‘Shore’ is Robin Pecknold’s most sun-drenched and stripped back Fleet Foxes album yet – something that both works in its favour and against it.
A song cycle of friendship, desire and regret, ‘The Neon Skyline’ shows that Andy Shauf continues to blossom as a songwriter.
Girlpool’s third studio album ‘What Chaos Is Imaginary’ is uncharacteristically lethargic and lacking in ideas compared to their previous records.
Deafheaven’s fourth album ‘Ordinary Corrupt Human Love’ sees the post-black metal masters blot their copybook for their first time, with an interesting but rather flawed outing.
Eclectic yet completely coherent, Neko Case’s eighth solo album ‘Hell-On’ is a triumph for female storytelling in modern music.
Now simply a solo vehicle for singer Jonny Pierce, the fourth Drums record is perfectly fine but doesn’t take any risks or offer many variations of the formula.
Girlpool’s second album ‘Powerplant’ both expands and refines their playful lo-fi sound.
‘Near To The Wild Heart Of Life’ sees Japandroids built on their existing sound to create a blissful moment of serenity.
by Ed Biggs The hybrid genre of so-called ‘folktronica’ is more in vogue now than in any point in last 20 years, but English singer-songwriter Beth Orton was laying languid beats underneath acoustic guitars when the likes of Alt-J were still learning to walk. As a regular guest vocalist for The Chemical Brothers, Orton was the comedown queen, a sultry siren guiding bleary-eyed ravers back to reality. Subtle flourishes of electronica
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