Who The Hell Are… The Beggar Folk?
Folk bands are slowly going the way of the emo bands -- cookie-cutter, predictable, uninspired, and inevitably becoming a parody of themselves because music is a business and the market dictates that consumers will always want more of what's popular. The Beggar Folk fall nicely into the afore-mentioned folk music genre, however their music doesn't seem to follow suit with the folk status quo. These are ballads and hymns, carved from trees and molded from soil. This music demands your attention and effortlessly passes any authenticity tests. It conjures up what real Americana and country music should conjure.
Various Artists – Brand NEU!
Just say NEU! to drugs. Or NEU! to Oasis. A hit and miss compilation of acts influenced by this seminal German outfit.
Black Mountain – Wilderness Heart
Brooding psychedelic rock with some Zeppelin-esque undertones, Canada's Black Mountain let loose on their third.
Daestro – Moondagger
Will it be knives out for Detroit's Randoph Chabot aka Daestro or maybe a friendly slap on the back instead?
PJ Harvey & John Parish – A Woman A Man Walked By
We took at poll at Webcuts, and PJ Harvey is most definitely not a woman one of us would walk by.
Broken Records – Until the Earth Begins to Part
If the news makes you sad, don't watch it, rather listen to Broken Records' dazzling debut.
Spiritualized – Interview with Jason Pierce about Songs in A&E (Static, 2008)
After a break of five years since their last album Amazing Grace, and a near crippling bout of double pneumonia, Spiritualized are back and in perfect health with their finest album to date with Songs
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.
Spoon – Atlanta – 14 April 2008
Spoon Centre Stage, Atlanta, GA 14th April 2008 It's Britt Daniel's birthday but you wouldn't know it. There's no cake and candles, no rambunctious behaviour or jokes. You'd be expecting the band to be soused
Deerhunter – London – 18 May 2009
Deerhunter Scala, London 18th May 2009 Palpable expectation, a sold out crowd, a critically received album, a loud northerner standing beside me naively exclaiming “I hope they play something off Turn It Up, Faggot" and
I Break Horses – Hearts
Welcome to the lilting shoegaze world of Swedish duo I Break Horses, "more than just a nostalgic pastiche of an ethereal past".
Various Artists – 15 Years Of Bella Union Records
Bella Union, 2012 2012 marks the 15th anniversary of the birth of Bella Union, a record label started by Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins that was created, initially, to
Rat vs Possum – Interview (2010)
I'd heard murmurings of a Melbourne band who subscribed to the "let's give them a real show" theory of concert performance - glitter, paint bombs and bubble wrap - along with a huge wall of
Headless Chickens – Gaskrankinstation
Continuing our exploration into the Secret History of Australian Music, we open the doors to our New Zealand neighbours and welcome the Headless Chickens as we fill our tanks in their "Gaskrankinstation"
The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
Oh my god! The third album from this Rhode Island folk trio proves to be a natural selection.
Continuum Books 33 1/3 – Elliot Smith – XO, Big Star – Radio City
A look into Continuum's must-read 33 1/3 series of books that investigate the history and stories behind some of the greatest albums ever made, including reviews of the most recent releases in the series -- Big Star's Radio City and Elliott Smith's XO.