The Student Playlist

Showcasing the Best New Music, Curating the Classics

Category Best New Music

REVIEW: Bat For Lashes – ‘The Bride’ (Parlophone)

by John Tindale When Bat For Lashes released a collaborative single with Toy, a cover of Iranian psychedelic cult hero Amir Rassaei’s ‘Aroos Khanom’ back in 2013, a track that translates as ‘The Bride’, not many people will have realised this was the beginning of a new album cycle for Natasha Khan. But from the odd early formation The Bride, the fourth LP from the Londoner is perhaps her most effervescent

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REVIEW: Metronomy – ‘Summer 08’ (Because)

by John Tindale In the summer of 2008, everything was just beginning to blossom for Joseph Mount, the figurehead of Metronomy. After hinting at an eclectic greatness in debut effort Pip Paine (Pay The £5000 You Owe) it was in 2008 where Mount was able to establish his bedroom Metronomy project as one of the most needed acts in the UK with Nights Out an album equal parts chaos and pop

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REVIEW: Deerhoof – ‘The Magic’ (Upset The Rhythm)

by Ollie Rankine Having now tucked 20 years of sporadic, noise rock-induced chaos under their belts, San Francisco quartet Deerhoof reveal no intention of pulling the plug from the amplifier any time soon. Being no stranger to distortion that’s so dirty you can taste it, Deerhoof continue their illustrious career with the volume remaining well and truly turned up to eleven with their 17th album, The Magic.

REVIEW: Let’s Eat Grandma – ‘I, Gemini’ (Transgressive)

by John Tindale Norwich duo Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth have always had a unique connection. Going back some 13 years, to when the duo were aged four, they found themselves drawn to one another and that instantaneous connection is one which has carried on throughout their childhood and into young adulthood. This intuitive relationship is evidenced best in I, Gemini –a truly unique album which pushes pop music to its limit.

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REVIEW: Swans – ‘The Glowing Man’ (Young God / Mute)

by Ed Biggs Following the reformation of his legendary, pioneering no-wave/noise rock outfit Swans at the end of the noughties, Michael Gira has overseen the most powerful, emotional and, arguably melodic sequence of albums in the band’s catalogue. Only hinted at in 2010’s returning effort My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky, this monstrously epic iteration of Swans, dealing in songs that more often than not last

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REVIEW: Alexis Taylor – ‘Piano’ (Moshi Moshi)

by John Tindale By now, Hot Chip are a staple of the British electronic music scene because of their remarkable ability to release consistently brilliant albums that are both clever and danceable in equal measure and much of what the members do in their other projects follows a similar parallel; whether it be Joe Goddard and his more EDM inspired work, or Al Doyle and his time in LCD Soundsystem –

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REVIEW: Whitney – ‘Light Upon The Lake’ (Secretly Canadian)

by Ed Biggs A seven-piece band whose key creative driving forces came together after the disintegration of Smith Westerns in December 2014 – their lead guitarist Max Kakacek teaming up with ex-Unknown Mortal Orchestra drummer Julien Ehrlich – Whitney deal in the kind of bright, unfussy and skilfully arranged alt-country made popular by Wilco, Midlake and Real Estate over the last 15 years.

REVIEW: Tegan And Sara – ‘Love You To Death’ (Warner Bros. / Vapor)

by John Tindale Tegan Rain and Sara Keirsten Quin, identical twin sisters from Calgary recording under the name Tegan and Sara for the best part of 20 years now, are a remarkable duo. Rising to fame in the mid-‘00s for their indie-rock music, they met with acclaim from critics for their albums The Con and Sainthood. But on previous record Heartthrob in 2013, their sound moved in an unashamedly pop direction

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REVIEW: Gold Panda – ‘Good Luck And Do Your Best’ (City Slang)

by John Tindale It seems strange for a musician to build an entire concept about something a taxi driver said in passing – but that is exactly what eccentric London producer, Gold Panda, did upon the release of third original record Good Luck And Try Your Best. The meeting with the unknown taxi driver came during a trip that Panda took to Japan with the photographer Laura Lewis in a bid

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REVIEW: Marissa Nadler – ‘Strangers’ (Bella Union / Sacred Bones Records)

by John Tindale It took six albums for Marissa Nadler to find her true voice and there is no better attribution to that than the Bella Union record label which housed the 2014’s record July, a breakthrough for the singer. Since that record, Nadler has found her style as a pop virtuoso set to a brilliantly descriptive backdrop and that is never more present than in seventh record Strangers.