Here at the village-style Hoxton Hall the atmosphere is nothing if not dramatic. Six-strong band, Story Books, are spaced apart on a split-level stage, silhouetted against glaring, ‘Close Encounter’-style lighting. With this type of venue and visuals, bumble-gum pop was…
Album | Simone Felice – Simone Felice
The former drummer of the Felice Brothers and the brains behind The Duke & the King, Simone Felice’s first solo record arrives weighted with expectation. There are moments of the brilliance of both outfits in this eponymous debut, recorded with…
Album | Deer Tick – Divine Providence (and Tim EP)
Rhode Island is no doubt meant to be a clarion call to their youth, a reliving of the bad old days of getting drunk, picking up chicks and telling stories about it afterwards.
Album | Shearwater – Animal Joy
Whilst not as dense or treacle-thick as previous Shearwater records, Animal Joy is just as intricately layered, and manages to be peculiarly exhilerating in spite of its persistently shadowy subject matter. Opener ‘Animal Life’ anchors the album’s loose thread of…
Album | Seeker Lover Keeper – Seeker Lover Keeper
There will always be a place in my heart for keening melodies played on acoustic guitar, and soaring close-harmony vocals. Some might baulk that music like this fails to push boundaries: others, the folk purists, (generally the most militant of…
WIN! Tickets to see the Mountain Goats at the Barbican
A wee while ago we told you about a very special London show the Mountain Goats are playing on 2 April. Now the kind folks at the Barbican have offered us a pair of tickets to give away. To be…