesia", collaborating with Radiohead's Thom York and the prospect of touring with a band [EXCLUSIVE]
With only a few days to go before Portsmouth based songstress and producer WYSE releases her new single, 'Belladonna', we caught up with her to find...
Bay Bryan talks to us about being a "wee queer ginger", singing with Laura Marling and being inspired by Matilda [EXCLUSIVE]
Colorado raised, Glasgow educated and Manchester based Bay Bryan is nothing if not a multi-talented, multi-faceted artist performing as both...
Advertisement
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...
Advertisement
