Austra – London – 18 January 2011
There’s been a noticeable shift slash longing backward glance in music trends towards all things 80’s. It seems that the product of that era now want to know everything about where they came from and the music that was made. For synth pop acts like Summer Camp and Twin Shadow, the 80’s are a nostalgia/inspirational goldmine, but with the rise of Zola Jesus, Salem, oOoOO, etc, it was inevitable that Goth music and its mutated electro/dark wave offspring would get discovered by the black clad suburban misfits of today. Enter, Austra from Toronto, Canada.
Twin Sister – Vampires With Dreaming Kids / Colour Your Life
How many times do you get given a record and for it to feel like a breath of fresh air? Here you are then.
Mark E. Smith – Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith
Viking, 2008 [rating:6/10] It begins at the end, or the supposed end, where having retired the old guard for a succession of young guns, Mark E. Smith faces up to a musician mutiny on The
Sonic Youth – The Eternal
The Enternal is Sonic Youth's celebration of newfround freedom. I guess that mean's no more working for the man.
Bob Mould – London – 25 May 2008
Bob Mould Koko, London 25th May 2008 Bob Mould turns to the crowd and informs them that they last time he played this venue, then named Camden Palace, it was 1985 and the band was
Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago
Shearwater seem to have run aground on The Golden Archipelago. Not quite paradise, nor a place you'll likely return to soon.
Alela Diane – To Be Still
Nevada City's beguiling folk heroine Alela Diane returns with a white diamond of a second album. Be still, our beating heart.
Liquid Liquid – Slip In and Out of the Phenomenon
Domino Records, 2008 [6/10] Post punk, new funk, even if its old junk, it's still rock and roll to me. Call it what you want, but history shows that Manhattan's Liquid Liquid were essentially a
Otouto – Pip
Melbourne four piece Otouto prove that art pop is not a dirty word on their impressive debut album Pip.
Broken Records – Until the Earth Begins to Part
If the news makes you sad, don't watch it, rather listen to Broken Records' dazzling debut.
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 Gun Club – Miami / Death Party / The Las Vegas Story
Load the chamber and light a candle for Jeffrey Lee Pierce, it's rockabilly blues-a-go-go with The Gun Club.
Exlovers – Moth
Young & Lost Club, 2012 When it came to making the kind of sweet and effervescent guitar pop that would chime and ring at your feet, London’s Exlovers were one of
Paul Dempsey – Everything Is True
First there was Something for Kate now singer Paul Dempsey has gone it alone and produced something for everyone.
Miss Li – Best Of 061122-071122
National, 2007 [rating:7/10] The twelve month period denoted by the title of this compilation (that's how the logical Swedes write the date) was an ultra productive period for Stockholm's Linda Carlsson otherwise known as Miss
Dolores O’Riordan – No Baggage
Can former berry Dolores O'Riordan shake off the skeleton's in her closet and remove the excess baggage? No as it turns out.