• Mogwai – ZeroZeroZero

    May 27, 2020 - By 

    Gabriel Byrne menacingly leans in towards an associate and sneers: “If we don’t continue to broker cocaine, this company ceases to exist”. This is the tone of the gritty new Italian crime drama ZeroZeroZero, and is the kind of intimidating high tension that Mogwai have become experts in providing sonic atmospheres for. Alongside their standalone work, Mogwai have created a prolific reputation for producing soundtracks for  films and documentaries over the years. These projects, including Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, Les Revenants and the excellent Atomic documentary, often stand up next to their full release LPs in terms of quality, sometimes even above…

  • Damien Jurado – What’s New, Tomboy?

    May 18, 2020 - By 

    Damien Jurado describes his songs as being like cats. That is, when he wants one to come to him, they ignore him but if he goes about his day not paying attention, they come in swarms. So, making an album for Jurado is a bit like herding cats. On his 15th record, the Seattle songwriter has managed to stay out of his own way long enough in order to allow 10 sweet, well-crafted songs into his orbit, reminding us once again of his status as one of the most vital musicians to have come out of the Pacific Northwest’s folk…

  • Angular Hank – Brand New Angle

    May 6, 2020 - By 

    Angular Hank have no shortage of weapons in their arsenal.  Three songwriters, four lead vocalists and a stack of talent. Formed in the summer of 2018, the Dublin based quartet comprise of Diarmuid O’Connor, Samuel Doogan, Mathieu Doogan and Ronan Boland: four guys who represent the indie rock equivalent of Total Football, swapping duties from song to song with ease and equal ability.   Recorded over a seven-month period in Crumlin while living together, Brand New Angle lays out ten breezy accessible tunes infused with self-effacing humour and wit. Making their bones by gigging around the Dublin scene for a year…

  • Duster – Duster

    January 25, 2020 - By 

    It somehow seems fitting that San Jose slowcore outfit, Duster, would come back from the dead to release an album on the penultimate day of the decade. Nearly 20 years since their last LP, it’s a move that reflects the same elusive and distant feeling their music evokes. Like Duster’s two previous albums, Stratosphere and Contemporary Movement, the tonal theme of outer space is heavily present and with the opening track ‘Copernicus Crater’, that theme is picked right back up. Setting out the cosmic manifesto early on with a driving  bassline and a gloom laden guitar that really makes you feel like you exploring an other worldly geographical feature. Tracks like ‘Hoya…