• Fuck Buttons – Slow Focus

    With a name like Fuck Buttons you’re entering into some dodgy territory. At face value, a name like that seems deliberately and obnoxiously attention seeking. To pull off something like this you need to either go to the extreme (Anal Cunt‘s discography being a prime example) or you have to be good enough to justify such a name (Fucked Up‘s David Comes To Life). In the case of Fuck Buttons, they end up firmly on the side of Fucked Up, releasing what is sure to be one of the most exciting electronic albums of the year. Slow Focus is the…

  • Walton – Beyond

    On his debut LP young Hyperdub affiliate Walton has produced 13 disparate and genre-spanning tracks that comfortably sit seemingly incongruous sounds alongside one another while liberally peppering a range of R’n’B samples throughout. By adeptly ensuring that this blend never seems forced – and, crucially, always keeping the dancefloor in mind – Walton displays a maturity beyond his years; with Beyond never losing focus or meandering off on aimless tangents. The opening title track sets out the record’s modus operandi both literally and figuratively with the use of a sample from Mary J. Blige‘s ‘Forever No More’. The refrain which states “a…

  • Grant Hart – The Argument

    In some ways, it must sort of suck being a person like Grant Hart. Amongst a subset of people you had reached a level of respect and adoration reserved only for deities. Your work was critically acclaimed and sold impressively for underground scene. The music you wrote not only inspired a generation but brought about a sea change within the mainstream. And yet you never quite cracked it. You teetered close within the 90s with Nova Mob’s Last Days of Pompeii album – buy it – and your own solo work, but ultimately never got the fame you so rightfully…

  • Cuttooth – Cuttooth LP

    Considering the gruesome state of current urban music trends, evocative and engaging Hip Hop can be pretty tough to come by these days, and with the likes of J Dilla and Flying Lotus having set the standard for dreamy, lush and stripped back Hip Hop compositions (Strip Hop?) Cuttooth – aka Nick Cooke – manages to hold his own in this milieu with his second, self-titled LP.  It doesn’t feel like there is a direct regurgitating of the late Dilla or of the very much still rocking FlyLo, but, there is more than just a tip of the hat to…

  • Bell X1 – Chop Chop

    As any fule kno, “doing a Radiohead” has become journalistic shorthand for when a given band releases a record which sounds different – sometimes radically and sometimes just a little – to the ones which preceded it, or at the very least features synthesisers or sampled drums. Derived from the moment when said band dropped Kid A on an unsuspecting public, it can either be used a positive or a pejorative, and suggests an artistic act of bravery or petulance. Of course, none of these things are in any way accurate or insightful, and are instead employed to squeeze a given artist…

  • David Lynch – The Big Dream

    American auteur David Lynch‘s reputation as the foremost curator of surreal, gothic Americana alive today precedes him in such a huge way that “Lynchian” is surely the most frequently used journalistic crutch after “on acid.”  The soundtracks to Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart and Blue Velvet have defined these movies as edgy, dreamlike and often uncomfortable viewing.  Most directors resist the temptation to indulge their musical passions outside of the home studio; even fewer choose to pick up the microphone. When David Lynch – a soft-spoken, nasally-toned Montanan – sings on opener “The Big Dream”, at first it seems no…

  • Swim Deep – Where The Heaven Are We

      Back in the early nineties, when grunge was king and the Britpop cloud had yet to cast its boorish shadow over the nation, indie was a much more interesting minority concern. The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays’ pilled-up baggy; the fey jangling of Suede and early Blur; shoegaze swaying between the plangent ache of Slowdive and the speaker-threatening cacophony of My Bloody Valentine and the Jesus and Mary Chain – few could have predicted that by the middle of the decade, Ocean Colour Scene would be shifting units by the truckload. Many an ageing hipster will still get misty-eyed…

  • Young Echo – Nexus

    Musical collectives are an odd thing. Operating as a halfway house between supergroup and a solo act, they give the artist the freedom to flex their guns whilst also allowing them to drop in and out of the equation whenever they please. Hip-hop and electronic musicians seem to favour this format moreso than others with the excellent Wu Tang Clan and Doomtree being prime examples. So how do the bright upstarts of Brixton’s Young Echo fare with their debut release, Nexus? Not terribly well. Before we begin, I need to stress something: I really love ambient music. Brian Eno’s Music…

  • Blondes – Swisher

    Blondes are Sam Haar and Zach Steinman, a Brooklyn-based electronic duo that met while studying composition at Oberlin Music College. Blondes have quite a following, and this reviewer’s reason for delving into their back catalogue followed a conversation with a rather prolific Irish electronic producer who claims he “only listens to Blondes” – sold. Prior releases include the seriously awe – inspiring Touched EP and a series of 12” singles, as well as their 2012 self-titled debut. The duo have been classed as “hipster-house”; perhaps a little debasing considering the brilliance behind their discography to date. Swisher is their latest…

  • O Emperor – Vitreous

    Beginning a career with a great debut album is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, you’ve come out the gate running, kicking and shooting wildly into the air. People will take notice and, at least for that moment, everything will seem to fall into place. On the other hand, if you come out too well, then there will be no bullets left and, when it comes time to make your next record, you’ll appear more like John Cleese’s bureaucratic silly walker. Acknowledgement of one’s past and real, internally motivated growth is key to avoiding a Python-esque fate. So when…