• Elaine Mai – The Colour Of The Night

    June 19, 2017 - By 

    The Colour of the Night is the latest extended-play from Mayo native, Dublin based electronic mastermind, Elaine Mai. It’s snappy, intoxicating and beautifully unique. Most of all, it demonstrates Elaine’s confidence and progression as a solo artist. It’s been three years since the release of her last EP Known/Unknown. And her growth since then has been phenomenal. The Colour of the Night sees Mai cleverly weave authentic human emotions with electronic and mechanical soundscapes to craft beautiful tracks that uncover touching stories. She transcends boundaries with layers and textures that form a sound that’s honest and thought-provoking. ‘Enniscrone’ serves as…

  • Fleet Foxes – Crack Up

    June 16, 2017 - By 

    A six-year break is a fairly large gulf for album releases. Fleet Foxes released their last LP, Helplessness Blues, on May 3rd, 2011. At that point in time, Spotify had barely eked its way into the American market, Mitt Romney was a viable presidential opponent and Osama Bin Laden was dead for less than 24 hours. To say certain seismic shifts have occurred since the group’s previous outing is an understatement. The world in which Helplessness Blues and the self-titled record is long gone, so how does their latest, Crack-Up, fare in this new musical landscape? Not well. This a…

  • Loah – This Heart

    June 15, 2017 - By 

    Sallay Matu Garnett AKA Loah‘s debut EP This Heart is, at it’s core, a magical fusion of folk, soul and R’n’B. An effortless blend that draws on elements of eminent female artists such as Grace Jones and Fiona Apple as well as her own own classical music training. What she dubs ‘ArtSoul’ – soul music, which incorporates the scope of all the musical art that Loah loves, including classical, folk, blues – is a carefully curated mix of different sounds and different cultures. Not only that, This Heart  is a proud artistic celebration of Ireland’s multiculturalism, and an opportunity for Garnett to…

  • Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – On The Echoing Green

    June 14, 2017 - By 

    Chaos is everywhere. Politically, ecologically or economically speaking, you can’t look far without longing for a friend humanity has never been too well acquainted with: Order. Timely, then, is the return of Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, widely regarded as the apotheosis of ambient drone rock. So frequent are his trademark chaotic turns into rhythmless noise-scapes that comparatively 2017’s Fyre Festival looks like an extremely well organised event. On The Echoing Green, however, promises more overt pop elements at the fore, experimenting in clarity and collaboration and in doing so showcasing a whole new side to Jefre Cantu-Ledesma. Prior to going solo in…

  • Rise Against – Wolves

    June 12, 2017 - By 

    To Rise Against’s credit, they’ve at least maintained some degree of credibility in the face of success. The Chicago four-piece has spent the last decade rather comfortably at the top of the Billboard charts. They’ve long since bypassed the underground and are pretty firmly well established in the mainstream. Yet, unlike countless others in a similar position, they’ve retained their fundamental beliefs. They’re vegan, straight edgers with strong political ideologies and are unafraid to fly their flags high. This is the kind of band who include a recommended reading and viewing lists in their liner notes. These lists have included Naomi…

  • Cigarettes After Sex – Cigarettes After Sex

    June 12, 2017 - By 

    Cigarettes After Sex’ self titled debut comes nine years after the band’s first incarnation in El Paso, Texas. Now based in Brooklyn and signed to indie label Partisan Records (John Grant, Sylvan Esso), the band play their opening gambit with frontman Greg Gonzalez at the helm. On first approaching the band it’s easy to be nonplussed by their notably cringeworthy name but upon listening it becomes evident that the name is indeed a very fitting one. Cigarettes After Sex write romantic yet melancholic love songs and the feeling one gets when listening to them is one of warmth and wonderment.…

  • Ulrika Spacek – Modern English Decoration

    June 8, 2017 - By 

    It’s scarcely more than a year since Ulrika Spacek appeared as if from nowhere with their critically lauded debut, The Album Paranoia, on the ever reliable Tough Love Records. So it’s surprising, by today’s standards at least, that they’re already back with a follow up, Modern English Decoration. Recording and mixing the whole record entirely in their own shared East London house that serves as their creative hub probably helped speed things along, mind. Although the band had already expanded from the core duo of Rhys Edwards and Rhys Williams to a full five piece by the time of The Album Paranoia’s recording…

  • Dan Auerbach – Waiting On A Song

    June 8, 2017 - By 

    Poor Dan Auerbach. Since the first Black Keys album arrived fifteen years ago, he’s been consistently portrayed as an ersatz Jack White. It was pretty inevitable, of course, as both singer-guitarist in a two-piece garage band and vinyl-loving champion of all things retro-rock, with Auerbach painted as the workmanlike copyist of White, the true artist. And while it’s true that none of Auerbach’s work has approached the heights of Elephant or White Blood Cells, he doesn’t have dodgy Bond themes or baffling collaborations with the Insane Clown Posse to explain away either. And, to be fair, he has produced a few…

  • Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly & James McAlister – Planetarium

    June 7, 2017 - By 

    “I am the god of war. I reside in every creature. Dispose of the future or put away your sword.” Michigan’s musical polymath Sufjan Stevens takes aim at the stars to reflect on the best and worst of our human nature on this collaborative record with Bryce Dessner of The National, composer Nico Muhly, and drummer James McAlister. The arrangements may be stellar, but earth is never too far away. “Love me completely in song” opines Stevens on ‘Venus’, with its references to Methodist summer camp and formative sexual experience. Each of the planets is a canvas for Stevens to ruminate on…

  • Beach Fossils – Somersault

    June 6, 2017 - By 

    It’s fairly easy to write off a group like Beach Fossils upon the first impression. While we can’t judge books by their cover, those sleeves are designed to give you the most concise definition of its contents, so there must be some merit. A cursory glance at the group reveals exactly what you need to know about them. These are four dudes from Brooklyn dressed in thrift shop finest and baseball caps. They produce lo-fi, Yo La Tengo inflected indie rock-and-droll with whispery vocals and enough irony to make Malkmus look sincere. They’re another group of stoned hipsters talking about…