Reviews

Elvis Costello is quite possibly one of the most prolific artists to emerge from the punk/new wave scene in the late 70’s.  While his earlier work was angst driven with a pop enthusiasm, Costello has experimented with literally every genre throughout his career.  From the Country influenced Almost Blue, the R&B flavor of Kojak Variety to classical music on The Juliet Letters, it seems there is nothing this Elvis won’t try.  After his collaboration with Burt Bacharach, Painted From Memory, Continue Reading

Well – it wouldn’t be Christmas without Del Boy Trotter, Harry Potter or Lord of The Bloody Rings now would it? And though it’s arguable which is likely to be the more remarkable resurrection in 2005 – the bringing back to life of J.R.R Tolkien or the elusive comic faculties of ‘Fools’ creator, John Sullivan – it’s likely to keep on going for years to come – whether we like it or not. Howard Shore’s music for the hugely successful first Continue Reading

Agent provocateur to the ‘quiet is the new loud’ of 2001 and tall, bespectacled one half of Kings of Covenience, Erlend Oye. Whilst the results of his whimsical nordic science are due out in earnest next Spring with the release of his first serious solo effort, ‘Unrest’ the crossover electronic world of indie-spock can be gently prepared by the 12“ vinyl only release of ‘Symptom of Disease’. Soft, spooky and crackling along like a small yuletide fire,’Symptom of Disease’ is not Continue Reading

In 1981 there were thousands of kids holed up in their bedrooms just killing themselves over the android, analogue beeps and battery acid spills of ‘synth’ music. Today those kids are holed up in the studio and just killing themselves all over again: but this time it’s called Electro-clash. Ladytron initially existed as a concept dreamed up by founder members Danny Hunt and Reuben Wu, two friends from Liverpool who shared a love of music and djing. This rather simple Continue Reading

Hip-hop. Built entirely on bling-blings and bang-bangs. Or so it would sometimes seem. Of course it isn’t entirely, but that doesn’t stop the majority aspect seeping like spilt blood under the toes of those that do still see it as an art-form, rather than a survival-of-the-luckiest lifestyle choice (still sore case in point, Jam Master Jay). But there must be those out there that have evolved past a primal, Neanderthal urge for territorial scrappings, and developed instincts beyond those of Continue Reading

Says Kweli of ‘Rush’, the second track on the album: “I wanted to call this song ‘Heroin’, but C. Smyth wouldn’t let me. He kept saying something about kids getting the wrong idea. Maybe he’s right. I would never use herion, but doesn’t it sound like a great name for a rock song?“ It’s an intriguing duality that sizeably sums up the ambitious nature of this record: it has all the allure and excitement of the street but with the Continue Reading

Mad for it Manchester duo and big beat Northern soulsters, Martin Brew and Martin Desai make up the meat and one vege of J-Walk and though this album from the pair shows them as canny sample selectors and able tunesters, there’s a lack of any obvious or consistent character to last the generous length of the album. Commanding a range of styles and approaches that folks like Rae and Christian and Mr Scruff would be proud of the collection sometimes Continue Reading

It might have been four years in the making but the cool, cult karma-ranger and stand-up philosopher, Lewis Parker follows up 1998’s Melankolic’s release, Masquerades and Silhouettes EP with a Jedi-powered punch of a record. Light-sabre aloft and with a teeth-a-grinding Parker delivers his own gritty, idiosyncratic take on the world at large. Taking us on a tour of the British capital, with name checks of everything from Mr Kipling, Microsoft Windows to McDonalds, Parker squares up to all da Continue Reading

Produced by Blink 182 and Jimmy Eat World collaborator, Mark Trombino, What It Is To Burn might just about fulfil the raucous punk/metal dream of the increasingly estimable, Drive Thru Records – home to teen sensations Something Corporate, Midtown, New Found Glory and The Bejamins amoungst others. Harder, grittier and far far noisier than many of their label brethren, the Californian quintet deliver a pretty exceptional punk-metal record that may provide a suitable competitor to the likes of At The Drive In Continue Reading