• Black Country, New Road – For the first time

    February 22, 2021 - By 

    Overnight success is so hot right now, and Black Country, New Road are the latest craze. The sextet formed in Cambridge in the summer of 2018 from the ashes of another project. A performance at London’s Brixton Windmill caught the attention of producer Dan Carey (Squid, Fontaines D.C., black midi), who swiftly ushered them into his studio in Streatham to record their debut single, ‘Athens, France’, released in January 2019. The track, which boasted the best Slint riff this side of Spiderland alongside some striking saxophone and shimmering keys, inspired the usual music press hyperbole; the latest outpouring of praise…

  • R.A.P. Ferreira – Bob’s Son: R.A.P. Ferreira in the Garden Level Café of the Scallops Hotel Bob’s Son

    February 11, 2021 - By 

    R.A.P. Ferreira in the Garden Level Café of the Scallops Hotel, the full title of the latest project from Rory Allen Philip Ferreira, aka R.A.P. Ferreira (aka Scallops Hotel, fka milo) is, according to the his Bandcamp “this album is an ode to the poet bob kaufman / the inventor of frink and beat / the progenitor of abomunism / the chief bomkoff / connoisseur of oatmeal cookies.” There are few rap artists as singular or prolific as Ferreira. The Chicago-born, Nashville-based rapper has released at least one project a year since his Greatest Hits Vol.1 debut mixtape (as Nom…

  • Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams

    January 29, 2021 - By 

    Reflecting on the trials and joys of young adulthood, the eagerly anticipated debut album from young Londoner Arlo Parks basks in the nostalgia of teen love, friendship and heartache, and explores sexuality and mental health in a tone that is both vulnerable and self-assured. With a mature indie-pop sound, Parks divulges sensitive and personal subjects with a complexity that extends beyond her years. At just 20, Arlo Parks has already begun to make her mark on the music industry. With two EPs under her belt, the songwriter has quickly gained a loyal following and earned praise from renowned musicians including…

  • Bicep – Isles

    February 2, 2021 - By 

    To create a dance record during a pandemic must be a particularly daunting task. What’s the point of club music when there’s nowhere to dance? Nonetheless, Belfast-bred, London-based duo Bicep rose to take on this arduous task. The duo’s 2017 self-titled debut was lauded upon its release for its sleek, contemporary take on classic UK dance sounds. 2-step, garage and house music were all present, led by the euphoric ‘Glue’, itself now a go-to soundtrack for car advertisements and social media influencer story posts alike. Isles was pre-empted by the duo as a “home listening” version of what was really…

  • IndieCork – Still, Life – Cork’s Lockdown Sounds

    January 26, 2021 - By 

    As the world settled uncomfortably into lockdown last spring, the impulse to document and artistically interpret this cataclysmic moment was felt by many. Still, Life – Cork’s Lockdown Sounds is the IndieCork collective’s contribution to that global documentation, a 17-track snapshot of Cork’s experimental music scene compiled by Tony Langlois and Arty Pawsey. Compiling work created during spring 2020, it shows creative life continuing, confined to bedrooms and houses, with all its joy, fear, anxiety and beauty shining through. It is an eclectic mix, but a consistent thread is found in the electronics that pulse through Cork’s leftfield. The collection…

  • Shame – Drunk Tank Pink

    February 1, 2021 - By 

    London post-punks Shame’s sophomore album, Drunk Tank Pink, had a lot to live up to. After finding breakthrough success with their 2018 debut Songs of Praise, Shame have risen in stature thanks to their accomplished, energetic sound. Drunk Tank Pink builds upon everything that was so impressive from their first album, amplifying their typically whiney guitars, brilliantly erratic drums and rebellious energy, adding new layers to their songwriting talent and a boat load of cheekiness to boot. This time around, the raucous quintet touch on the common anxieties that underlie the transition from youth to adulthood, with frontman Charlie Steen…

  • Sean Being – DEIS

    January 22, 2021 - By 

    Opening with a sharp downpour of prickling synth tones and electrical disturbance, Dublin artist Sean Being’s DEIS wastes little time setting a chilly and discomfited tone, oh so fitting of the EP’s December 28th release date.   If the end of the year was already characterised by damp post-holiday ennui and a cruel and unusual tendency to take stock and pick over our many and varied personal failings, the caustic pall cast by 2020’s concurrent dumpster infernos certainly helped make it all the bleaker this time around. The extended state of emergency and protracted isolation that many of us have become intimately…

  • Frog of Earth – Frog of Earth

    January 23, 2021 - By 

    Part of the wherethetimegoes label, experimental electronic artist Frog of Earth wants to lead you on a journey down the Other rabbit hole: one built from synth keys and effects knobs, and which is as much about the fall as it is about the landing. Frog of Earth, a mystical self-titled record, comes accompanied by a cryptic paragraph, which adds little context, but adds a deep sense of atmosphere to the listening experience. It describes the humble frog as it ponders its environment, overcomes panic in the face of a moving world, and examines the waterways and reeds that make…

  • David Donohoe / David Lacey – Noctules

    January 18, 2021 - By 

    When discussing the merits of canonical composers, the electroacoustic pioneer and arch pessimist Iannis Xenakis declared, “I don’t think music ought to be pleasant all the time. Profound music is never like that. No really great music is tender”. A contentious statement it may be, but with Noctules David Donohoe and David Lacey have made a worthy argument in its favour. Recorded in the summer of 2020, and unveiled in November via Cork tape label Fort Evil Fruit, Noctules trades in the unease of these grim times. Comprising four interlocking compositions, the album is fused together with the ever-present tics and…