Mary Lorson and the Soubrettes’ BurnBabyBurn constitutes a balancing act between its gentle, spacious, and warm sounds and its stark, honest lyrics. This balance is even obliquely referenced in the lyrics of ‘Only One Number Two’. “You walk the roof…
Category: Reviews
Album | The Twilight Sad – No One Can Ever Know
There has never been a worse time for an ‘80s synth-pop album to come out than now. Even the ‘80s. As Simon Reynolds’ derisive term (and book) “Retromania” gets bandied about more and more, so too does the popularity of…
Album | First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
“There’s nothing new under the sun / All that will happen has already begun” Sometimes you don’t need to say a lot to get a point across. In this simple couplet from the dark, tidal ‘Dance To Another Tune’, First…
Live | Hannah Peel @ Holy Trinity Church, Leeds
With mulled wines in hand, the people of Leeds have packed into the pews of the Holy Trinity Church to hear one of their own deliver the annual Christmas service from the local Gaslight Club. Well, nearly. Hannah introduces herself…
Live | Josh T. Pearson @ The Barbican + a free Christmas download
Josh T. Pearson’s Last of the Country Gentlemen was released this year to widespread acclaim, with this very website describing it as a ‘sparse, delicate and unrelenting trawl through the darker recesses of the soul’. It has found itself in…
Live | Ellen & The Escapades @ The Stereo, York
Ellen and her Escapades are finally assembled on stage and ready to play. The hum of the crowd dies down and she steps up to the microphone, takes a breath and…another song comes on the PA system. With a little…
Live | Summer Camp @ Liverpool Mojo 10th November 2011
FFS wrote precisely one memo-to-self during this show: “Jeremy Warmsley is wearing the best shirt ever”. The review should actually end there: Mr. Summer Camp’s clothing selection alone should be enough to convince you to go see them play live.…
Live | The Antlers @ Koko, 10th November 2011
“We want to thank you guys for being here,” says Peter Silberman as he surveys the enraptured Koko crowd. “We have no idea how we got here, and we don’t know how to get back.” A chilly Thursday night in…
Live | Ane Brun @ Manchester Deaf Institute, 8th November 2011
It’s a rainy Tuesday night in Manchester, and Oxford Road is quieter than usual. Perhaps this is because everyone is in the Deaf Institute, falling a little bit in love with Ane Brun. Weaving through the captivated crowd en route…
Live | Bon Iver @ Hammersmith Apollo, 24th October 2011
Okay so let’s just get this straight: there is more than just one man in Bon Iver. Everyone seems fixated on Justin Vernon, frontman and “face” of the band, but seeing them live was a real eye-opener. There were nine…