Beach House – Bloom
Bella Union, 2012 Since their self-titled debut in 2006, Portland duo Beach House have become a band synonymous with the 'dream-pop' side of contemporary music, a tag that suitably sums
The Horrors – Australian Interview (Static, 2010)
We chew the fat with The Horrors on their recent Australian tour about last year's remarkable second album Primary Colours, and their thoughts on cover versions: "I think it’s a funny idea that this is a conversation you’re more likely to have now than at any other time in the history of rock ’n’ roll, considering most bands really started playing cover versions, being The Beatles or The Stones or even the Sex Pistols. It was something that was just kind of part and parcel of being in a group and part of a live repertoire."
The Organ – Thieves
Mint Records, 2008 [9/10] Vancouver's The Organ shared that same shadowy intellectual existence that made them sound like a darker version of The Smiths, without Johnny Marr's trademark flair and Morrissey's veiled humour. Helmed by
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?
Continuum Books 33 1/3 – Elliot Smith – XO, Big Star – Radio City
A look into Continuum's must-read 33 1/3 series of books that investigate the history and stories behind some of the greatest albums ever made, including reviews of the most recent releases in the series -- Big Star's Radio City and Elliott Smith's XO.
Adem – Takes
Domino, 2008 [8/10] Home recorded, folk-tinged, somewhat sullen but with equal parts warmth and optimism, South London's Adem Illhan lives a Nick Drake-ian life in a Brian Eno world. Having paid his dues with the
The Honeys – Interview with Bruce Begley about Star Baby (2008)
All my favourite bands break up too soon. Some dissolve and leave no trace they ever existed, others leave behind a body of work, be it that beguiling debut or just one crucial single that
Suckers – Wild Smile
Brooklyn's Suckers channel a little ADHD indie rock throughout their debut album, defying hype and maintaining interest.
Who The Hell Are… Zoo Animal?
Picture the scene... in a dark Minneapolis jazz club, three anonymous musicians take the stage. The usual rituals of tuning and testing, smiling and carrying on, and then the lead singer steps up to the microphone. It only takes a few songs to appreciate the underestimated prowess of the band; the churning bass, the precision in the drumming, and a fiesty singer whose melancholy adroitness shines through her toned-down Joplin-esque voice and ferocious, half-prostrated guitar solos. This is Holly Newsom and Zoo Animal, a band marked by a soulful yet minimal electrofolk sound and introspective, sometimes spiritual lyrics.
The Darling Buds – London – 22 September 2010
You’d be forgiven for having a sense of déjà vu here. Is it 1989? Did The Primitives and The Darling Buds really both play London within a week of each other? Having been absent from the live scene for most of the '90s and all of the past decade, for both bands to surface at the same time is unthinkable. Unthinkable, but pretty damn cool. It brings back memories of a time when the music magazines invented a scene called ‘Blonde’, where bands were lumped together purely based on the colour of the lead singers hair. Which by their way of thinking meant you were either a Blonde, a Goth or in Fairground Attraction.
Warpaint – London – 26 August 2010
It’s shows like this which give birth to the very nature of rock and roll. The hip-swaying sounds of a band as they rock back and forth, eyes closed, mouths pressed against the microphone with their feet marking the beat. It’s an undeniably sexual thing. This isn't news. It’s why they tried to ban Elvis in the 50’s. He turned young girls on, and it wasn’t so much the man, but the music, the stage, the sweat, the motion -- the rock and roll of it all. Wedged together in this barely ventilated Old Street basement, Los Angeles' Warpaint are presiding over something that had this been the 50's, would've gotten them banned too.
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.
The Lucksmiths – First Frost
The ever durable Lucksmiths get up before dawn on their latest album. Don't forget your mittens, boys!
Peaches – I Feel Cream
The always fruity Peaches is back with fourth album I Feel Cream which finds her giving the past a slip and whipping it real good.
Who The Hell Is… Jonneine Zapata?
Interview with LA-based chanteuse Jonneine Zapata around the time of her debut album Cast the Demons Out.
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