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…
When is a debut album not a debut album? This isn’t a philosophical riddle or a trick question, just an honest poser after listening to Larkin Poe’s first full-length release. It’s a wonderfully confident collection – playful, powerful and full…
Chances are that if you came across Monday’s Song of the Day from Eli August & The Abandoned Buildings, you went away wanting to hear more. Well, you’re in luck, because now we can bring you an exclusive first listen…
There’s something genuinely exciting about Benjamin Booker. An attitude, an edge, maybe a vulnerability too – a sense that it’s only just all holding together. You’re not going to relax much listening to his self-titled debut, worried that this incendiary…
Cory Branan is the musician’s musician, feted and adored by luminaries of the business, including the likes of Frank Turner, Chuck Ragan, and fellow rising Country star Caitlin Rose, the latter guesting on the fantastic steel-stringed ‘All the Rivers in…
Cold Specks, alleged purveyor of ‘Gloom soul’ (whatever that is), return with second album Neuroplasticity, two years after debut I Predict A Graceful Explosion in 2012. It’s a punchy, powerful album, going straight in for the jugular with the opening…
Tom’s Lunch is The Phoenix Foundation’s latest follow up to 2013’s full length Fandango, and the stalwarts of the NZ music scene have delivered a tasty morsel with this five-track EP. Opening track ‘Bob Lennon John Dylan’ is frustratingly catchy,…
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…
James Yorkston’s eighth album is a delicately beautiful affair, much in the vein of his earlier offerings. Produced by Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor and with additional vocals from KT Tunstall, it is an intricate melding of melancholic melodies and guitar,…
Dan Michaelson’s fifth record since the break-up of previous band Absentee captures a theme of heartbreak and sinks it deep into your soul within thirty blissful minutes. Written after his divorce, this is as raw and as gripping as you…