Austra – London – 18 January 2011
There’s been a noticeable shift slash longing backward glance in music trends towards all things 80’s. It seems that the product of that era now want to know everything about where they came from and the music that was made. For synth pop acts like Summer Camp and Twin Shadow, the 80’s are a nostalgia/inspirational goldmine, but with the rise of Zola Jesus, Salem, oOoOO, etc, it was inevitable that Goth music and its mutated electro/dark wave offspring would get discovered by the black clad suburban misfits of today. Enter, Austra from Toronto, Canada.
Gemma Ray – It’s A Shame About Gemma Ray
Gemma Ray found the best way to deal with the Christmas period was to record a covers album. Not a bad idea really.
The Minus 5 – Killingsworth
No longer young bucks American supergroup The Minus 5 release their eighth album of beautiful stories, pretty melodies and career-defining songs.
Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
Andrew Bird takes flight with his latest album Noble Beast. Thankfully it's nothing at all like a Flock of Seagulls.
Wire – Red Barked Tree / Gang of Four – Content
Wire and Gang of Four wrote the book for post-punk, kind of. Are they still innovators or merely curators with Red Barked Tree and Content?
Steven Heath – The Airport Fire
Peak Plasma Conc., 2008 [6/10] "A soundtrack for driving around the city at night" is how Australia's Steven Heath depicts his latest release and it's not a far fetched description; the overall feeling that it
Idlewild – Post Electric Blues
Idlewild return with their fan-funded sixth album, offering much talk of Warnings (and Promises). But do they deliver?
Howler – This One’s Different
From the label that gave you The Libertines and The Strokes, here's another young and disaffected indie guitar band.
Top Ten – Soundtracks
Some of these selections are pretty obvious. Some are from movies you've probably never seen nor have a desire to ever see.
Primavera Festival – Barcelona – 27-29 May 2010
Ah, Barcelona, your beaches are beautiful, your women are smoking jewels (literally), and this festival by the beach (really an explosion of concrete by the seaside) is clearly the diamond in the rough for the travelling roadshow of bands that litter the skies with one thing in mind - a paid holiday. With a selection of acts that suited this weary hack like a good pair of tight jeans and a band tee, Primavera was a stage to stage delight. The current crop of new band like The Drums, Surfer Blood and Dum Dum Girls rose up to meet the challenge of the '90s alternative old guard of Pixies, Pavement and Superchunk.
Coco Electrik – Interview (2007)
Former Brisbanite Anne Booty is the leading force behind genre defying Brighton-London based act Coco Electrik. We grill Anne about debut LP Army Behind the Sun, performing live and receive an answer to the question: Are Friends Electrik?
The Beasts of Bourbon – Box Set
Crucial re-release of the first three albums by these hard rocking legends. From The Axeman's Jazz to Black Milk, the gang's all here.
Liquid Liquid – Slip In and Out of the Phenomenon
Domino Records, 2008 [6/10] Post punk, new funk, even if its old junk, it's still rock and roll to me. Call it what you want, but history shows that Manhattan's Liquid Liquid were essentially a
R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now
With appearances from Peaches and Patti Smith, R.E.M. show no signs of wear and tear in their fourth decade of making music.
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.
Noah and the Whale – The First Days of Spring
No moby dick here, just a sensational second album from Twickenham's lush indie-folk providers.