The Sea The Sea is in itself a curious name. Is it taken from the Iris Murdoch novel from the late seventies, or some separate inspiration? It conjures images of beautiful nature and the repetitive band name signifies the weight…
We don’t cover too many Dinosaur Jr records on FFS, but the new solo record from band leader J. Mascis is a delicate and pretty affair. The guitars are inevitably gorgeous. The record at first doesn’t seem to go anywhere…
Jenny Lewis’ third album has been a long time coming. The voyage of the broken relationship that informs the great part of this album has indeed been an arduous journey, but the resulting record rarely dips below sublime and will…
A covers EP? Who on earth could tell if they didn’t already know some or all of these 5 tracks. Calvi handles the material of others with incredible skill and passion. By the time you reach the penultimate track and…
Sharon Van Etten has become one of the most splendid songwriters on earth. Not that she hasn’t had a somewhat torturous journey, but she is starting to really make her mark on popular music. Perhaps popular isn’t the right word.…
Yann Tiersen cannot be mentioned, perhaps sadly, without his majestic 2001 Amelie soundtrack being talked about. It must be hard moving on from that. It was, in short, one of the all time film soundtrack masterpieces. He is far from a…
Woods has consistently made good albums for a while now, with short gaps between each album. There’s no change to that formula here either. The shimmering and shuffling, at once delicate and acoustic and the next moment electric twanging and…
When Simone Felice left the band of his siblings The Felice Brothers he made a brave decision. They had made a near classic in Yonder Is The Clock, some five years ago now. Much has changed for Simone since, not…
Right from the off Angel Olsen has a style all of her own. The hazy opening of Burn Your Fire For No Witness sounds like a woman strumming and singing while she dreams of a love she has lost. It’s…
For fans of the band the sound is familiar. Tinariwen’s Emmaar sounds as gutsy and confrontational as ever. It is both symbolic of the band’s culture and its in your face, whilst also being soulful, gentle and offering a sense…