The Student Playlist

Showcasing the Best New Music, Curating the Classics

Category New Album Releases

REVIEW: Pet Shop Boys – ‘Super’ (x2)

by Ed Biggs After three glorious decades, 13 studio albums and a vast arsenal of hit singles that have irrevocably altered the landscape of British pop music, it’s well past time that Pet Shop Boys were recognised as one of the greatest bands this country has ever produced. As a former Smash Hits writer and assistant editor, Neil Tennant always argued strongly for pop to be recognised as equal to, or

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REVIEW: Mogwai – ‘Atomic’ (Rock Action)

by Ollie Rankine The thought of living in an age where the mere, simple push of a single button could begin the cataclysmic implosion of humanity as we know it is certainly not reassuring to say the least. The desire to harness the colossal capabilities of nuclear power has become subject to primary interest of superpowers around the world. The idea of developing something with such formidable potential is mind-bogglingly fascinating

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REVIEW: Iggy Pop – ‘Post Pop Depression’ (Loma Vista)

by Matthew Langham Produced by Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age, Iggy Pop’s 17th studio album has been rumoured in some quarters to be his final one, and features a star-studded line-up. Homme himself plays guitars alongside contributions from Arctic Monkeys’ Matt Helders on drums and QOTSA’s own Dean Fertita. Dropping a sly clue as to his possible retirement with the brilliant title Post Pop Depression – who knows

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REVIEW: Liima – ‘ii’ (4AD)

by Ollie Rankine It’s nearly four years since the release of Efterklang’s Piramida, and after recently recruiting Finnish percussionist, Tatu Rönkkö the Scandinavian trio have eventually returned under their new name Liima with debut album, ii. Following four week-long bouts of writing in Finland, Berlin, Istanbul and Madeira, Liima have matured from Efterklang’s previous four albums by establishing a far more complex sound.

REVIEW: iLoveMakonnen – ‘Drink More Water 6’ (Warner Bros.)

by John Tindale iLoveMakonnen, aka Makonnen Sheran, has long been on the attention of the masses without ever releasing an album and while Drink More Water 6 may not be a debut record, instead the latest instalment in a line of mixtape releases, it feels like the closest thing we’ve gotten from the Atlanta based star. After shooting to fame with ‘Tuesday’ (an R&B styled pop song that got over 100

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REVIEW: HÆLOS – ‘Full Circle’ (Matador)

by Ollie Rankine We all know that feeling of walking through the front door during the early hours of the morning after a particularly strenuous night out. Varying emotions cloud the familiar lethargic reflections of the previous hours spent laughing with friends and embarrassing yourself on the dance floor of the chosen club of the evening. Most of us combat the comedown by finding solace in the left over takeaway that

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REVIEW: Underworld – ‘Barbara, Barbara, We Face A Shining Future’ (Universal)

by Ed Biggs The gap of six years after 2010’s Barking may be the longest wait between albums in Underworld’s history, even for a band that has only really ever operated infrequently, but that hiatus has been productive for both Rick Smith and Karl Hyde. Smith worked closely with British film director Danny Boyle, both on the original score segments for the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony and on Boyle’s 2013 movie

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REVIEW: Primal Scream – ‘Chaosmosis’ (First International / Ignition)

by Ed Biggs Given what has happened to so many of their contemporaries from the early ‘90s, who’ve either disappeared into complete irrelevance or are desperately coining it in re-touring their old albums, Primal Scream have become some of the hardiest survivors in music. Just when everybody has written them off as an irrelevant museum band, Bobby Gillespie, his trusty crew and an ingenious producer reinvent Primal Scream once more with

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REVIEW: Emmy The Great – ‘Second Love’ (Bella Union)

by Matthew Langham Emmy The Great’s first two albums, First Love and Virtue, both explored heartbreak and the ending of a relationship. It’s been five years since Emma-Lee Moss’s last record and her third effort to date is certainly more introspective and focused on advancements in technology, and how it affects everyday life. Labelled as a former anti-folker, Second Love mixes electronica with intricate orchestral arrangements to create a confessional record,

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REVIEW: Jeff Buckley – ‘You And I’ (Columbia / Legacy)

by Ed Biggs Since his untimely death in 1997, Jeff Buckley has cast a shadow over popular music that’s vastly disproportionate to the tiny catalogue he left behind. One seminal album released during his lifetime (1994’s Grace), a double album of rough, unfinished material (Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk) are the only studio material in existence, alongside half a dozen live documents of varying quality that have been released to

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