• Cloud Nothings – Life Without Sound

    February 15, 2017 - By 

    Cloud Nothings make their return this year with their fifth album, Life Without Sound. Dylan Baldi’s bedroom recording project has evolved over the years, from the lo-fi stylings of the self- titled debut, to the classic indie rock of Attack On Memory and then into the throat-shredding intensity of 2014’s Here And Nowhere Else. The latter was undoubtedly the highlight of their career so far, mixing great songwriting with forceful production and furious performances from Baldi and his band. So, to 2017 and Life Without Sound. On first listen the album is underwhelming when compared to previous efforts. Baldi has…

  • William Basinksi – A Shadow In Time

    February 14, 2017 - By 

    It is with great trepidation that I approach A Shadow In Time, the new album from William Basinski, that titan of ambient music. An artist with a staggering work rate and whose most well-known work, 2002’s Disintegration Loops, is one of the most important pieces of sound art created in the 21st century given its context in proximity to the attacks on New York City on September 11th 2001. A Shadow In Time is his twentieth album under his own name, along with many collaborative works in various other mediums. It is yet another daunting work, comprised of two tracks…

  • Moon Duo – Occult Architecture, Vol. 1

    February 14, 2017 - By 

    Sometimes a side project starts to outgrow its parent band. Such appears to have happened recently with Portland’s Moon Duo, formed by Wooden Shjips’ vocalist/guitarist Ripley Johnson with his partner Sanea Yamada, with the latter band’s lack of activity since 2013’s Back to Land allowing Moon Duo’s more recent releases to fill the gap. Despite plenty of similarities in sound, swapping the Shjips’ looser psych for an increasingly mechanical krautrock sound has seen them gradually become the more essential of the two, and fourth album Occult Architecture, Vol. 1 has done nothing but cement that. Part one of a “two…

  • Deadman’s Ghost – Hypocritical Oath

    February 10, 2017 - By 

    Jason Mills, better known as Deadman’s Ghost, recently dropped his third album Hypocritical Oath, an eccentric, eight-track collection of prismatic experimentation. The Belfast native inventively fuses together electronic, folk and synth elements, creating a sound that’s intoxicating, honest and thought provoking. The intimate album comes as a follow up to 2012’s The Broken Zoetrope. It takes the listener on a sonic journey of discovery, delving into new territory and overshadowing his previous releases. The multi-instrumentalist’s music appears to have become much more complex and this album demonstrates his growth, creativity and experimental brilliance as a musician. ‘Ogham Script’ serves as…

  • Tinariwen – Elwan

    February 9, 2017 - By 

    It’s fair to say that in our Western-centric music industry, few artists from an African country like Mali tend to get much of a look in. With that in mind, for a band of Tuareg musicians like Tinariwen to break through as they have must be a signal that they’re pretty damn good. Formed as long ago as 1979 as political exiles in Algeria but only releasing their first album proper in 2001 after their return to their native country having picked up several new members along the way, their gradually growing international profile culminated in fifth album Tassili –…

  • Sampha – Process

    February 8, 2017 - By 

    Sampha is an artist who has spent the vast majority of his music career as a fleeting shadow of brilliance on tracks by some extremely famous artists. You may be able to place his sullen vocals on Beyoncé’s ‘Mine’, Frank Ocean’s ‘Alabama’, Kanye West’s ‘Saint Pablo’, Drake’s ‘Too Much’ and several appearances on SBTRKT‘s 2014 album Wonder Where We Land. When not appearing beside some of the biggest names in rap/hip-hop, Sampha has been quietly releasing EP’s every now and then, simultaneously preparing for his first full release, building expectations for what was to come. When he was three years old Sampha Sisay’s father…

  • Sleater-Kinney – Live In Paris

    February 3, 2017 - By 

    Anyone who claims that Sleater-Kinney do not belong in the pantheon of great bands should be forced to listen to Dig Me Out, One Beat and The Woods until they can see how wrong they are. With their furiously impassioned lyrics, clever off kilter musicianship and jaw dropping live shows, they’re a trio who belong in every music lover’s heart, not just the punks or riot grrls. Despite their tenure, the group had not released anything which demonstrated how powerful and forceful they are on stage until Live In Paris. Recorded on the tour for their comeback album, No Cities…

  • New Pope – Love

    January 31, 2017 - By 

    Galway’s New Pope AKA David Boland, hasn’t been around long, but he doesn’t waste any time. Released with little fanfare on New Year’s Eve – evidently caring not for making his way into any album of the year lists – his second album Love comes along just a year after his debut Youth. Much like the debut – an album steeped in childhood nostalgia – the single word title again serves as a theme for the album’s lyrical content, the word ‘love’ appearing in the titles of three of the seven tracks alone, and being at the heart of all the…

  • Japandroids – Near To The Wild Heart Of Life

    January 30, 2017 - By 

    After a three-year hiatus, Japandroids have had plenty of time to work on and develop their long-awaited third album, Near To The Wild Heart Of Life. The Canadian duo’s disappearance after releasing their critically acclaimed sophomore album, Celebration Rock, left many with high expectations. And although  the bar may have been set slightly too high back in 2012, their return is nonetheless a successful one. It is a strong comeback, with the band developing and maturing their sound and lyrics while still maintaining true to their roots. The pre-released title track is a strong introduction to the album, featuring an urgency not dissimilar to…

  • Rebekka Karijord – Mother Tongue

    January 27, 2017 - By 

    The emotional transfiguration of becoming a mother is something that the majority of people take for granted. On her latest album Mother Tongue, Rebekka Karijord has documented that spectrum of emotion that permeates motherhood, from agonising torture to euphoria. Born in Sandnessjøen, just south of the Arctic Circle in Norway, Karijord moved to Sweden to train as an actor and has composed music for over 30 films, modern dance and theatre pieces, as well as writing plays and short stories. All of this reveals itself through repeated listens to the album as we delve further into her frame of mind. Based…