Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
How much can a grizzly bear? We're not sure but this Brooklyn four piece's third album gets a perfect 10/10.
Julian Plenti – Julian Plenti is… Skyscraper
Paul Banks discovers that the best path to seduction lies in reduction on his first solo outing as the mysterious Julian Plenti.
Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs
More Pop(ular) Songs from New Jersey's finest. No condo screwing around here, just Yo La Tengo's consistent quality.
Pixies – Brisbane – 31 July 2010
Although the Pixies had visited Brisbane only back in March this time the set list was uninhibited by the myopic focus on Doolittle. Thus we got the full spectrum of the Pixies’ canon.
Shearwater – Rook
Matador, 2008[rating:9/10] There are musicians who would flinch when accused of doing it "for the birds", reducing the act of making music to a mating call, but Jonathan Meiburg and his band ornithologists in Austin,
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.
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".
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Animal Collective shake the sand from their fur as they take Merriweather Post Pavillion down to the Beach, Boys.
The Horrors – Primary Colours
The Horrors pull off the surprise reinvention act of the century and lift the curse of the sophomore slump forever.
Crystal Antlers – Tentacles
Young bucks Crystal Antlers release their debut album which unfortunately shatters upon the weight of expectation.
Kele – The Boxer
The (Bloc) Party is over. Now, it's a dance party and there's nobody here, except Kele and a few diehard Bloc Party fans looking bored.
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.
Alela Diane – To Be Still
Nevada City's beguiling folk heroine Alela Diane returns with a white diamond of a second album. Be still, our beating heart.
Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer
Despite all the record's anomalisms, it's really gorgeous at its core, and there are more than enough enticing musical phrases to drive the listener back to wrestling with its eccentricities.
Wild Beasts – London – 8 October 2009
Having given us one of the most lurid and arresting albums all year in Two Dancers, the Leeds-based Wild Beasts are let loose on London and give us such a performance that we (as they say) still got the taste dancin' on our tongues.