by Ed Biggs Having recorded some of the most resolutely imposing and challenging music of the last two decades, Scott Walker has gone from poster boy pin-up from his days in The Walker Brothers at the end of the ‘60s to one of the most respected experimental artists in the business in an impressive and unlikely career arc that’s lasted over half a century.
by John Tindale Thee Oh Sees are an oddity in a music industry which trudges along with the same formula of an album every two years and songs fitting the mould of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus etc. Thee Oh Sees, now on their 11th album in eight years, are the band that tears up the rulebook to create their own cosmic landscape and in A Weird Exits, it works wonderfully.
by Ollie Rankine Maintaining audience interest has always played a vital role in the development of a formidable artist within popular music. Having seen figures such as Prince and Bowie repeatedly distort everything from base sound to artistic character, methods of keeping mass attention focussed, or even hooking outsider interest, continues to be expanding in ideas.
by John Tindale In a world where Kanye West and Chris Brown grab the spotlight, it is Atlantan brothers Khalif ‘Swae Lee’ Brown and Aaquil ‘Slim Jxmmy’ Brown who are beginning to attract a few headlines of their own.
by Ollie Rankine To release an album under the premise that its content is a jumble of handpicked out-takes from previous studio endeavours can too often be nourishment for our scepticism. Fears spanning from artistic stagnation to digging up second grade material can cloud fan anticipation.
Blossoms have been busy blooming this year, with numerous sold out shows across the country as well as making it onto BBC’s Sound of New Music list at the start of 2016. The release of their self-titled debut album Blossoms earlier this week, at the peak of summer and festival season, is just the icing on the cake for the Stockport quintet, sending them into the mainstream headlights in their
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by John Tindale If anything has been shown since the third coming of Dinosaur Jr., it’s that they haven’t missed a beat since the three-piece’s ‘golden era’ in the late ‘80s. 2007’s Beyond was a mature record full of floating melodies, the following Farm (2009) and I Bet On Sky (2012) were dazzling in their experimentation.
by Ed Biggs Five albums and nearly ten years into their career without making a single mis-step in artistic terms, Wild Beasts are one of the most trusted musical brand in Britain today. Having dazzled critics and won over new fans with their second and third albums, Two Dancers (2009) and Smother (2011), characterised by sensual, ambient guitar pop and smutty, self-effacing vocals and lyrics. 2014’s Present Tense pitched their sound
by Ollie Rankine Where there is music, there will always be context. Records frequently come and go with time whilst each carries the weight of their own totally unique backstory. However, very few will match the immensely weighted and tragic baggage attached to what will be Viola Beach’s first and only album release.
by John Tindale In a world where Drake’s ‘One Dance’ dominates the singles chart, Peckham four-piece Beaty Heart arrive with their second album and continue to question just what it takes to make pop that connects in 2016. Till The Tomb at times isn’t overtly pop, but nor does it qualify into any other genre: it inhabits the borderline between world, electronic and pop constantly and it when it works, it
