by Ollie Rankine Maintaining audience interest has always played a vital role in the development of a formidable artist within popular music. Having seen figures such as Prince and Bowie repeatedly distort everything from base sound to artistic character, methods of keeping mass attention focussed, or even hooking outsider interest, continues to be expanding in ideas.
by John Tindale In a world where Kanye West and Chris Brown grab the spotlight, it is Atlantan brothers Khalif ‘Swae Lee’ Brown and Aaquil ‘Slim Jxmmy’ Brown who are beginning to attract a few headlines of their own.
by Ollie Rankine To release an album under the premise that its content is a jumble of handpicked out-takes from previous studio endeavours can too often be nourishment for our scepticism. Fears spanning from artistic stagnation to digging up second grade material can cloud fan anticipation.
by John Tindale If anything has been shown since the third coming of Dinosaur Jr., it’s that they haven’t missed a beat since the three-piece’s ‘golden era’ in the late ‘80s. 2007’s Beyond was a mature record full of floating melodies, the following Farm (2009) and I Bet On Sky (2012) were dazzling in their experimentation.
by Ed Biggs Five albums and nearly ten years into their career without making a single mis-step in artistic terms, Wild Beasts are one of the most trusted musical brand in Britain today. Having dazzled critics and won over new fans with their second and third albums, Two Dancers (2009) and Smother (2011), characterised by sensual, ambient guitar pop and smutty, self-effacing vocals and lyrics. 2014’s Present Tense pitched their sound
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by Ed Biggs and John Tindale The angular, acoustically unfriendly environs of Leeds’ Millennium Square is the setting for The Cribs’ latest homecoming spectacular. The square has always felt quite hemmed in when adapted to be used as an open-air city centre venue, with gigs there never quite feeling large enough to feel like really big events, and the sound invariably ricocheting off the tall buildings that surround it. However, it’s unquestionably a lot
by Ollie Rankine Where there is music, there will always be context. Records frequently come and go with time whilst each carries the weight of their own totally unique backstory. However, very few will match the immensely weighted and tragic baggage attached to what will be Viola Beach’s first and only album release.
by John Tindale In a world where Drake’s ‘One Dance’ dominates the singles chart, Peckham four-piece Beaty Heart arrive with their second album and continue to question just what it takes to make pop that connects in 2016. Till The Tomb at times isn’t overtly pop, but nor does it qualify into any other genre: it inhabits the borderline between world, electronic and pop constantly and it when it works, it
by Ed Biggs By the time 1966 rolled around, The Beatles had unquestionably re-asserted their primacy in British pop music as a creative force, in addition to their long-standing commercial triumphs which had never shown any sign of flagging. Rubber Soul, hot on the heels of Help! in 1965, had been one of pop’s greatest artistic achievements, and their relentless touring schedule had ground on in the face of exhaustion. But
by John Tindale A producer to the stars and internet sensation in his own right, DJ Khaled is, without a doubt, a product of his generation; after rising to fame via Snapchat and becoming a glorified meme, Khaled, who in Major Key is releasing his ninth full-length effort, is closer to the mainstream than ever before. Sadly, the battle between irony and talent is won by the former making for a
