Primavera Festival – Barcelona – 27-29 May 2010
Ah, Barcelona, your beaches are beautiful, your women are smoking jewels (literally), and this festival by the beach (really an explosion of concrete by the seaside) is clearly the diamond in the rough for the travelling roadshow of bands that litter the skies with one thing in mind - a paid holiday. With a selection of acts that suited this weary hack like a good pair of tight jeans and a band tee, Primavera was a stage to stage delight. The current crop of new band like The Drums, Surfer Blood and Dum Dum Girls rose up to meet the challenge of the '90s alternative old guard of Pixies, Pavement and Superchunk.
Who The Hell Are… COOLRUNNINGS?
How Webcuts first encountered Knoxville, Tennessee's Coolrunnings could be best described as a lucky accident. And it's no surprise that the best way to get someone's attention is to slap a photo of some naked chicks skateboarding on the cover of your EP and let them sell it for you. The appropriately titled (and NSFW) Babes Forever was clearly the product of talented and warped minds. The creepy, schizoid mayhem of "Trippin' Balls at Der Wienerschnitzel" and the inspired, almost unabashed, synth-pop of "When I Got High With You" sounded like they were made by some slacker Bill & Teds who'd already embarked on their own excellent adventure.
Webcuts Top 25 Albums of 2008
Ladies and gentlemen, the envelope please! Webcuts favourite albums of 2008 as argued and fought over by us, including star-studded appearances from Beach House, My Morning Jacket, Fleet Foxes, Nick Cave, Santogold, Okkervil River and many more...
Pama International – Pama Outernational
A fusion of dub reggae, ska and soul, the brilliance of Pama International comes to the fore with their seventh album Pama Outernational.
Adorable – Interview with Piotr, Robert, Kevin and Wil about Footnotes Compilation (2008)
Interview with all four members of Coventry's great lost 1990s indie band Adorable about their compilation album, Footnotes 92-94, released in 2008.
Elliott Smith – An Introduction To…
It's hard to believe that he's been gone 7 years now. This collection attempts to define one of last great songwriters of the 20th Century.
Pavement – Quarantine The Past
The smell of reunion is in the air as Pavement's back catalogue is harvested for the new-comers in this career-spanning collection.
Mr. Maps – Brisbane – 12 Feb 2011
Photos of Mr. Maps' launch for Wire Empire their debut (and so far only) album. Brisbane, February 12, 2011.
Jacob Golden – Revenge Songs
Echo, 2007 [rating:9/10] Those lucky enough to catch Jacob Golden's live know just how extraordinary he can be armed with only an acoustic guitar and his angelic voice. His self titled debut EP in 2001
1990s – Interview with Jackie McKeown and Michael McGauhrin about 1990s and Yummy Fur (2007)
During the decade that was the 1990s Jackie McKeown fronted the highly influential but commercially ignored Glaswegian act The Yummy Fur, an ensemble that went through as many reshuffles as a blackjack dealer in Vegas.
The Hold Steady – Interview about Heaven Is Whenever (2010)
“Listening again to everything The Hold Steady recorded. Is this the greatest American band now? They just got me through a rough month.” Bret Easton Ellis, Twitter Nov 2009. Lauded by fans, critics and other creative minds for the scope, depth, truth and heart that they bring to chronicling the American rock myth, Craig Finn and Tad Kubler of The Hold Steady hold court to discuss (via impersonal record label Q&A) their forthcoming blue collar opus Heaven is Whenever, due for release on May 3.
Tracey Thorn – Love and Its Opposite
Former Everything But The Girl frontwoman aptly wrestles with life after 40. "...not all fun and games, but a pleasure regardless".
Volcano Choir – Unmap
Bon meets the Bees in this post rock collaboration for Justin Vernon and Collections of Colonies of Bees which results in only a slight buzz.
Washed Out – Riding the Chillwave (2011)
As 2011 continues to reveal an abundance of new artists and great music, it's of no surprise that one of the more anticipated debut albums was that of 28-year-old Atlanta based songwriter and producer Ernest Greene, AKA Washed Out. Full of blissful harmonies and gently shifting arrangements, augmented with hip-hop beats and samples, Within And Without quickly became the preferred summer spin at Webcuts. Static's Chris Berkley recently caught up with Ernest to talk about all things Within And Without -- recording the album, the process behind it, and amongst other things, 10CC's "I'm Not In Love" and the 'raunchy' cover art.
Laetitia Sadier – The One Million Year Trip (2011)
Quietly released last year was the first proper solo album by Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier. A touching tribute to her sister, who in Sadier's words "went on a million year trip/and left everthing behind", The Trip saw Sadier step out from the shadow of Stereolab to make a very revealing album, not only in the way she dealt with her loss, but in how she paid tribute to artists that influenced and inspired her. An album that sparkled in its minimalist approach, The Trip showed a side of Sadier unseen, one that was filled with warmth and emotion, and those little philosophical quirks that you've come to expect.
Stephin Merritt – Obscurities
Obscurities he called it, but more like a forgotten treasure trove from all chapters of the Stephin Merritt songbook.