Joker’s Daughter – The Last Laugh
Producer Danger Mouse and vocalist Helena Costas come together as Joker's Daughter. It's a mixed deck by all accounts.
Jay Reatard – London – 13 November 2009
Musicians die. Sometimes quite unexpectedly, most before their time, but not often enough for your brain to idle between song, between string changes or tunings to wonder “will this be the last time?”. You don’t, because you’re too busy enjoying the moment. Having witnessed Jay Reatard play what would be his last ever show in London, he was anything but the vision of a man kicking out the last of his jams.
Mélanie Pain – My Name
Pain by name and by nature? Leaving the confines of Nouvelle Vague, French singer Mélanie Pain releases her debut album sung in both English and French.
Who The Hell Are… Villa Cola?
Having lived through the 80's, witnessed the birth of Wham!, the ascension of Kylie from Neighbours mechanic to pop princess and the rise and fall of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman (s)hit factory, intelligent, well-crafted synth-pop has had a tough (but not impossible) road to climb to redeem itself. It's easier done now for those with little memory of the 80's, who can mine the decade of its untapped wealth and pull influences from The Human League or Gary Numan or even further back without being mocked, all the while creating something new and exciting. Having a rough guess at their ages, London's Villa Cola could surely fill these shoes.
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".
Heaven 17 – Live at Last
Cooking Vinyl, 2008 [1/10] For those unaware, Heaven 17 existed on the periphery of the pioneering electronic new wave scene. They didn't have the pop flair of the Human League or the sequined glitz of