by Ed Biggs If you were to compile and average out all of those articles that you see from time to time that profess to list the greatest records ever, it’s quite possible that Kate Bush’s fifth album Hounds Of Love would end up as the highest-ranking record by a British female solo artist. As well as containing some of Bush’s most memorable and highest-charting singles, it very quickly came to
Continue reading…
by Ed Biggs Empress Of is the recording nom de plume of New York-based songwriter Lorely Rodriguez. She began her career in intriguing fashion, anonymously uploading a series of one-minute demos in 2012 which also had no titles, only distinguishable by solid blocks of colour. A handful of single and a debut EP, Systems, followed over the next couple of years, and after months of waiting it’s time for Rodriguez to
by Ed Biggs Minnesotan three-piece Low are the archetypal practitioners of the sub-genre sometimes known as ‘slowcore’. As practising Mormons, the band’s husband-and-wife core Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk have created their own niche in the indie world with their slow tempos, minimalist arrangements and haunting vocal harmonies, becoming an institution of sorts after 22 years and, now their 11th studio album. Ones And Sixes finds them needing to prove themselves
by Ed Biggs As the celebrated songwriting force behind the infrequently operational outfit Beirut, Zach Condon has always given his music a different international flavour for each project. He moved from the Balkan folk-influenced Gulag Orkestar to the graceful orchestral flourishes of 2007’s The Flying Club Cup in little over 12 months, before overhauling the sound for 2009’s March Of The Zapotec / Holland double EP. All three projects were among the
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
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 their ninth album, Pink Floyd faced the conundrum that all truly massive artists have to confront when they’ve ridden the initial wave of their success – how to follow it up. To repeat oneself will usually attract critical fire and garners only a fraction of the sales; to do something radically different is to let down one’s fans or commit commercial suicide; in short, both critics and
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 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
