• Airhead – For Years

    June 21, 2013 - By 

    Long-time James Blake collaborator Rob McAndrews aka Airhead is quite happy doing things at his own pace. Since the release of 2010’s ‘Pembroke’ (his breakthrough single with Blake) McAndrews has only released three 12” singles, and whilst he’s kept himself busy with Blake’s touring band on guitar and synth duties, he hasn’t really thrust himself into the limelight in the way that he might have done following ‘Pembroke’’s success. He was briefly, after all, being mentioned in the same breaths as Blake and Mount Kimbie as a kind of post-dubstep ‘One to watch’  – yet both Mount Kimbie and James…

  • Jon Hopkins – Immunity

    June 17, 2013 - By 

    It’s been an unfortunate quirk of  Jon Hopkins’ career to date that his own fine solo work has been largely overlooked in favour of his collaborative efforts. Playing with Brian Eno, popping up unexpectedly on Coldplay’s Viva La Vida and conjuring up the sparkling Diamond Mine mini-album with Scotland’s finest, King Creosote are undoubtedly impressive CV points but give the impression of the Londoner as a talented studio gun-for-hire rather than a great artist in his own right. This is the record that should finally change all that. Though not by any stretch a concept album, Immunity has been sequenced…

  • Gold Panda – Half Of Where You Live

    June 17, 2013 - By 

    Derwin Schlecker, formerly of Peckham and Chelmsford but now Berlin-based, has metamorphosized into his alter ego Gold Panda and returns to bring the listening public the follow-up to the highly acclaimed and 2011 Mercury Prize-nominated Lucky Shiner.  A little bit of cursory internet research provides hints as to the influences, references and source material that provide the layers and strata for Gold Panda’s world. Time spent in Japan and study at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London has certainly left a lasting impression on Schlecker, as this release is held together at the seams…

  • Deafheaven – Sunbather

    June 13, 2013 - By 

    Much of the discourse surrounding San Francisco’s Deafheaven has concerned how metal or otherwise they are. Though their sound is rooted in the death-obsessed subgenre of black metal, it touches on post-rock, hardcore and shoegaze, while band members George Clarke and Kerry McCoy opt for button-down shirts and side-partings over corpsepaint, leather and steel. As Clarke told The Fader recently, ““If you ever see me with a spiked jacket on, I just look like a douchebag.” They get tagged as hipsters by black metal purists, and mocked for their non-adherence to tradition. And, fortunately, they don’t appear to care a…

  • Boards of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest

    June 12, 2013 - By 

    When you do something that is almost undefinable, how do you satisfy an intense demand for it? This is the situation Boards of Canada face on their new album, and it’s a testament to the cohesive creative vision the band have displayed over their career that they not only manage to meet the expectations, but in some cases exceed them. But for those who’ve been waiting for Tomorrow’s Harvest, there’s going to be a few surprises in store.   Regardless of how you came to the band – long-term fan, or just swept up in the hype – Tomorrow’s Harvest…

  • Queens Of The Stone Age – …Like Clockwork

    June 12, 2013 - By 

    Queens of the Stone Age are easily one of the most reliable bands of the last 20 years. There is not a dud in their entire back catalogue and even the weaker entries would still appear on most people’s top 20 of the year. So it’s no surprise that their latest effort …Like Clockwork keeps up with this trend. It’s a monolithically heavy album that will kick you in the teeth and then gently cushion your fall to the ground. The first sounds of the record are of breaking bottles, warning the listener that shit is about to get fucked. We’re…

  • Kylesa – Ultraviolet

    June 11, 2013 - By 

    Self-proclaimed ‘sludge metallers’ Kylesa hail from Savannah, Georgia-  the very same state that has given us Mastodon, Baroness and Black Tusk. While perhaps not making as many headlines as the aforementioned bands, Kylesa have stood toe-to-toe with each of them with past releases and are pushing away from the pack with their sixth album Ultraviolet. The band’s career path has seen them slowly rise from the murky swamps of Georgia, twisting and turning gradually with every release. Kylesa’s early albums saw the band wear its punk heart on its sleeve – albeit a sleeve still dripping with the filth of…

  • Majical Cloudz – Impersonator

    June 10, 2013 - By 

    “Love me, it’s a sin, can you see me caving in?” Don’t go into Majical Cloudz’ Impersonator expecting an easy ride. In fact, try not to go into it expecting anything at all – because what the Montreal duo have created here is something so difficult to pigeon-hole, something which is that much more rewarding if it’s approached with an open mind. There are no fireworks, no applause – with Impersonator, vocalist and lyricist Devon Welsh is bringing us into his personal expanse. He describes his creative process as more focussed on “stillness rather than movement.” It’s a rare example…

  • Tieranniesaur – DIYSCO

    June 10, 2013 - By 

    It’s a curious truth that there is no justice. For proof of this incontrovertible fact, consider the cases of Daft Punk and Tieranniesaur. When the none-more-fashionable French duo recently released their ‘Get Lucky’ single, they were hailed as the saviours of disco music. Yet mere months before that, Dublin’s own left-field funksters had unleashed ‘DIYSCO’, a track in a not-dissimilar musical vein that was every bit as good, yet – lacking as it did some heavyweight guests and an irresistible marketing  campaign – was inevitably met with a fraction of the acclaim. See? No bloody justice at all. Nonetheless, like…

  • Laurel Halo – Behind The Green Door EP

    June 6, 2013 - By 

    Laurel Halo originally emerged as a late starter in the much maligned chillwave explosion that took place a few years ago, although she could only be marginally associated with most of those acts. For better or worse, chillwave introduced a love of texture and ambience to pop music, allowing people to play about with concepts of time and temperature. Much of chillwave’s output captured a hazy, warm sound, redolent of infinite summer days on the beach, the kind of days most of us never had. On her latest release, Laurel Halo gives us something else. ‘Throw’ is all chilly, Balearic…