Various Artists – Be True To Your School (A Fortuna Pop! Compilation)
Fortuna Pop!, 2008 [7/10] Fortuna Pop! is the pre-eminent label for those special acts that can't find a home anywhere else. Think of it as a shelter for the abandoned, misunderstood band either bursting with
The Welcome Mat – Gram
In the annals of Australian music history, The Welcome Mat only succeeded in living up to their name, laid down at the gates of opportunity to watch in dismay as their more fated friends were
Grizzly Bear – Interview with Ed Droste (Static, 2010)
We hunt down Ed Droste from Brooklyn's Grizzly Bear and get our claws into their move from a studio to live band, how they keep songs fresh, and how they came to record with Yacht rock legend Michael McDonald: "Michael McDonald is one of the coolest Yacht rockers around. We let him know we were fans and he ended up coming to a show and we really liked him and approached him with the idea and he was totally excited to do it."
Constantines – Interview with Steve Lambke (2008)
Back in the UK touring their latest album Kensington Heights, Webcuts managed to square away some interview time with Constantines guitarist/vocalist Steve Lambke before their recent headline show at London's Wilmington Arms.
Lotus Plaza – The Floodlight Collective
The second solo project members of Deerhunter, Lotus Plaza is guitarist Lockett Pundt's self-fulfilling dreampop odyssey.
Webcuts Top 20 of 2010 – Part 1
So that was 2010. What does Webcuts remember most about it? It's hard to say, really. The landscapes shift, the memories flickr and 365 days blur into one long unending soundtrack. One thing our favourite tracks of 2010 all had in common was that they appeared like one night stands that lingered a little longer than usual, almost all of them attached to a singular memory of the song being performed, either from a distance or elbows resting on the stage in mute admiration, or maybe just there emanating from a speaker aimed direct into our inner consciousness, refusing to budge.
The Scare – Oozevoodoo
If you've been with The Scare lately, you'll be lucky if it's only voodoo you're oozing, otherwise you better see a doctor.
TV on the Radio – Interview with Jaleel Bunton (Static, 2008)
Having just released one of the stand-out (and Webcuts approved) albums of 2008 with the awe-inspiring brilliance of Dear Science, Static's Chris Berkley spoke to Jaleel Bunton, drummer of Brooklyn's roof-raising TV On The Radio as
Girls – Talking Father, Son, Holy Ghost (2011)
San Francisco's Girls self-titled debut of 2009 garnered widespread acclaim based on its fancy-free and free-love attitude that offered irresistible pop gems bathed in x-rated video clips ("Lust for Life" anyone?). Sex and pop, what more do you want out of music these days? For their sophomore album Father, Son, Holy Ghost, the Girls duo of Christopher Owen and Chet "JR" White have upped the songwriter stakes to put together an album that's impressive straight out of the blocks. Static's Chris Berkley spoke with Girl's JR over the phone in the midst of a very suspect (if you're to believe what he says) video shoot.
Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
A break-up album like no other, Sweden's pop princess Lykke Li hits an emotional core that has Webcuts in awe.
Okkervil River – Brisbane – 3 May 2009
The highlights of the night are rightly saved for the encore; “Blue Tulip” combines both delicate folk and heavier rock modes with an acoustic beginning slowly building to a layered, cathartic second half that envelopes the Zoo in a thick haze of distorted bliss.
Who The Hell Are… We//Are//Animal?
The arrival of their four digit debut single "1268" caused seismic speaker-blowing waves in the Webcuts offices in 2010. It truly was, and still is, a "What the fuck was that?" moment. It was in essence, Gang of Four meets LCD Soundsystem in an abandoned factory in North Wales. An electro pulse and surging beat, sheet metal guitars, inimitable Welsh vocals, it had 'post-punk dancefloor smash' writ large all over it, and had We//Are//Animal been from London instead of Wales, everybody would've been knocking down their door, kneeling to kiss their cossetted behinds (cough The Vaccines).
The Decemberists – The King Is Dead
The Decemberists discard the costumes and dispense with the theatre slipping into more familiar musical threads on album number 6.
Deerhunter – London – 31 March 2011
With each successive show played in London growing in size from venue to venue, it’s a clear indication of the steady rise of this beloved Atlanta four-piece, and with Shepherd’s Bush Empire being sold out, it's their largest capacity UK headline show to date.
St. Vincent – Actor
The honeymoon of Marry Me is over for Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, as she sets her gaze on the big stage in Actor.
The Whitest Boy Alive – Rules
Erlend Øye and company break some rules but also unwittingly create them on their second album entitled, you guessed it, Rules.