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
Daestro – Moondagger
Will it be knives out for Detroit's Randoph Chabot aka Daestro or maybe a friendly slap on the back instead?
Bad Lieutenant – Never Cry Another Tear
If New Order and Doves made a record, how would it sound? Something like this, we think...
Kings Of Leon – Come Around Sundown
"a polished genre grab bag record of mostly stale, completely innocuous songs". Kings of Leon - Win!
The Cave Singers – Welcome Joy
No, not Nick Cave's new backing band, Seattle's The Cave Singers have crafted a rich and rewarding second album.
Vivian Girls – Interview on Valentine’s Day in London town (2009)
Flowers and chocolates? We brought neither but Brooklyn three-piece the Vivian Girls graciously didn't hold that against us.
The Church – Untitled #23
Moving on from Uninvited, Like The Clouds to Untitled #23, The Church near the end of the alphabet but not the end of their career.
Who The Hell Are… Big Scary?
While on first glance Big Scary are neither that big or scary, listen to any of their EPs and the name starts to make sense. At the Mercy of the Elements released earlier this year gave us an idea of the versatility of this Australian band.
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
Sounding more like a theme park ride than a band, Ariel Pink pulls off both with a little 70's funk and 80's new wave self-exploration.
Spiritualized – Interview with Jason Pierce about Songs in A&E (Static, 2008)
After a break of five years since their last album Amazing Grace, and a near crippling bout of double pneumonia, Spiritualized are back and in perfect health with their finest album to date with Songs
Warpaint – The Fool (Deluxe Edition)
Reissue! Repackage! Warpaint's mesmerising debut gets a little dressing up as we wait for album #2.
Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
Bah, it's the third Artic Monkeys album Humbug - which actually doesn't turn out to be half bad.
Amanda Blank – I Love You
Welcome to the Blank generation - potty mouthed, vacuous, and promiscuous - with the music to match.
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.
The Dears – Murry Lightburn Interview (Static, 2009)
Murray from The Dears lays it all out - "I didn’t sign up for any of this shit. I just write songs and try to work with people to facilitate those songs and get them out to people to hear them."
Various Artists – futurePOP 2.0
It's the future of pop... or is it? Featuring The Cardigans, Faker, The Ting Tings, The Presets, Ladytron, MGMT et al.