In 1982 Paul Weller was one of the biggest pop stars in the UK, The Jam notching up 18 consecutive top 40 singles in a five year period, garnering a devoted if somewhat laddish following, helping propel the trio to the singles chart summit on four occasions.
Plants And Animals 'The Jungle' (ALBUM REVIEW)
The seldom dull Canadian trio ‘Plants and Animals’ return after a four-year hiatus with ‘The Jungle’. Released on 23rd October, it’s the band’s fifth album, again on Secret City Records, Messrs Spicer, Woodley and Basque seemingly intent on prolonging the listener’s woozy chill-out experience from the outro of ‘Waltzed in from the Rumbling’ albeit perhaps transported to the chaotic set of Jumanji.
Wicketkeeper 'Shonk' (ALBUM REVIEW)
My introduction to Wicketkeeper was the video for magnificent fifth single 'The Side' (an excellent place to start with this excellent band). Soundtracked by the song's spry guitar work and irrepressible vocal hooks – both of which are Wicketkeeper staples – my eye wandered to the comments section where the band themselves had given a reply. In response to a self-congratulatory observation of what may or may not have been a bum note, Wicketkeeper simply replied "if that bothers you, you're going to struggle with the album", unwittingly writing the perfect review for their debut album Shonk.
IDLES 'Ultra Mono' (ALBUM REVIEW)
When pushing something subversive, what do you do when the exact thing you're trying to subvert welcomes you in with open arms? Just as Rage Against the Machine faced accusations of selling out for selling literally anything, the establishment-baiting IDLES are now face to face with a mainstream success they never prepared for, and a system waiting expectantly for the de facto poster boys of a wave of socially aware guitar music to fail – purely, it seems, for the sake of it.
Osees 'Protean Threat' (ALBUM REVIEW)
At this point it's almost too easy for John Dwyer. The man responsible for a garage-rock outfit so psychedelic it is now on its eighth near-identical name (currently Osees, previously The Ohsees, The Oh Sees, Thee Oh Sees, and Oh Sees and before that Orinoka Crash Suite, OCS, Orange County Sound) seems to have broken free of anything vaguely normal and entered the state… beyond.
Fontaines DC 'A Hero's Death' (ALBUM REVIEW)
The Blinders 'Fantasies of a Stay at Home Psychopath' (ALBUM REVIEW)
A.A. Williams 'Forever Blue' (ALBUM REVIEW)
Dream Wife 'So When You Gonna...' (ALBUM REVIEW)
Soccer 96 'Tactics' (EP REVIEW)
Jehnny Beth 'To Love Is To Live' (ALBUM REVIEW)
WOODS 'Strange To Explain' (ALBUM REVIEW)
I Break Horses 'Warnings' (ALBUM REVIEW)
Ist Ist 'Architecture' (ALBUM REVIEW)
Egyptian Blue 'Body of Itch' EP REVIEW
Waxahatchee 'Saint Cloud' (ALBUM REVIEW)
Turin Brakes, Hebden Bridge Trades Club – 6th March 2020 (LIVE REVIEW)
The Wants 'Container' (ALBUM REVIEW)
Black Water County 'Comedies & Tragedies' (ALBUM REVIEW)
SHEAFS 'Vox Pop' (EP REVIEW)
Anna Calvi 'Hunted' (ALBUM REVIEW)
Reworked albums can vary in quality yet under the right circumstances, have the potential to be as interesting as the original material, the Cinerama version of Wedding Present long player ‘Valentina’ case in point. Saying that, Anna Calvi’s music has always pushed away at the outer creases of the envelope, each of her three daring records to date receiving Mercury nominations, making Ms Calvi the first solo artist to achieve this feat.
Real Estate 'The Main Thing' (ALBUM REVIEW)
Lanterns on the Lake 'Spook the Herd' (ALBUM REVIEW)
An interview with Austel
Terrorvision - The Wardrobe, Leeds, February 8th 2020 (LIVE REVIEW)
Outside, storm Ciara is starting to unleash her deluge but upon entering a full to bursting Warehouse, the wrath of the elements is unceremoniously being told to do one for the next 90 minutes. Yep, we’re talking a proper Yorkshire Saturday night rock and roll party with Bradford’s very own Terrorvision winding back the clock to their 1990s heyday, the venue positively bouncing as weskit clad Tony Wright and bandmates busy themselves in finishing the job of tearing the place a new one they started the night before.