The Horrors – Primary Colours
The Horrors pull off the surprise reinvention act of the century and lift the curse of the sophomore slump forever.
Tegan and Sara – The Con
Vapor/Sire, 2007 [rating:8.5/10] Although always writing separately, the initial blueprints for The Con, saw the twins geographically distanced -- Tegan in Vancouver, Sara in Montreal. Reunited and with demos in hand the pair moved to
The xx – xx
XX marks the spot for mixed treasures on the much lauded London foursome's debut LP, an album for the post-sunset hours.
Washed Out – Within And Without
Washed Out's debut album couldn't have arrived at a more perfect time. The water's just right for a little chillwave.
Cat Power – Dark End Of The Street
A christmas gift from Chan Marshall aka Cat Power. You might want to keep the receipt...
The Walkmen – Heaven
Bella Union, 2012 [rating:8/10] From the outset, The Walkmen's seventh album Heaven ('seventh heaven' geddit?) does much to reignite interest in a band, who to be completely honest, have regularly under-performed on record (critically, backslaps all
Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
Bah, it's the third Artic Monkeys album Humbug - which actually doesn't turn out to be half bad.
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
More of a mixtape than a record? Gorillaz latest adds Lou Reed and Mark E. Smith to their line-up for a day down the (plastic) beach.
Ipso Facto – London – 31 July 2008
Ipso Facto Pure Groove Records, London 31st July, 2008 Having caught our attention last year with their goth and garage graces, Webcuts ventured down to Pure Groove records in East London to catch Ipso Facto
Bob Mould – Silver Age
Merge, 2012 [rating:8/10] Alterna-rock statesman hot from bringing a little 90's Sugar to the 10's masses returns with shit-hot album. If that's all the convincing you need, you might as well stop reading now and
Who The Hell Are… Pris?
Uh-oh, here comes trouble. Pris are a four piece from London featuring Cat on vocals, Agatha on guitar, Mary on bass and Sam on drums. Imagine Blondie with an attitude problem, Manics before the middle life spread and Kenickie without the big bones.
Pete Fijalkowski – Interview about Adorable & Polak (1998)
Interview conducted via email with Pete Fijalkowski from 1998 when the dust had settled from Adorable and his then new band Polak had just released their first single "2 Minutes 45".
Mark Kozelek – London – 29 July 2010
“Give me a minute and I’ll blow your minds“. The crowd laughs, so does the man who just uttered those words. The mood, somewhat quiet, respectful, shiftless, is lightened, and Mark Kozelek begins another master-class in tinkling the nylon strings of his Spanish guitar like Liberace would the piano. “I’m old” he breaks the silence again, “I’m fat, I need water, I need lyrics to my songs”. From my pew to the right side of the stage I have to squint to see if it’s not Neil Young sitting there complaining about his arthritis. To Kozelek’s credit, he’s still as ageless as ever, and that gut you were grabbing at? I’m pretty sure you’ve been carrying that for a while now.
They Might Be Giants – Cleveland – 16 September 2011
On the surface, it’s a normal, sold-out show on a Friday night just north of downtown Cleveland. The fans stretch around the corner from the front door; ticket holders excited for the They Might Be Giants concert they’re about to see, and those without tickets hoping to catch a break when they get to the box office. But this is not a normal show, and this is not a normal audience. These are the geeks. The nerds. Die hard rock fans of a different shade of crazy, waiting for their musical heroes to serenade them with catchy pop songs tinged with dark humor and insightful counter-culture references.
Jay Reatard – Australian Interview (Static, 2009)
Capping off an incredibly busy year with a singles compilation for 2008, Nashville native Jay Reatard has been relentlessly touring the globe and still hasn't stopped to catch his breath. Recently blowing away audiences in
The Strokes – Angles
Thumbs down for the skinny ties and tight jeans brigade on their fourth go-round. Surely it can't be worse than First Impressions Of Earth?