Blue Roses – Blue Roses
Blue Roses may not exist in nature but there's nothing artificial about Yorkshire songsmith Laura Groves.
Plants and Animals – La La Land
For a band who call their music "post-classic rock", Canada's Plants and Rags have at least one thing going for them.
Stars – Interview with Evan Cranley on The Five Ghosts (2010)
The new Stars album The Five Ghosts is a focused and streamlined record that in some ways harks back to their synth-pop roots of their first album, albeit being much darker in tone and theme. While Stars' diminutive front-man Torquil Campbell, and its glamorous front-woman Amy Millan, may get the most of the star light we recently had words with the quiet achiever of the band, Evan Cranley. Evan reveals to us details about the process and direction that the new album took, the decision behind the Séance EP, his jack of all trades role in the band, the novel approach to touring the new songs and how to create a fantastic remix.
Pavement – Brighten The Corners (Nicene Creedence Edition)
Expanded and remastered fourth album tour de force from Stockton, CA quintet. High-ho silver ride!
Windsor for the Derby – How We Lost
How did we lose this CD? Never mind, we finally give Austin's other post-rock band's eighth album a run through.
Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
Four albums in, Camera Obscura assess their career, wisely trading 'brilliant' for 'maudlin' and coming up somewhere inbetween.
Paul Dempsey – Everything Is True
First there was Something for Kate now singer Paul Dempsey has gone it alone and produced something for everyone.
Vivian Girls – Vivian Girls
Brooklyn twee-punksters the Vivian Girls hit the reverb heights in a hail of cartoon tattoos and converse on their debut album.
Dean & Britta – London – 30 July 2010
Releasing their soundtrack to 13 of Andy Warhol's screen tests was an opportune moment for ex-Galaxie 500/Luna star Dean Wareham to fully express his love for Velvet Underground and the stars of Andy Warhol's Factory. The screen tests alone, wavering between the visually arresting and the arrestingly mundane, were elevated into a new realm with the musical accompaniment provided by Wareham and partner Britta Phillips. Bringing the 13 Most Beautiful show to London (having frustratingly been given its UK premiere in Dunfermline last year) was a long-anticipated occasion.
Grand Atlantic – How We Survive
Brisbane's Grand Atlantic avoid the sophomore slump with a successful swim in the genres of alternative rock and power-pop.
Cat Power – Jukebox
Matador, 2008 [rating:6.5/10] Chan Marshall walks into a Manhattan recording studio, one arm weighed down by a stack of vinyl and the other carrying a large Starbucks cappuccino. She sits down on a couch by
British Sea Power – Man of Aran
British Sea Power take to the Irish Coast to provide a fresh soundtrack to this 1934 documentary on the people of Aran.
The Primitives – Back and In Full Bloom (2010)
When you get down to the nuts and bolts of rock and roll, it's not about how tight your jeans are or how good your stylist is, it's about the music. It's about the song. For some bands in particular, it's about the pop song. Two and half minutes of spun gold that held your attention long after the needle left the record. Few bands embodied the spirit of the sublime '60s pop song than The Primitives. Sitting backstage at The Scala in London, Webcuts catches up with Tracy and Paul to rewind the clock and to talk about the events that brought The Primitives into the 21st Century and what lies ahead for the band.
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.
The Screaming Tribesmen – Igloo
It should be obvious by now, but if you want to sell me your record, couple it with some chiming chords, a memorable lyric and a catchy hook, and I'm all yours for the
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.