by Ed Biggs The Strokes have had a tougher time than most in keeping everybody satisfied in the 15 years since their scene-starting masterpiece Is This It. The numerous critics and fans who’ve laid into them for failing to make an album as good as their debut have often been the same ones who’ve ridiculed them for trying to move on, so it’s hard to blame them for being a bit
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by Ollie Rankine The usual stir of speculation that surrounds the potential sound of an incoming album has so often been proven to be a futile practice due to a recurring lack of accuracy. For anticipating fans of newly formed super group, Minor Victories, cracking the art of guessing seemed a more attainable task than usual.
by Ed Biggs Brighton-based duo Fear Of Men quietly released one of the better British indie debuts in recent years back in 2014. Characterised by pastel-shaded melodies and crisp, stark drumlines, it was lead singer Jessica Weiss who stole the show, with her gothic, breathy vocals dwelling in that contrast between the sunny and gloomy on Loom.
by John Tindale New Zealand four-piece Yumi Zouma have garnered a reputation for being able to craft moments of summery, dream-pop bliss. Following a collaboration with the now-defunct Air France (the greatest band to have never released an album) in 2014 to cover their single ‘It Feels So Good To Be Around You’, their reputation has only grown to the point where they’ve supported Lorde on tour.
by Ed Biggs When Holy Fuck emerged onto the scene way back in 2005, their approach was more or less completely different to anybody else on the electronic music scene, setting them apart even in a field containing LCD Soundsystem, Crystal Castles and Hot Chip. Eleven years later, their style has become much more commonplace, with dozens of artists cleaving to their template of pulverising rhythms and gibbering, disintegrating synths –
by Ollie Rankine EDM’s struggle to find an appropriate balance between innovative songwriting and the pursuit of commercial viability has plagued the genre’s potential artistic growth since the early days of its existence. Harley Streten, or as he’s better known to his ever extending fan base, Flume, carries little association with this view. The 24 year old Australian beat master’s latest record, Skin may be slightly less digestible than his self-titled
by Ollie Rankine Earlier this year, Band Of Skulls fans were left in state of eager anticipation after guitar and vocalist, Russell Marsden labelled their upcoming fourth record, By Default “a new era”, having spent the best part of decade dwelling in the hinterlands of British rock. Choosing the unusual setting of a central Baptist church to facilitate the Southampton trio’s busy rehearsal schedule, the forecast for By Default appeared to
by John Tindale It seems strange for a musician to build an entire concept about something a taxi driver said in passing – but that is exactly what eccentric London producer, Gold Panda, did upon the release of third original record Good Luck And Try Your Best. The meeting with the unknown taxi driver came during a trip that Panda took to Japan with the photographer Laura Lewis in a bid
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
by John Tindale It took six albums for Marissa Nadler to find her true voice and there is no better attribution to that than the Bella Union record label which housed the 2014’s record July, a breakthrough for the singer. Since that record, Nadler has found her style as a pop virtuoso set to a brilliantly descriptive backdrop and that is never more present than in seventh record Strangers.
