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Natalie Wildgoose (Supporting Chris Brain), The Attic, Leeds - 21/07/25

 


An instant hush descends over The Attic’s seated audience as Natalie Wildgoose serenely takes her place at the piano. It’s the kind of quiet respect - only to be punctuated by rapturous applause after each delicately crafted song - I wish could be bottled and distributed at will at other events. However.

Big Special 'National Average' (ALBUM REVIEW)


They say it takes a lifetime to write your first album, then six months to write your second. Presumably, the latter only happens if the former generates enough of a splash, certainly the case for ‘Post Industrial Hometown Blues’, last year’s fine ode to not-so-quiet desperation, the debut release from West Midlands troubadours Big Special. 

Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning - Villa Park, Aston: 5/7/25 (LIVE REVIEW)



So it came to pass, the four original horsemen of the heavy metal apocalypse joined forces for one last riff-laden hurrah in the now post-industrial corner of Birmingham that nurtured Messrs Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward throughout their formative years. 

Orbital - Brown Album (Reissue review)

 

I am fairly sure you cannot improve on perfection. In Orbital’s case, reissuing their spellbinding ‘Brown’ album (London Records) was always going to be warmly greetedbut what else did the brothers Hartnoll have in their locker? In stark contrast to Kraftwerk’s recent unmolested 50th anniversary reissue of Autobahn, the duo managed to curate thirty-twotrack 4 CD boxed techno odyssey.

Pup (+Goo + Illuminati Hotties) - The Marble Factory, Bristol - 13/05/2025 (LIVE REVIEW)



Depressing lyrics and utter euphoria combined in a celebration of the underdog at Bristol’s Marble Factory, which hosted Canadian punk-rockers PUP and their frankly dazzling support acts as part of its extended swansong.

Big Special –Interview - 29 April 2025


Unruly West Midlands duo Big Special return to Leeds just over 12 months after tearing Key Club a new one, courtesy of a thunderous set, expertly capturing the raw anger and quiet desperation of debut long player ‘Post Industrial Hometown Blues’. 

Lambrini Girls - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 08/04/25 (LIVE REVIEW)

 

No strangers to touring,

a punk vibe so alluring,

Lambrini Girls are coming to town...


We’ve watched them here before,

From the Brudenell 's sticky floor,

This Brighton-based band won’t let you down.


The Darkness 'Dreams On Toast' (ALBUM REVIEW)





It’s a brace of decades since ‘Permission To Land’ catapulted then cult NWOBHM throwback quartet ‘The Darkness’ into the stratosphere, infectious power pop underpinned by tongue-in-cheek 80s metal sonic pyrotechnics, leaving the listener wondering if the East Anglians were the real deal or simply the greatest piss take since Bad News.    

Marie Davidson 'City Of Clowns' (ALBUM REVIEW)



 

Combining the playfulness of Confidence Man, the detachment of Grace Jones as well as the sado-masochistic tendencies of Goldfrapp, the darkly alluring 6th long player from French Canadian producer Marie Davidson provides the somewhat startled listener with a 1990s tinged hedonistic dystopian rave odyssey. 

Zzzahara 'Spiral Your Way Out' (ALBUM REVIEW)




Zzzahara is American singer-songwriter Zahara Jaime; part Filipino, part Mexican, all California; or more specifically, Los Angeles. Waves of sun and grit spill out of this, their third album; a sound so uniquely Angeleno you can almost hear the traffic. Defiantly formed in the ashes of an ill-fated relationship, the emotion is thick and palpable. It’s a cliché to talk about sun-drenched guitar melodies, but the dreamy, beachy sound is undeniable. There are hints of Girls in there, of early Grimes, of Sky Ferreira's better produced moments.