by Matthew Langham Originally conceived during 2009, Josh Dibb a.k.a. Deakin has finally released his debut solo record Sleep Cycle to much acclaim and no small amount of relief. As a member of the experimental indie heroes Animal Collective, his band has lived up to their collective namesake. While Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) is the most prolific when it comes to solo albums, each member has branched out to create their
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by John Tindale The latest offering from Cardiff’s post-hardcore heroes Future Of The Left has been a comparatively long time in the making, following the release of the excellent How To Stop Your Brain In An Accident in 2013 – a record which featured themes of aggression and absurdity in equal quantities and punched ideals so far down one’s throat that it was impossible not to abide to the law of
by John Tindale It has been three years since the last Frightened Rabbit record Pedestrian Verse, and during that time the Scottish five-piece have toured to the brink of exhaustion, almost broken-up and, most importantly, frontman Scott Hutchison moved to Los Angeles. Hutchinson’s turbulent time in L.A. is a clear commonality running through the music of this eventual fifth album Painting Of A Panic Attack, and it is the subsequent doom
by Ed Biggs Canadian experimental artist Tim Hecker has, by degrees over the course of 15 years, got to a point where his albums are being anticipated by a wider circle of listeners than simply ‘those who bought the last one’. After all, a man with a PhD in ‘urban noise’ (!) and who used to be a university lecturer in ‘sound culture’ is almost bound to be pigeonholed as an
by Ollie Rankine Many were slightly taken aback in November last year following exposure to Parquet Courts’ second studio EP Monastic Living. Although it was clearly audacious, the New York punk rockers’ attempt to fashion an idiosyncratic work of art was revealed to be nothing more than an experimental write-off and was consequently battered by critics across the board. With this information in mind, it’s easy to place Parquet Courts back
by Ed Biggs Having spent the entirety of the noughties dwelling in the musical hinterlands, sculpting critically acclaimed but modest-selling albums under the name of M83, Anthony Gonzalez unexpectedly found massive exposure with ‘Midnight City’ five years ago, a transcendent piece of retro/electro pop that got used as the soundtrack for the BBC’s Olympic Games coverage, ‘Made In Chelsea’, and countless adverts on top. Trust me, you know that song.
by John Tindale It’s been four years since the release of Yeasayer’s last album Fragrant World, a wonderfully eclectic album which balanced experimental electronics with a pop sound to dazzling effect. But, much like in Yeasayer’s other work, there was always that feeling of more to come, another gear to go through – unfortunately for Amen & Goodbye, the group’s fourth, this is a feeling that will remain for at least
by Ed Biggs As lead singer and creative fountainhead of Weezer, Rivers Cuomo has overseen one of the most bizarre career arcs ever. Creating twin masterpieces in the mid ‘90s with their first self-titled record ‘The Blue Album’ and then Pinkerton, which sprawled across the dividing lines between pop, rock, indie and emo, Cuomo’s form gradually went completely off the rails with the turn of the millennium.
by Ollie Rankine The Wilderness is perhaps an appropriate album title when considering the content of Texan post-rockers Explosions In The Sky’s newest artistic venture. Although retaining the gentle, dream-like guitar riffs that have featured in previous works all the way back to their 2003 masterpiece The Earth Is Not A Cold, Dead Place, EITS have stepped into the bottomless unknown to explore much deeper territories of music.
Music’s favourite intense bromance is back after eight long-awaited years. The Last Shadow Puppets’ widely acclaimed 2008 debut album The Age Of The Understatement showcased Miles Kane as an indie rock playboy with his own fan base and Alex Turner’s ability to ditch the smart indie disco hits about teenage life in Sheffield for string-laden ballads and melodramatic ‘60s pop, leaving fans wanting more from the dashing duo.
