• 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…

  • Optimus Primavera – Day Three

    June 21, 2013 - By 

      It feels like the festival’s only just begun, but the third and final day of Optimus Primavera Sound 2013 is already here. With it comes that bittersweet feeling one only gets when facing into the last day of a great festival weekend – there’s excitement for another day full of promising live shows, but also disappointment that it’s not lasting for another day at least. The only thing that can be done, though, is to make the most of the time that’s left. So, with a timetable in one hand and a beer in the other, The Thin Air sets…

  • 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…

  • Man of Steel – Triumph or Washout?

    June 18, 2013 - By 

    There are mixed reports circulating the blogosphere with many flat out flunking Zack Snyder’s attempt to shape the controversial Superman franchise. Man of Steel has a dream team of Hollywood’s elite behind it but could it be a case of too many cooks? It’s easy to see where this film fails and the problem seems to lie almost solely with the direction. The pace of the film is completely off; a labored and awkward introduction eats into the film’s running time creating a knock on affect on the overall development of the plot. Throughout the film, time is allocated to…

  • Optimus Primavera – Day Two

    June 18, 2013 - By 

    The sun continues to bless Optimus Primavera Sound on the festival’s second day. Arriving on site in the late afternoon there’s ample time to have a cocktail from one of the stalls dotted around the Parque da Cicade before the day’s schedule begins, and with a nice strong caipirinha costing a mere €4 it would be rude not to. People-watching whilst sipping on a drink and strolling around is an oddly compelling pastime, but it’s best to conserve energy for the moment as today sees a further two stage areas opened up to the public – the ATP Stage and the…

  • The Breeders – Limelight 1, Belfast

    June 18, 2013 - By 

    Yesterday, it was announced that indie songstress par excellence Kim Deal had left boundlessly influential Boston band Pixies nine years into their reformation. This evening, she’s in town with her very own Breeders to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough album, Last Splash. Nothing short of an alt-rock masterstroke, all but spanning every shade of sub-genre and sentiment, the record crystallised a supremely accomplished brand of sonic slackerdom effectively forged by Deal, her twin sister Kelley, bassist Josphine Wiggs and drummer Jim MacPhearson. As to which fact will warrant the most interest and acknowledgement from tonight’s crowd, only time will reveal.…

  • 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…

  • Optimus Primavera – Day One

    June 17, 2013 - By 

    Ah, festivals. Around these parts the very word conjures up images of wet weekends with wellies, mud, overpriced beer, flooded tents and a bunch of rowdy twats in the campsite who “only came here to see David Guetta.” Sure, there are more than enough decent acts to be seen, but precious few of them can stave off the sinking feeling that spreads throughout the crowd when it senses the pitter-patter of rainfall as the opening song rings out. Which is why The Thin Air has made an executive decision and flown out to the northern Portuguese city of Porto for…

  • 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…