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.
Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
Four albums in, Camera Obscura assess their career, wisely trading 'brilliant' for 'maudlin' and coming up somewhere inbetween.
Splendour in the Grass 2009 (Day 2)
The second splendid day of Splendour in the Grass 2009. We catch Kram, Jack Ladder, Bob Evans, The Gutter Twins, White Lies, The Doves, The Flaming Lips and er, Grinspoon.
Top Ten – B-Sides
The B-side is every music geek/fan’s favourite thing to debate over. It’s the one place where an artist is allowed to record whatever they see fit, and the one place where a fan can expect
You Am I – Dilettantes
Australian alternative legend's [strong]You Am I[/strong] make a glorious return to form with Dilettantes -- "You Am I have turned around their most impressive release in recent years that succeeds without having to rehash the same old moves. "
Teenage Fanclub – Los Angeles – 11 October 2010
Blake, McGinley & Love doesn’t have the same ring as Crosby, Stills & Nash, but there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be held in the same breath or as widely known. These three Scotsman and the outfit they've steered for the last 20+ years have consistently made albums that rich in harmonies and heart-on-sleeve emotions. If Teenage Fanclub had a spiritual home, it would be a tie between Nashville or Los Angeles, or perhaps started in Los Angeles and ended up in Nashville (as found on their most recent album Shadows).
Mercury Rev – Australian Interview (Static, 2009)
Touring Australia on the bequest of the all-conquering Coldplay, Mercury Rev stopped into visit Static's Chris Berkley to talk about their latest album Snowflake Midnight and an impressive career that cannot be reigned in by simple film analogies.
Malcolm Middleton – Sleight of Heart
Inertia, 2008 [7.5/10] Malcolm Middleton, previously one half of gritty Scottish miserabilists Arap Strap, establishes the modus operandi for his fourth album Sleight of Heart right from the get go. When he sings "We're having
She & Him – A Very She & Him Christmas
It's October. Why are we reviewing Christmas albums in October? Why She & Him? Why?
Arcade Fire – Sweden – 30 June 2010
As anticipation mounts for the release of their upcoming third album The Suburbs, Arcade Fire commence on a brief hit-and-run tour of intimate and out-of-the-way places in Europe, somehow finding themselves performing on a moat in the middle of a limestone quarry in Sweden. For a band like Arcade Fire, such inventive and idyllic surrounds seem apt, but it only poses the question -- How hard can a quarry rock?
Ramona – London – 17 April 2011
It's easy to love Ramona, even though everything about them is so flawless and en pointe, unheard for a scruffy bunch of Brighton by-way-of-New-York rockers. Picks in hand, they transform a handful of chords into polished punk perfection, fronted by the coquettish bleach-blonde tomboy Karen Anne, a second generation Edie and Debbie who knows how to hang from a mic stand like she was hanging from your shoulder. Absent from the stage this year so far, they cycle through their set in a brisk half hour, including encore, and you're crying out for a flubbed note, an unrehearsed run through a song they just wrote in the van, or general indifference to whether anybody is listening.
Who The Hell Are… Best Friends?
What to say about Sheffield's Best Friends... The name of the band is self-explanatory. The a-side of their debut single “Surf Bitches” could either be about the kinds of girls they like or things they
fun. – Aim and Ignite
We take aim at the confusingly labelled American trio fun.'s first offering and find it's a fun album, period.
The Thermals – Now We Can See
Portland's The Thermals return with warm power-pop, tempered by decidedly cooler lyrical themes on Now We Can See.
The Boo Radleys – Giant Steps / Wake Up!
One of these albums is pure genius. The other went straight to #1. Bow down to The Boo Radleys, Britpop's forgotten heroes.
The Charlatans – Some Friendly (20th Anniversary Expanded Edition)
20th Anniversary? Seriously? You're twisting my melon, man! Wait, wrong band...














