• Choice Cuts: The Best Tracks of… March

    April 1, 2014 - By 

    This month has been remarkable in terms of the quantity of excellent music releases on all fronts, and summarizing it into a playlist of 10 tracks has proven a tad difficult. As such, there are many notable absentees from this list, but at the same time I can assure you the reader that these ten new releases are not just good, or even great, but downright essential listens if one is to keep ahead of the crowd. I wouldn’t lie about things of such importance. As per usual, the first list of songs is in no particular order, with the…

  • Animals as Leaders – The Joy of Motion

    March 31, 2014 - By 

    As of 2014, Tosin Abasi is a name that has been ringing in the ears of both musicians and listeners within the metal scene for nearly five years. In that time, the 8-string guitar virtuoso and his band Animals as Leaders have attained an almost universal acclaim from critics, who often cite the consummate guitar skills and complex structures in which they write and perform. Having said that, both of their previous albums have been sullied with a lack of consistency – for all the moments of excellence that they have, their past full-lengths could be described as unreliable and…

  • Choice Cuts: The Best Tracks of… February

    March 3, 2014 - By 

    In his latest review of the very best music released in the month just passed, the altogether audibly-attuned Aaron Hamilton bestows up our very ears some exceptional tracks from the likes of Sun Kil Moon, Lydia Loveless (pictured) and the behemothic pairing of Sunn O))) & Ulver. Banks – Brain (Harvest) Since her breakthrough last year, Banks has been one of the more promising acts in the annual flurry of year-end nominations and awards. Brain is a sardonic, down tempo collaboration with producer Schlomo, and the pairing works to the benefit of both of them – Banks sounds years more mature…

  • I Break Horses – Chiaroscuro

    February 11, 2014 - By 

    Chiaroscuro, an Italian juxtaposition of the words light and dark, has historically been a dramatic and influential style of presentation, particularly in the classical art world; it is also the theme upon which I Break Horses’ second album is based. Having seen success with their first release Hearts which netted them touring slots with Sigur Rós and M83, the excitement had been building in the minds of many prior to this release – they were a new band that many critics couldn’t help but fall for. The new record is a series of anxious, techno-infused pieces, with a strong bent…

  • Choice Cuts: The Best Tracks of… January

    January 31, 2014 - By 

    In the first of an new series-based feature, Belfast-based writer Aaron Hamilton trawls through the very best music released in the month of January, distilling his favourites to a mere eight tracks.  Whereas the first five are in no particular order, the final three are, as you might well guess, in order of consecutive greatness. Will we be humming their choruses this time next month? Check yourself then and read on now. St. Vincent – Digital Witness [Loma Vista] A second teaser to her upcoming album, ‘Digital Witness’ shows a decidedly weirder side to Annie Clark’s music. The big horns are…

  • PigsAsPeople, El Ten Eleven, Droids @ Radar

    October 29, 2013 - By 

    Since resuming service in September Radar has hosted numerous strong acts, and tonight proves to top them all, should you have a taste for a bit of noise and jumping around. Droids open the night up with a guitar-led onslaught of enormous chords and hooks, alongside big vocal anthems. They play 30 minutes to a relatively quiet Speakeasy, but the slowly growing numbers in front of them doesn’t put them off. There are more than a few nods given to post-hardcore band Thrice throughout, with distorted walls of sound topped by piercing melodic riffs being a common factor in most of…

  • Haim – Days Are Gone

    October 4, 2013 - By 

    It’s genuinely difficult to find information about the trio of sisters that make up Haim which doesn’t draw attention to their likeness to 70’s soft-rockers Fleetwood Mac. Such affiliation is certainly warranted, and it would be easy to assume Haim is no more than an impersonation of those rock icons they aspire to – but underneath the obvious influences lies a stark, almost outrageous character all their own. It would be impossible to say Haim are presenting a completely fresh sound, but what they have managed to do on their debut album Days Are Gone is take an amalgam of…

  • Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks

    September 11, 2013 - By 

    Hesitation Marks is the furthest Trent Reznor has pushed the aural parameters of Nine Inch Nails since the bands’ inception. Whilst previous releases have varied in degrees, several constants have always remained: dark and nihilistic themes, recurring musical motifs, and tracks that build dozens of layers into a towering climax – most of these traits have been eschewed in favour of a new approach here. The new record Hesitation Marks – their eighth full length –  is an exercise in minimalism, in honesty, in peeling back the skin; both in terms of song writing and tone. Reznor is creating music with new goals…

  • Shigeto – No Better Time Than Now

    August 12, 2013 - By 

    Zack Saginaw is a man with a distinct mantra. The Detroit-raised artist was surrounded by jazz and mo-town music from an early age, influenced heavily by his family upbringing. After studying electronic production in both New York and London, he has decidedly stuck to his roots ever since. Across numerous releases under the moniker Shigeto over the past few years (itself a reference to his past – his grandfather’s name), his blend of instrumental jazz, dubstep and hip-hop combined with his ever-present fascination with his heritage has yielded a collection of satisfying releases and remixes. His latest effort, No Better…

  • Iamamiwhoami – Bounty

    June 20, 2013 - By 

    Jonna Lee set the bar high when she released her impressive debut album Kin in June of last year. The Stockholm-based artist, under the moniker Iamamiwhoami, produced one of the most captivating electronic records of 2012, laden with art-pop grandeur and trip-hop intricacy. The audiovisual release followed a series of videos posted online, dubbed the ‘prelude’ to Kin – now a year later, those tracks have been released properly to form a spiritual prequel: Bounty. The album opens with ‘B’, an uncomplicated piano piece with echoing vocals heaped on. From the first listen it’s a pretty yet unremarkable song, and…