by Ali Mason • • Comments Off on Album | Lapland – Lapland
If you’ve ever been unsure of quite what ‘dream pop’ means, the debut self-titled album from Lapland should leave you in little doubt. With everything slightly hazy and off-kilter, echoey and wading-through-treacle slow, if you got to the end of…
by Helen • • Comments Off on Album | Micah P. Hinson and the Nothing
‘How Are You Just a Dream’ flings the doors open on …And the Nothing setting a shouty, pissed-off tone that’s not what long-term fans of Hinson will be expecting. You’d be forgiven for thinking you’d put the wrong CD in…
by Chris Peet • • Comments Off on Album | Withered Hand – New Gods
A full five years on from Withered Hand’s unembellished debut Good News, on first listen to New Gods you’d be forgiven for thinking that Dan Willson has spent those years sunning himself on some far-flung beach mending whatever heartbreaks and…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on Album | Drive-By Truckers – English Oceans
The Drive-By Truckers’ 10th studio album captures the sound of a group rediscovering the fun in making music. Because the three years since the release of Go-Go Boots have largely been anything but for Patterson Hood and his once merry…
by Joe Sweeting • • Comments Off on Album | St Vincent – St Vincent
Annie Clark’s 4th album under the ‘St Vincent’ moniker is comfortably her best work to date. Coming off the back of a fruitful partnership with lead Talking Head, David Byrne, Clark took just 36 hours off in between finishing the…
by For Folk's Sake • • Comments Off on Album | Wild Beasts – Present Tense
Crisp production and a stunning vocal performance combine to make Wild Beasts’ fourth album Present Tense a treasure of a record. Spanning a spectrum of colour and mood, the songs boast distinctive lyrics and expertly crafted structures. The synth, bass,…
by Joe Sweeting • • Comments Off on Album | The Hosts – Softly, Softly
Sheffield has a fine tradition of turning out bands and musicians who, with their wit and humour, become indelibly placed in the public consciousness. Pulp and Richard Hawley are two that spring to mind, as are Slow Club and, of…
by For Folk's Sake • • Comments Off on EP | Hannah Peel – Fabricstate
Hannah Peel is no stranger to compliments, and she’s certainly bagged her share of supporters and collaborators in the few years she’s been releasing music. Having already worked with Simon Tong from The Verve and Gorillaz fame and gained a…
by For Folk's Sake • • Comments Off on EP | Kelly Oliver – Far From Home
Kelly Oliver’s songs are full of clear traditional folk melodies; fans of The Staves and The Unthanks might want to give her debut EP a whirl. Title track ‘Far From Home’ features voice, guitar and the odd flourish of accordion,…
by Dominic J Stevenson • • Comments Off on Album | Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness
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…