by Matthew Langham Respectively of The National and Menomena / Ramona Falls, Matt Berninger and Brent Knopf make up EL VY, a pressure-free side project which features the baritone vocals of Berninger, but combined with a more upbeat pop sound which is a step away from his duties as vocalist of the celebrated indie masters. However, it’s Knopf’s multi-instrumentalist abilities which truly come to the forefront throughout the album.
by Matthew Langham Manchester’s Elbow have gone from cult band to Mercury-prize winning album toppers with thanks to the success of singles including ‘One Day Like This’ and ‘Grounds For Divorce’. Whilst their chart success has not alienated their diehard fans or watered down their charm, frontman Guy Garvey has found his own personal success not just as musician, but as a radio broadcaster. The progressive leanings of 2014’s The Take
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by Ed Biggs With their self-titled debut album at the start of last year, the British-Canadian four-piece Cheatahs displayed the kind of trans-Atlantic vision for shoegaze and noise-rock that you would expect from their international make-up. A mixture of the American road/death-trip drone rock you hear from the likes of Wooden Shjips and the melodic fuzziness we’re accustomed to on this side of the ocean, Cheatahs demonstrated a keen understanding of
by John Tindale It’s been five years since Joanna Newsom released the critically acclaimed epic Have One On Me, but don’t take that to mean that she has been resting on her success; Divers is the culmination of five years of effort and it is a truly magnificent record for it. Newsom has it all, lyrical excellence to sonic brilliance: this is never more apparent than in lead single ‘Sopakanikan’.
by Ed Biggs Does Ty Segall actually sleep? Fans of the Californian crate-digger will know that he releases a solo album once a year, as well fitting in full-time membership of no fewer than seven other bands, one of which is the friends-only project Fuzz. Forming it alongside his long-time buddy Charles Mootheart (also a guitarist in the Ty Segall band) back in 2013, their self-titled debut was a hermetically-sealed time
by Matthew Langham Also known as Chk-Chk-Chk (or, indeed, any noise repeated three times in a row), Californian dance-punk group !!! have long been known for taking neither themselves nor their sound too seriously. Their artwork for their sixth studio album As If is a reminder of a sense of humour from a band that have consistently released solid records, but never reached major commercial success.
by John Tindale Beach House have earned themselves a cult reputation over the last decade by releasing consistently brilliant dream pop. Commercial breakthrough album Bloom (2012) came 41st in our list of ‘The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade So Far’, whilst critically acclaimed 2010 album Teen Dream ranked 7th. Yet you’d be forgiven for questioning whether or not Beach House could achieve such greatness again with sixth LP Thank Your
by Lauren James Five years is a long time – especially when you’re Jack White and have a dozen plates spinning from every knuckle and kneecap. Despite half a decade’s wait after 2010’s Sea Of Cowards, it came as a surprise to many that the prolific rocker had time to spare for his bluesy, moody supergroup The Dead Weather at all. In the two years since third album Dodge And Burn
by Ed Biggs Are You Alone? is the sixth album by the mainly studio-bound project Majical Cloudz, headed by the industrious Canadian songwriter Devon Welsh and his technological wizkid sidekick Matthew Otto. 2013’s excellent Impersonator, an unnervingly personal experience set to electronic minimalism, put them on the international indie radar, landing the duo a support slot on Lorde’s world tour, and was shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Prize, making their new
by Ed Biggs American indie auteur Bradford Cox has recovered very quickly from a serious car crash in December 2014 to record and release his seventh album with Deerhunter. The accident gave him “perspective” and cause to ruminate on his own mortality, even more than he does so already (Cox suffers from Marfan syndrome, a condition where his mere physicality poses a threat to his life). Fading Frontier therefore has an
