The Student Playlist

Showcasing the Best New Music, Curating the Classics

Posts by Ed Biggs

REVIEW: Empress Of – ‘Me’ (XL / Terrible)

by Ed Biggs Empress Of is the recording nom de plume of New York-based songwriter Lorely Rodriguez. She began her career in intriguing fashion, anonymously uploading a series of one-minute demos in 2012 which also had no titles, only distinguishable by solid blocks of colour. A handful of single and a debut EP, Systems, followed over the next couple of years, and after months of waiting it’s time for Rodriguez to

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REVIEW: The Libertines – ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’ (Libertines Recording Ltd. / Virgin EMI)

by Matthew Langham As a 14 year old in 2004 I was hooked on The Libertines, so I must declare a certain bias, but also sense of dread at the prospect of Anthems For Doomed Youth. Fans knew that a third album looked like not only the most unlikely thing in the world, but also possibly one of the least desirable. However, 11 years long years after their flawed masterpiece

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REVIEW: Low – ‘Ones And Sixes’ (Sub Pop)

by Ed Biggs Minnesotan three-piece Low are the archetypal practitioners of the sub-genre sometimes known as ‘slowcore’. As practising Mormons, the band’s husband-and-wife core Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk have created their own niche in the indie world with their slow tempos, minimalist arrangements and haunting vocal harmonies, becoming an institution of sorts after 22 years and, now their 11th studio album. Ones And Sixes finds them needing to prove themselves

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REVIEW: Beirut – ‘No No No’ (4AD)

by Ed Biggs As the celebrated songwriting force behind the infrequently operational outfit Beirut, Zach Condon has always given his music a different international flavour for each project. He moved from the Balkan folk-influenced Gulag Orkestar to the graceful orchestral flourishes of 2007’s The Flying Club Cup in little over 12 months, before overhauling the sound for 2009’s March Of The Zapotec / Holland double EP. All three projects were among the

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REVIEW: Richard Hawley – ‘Hollow Meadows’ (Parlophone)

by Ed Biggs Is there anyone out there who doesn’t like Richard Hawley? Following his breakthrough to wider awareness with his Mercury-nominated fourth album Coles Corner in 2005, I personally cannot recall a single pundit, review or casual music fan speaking about the former Pulp and Longpigs man in anything other than glowing terms. For Hollow Meadows, he continues his long-standing theme of naming his albums after areas, landmarks or features

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Heavenly Recordings at 25

by Matthew Langham Founded by Jeff Barrett, formerly of Alan McGee’s legendary Creation Records, Heavenly Recordings is now into its 25th year and has seen a number of the UK’s biggest independent artists pass through its door. In light of the celebration, the label has released a celebratory compilation featuring artists from its current roster spread over two discs. This compilation, released on September 18th and entitled Heavenly 25 will feature

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REVIEW: FIDLAR – ‘Too’ (Wichita / Mom + Pop Music)

by Matthew Langham Too, the second album from L.A.-based FIDLAR feels like a concoction of every rock and roll cliché. Their debut record was a noisy depiction of the musician lifestyle. Alarming news recently surfaced of FIDLAR’s lead singer, Zac Carper, who had a crippling heroin habit due to a damaged childhood. Although the drugs and the chequered past have been toned down, their brand of garage rock blends indie rock

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REVIEW: The Arcs – ‘Yours, Dreamily’ (Nonesuch)

by Ed Biggs Taking a (very) quick breather from his extremely busy schedule involving massive world tours with The Black Keys and production duties with the likes of Ray Lamontagne and Lana Del Rey, Dan Auerbach earlier this year announced a side project called The Arcs, with a specially assembled band of previous collaborators. Included in their number are The Shins player Richard Swift, bassist Nick Movshon, of Mark Ronson’s backing

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CLASSIC ’70s: Pink Floyd – ‘Wish You Were Here’

by Ed Biggs With their ninth album, Pink Floyd faced the conundrum that all truly massive artists have to confront when they’ve ridden the initial wave of their success – how to follow it up. To repeat oneself will usually attract critical fire and garners only a fraction of the sales; to do something radically different is to let down one’s fans or commit commercial suicide; in short, both critics and

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REVIEW: Public Image Ltd. – ‘What The World Needs Now’ (PiL Official)

by Ed Biggs With less than a year to go until his 60th birthday, John Lydon must be pretty alarmed that there’s virtually nobody around in the British scene in 2015 who can call themselves an heir – or even a pretender – to his throne. Is it because no one else can be John Lydon, or that nobody wants to be? We’re not sure which possibility is more worrying. Lydon’s

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