You're browsing the archives

From Wednesday 30 August 2023

Spanish Love Songs – ‘No Joy’

Returning for their fourth album, Spanish Love Songs have a difficult challenge upcoming. Their previous albums have all been adored, with 2018’s ‘Schmaltz’ introducing many to the LA-formed quintet, and 2020’s ‘Brave Faces Everyone’ being the perfect soundtrack to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Telling stories

Friday 19 May 2023

Sir Chloe – ‘I Am The Dog’

Touring with the Pixies and Beck, and being pals with Harry Styles (yes, that one) before the release of your debut album can likely be overwhelming, particularly when you’re already pulling in millions of monthly Spotify listeners. It leads to the question of ‘just how good is this band

Tuesday 06 December 2022

Other Half – ‘Soft Action’

The dreaded sophomore slump is a real thing. Will a band’s follow-up album hit as heavy as their debut release? Will they be able to build on the foundations of songs that made their name? For Norwich natives Other Half, the answer is a resounding yes. ‘Soft Action’ not

Friday 23 September 2022

Kid Kapichi – ‘Here’s What You Could’ve Won’

Sometimes, writing close to a delivery deadline is a dangerous game. As an example, this review has almost certainly breached the guided deadline for submission, and I’ll have to pull strings to get it published in time – this says more about me than anything else. But for a

Tuesday 23 August 2022

The Losing Score – ‘Learn To Let This Go’

Closing their 2020 EP, ‘Closed For Season’, with the line, “That was the most honest response I’ve ever had towards death”, you could be forgiven for thinking The Losing Score take themselves too seriously. But keen listeners know that couldn’t be farther from the truth, with light-hearted levity being

Wednesday 13 July 2022

Viagra Boys – ‘Cave World’

Post-punk is in a good place, thriving you could say, and no band is as distinctive within the genre as Sweden’s Viagra Boys. Following on from 2021’s critically acclaimed ‘Welfare Jazz’, Sebastian Murphy and the Boys are back with another helping of visceral absurdity in the form of ‘Cave

Wednesday 20 April 2022

Spanish Love Songs – ‘Brave Faces Etc’

When Spanish Love Songs released their 2020 album, ‘Brave Faces Everyone’, we started our review with the line “Look, we get it. The world has gone to shit.” Little did we know, just a few weeks later, it was going to get worse. With live music put on hold

Friday 01 April 2022

PUP – ‘The Unraveling of PUPTHEBAND’

The next release after a successful album can be a tricky one. After two successful albums, it’s even more difficult. For PUP, after releasing three almost flawless albums, they’ve left themselves an absolute mountain to climb to reach the Everest of heights they’ve set their standards at. Fortunately, they’re

Monday 13 December 2021

Kid Dad – ‘Bloom’

We’re currently in a musical period where bands tend to reinvent themselves into a more brash, heavier, thrash embracing version of their previous selves. Germany’s Kid Dad, however, appear to have taken a different approach; releasing on a more stripped and nuanced sound for their latest EP, ‘Bloom’, the

Tuesday 31 August 2021

Children Collide – ‘Time Itself’

After a near decade-long hiatus, Aussie three piece Children Collide are back to release new LP ‘Time Itself’. After such a long time away from the scene, it can be difficult to reclaim your place in an industry that’s everchanging. Is the sound that made your name still relevant