• Death From Above – Outrage! Is Now

    September 25, 2017 - By 

    You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine is fast approaching its thirteenth birthday. Released in October 2004, it was Death From Above 1979’s first, and for a long time only full length release. The duo of Sebastien Grainger and Jesse Keeler had made a name for themselves as snotty noise brats with an attitude, reflected in their statement when their label requested that they didn’t use the name of the then all-conquering dance punk imprint Death From Above. The statement began with “FUCK DFA RECORDS FUCK JAMES MURPHY WE DECLARE JIHAD ON THEM HOLY WAR ENDING IN THIER [sic] DEATH AND DISMEMBERMENT…”…

  • Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Luciferian Towers

    September 22, 2017 - By 

    Of all the bands that have reunited over the years, one would not have expected Godspeed You! Black Emperor to have stuck to it. And yet, Luciferian Towers marks the Montreal ensemble’s third album since their return to touring in 2010, following on from 2012’s Polaris Prize winning Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend and 2015’s Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress. Those albums saw a progression of sorts in the collective’s signature sound, with both  featuring more thick drones and towering examples of thunderous interplay from guest orchestras. That a group of such inherent breath and scope can continue to expand and develop their sound…

  • Deerhoof – Mountain Moves

    September 15, 2017 - By 

    Mountain Moves is the 14th album in 23 years from Bay Area art-rock stalwarts Deerhoof. Though the band have changed labels, styles and members over the years, they have always retained their singular madcap approach to writing and recording music. They’ve been a stable four piece since Ed Rodriguez joined on guitar before the recording of 2008’s Offend Maggie and have been releasing an album roughly every two years since then. At times this work rate seems to have flattened the quality of the releases, never quite reaching the heights of 2003’s Apple O or 2005’s The Runners Four but always retaining a certain consistency. During this time they’ve…

  • Body Of Work – You Are The Light Of The World

    August 18, 2017 - By 

    You Are The Light Of The World is the title of Body Of Work’s new EP, a five track collection of improvisations from the Berlin based duo of UK and Ireland natives Tom Moore and darken malign. Released through the circle of dolphins collective, it’s the first work from this newly formed duo and is complimented by being equal parts a visual and musical project. It’s an interesting work, with the primary tone of the EP being one of unease. Both members are non-binary femmes and ex-catholics, whose interests range from a fascination with “wasted youths festering in subcultures” to “liberating…

  • Wild Rocket – Dissociation Mechanics

    July 20, 2017 - By 

    Wild Rocket have been ploughing their own particular psych rock furrow for the past few years, standing out in the Irish metal scene as one of the slower, sludgier bands around. Their first album, Geomagnetic Hallucinations, was an assured debut, while their second, Dissociation Mechanics, toys further with the form, extending track lengths and burrowing further into their krautrock-meets-metal idiom. The album’s lead track, ‘Caught In Triangle Again’, is one that’s least representative of the whole album. It opens with a loping groove, guitars and bass doubling the riff, accented by synth and joined by vocals that come straight from…

  • Do Make Say Think – Stubborn Persistent Illusions

    May 22, 2017 - By 

    Do Make Say Think were always careful to differentiate themselves from their peers in the nineties instrumental rock boom. More subtle than Mogwai, less doom-mongering than Godspeed You! Black Emperor, more instrumentally varied than Explosions in the Sky and Comets On Fire, Do Make Say Think have always ploughed their own jazz-influenced furrow. As a result of this, the Toronto outfit have always seemed a band apart, one more interested in broadening their palette than sticking to one particular sound. This inquisitive spirit may be the reason for their somewhat sporadic output over the years, as various members pursue side…

  • Black Lips – Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art?

    May 22, 2017 - By 

    Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art is the eight album from garage rock stalwarts Black Lips. The Atlanta, Georgia natives have been ploughing this furrow since 1999, undergoing various lineup changes and becoming well known for their raucous live show, all thrown guitars and downed beers. While the band remain impressive in the live sphere, their studio albums took a decline around the time of 2011’s Arabia Mountain, primarily produced by Mark Ronson. The subsequent album, 2014’s ‘Underneath The Rainbow’, continued the decline and this year’s effort unfortunately doesn’t quite buck the trend enough, despite the recruiting of the mighty Sean Lennon…

  • Little Dragon – Season High

    May 8, 2017 - By 

    Little Dragon are a band that have bumped along quietly since they first appeared with their self-titled debut album in 2007. While they’ve never troubled the top of the charts, they’ve trodden their own path, making solid synth-pop albums while also collaborating with various acts in the hip-hop/R’n’B firmament, with singer Yukimi Nagano lending her vocals to tracks by Big Boi, Mac Miller and Kaytranada among others. After ten years, four albums and numerous EPs they’re on to their fifth full-length effort, ‘Season High’. The album, much like their previous efforts, is a mix of styles with multiple genres being…

  • Label Mixtape: Kranky

    May 1, 2017 - By 

    If you’re aware of the existence of Kranky as a record label, then it’s quite possible that your first introduction to the imprint was through Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The Canadian outfit’s first two albums and 1999’s Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada EP were pressed on CD and distributed by Kranky up until the release of 2002’s ‘Yanqui U.X.O.’, while their LPs were handled by smaller Canadian label Constellation. This might be the extent of your knowledge of the label and while GY!BE are undoubtedly an incredible band, they only form part of the Kranky story, a tale that began…

  • 25 Years On: Looking Back at Pavement’s Debut Album Slanted and Enchanted

    April 19, 2017 - By 

    Slanted And Enchanted, Pavement’s debut album, has aged oddly well in the twenty five years since its release. It’s an album that hundreds of bands have tried to ape and one that few indie rock bands have ever equalled. It would be easy to say that its an album that exceeds the sum of its parts but that would be doing a huge disservice to the band themselves. From Stephen Malkmus’ laconic delivery of his oblique witticisms to the lo-fi/hi-fi quality of the recordings themselves to the band’s winsome way with melody, it’s an album that never fails to delight…