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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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
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
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
by Matthew Langham Following a whole quarter of a century on from their 1990 acoustic covers album Fakebook, Yo La Tengo’s latest release sees a return to the concept of influence with another collection of classics alongside a bunch of their own material in light of their 30th anniversary. Stuff Like That There, which takes its name from a song first recorded by Betty Dutton in 1944, sees a mixtape-style curation
by Matthew Langham Previously writing and performing as Columbus, Ohio-based trio All Dogs are this week’s release which has gone quietly under the radar, but one that comes highly recommended. Their first full full-length record Kicking Every Day is a colourful blend of power pop and early ‘90s American noise pop – think along the lines of The Breeders and Veruca Salt.
by Ed Biggs Baltimore duo Beach House have been one of the most heartening success stories of the decade so far, with their third album Teen Dream (2010) and its sumptuous follow-up Bloom (2012). Both albums echoed with achingly exquisite, sugar-sweet yet melancholic melodies, and were testament to the transportive power of all the best music. It’s somehow fitting that their fifth LP Depression Cherry should arrive right at the end
by Ed Biggs With their expansive third album Holy Fire, which won this publication’s Album of the Year of 2013, Oxford’s Foals put themselves forward as the next British band to cross over into the seriously big leagues – the Number 1 albums, the awards winners, the Glastonbury headline sets – reserved for acts whose sound is able to fill the biggest spaces. Two and a half years and distribution deal
by Matthew Langham The second release from Mazes frontman Jack Cooper and James Hoare of Veronica Falls, who record as Ultimate Painting, is very familiar in sound and style to their 2014 self-titled debut. Taking their cues from impeccable indie influences ranging from Pavement to The Velvet Underground, their sound took shape after an elderly neighbour complained when recording sessions got too loud and forced the duo to reshape their
by Ed Biggs Nottingham three-piece Kagoule are the latest serious contenders to emerge from a burgeoning scene in that city. While Jake Bugg rocketed to superstardom seemingly overnight, Sleaford Mods have quietly grown a fanbase over the course of eight years. Vocalist and guitarist Cai Burns, bassist Lucy Hatter and drummer Lawrence English are doing things with a middle approach of those two success stories, spending two years building an impeccable
