• Two Door Cinema Club – Gameshow

    October 18, 2016 - By 

    Having struggled to find their place in society, both musically and personally over the past number of years, it was only going to be the hope that Bangor’s Two Door Cinema Club, who were previously so emblematic of indie-pop, would return with an exciting and re-energized collection. Distancing themselves from the indie scene, they have still managed to stay true to their original fun style of twitchy, undeniably danceable, electro-pop. This third musical endeavour, Gameshow, sees the trio curiously venture into new genres, digging into the 80s for inspiration and injecting a splash of colour to the record with the retro revival of disco, neo-soul and funk.…

  • Goat – Requiem

    October 12, 2016 - By 

    Goat are one of the most unusual bands around at the minute. Based in Gothenburg, the band’s core trio have built up a shadowy mystique with their knack for storytelling – they claim to hail from the remote village of Korpilombolo in northern Sweden, which allegedly has a centuries old history of voodoo practice, and is still haunted by a curse placed on it by inhabitants fleeing the attack of Christian crusaders – all of which fits quite neatly with their stage show’s involvement of elaborate costumes and tribal masks. Other claims include the idea that Goat is an ongoing multi-generational communal entity that…

  • C Duncan – The Midnight Sun

    October 12, 2016 - By 

    It’s easy to forget that C Duncan’s debut album was released only 15 months ago; July 2015 feels like a lifetime away. Architect displayed enough promise to suggest that the Glaswegian wouldn’t take too long to piece together a follow-up however. Perhaps he heard the saying that an artist has their whole life to make their first album and 18 months to write their second, and took that as a challenge. In addition to this, the tour itinerary for his debut album was nothing to be sniffed at, and said debut was nominated for the Mercury Prize. With all that…

  • The Dillinger Escape Plan – Dissociation

    October 11, 2016 - By 

    So here we are, The Dillinger Escape Plan have literally beaten a bloody, broken and sometimes shitty path to an ending of their own choosing. What was once being called a hiatus is now, absolutely, one-hundred percent a break up and so ends nearly twenty years as one of the most frenetically innovative groups in “heavy music”. But as one has come to expect from the band they are not going out with a whimper but rather a guttural hoorah. To finish there will be a globe spanning tour and this, their final album, Dissociation. And while it may be their least directly innovative project to…

  • Arab Strap – 20 Songs for 20 Years

    October 10, 2016 - By 

    Six albums isn’t a lot by some bands’ standards, but for one as consistent as Arab Strap, it’s difficult to narrow that down into a “best of”. Without any drastic stylistic reinventions, the duo gradually evolved over their decade long career from fairly lo-fi beginnings, taking in elements of slowcore, folk, electronic music and more thanks to Malcolm Middleton’s impressive musicianship, all anchored by Aidan Moffat’s sung or spoken tales of misery and debauchery in his unmistakable thick Scottish accent. After their amicable split in 2006 they didn’t bother attempting that best of, instead releasing the aptly titled Ten Years of Tears compilation, a ragtag collection of…

  • Pixies – Head Carrier

    October 7, 2016 - By 

    Let’s get this out of the way right away – Pixies are obviously one of the greatest bands of all time. During their original run from 1986 to 1993, they amassed one of the most perfect discographies any band has ever managed. That includes the sometimes wrongly overlooked Bossanova and Trompe le Monde, which easily match up to their predecessors, and even the B-sides collection is pretty solid. So in a way it’s understandable that for years after their 2004 reunion, fans were apprehensive about the idea of any new material, particularly in the wake of that year’s now rightly forgotten one-off single ‘Bam Thwok’. Kim…

  • Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition

    October 5, 2016 - By 

    Danny Brown’s flair for off kilter delivery and taste for unusual production has garnered a cult following since the Detroit rapper’s earliest mixtapes. Subsequently, studio albums like XX and Old found a much wider audience for his tales of drink and drug fuelled escapades, placing Brown as the oddball at the very edge of the rap mainstream. Brown’s brutally honest confessions made him a fascinating figure: avoiding the hip-hop clichés of purely revelling in debauchery, Brown seemed genuinely compelled towards such levels of self-abuse. A series of concerning tweets from 2014, in which the rapper took aim at a lack of support in the rap industry…

  • Conor Oberst – Ruminations

    October 4, 2016 - By 

    The album as a concept can fall into one of two categories. The first, a heavily sculpted creation that presents the artist in their best possible light. An artistic declaration in which every sonic device is controlled and used to build a cohesive voice. The alternative, a candid snapshot where feeling and honesty of content and performance are prioritised over perfection and sheen. Though both are valid and worthy, Ruminations by Conor Oberst sits achingly in the latter camp. While an album will ultimately stand on the merit of its songwriting and music, this is an album that grows and unfolds with the benefit…

  • Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam – I Had a Dream That You Were Mine

    October 3, 2016 - By 

    The Walkmen formed in 2000 following the disintegration of two Washington bands, The Recoys and Jonathan Fire*Eater. They relocated to New York City and actively moved away from the indie garage of their contemporaries led by The Strokes. The Walkmen’s music was, instead, guided by a collective love for lo-fi production and the sound of vintage instruments which made some of the most interesting modern music to behold throughout the six studio albums they recorded over their fifteen year tenure. When the band dispersed, frontman Hamilton Leithauser released a debut album entitled Black Hours, in 2014. It was a mixture of sombre reflection and jovial melodies…

  • Oh Boland – Spilt Milk

    September 29, 2016 - By 

    Hailing from Tuam, Garage Rock trio Oh Boland are in the middle of celebrating the release of their long awaited and triumphant debut LP Spilt Milk, touring and performing throughout a number of venues on the East Coast of the US. It’s been a busy time for the Galway lads of late, and the attention they’re no enjoying has been well earned. Oh Boland have already released a number of EP’s since their formation in 2012 and as was the case with these prior releases, Spilt Milk, released this Friday on San Diego label Volar Records, is driven by the same blunt spurges of sludgy and raw, pop punk…