Blitzen Trapper – American Goldwing
Blitzen Trapper brings to mind somebody hunting down reindeer. This has nothing to do with the music.
Who The Hell Are… Ramona?
It's not so much lurking in the 3 minute bluster of their debut single “How Long”, but a part of its DNA, where you quickly catch onto Ramona’s game. In the first 10 seconds
Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
Apparently Tweedy had been saving up his impetuousness for this, Wilco's seventh album, as his tongue has never been buried so deeply in his cheek.
Beach House – Teen Dream
Makers of mood music for moderns, Baltimore's daydream duo return with their sweet and sombre third album, Teen Dream.
Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde
There are some records that forever remain at the bottom of the review pile, and boy do Smith Westerns make us regret it.
Laneway Festival – Brisbane – 4 February 2011
In complete contrast to a month ago when it was "precipitation nation" Brisbane’s fourth St. Jerome’s Laneway festival could've been subtitled "Boiling Brisvegas". Unlike many festivals Laneway 2011 had a remarkably consistent quality throughout the entire day, so regardless of the weather it was always destined to be a scorcher. We braved the extreme ultra violet index to report on Australia's Rat Vs Possum, Cloud Control and Cut Copy. While sampling UK's Foals and America's best of the best with Beach House, The Antlers, Warpaint, Blonde Redhead, Ariel Pink, Holy Fuck. Oh and LES SAVY FAV!.
Times New Viking – Born Again Revisited
Born Again Revisited or bad idea revisited? Public opinion be damned. Is this the worst album we've heard all year?
Peter Murphy – Ninth
Ex-Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy returns with his first new solo album in 7 years, proving that there's still life in the old goth.
Bad Lieutenant – London – 18 March 2010
As a teenage music fan, one of my prized possessions was a bootleg LP of Joy Division recorded on the same stage Bad Lieutenant are playing tonight, 30 years later. You think Bernard Sumner, guitarist in both bands, would mention the significance, or perhaps the memory has left him, like his own introduction to an Electronic song later in the set "This is called "Tighten Up", I've no fucking clue what it's about".
MNDR – Electro Pop Freakout (2010)
Even with the worldwide chart-smash of "Bang Bang Bang" under her belt as part of Mark Ronson's Business International, Amanda Warner aka MNDR is still something of an underground unknown to the general populace. Having spent the last 10 years making music with psychedelic oddities Triangle, or more recently as MNDR, it's been a non-stop battle that's about to pay off for this Fargo, North Dakota farm girl. With the media baggage ascribed Ronson in the UK from to his work with Amy Winehouse and his own Versions album, MNDR's French-slinging co-write on "Bang Bang Bang" arrived at the right time for everybody to sit up and take notice.
Castanets – Texas Rose Thaw & The Beasts
Every rose has a thorn and so too does the fifth album by Raymond Raposa's folk-beat one man band Castanets.
Who The Hell Are… Fennel Seeds?
Never in the history of doing these 'Who The Hell Are... ?' spotlights has a band come along and answered each question so thoroughly and excitedly that to praise them any further would make it seem like we're actually in this band or take bribes (we do. email for details). From the same stable of acts (and household one would presume) that brought you the percussive pop concussions of We//Are//Animal and the not-very-French-at-all Masters In France, come spicy indie rock quartet Fennel Seeds. Further proof that North Wales these days is a happening place or one that naught much else happens.
Beach House – Devotion
Bella Union, 2008 [9/10] Baltimore's Beach House first appeared in 2006 with their self-titled debut, a gorgeous collection of dizzying songs built around Victoria Legrand's awash-with-reverb harmonies, church-style organ and Alex Scally's languidly strummed guitar.
Summer Camp – Welcome To Condale
London, Paris, Condale, Munich. Everybody's talking about Summer Camp's pop music. Well, not everybody. But they should.
The Soft Pack – The Soft Pack
No hard hits from San Diego's The Soft Pack, just bland indie rock with some scant memorable moments.
The Boxer Rebellion – Union
When the dark forces are everywhere who are you gonna call? England's staunchly independent epic rock band The Boxer Rebellion? Maybe not after this disappointing second effort.