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.
Eels – Hombre Lobo
America's rock werewolf Mark Oliver Everett otherwise known as Eels howls twelve songs of desire on his seventh studio disc.
Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward
XL, 2008 [6/10] Junior Nashville punk rockers, Be Your Own Pet caused something of a stir at a show in London recently. Previewing tracks from their follow-up to 2006's self-titled debut, the band engaged in
Teenage Fanclub – Shadows
A band of such warmth and light, the only way you'd see a 'shadow' here is if you held this Teenage Fanclub CD up in front of you.
Dark Mean – Dark Mean
Canadian folk-sters Dark Mean deliver a "must-listen album with staying power, and one of the year’s best" on their self-released debut.
Kings Of Leon – Come Around Sundown
"a polished genre grab bag record of mostly stale, completely innocuous songs". Kings of Leon - Win!
My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
Rough Trade, 2008 [7.5/10] Never has a record so wrong-footed me like Evil Urges has. Louisville's My Morning Jacket were always a band with broad influences in their sound. 2005's Z was the strongest indication
Paul Westerberg – 49:00
Dry Wood Music, 2008 [rating:8/10] Paul Westerberg fronted one of the last truly great rock and roll bands with The Replacements. The entire Replacements oeuvre is currently being remastered and re-released for those who missed
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.
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Can Bon Iver live up to expectation with his self-titled follow-up to the celebrated For Emma, Forever Ago?
The Horrors – Primary Colours
The Horrors pull off the surprise reinvention act of the century and lift the curse of the sophomore slump forever.
The Cult – London – 21 January 2011
When you add up the years, you realise Ian Astbury and Billy Dully have been making music as The Cult for a long-ass time. Sitting in the rafters of the Hammersmith Apollo ("Hammersmith Odeon", Astbury demurs, referring to the venue's previous appellation), the debt paid to the excesses of rock n’ roll have more-or-less treated both kindly. Astbury, the once flower-child/wolf-child looks a little rough round the edges, but when you style yourself on Jim Morrisson and then suddenly become him, what can you expect. Duffy on the other hand, is ageless, looking more like David Beckham‘s older brother than a well-tooled guitar god.
Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde
There are some records that forever remain at the bottom of the review pile, and boy do Smith Westerns make us regret it.
Versus – On the Ones and Threes
Out of nowhere comes a near perfect album by a near forgotten band that rewrites their own history in one superlative-inducing swoop.
Who The Hell Are… Villa Cola?
Having lived through the 80's, witnessed the birth of Wham!, the ascension of Kylie from Neighbours mechanic to pop princess and the rise and fall of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman (s)hit factory, intelligent, well-crafted synth-pop has had a tough (but not impossible) road to climb to redeem itself. It's easier done now for those with little memory of the 80's, who can mine the decade of its untapped wealth and pull influences from The Human League or Gary Numan or even further back without being mocked, all the while creating something new and exciting. Having a rough guess at their ages, London's Villa Cola could surely fill these shoes.
Who The Hell Are… Deaf Club?
Heavy on atmosphere with a melodic depth that harnesses Banshees-like percussion against rippling guitar-work and bears more than a passing resemblance to the rhythmic whirl of Warpaint and the siren song of Esben and the