by Ollie Rankine Living in an age where EDM has seemly claimed widespread dominance in popular music, artist determination to develop and expand the genre as far as humanly possible has arguably purged it of many of its original qualities. Although London duo Factory Floor began their careers sounding much like some sort of Joy Division tribute act after releasing their 2008 debut single ‘Bipolar’, their allegiance to claustrophobic post-punk has
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Amnesty may have been released in mid-August, but it is an album designed for the dead of a winter’s night.
by Ollie Rankine In the cut-throat world of pop music, it’s common knowledge that talent doesn’t always equate to record sales. On countless occasions, the system that drives popular music has laid waste to numerous musicians, each unjustly thwarted by their music’s lack of palatability. Continuing to battle the affliction of commercial viability is London singer-songwriter, Ed Harcourt whose now 16-year-long career is yet to generate a legitimate hit.
This year we’ve had records from Beyoncé, Radiohead, Kanye West etc. but in the midst of the global icons, a superstar introvert has released the most important album of the year and his second masterpiece in a row.
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
