"The crowd are in the palm of her hands, as each song bleeds into the next like an immaculately crafted DJ set aimed at puncturing and then suturing the heart" - The Guardian is in ecstasy over Swedish pop-singer's last night concert in London - "a perfectly pitched set ranging from club anthems to her […]
"'Morbid Stuff' just still sounds like friends having fun and making catchy, cathartic punk anthems for teens and almost-adults alike" - Exclaim reviews the new PUP album. Sputnik Music loved it even more: "It’s a complete thrill from front to back that manages to retain the band’s whacky nature while making some inspiring progressions forward. […]
Plenty of nice words by the Quietus about the new Sunn O))) album 'Life Metal': "Rarely do we see them described for what they are – masters of the ecstatic... Sunn O))) really, have always been about the light... Timely reminder that the greatest art is often simultaneously deadly serious and utterly ridiculous... A vibrant, […]
'Sicilian Crest' is the last song on Mountain Goats' album 'In League With Dragons', and it's kinda dramatic in a childish way. About the album, bandleader John Darnielle has said that he hopes it will kick off a whole new genre called “dragon noir" (Rolling Stone). Listen to the song here.
"Drummer T.J. Childers plays with terrifying intensity but also with the kind of rhythmic playfulness that lets you know he listens to jazz. Guitarists Trey Dalton and Steven Russell are more concerned with creating atmosphere than with showing off, but they know how to launch into blazing solos when the time is right... They’ve taken […]
"'Disturbance' is precisely what the dark uncertainty of the present moment calls for: a primeval blending of ancient ambiance and modern tech, building fast and furious into a soundtrack that batters the fragile Quotidien present with a beautiful rage into which the listener yearns to hurl themselves, body and soul" - PopMatters really likes new […]
"'Periphery IV' is a superb addition to its namesake's catalog... It upholds enough of what made them great to satisfy while also adding enough new characteristics to possess its own identity and merit by comparison... (It) will surely satisfy fans and rank highly during the requisite 'Best of 2019' year-end genre lists. After nearly 15 […]
"There's a sense of humanity that make 'Safety' a deeply relatable and instantly lovable album... The intimacy of these songs seems inextricably linked to home recording. That's one of the many things that make the album such a beautiful, irresistible piece of work" - PopMatters picks out the newest album by Brooklyn singer-songwriter Sotto Voce. […]
"Talking about yourself is hard, but on 'Even in the Tremor', Lady Lamb succeeds and then some. The record’s highs validate Spaltro’s position as one of indie’s storytellers to watch..." - Consequence of Sound really likes third album by the American indie-rock singer-songwriter. Watch her new video 'Even in the Tremor' here.
"Lushly orchestrated throwback to the golden age of ’70s singer-songwriter pop and ’60s Laurel Canyon folk, two musical traditions intimately entwined with the mythical history of her Los Angeles home... Searching for meaning and love and connection in an era that feels on the precipice of an apocalypse, the personal and the political all wrapped […]
"'When I Wake Up's soulful sprawl through the working class experience is tethered to familiar frustrations, and vulnerable at every turn. The production, helmed by Sabre himself, is a decorous fusion of 1960s-sourced percussion, elegantly plucked strings, and 1990s hip-hop, sufficiently temperate for his trademark Irish lilt to take centre stage... Sabre's seasoned vocals are […]
"These pieces are thick with luscious texture and assembled with a symphonic sweep, building from barely audible scrapes and clicks to epic climaxes large enough to blot out the sun. Each of the four tracks has its own dramatic arc, some subtle and some utterly titanic, and the record as a whole has a cumulative […]
Most critics like it... "A brave and fortuitous debut album from the LA teen, capturing the hopes, fears and vulnerabilities of an entire generation. The genius in this record is its unaffected relatability" - Clash Music. "Showcases a bold artistic vision and a willingness to move beyond the boundaries of pop conventions" - Exclaim. " […]
The Quietus picked out six albums from the month of march, including one of their favourite bands, These New Puritans' 'Inside the Rose', British art-rockers' first since 2013. Leyland James Kirby is also one one of their favourites, he published the album 'Everywhere at the end of time – Stage 6' with his band The […]
Nigerien desert blues guitarist Mdou Moctar this week published his new album 'Ilana: The Creator', with PM giving it 9 of 10 stars: "On it, Moctar goes all in on energy, lets loose tidal waves of melody, and shreds on electric guitar as only he can.. For the first time on a studio album, it […]
Motown has released Marvin Gaye's 'You’re the Man', the scrapped follow-up to Gaye’s seminal 1971 album 'What’s Going On' - its explicitly political bent prompted Motown to pull promotion, pressure radio stations to remove the title song from playlists, and ultimately stash the whole planned LP. Guardian's critic Alexis Petridis doesn't really like it that […]
"'Nest' is a remarkable adventure, an exploration of territories never before traversed, very much in the spirit of fellow power-trio travelers like Rush and Sleep. Even if it were nothing more than the sum of its parts, 'Nest' would be an astonishing album; the performances alone would be enough to guarantee that. But it is […]
Acclaimed British musician, artist, producer and writer Matthew Herbert is releasing his new album, 'The State Between Us' on the 29th of March, Brexit day (which is being postponed). The album is being released under the name of the Matthew Herbert Great Britain and Gibraltar European Union Membership Referendum Big Band, and it features over […]
"Ranks among Avey Tare’s strongest work of the ’10s, whether alone or with Animal Collective, and should be required listening for any old Millennial scared of turning 40 but even more scared of the alternative" - Consequence of Sound. Listen to song 'Saturdays (Again)' here.
The first single from .Paak’s upcoming fourth album, 'Ventura', features the same kind of smooth, soul-inspired hip-hop that we’ve gotten to know so well from the young multi-instrumentalist - Consequence of Sound says in their Song of the Week segment. Listen to 'King James' here.
"Yanya, on her debut album, has shocked her desolate confrontations into some of the most adventurous pop-rock crucibles since Mitski’s 'Puberty 2'. They are catalysts for communal outpouring that spark with adrenaline and anxiety, a mixture of the raw and the refined, her guitar fuzz mingling with tinselly synth glitter and the bluesy disaffection of […]
"Her fourth album, 'No Words Left', is her starkest, filled with lyrics about uncertainty and isolation, and yet her most striking, conveying the strongest sense of her artistic identity yet. This time, Rose’s candid, searching songwriting is the focus, buoyed by soft piano, gentle acoustic fingerpicking and subtly deployed strings and brass" - Guardian writes, […]
"His use of musical forms so closely associated with some of Turkey's most radical political changes in recent memory show just how seriously he takes his role. The fact that every track also has such exciting musical color makes it that much more enticing to join the revolution" - PopMatters picks out Umut Adan's new […]
"Norwegian quartet Pom Poko's debut 'Birthday' is a stunning, mind-blowing mix of monster riffs and sweet melodies... Pom Poko is a band that refuses to make predictable choices. Their music contains no clean lines or pat conclusions. 'Birthday' is an audacious debut album that is as messy and comforting as an unmade bed" - PopMatters. […]
"Aa collection of exquisitely assembled songs that appear delicate from a distance before revealing a close-quarters core strength... A triumph" - The Observer reviews Cinematic Orchestra's fourth album 'To Believe', published for electronic music powerhouse Ninja Tune. Lister to the song 'A Promise' here.
Praise the universe! - the London electro-jazz band The Comet Is Coming have a new album out, 'Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery'. It is their second full length, next to two EPs, not to mention awesome Sons of Kemet and Shabaka Hutchings and his Ancestors, band's saxophonist's other projects. "This is hardcore […]
"The Japanese quartet devote their second album to enthusiastic, maximalist pop with a bluntly feminist message... Chai is a band who screams yes to joy, and 'PUNK' is a record written in earnest about being yourself, loving your friends, and not caring about what anyone else thinks about the way you live your life... If […]
"The UK duo’s ambitious second album has an alluring and unclassifiable sound. Rarely has a hybrid of new wave and experimental electronic music led to such an introspective place" - Pitchfork. Listen to it here.
"Both Karen O and Danger Mouse have accomplished many of the things that artists might set out to accomplish, and both have reached an age when many musicians grow complacent. How wonderful it is then to report that 'Lux Prima' sounds vibrant and fresh. 'Lux Prima' is Latin for 'First light'. The album delivers on […]
An excellent mixture of pop, hip-hop, folk, and electronic elements, it's a continuously cherishable sequence that once again cements Dido as a singular artist... 'Still on My Mind' is another rich outing for Dido in every way. At its peak, it provides awe-inspiring combinations of singer/songwriter radiance and novel sonic manipulations and juxtapositions - PopMatters […]
