by Matthew Langham Carl Barât’s first solo album back in 2010 was a damp squib. Rarely acknowledged by the press, it was a squalid effort lacking in inspiration, something admitted by Barât himself. His post-Libertines solo career hasn’t worked out in the same way that bandmate Pete Doherty’s has – Dirty Pretty Things disbanded in 2008 having registered one minor hit. Five years after his career seemed to have fizzled,
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by Ed Biggs Having cast a huge shadow over the charts worldwide with ‘Radioactive’, which sold over nine million copies in the States alone and spent more than a year on the Billboard charts, Vegas-based quartet Imagine Dragons return with a second record. Normally, having such an enormous success under your belt makes it difficult to emulate that success in the future, as it becomes an albatross of expectation that
by Matthew Langham It’s been a long five years since Doves took a hiatus from their lengthy and successful career. The last twelve months has seen their frontman Jimi Goodwin release his critically acclaimed debut record Odludek, whilst it’s now turn of Doves family duo Andy and Jez Williams with the release of their new project Black Rivers. It’s unlikely that the brothers will repeat the success of their previous
by Ed Biggs Six years out of the game isn’t that long when you compare it to the huge swathes of time groups like My Bloody Valentine and Suede have left between records, but it’s proved to be too much for Idlewild fans, who successfully launched an online petition for their heroes to make more music early last year. But why? Though they frequently landed Top 40 singles, Top 10
by Ed Biggs Released thirty years ago this November, The Jesus & Mary Chain’s first album Psychocandy is one of the most important developmental milestones in rock music as we know it today, not to mention one of the most aesthetically pleasing records of the 1980s. With their brand of simple, heartfelt ‘60s pop melodies buried under an avalanche of squalling feedback, Jim and William Reid redefined the boundaries within
by Ed Biggs Boy, has Chris Martin got a lot to answer for. Irish ‘alternative rock’ quartet Kodaline, having found chart success with their brand of polished, radio-friendly pop-guitar ballads with their first full-length In A Perfect World, give us a follow-up less than two years later. But as with that, their second album Coming Up For Air must rank as one of the most egregious instances of musical mis-labelling
by Matthew Langham Former Fleet Foxes member Josh Tillman, a.k.a. Father John Misty, returns with I Love You, Honeybear, his follow-up to his 2012 debut record Fear Fun, the second under his latest moniker. The self-described concept record is more of a confessional, offering his revelations on love and life following his marriage. This doesn’t make it a soppy record exactly, but it gives a very visual context to his
by Matthew Langham 2015 has so far seen the re-explosion of female-fronted rock groups with the Riot Grrrl attitude being a throwback to ‘90s bands including Sleater-Kinney and Bikini Kill. Those familiar with the scene will have no doubt recognise Ex Hex. Front woman Mary Timony served with Helium as well collaborating with Corin Tucker’s Sleater-side-project Wild Flag. Her new project is equally as good as her previous work. Their
by Ed Biggs People tend to think of the mid noughties as a great time for British guitar music. At a cursory glance, this is correct. The breakthrough of The Libertines and Arctic Monkeys grabbed national headlines as their music crossed over to mainstream audiences and, at the time, it felt like we were living through some kind of golden age, with debut records from new and exciting bands coming
by Ed Biggs British guitar acts making second albums don’t have a particularly great record of late, but surely a band as joyously, air-punchingly upbeat as Peace might be able to dispel such fears through their sheer optimism, right? Sort of. In Love took a carefree approach, the equivalent of throwing paint at a blank canvas and creating a masterpiece in the process. It wasn’t terribly original, but its joie
