Hot Water Music - Vows (Album Review)

Photo: Jesse Korman There’s something about Hot Water Music’s latest outing that feels, in the purest sense possible, truly victorious. It takes their discography into double figures and underlines their heavy influence over a generation of gruffly emotive punk bands, displaying a sound that’s been sharpened to a point over the past 30 years.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Friday, 17 May 2024

Kings of Leon - Can We Please Have Fun (Album Review)

Photo: Matthew Followill Their preacher family backstory and Southern-fried take on The Strokes’ garage rock revival sound made Kings of Leon an intriguing phenomenon in the ‘00s. In particular, their raw and energetic first couple of records were lapped up in the UK, while the heavy polish of the next two saw their success grow on a huge global scale, catapulted by the success of 2008 single Sex on Fire.

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Friday, 17 May 2024

Arab Strap - I'm Totally Fine With It Don't Give A Fuck Anymore (Album Review)

During their initial run between 1995 and 2006 much of Arab Strap’s appeal relied on the sense of messy fun found in both the lives the band wrote about and the medium through which they were communicated. Since their reunion in 2019 it’s become clear that the duo have grown up, and yet they haven’t misplaced that spark.

Written by: Jo Higgs | Date: Thursday, 16 May 2024

Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To (Album Review)

Knocked Loose are in the process of rewriting their DNA. The Kentucky band’s early albums offered bruising metallic hardcore, but with their 2021 EP ‘A Tear In the Fabric of Life’ and last year’s Upon Loss singles they showed a desire to get heavier and weirder. 

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Wednesday, 15 May 2024

Mdou Moctar - Funeral For Justice (Album Review)

Credit: Ebru Yildiz The contents of ‘Funeral for Justice’ are as incendiary and engaging as its title suggests. It is a statement of intent that is driven through these fierce, twanging songs, where Mdou Moctar (the stage name of both musician and band, Alice Cooper-style) commits to an uphill battle for what is right, pushing back against colonialism and cultural erosion with grit beyond reach of most musicians.

Written by: Jo Higgs | Date: Tuesday, 14 May 2024

Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement (Album Review)

Kamasi Washington’s ‘Fearless Movement’ is a trip — an intense, sprawling jazz happening that combines big arrangements, hyper-competitive instrumental solos and hip hop interludes. It’s hugely impressive and accomplished. 

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Monday, 13 May 2024

The Lemon Twigs - A Dream Is All We Know (Album Review)

Photo: Stephanie Pia The Lemon Twigs have long walked a thin line between acknowledging classic ‘60s songwriters and being a pastiche of that period. After the success of 2023’s ‘Everything Harmony’, the New York-based brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario have wasted little time in delivering their fifth album ‘A Dream Is All We Know’, with the strength of their joyful melodies and meticulously-crafted indie-pop songs keeping them on the right side of things.

Written by: Matthew McLister | Date: Friday, 10 May 2024

Nell Mescal - Can I Miss It For A Minute? (Album Review)

Photo: Sophie Scott Nell Mescal has garnered attention on social media for both her raw, personal TikToks and witty comments on the output of her older brother, actor Paul Mescal. Her engaging approach has helped develop a fanbase even before the arrival of her debut EP, ‘Can I Miss It For A Minute?’, which should cement her position as one to watch. 

Written by: Katie Macbeth | Date: Wednesday, 08 May 2024

Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism (Album Review)

Photo: Tyrone Lebon In 2020, ‘Future Nostalgia’ propelled Dua Lipa into the pop stratosphere. Adored by critics and fans alike, the album’s retro sheen and irresistible dancefloor appeal became a lockdown panacea. Four years later, its successor ‘Radical Optimism’ joins a small trend set by pop stars who followed up acclaimed records with lighter, more optimistic work. Think Lorde answering ‘Melodrama’ with ‘Solar Power’ or Miley Cyrus serving up ‘Endless Summer Vacation’ after ‘Plastic Hearts’.

Written by: Adam England | Date: Tuesday, 07 May 2024

Pet Shop Boys - Nonetheless (Album Review)

Photo: Alasdair McLellan On their 15th studio album, Pet Shop Boys have teamed up with Arctic Monkeys producer James Ford to deliver a record of terrific poise and poetry that revisits their ‘80s and ‘90s heyday. It is a fine offering from one of British pop music’s most enduring creative partnerships, with Chris Lowe’s steady disco underscoring lyrics that are literary and confessional. 

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Thursday, 02 May 2024

Fat White Family - Forgiveness Is Yours (Album Review)

Photo: Louise Mason It hasn’t always been easy for Fat White Family’s music to cut through the noise, the drugs, the nudity, the provocation and the headlines. But the south London art-rock band’s fourth album, their first in five years, showcases a newfound sense of refinement as they explore various genres with a chameleonic approach.

Written by: Katie Macbeth | Date: Wednesday, 01 May 2024

Justice - Hyperdrama (Album Review)

Photo: André Chémétoff However you choose to label them — ​​electroclash, bloghaus, indie sleaze, French touch — Justice remain one of the most celebrated electronic acts this side of the millennium thanks to the way they have managed to bridge the gap between being indie favourites and huge stars. 

Written by: Adam England | Date: Tuesday, 30 April 2024

Full of Hell - Coagulated Bliss (Album Review)

Photo: Zachary Jones Full of Hell are a restless creative force. Across more than 30 releases — including five LPs — the Maryland noisemakers’ pulverising approach to grindcore has continued to expand and warp. With their sixth album ‘Coagulated Bliss’, they further cement their status as modern extreme music legends.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Tuesday, 30 April 2024

St. Vincent - All Born Screaming (Album Review)

Photo: Alex Da Corte Annie Clark has become an indie-rock mainstay since the release of the first St. Vincent record in 2007, but her appeal has always bled beyond genre boundaries. In the years since then, her work has straddled arthouse pop, psychedelia and glam-rock, with each of her albums subsequently feeling like an event in their own right. 

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Monday, 29 April 2024

The Zutons - The Big Decider (Album Review)

Photo: Jonathan Turton The Zutons, it turns out, don’t do comebacks by halves. After breaking up back in 2009, they came out of the carbonite in 2019 to tour their 2004 debut ‘Who Killed...... The Zutons?’. But one question that hangs over any such endeavour is whether nostalgia might be answered by something new. In their case the answer is yes — ‘The Big Decider’ is their first album in 16 years. Which leads us to another question: does the world need another indie rock band back from the brink?

Written by: Jack Press | Date: Monday, 29 April 2024

SeeYouSpaceCowboy - Coup de Grāce (Album Review)

SeeYouSpaceCowboy’s music hails from a vivid recent past, when 2000s metalcore met at the corners of screamo and post-hardcore. While 2021’s ‘The Romance of Affliction’ pushed that concoction to its limits, the San Diego band have cannily embraced a neo-noir aesthetic and concept to help ‘Coup de Grâce’ to sound fresh and suitably fiery.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Friday, 26 April 2024

Lucy Rose - This Ain't The Way You Go Out (Album Review)

Photo: Josh Shinner After 2019’s stripped back ‘No Words Left,’ Lucy Rose had plans to rest and write her next album at her own pace, away from the road and its all-encompassing demands. Instead, life had something else in store for her. ‘This Ain’t The Way You Go Out’ was inspired by maternal osteoporosis, an excruciating condition that left the songwriter with a broken back following the birth of her son, Otis.

Written by: Emma Way | Date: Thursday, 25 April 2024

Pearl Jam - Dark Matter (Album Review)

Photo: Danny Clinch Twelve albums down the line, it’s kind of an honour to have Seattle grunge icons Pearl Jam still cooking as part of the current musical landscape. There are arenas and stadiums still to be filled, with Eddie Vedder’s signature bellow finding a new generation of fans to back up the die-hards, who will be thrilled by the back-to-basics ballast of ‘Dark Matter’.

Written by: Rishi Shah | Date: Thursday, 25 April 2024

Melvins - Tarantula Heart (Album Review)

Melvins are grafters. Hailing from working class and rural Washington state, vocalist/guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover are hyper-prolific, hard-touring musicians with a monstrous back catalogue.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Wednesday, 24 April 2024

James - Yummy (Album Review)

Photo: Paul W Dixon Photography More than 40 years into their career, Manchester darlings James are still going strong. Few would have thought that when they entered a seven year hiatus in 2001, a split described as necessary by vocalist Tim Booth in order to preserve one another’s wellbeing. Their sign off was ‘Pleased To Meet You’, a fitting peak in an indifferent album catalogue. Now, all these years later, ‘Yummy’ reaches those heights again.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 24 April 2024