"Embroidered with rich harmonies, imaginatively arranged, lyrically expressive if still enigmatic, it exudes a gorgeous calm and warm sentiment..."
Friday, 27 August 2010
Album Review: S. Carey's 'All We Grow' (The Quietus)
"Embroidered with rich harmonies, imaginatively arranged, lyrically expressive if still enigmatic, it exudes a gorgeous calm and warm sentiment..."
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Album Review: Ten Ken's 'For Posterity' (BBC Music)
"... they’ve fortunately messed with the formulae, throwing in healthy doses of hardcore, post-punk and even goth..."
Friday, 20 August 2010
Album Review: Phil Selway's 'Familial' (BBC Music)
"Even the most fervent of Radiohead fans might lack the patience to get excited about this humble collection. But therein lies its charm..."
Friday, 13 August 2010
Photo Essay: Ut Av Vår Hule Music & Art Festival in Arctic Norway (Matador Network)
Another trip to Norway, and another spectacular adventure: the Ut Av Vår Hule Music and Art Festival in Fauske takes place every second year in the extraordinary surroundings of the old marble mines just outside town. Matador Network invited me to contribute a Photo Essay to their fine site, and you can see it here.
Monday, 9 August 2010
Album Review: Slowdive's 'Pygmalion' (BBC Music)
Sometimes it's great to have an excuse to visit a band's back catalogue, and the arrival of Slowdive's was no exception. BBC Music gave me the chance to explore their final album in depth right here.
Feature: Walking On The Moon - The Story Of The Police - An Extract & Q&A (The Quietus)
I can't claim responsibility for much of this article since it's a significant extract taken from Chris Campion's revealing look at the rise of The Police, but there's an introduction, a Q&A, and Campion's thorough prose about the band's trip to Egypt, Japan and beyond. Read it all here.
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Feature: The Power Of Propaganda - A Secret Wish 25 Years On... (The Quietus)
Propaganda's debut album, A Secret Wish, remains one of my favourite records of all time, and The Quietus gave me the chance to eulogise it a quarter of a century after its release, coincidentally (I think not) on the eve of its reissue. Read my enthusiasm here.
"If Frankie Goes To Hollywood were the garish cartoon gang And Art Of Noise the bespectacled nerds in the science lab, then Propaganda were their fearsome, gothic nemesis..."
Monday, 2 August 2010
Album Review: Dean & Britta's '13 Most Beautiful... Songs For Andy Warhol's Screen Tests' (BBC Music)
Dean Wareham and his wife Britta Phillips get to grips with Andy Warhol's slow motion portraits, providing a soundtrack for a Baker's Dozen of 'em. Read about the results here.
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Album Review: Seeland - How To Live (Uncut)
Midlands space-pop alumni return to earth
Adopting a more playful approach to the retro-futurism they helped pioneer with former bands Broadcast and Plone, Tim Felton and Billy Bainbridge combine krautrock and psychedelically baroque ‘60s arrangements to often impressive effect on their second album. Though they fail to break ground not already mined by both their previous bands and early patrons Stereolab, hints of a bitter-sweet melancholy, especially on the easygoing ‘Cardinal’, add a welcome earthbound twist. Opener ‘Black Dot’ canters along like Neu!, ‘Armour’ offers a harpsichord-flavoured dreampop, and ‘Afterthoughts’ proves they have an ear for melody as well as squelchy keyboard sounds.
Album Review: Cavil - Mares’ Tails (Uncut)
3/5
Delicious lofi melancholy from Leeds
Like the clouds after which it’s named, Gareth Cavill’s second album may appear delicately beautiful but hints at unsettled weather ahead. As he traces wistful acoustic patterns over gentle waltzes soaked in sadness, Cavill’s glum voice delivers memorable lines like “your beautiful mouth is filled with terrible teeth”, while spoken word closer ‘Small Moments’ praises the simple pleasures of solitude. Those nostalgic for Sarah Records will also revel in ‘Cold Heaven’’s sparkling crescendo and, especially, ‘These Things’, whose brushed drums and echoing guitars sound like an English Pennines take on East River Pipe’s intimate sadness.
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