Okay then, throughout their 5-year career, Air have openly embraced new challenges, continually driving themselves to explore the boundaries of their skills as composers and freakishly sincere spokesmen of ‘cool’.  They’ve also been known to have a few hairbrained schemes and crackpot ideas up their sleeves too, and this is no exception. Following the strangely interesting “10,000 Hz. Legend“ album, Air (JB Dunckel and Nicolas Godin) released Air & Alessandro Baricco – “City Reading“ on March 25th . Alessandro Baricco is Continue Reading

‘Oh Mother, oh Mother, why do you make me dress up in all your old clothes and make me murder all those young and notoriously pretty girls?’ Such is the incredulous state of any would be psycho that they’re never entirely sure whether what propels them is a childlike needing of control or a flagrant dismissal of it – and it’s here that we find Colin McKintyre – his Mother’s newly acquired motel in the remote, barren wasteland of Mull and Continue Reading

Latecomers to camp Malkmus – those for whom this is no more than a second album – could be forgiven for grossly simplifying his appeal. Quirky, indie, oddball man from America with permanent drawn-on half grin, a satchel of mid-strength hum-able tunes and comfy slacks? It’s just that Rivers Cuomo from Weezer (or heaven forbid, that pointless twunt from Wheatus) minus some smugness and plus a few extra years, right? Granddad geek rock? Maybe, time will tell, but his history Continue Reading

The third instalment in the ongoing GPS Records saga, apparently,and successor to the seemingly well received ‘Harry The Guitar’, ‘Disco Scene’ and ‘Step On’ EPs. With Flamenco guitar all-a-jigglin’ and a-wrigglin’ and the insatiable patter of tiny congas and bongas, it’s a seductive enough affair. Classic nocturnal, 4.00am stuff. And make that a Sunday one too – with a cup of hot chocolate in one hand and a mighty spliff in the other – and birds singing outside – with Continue Reading

Final track off the top 10 ‘Daybreaker’ record, ‘Thinking About Tomorrow’ sees the Brit nominated Orton do pretty much what she does best: languid and drizzly reverie of the smoothest calibre. No surprises there then. As a reference point for the likes of Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth you couldn’t provide better. It’s that same slinky, none-too-offensive but ultimately drop dead gossamer production, the same heaving bosom of a husky female vocal crooning like candyfloss into the speaker, the same Continue Reading

Canada. Butt of the occasional xenophobic joke. Or two. Quarantine-breached den of prolonged musical impotence. And, lest we forget, the place that put Elton John’s Di Death Mix of ‘Candle in the Wind’ at Number 1 for like a trillion and one weeks. We need to be reminded of these things, we don’t want them happening to us. But hey Canada, big guy, come back and give us a hug. All is hereby forgiven. So alright, you spent years trying Continue Reading

There is a moment, about 3 minutes into opening track ‘The Plight of Losing Out’, when Jon Clough’s laden and unsure voice triumphantly breaks out of its shell, taking the lead before an ascending musical drama. Then there is calm. It’s nice, readers. And there are repeat moments like this one, when his strong, yearning words are swept up by atmospheric surges, intensified gluts of power, melodies both tender and obscene, and everything just comes together. Thud. Like that. Into Continue Reading

There was a time when most rock-driven instrumental albums were the blood, sweat and tears of the bands oft overlooked keys man. They were usually long, protracted affairs, offering no small assortment of ideas and time signatures, but very little in the way of actual ‘songs’. And then there was the other side: the Rick Wakeman school of epic – the tower-block concepts, the sprawling orchestra, the cast of thousands – the faintest whiff of overproduction concealing an absence of Continue Reading

Fruity and funky loops, a mad as fuck stalker falsetto, a wacky playground approach to narrative, a macabre turn of phrase and heaps and heaps of incommensurable sadness – Baby Bird is back, only this time he’s Stephen Jones. Having only heard a bare but impressive minimum of Jones’ output prior to the monster of classic pop that was ‘You’re Gorgeous’ and ‘Goodnight’ I must rather cautiously attest that Jones is back doing what he does best: imponderably ruthless lo-fi and Continue Reading

Ted Leo’s follow up to 2000s enormously well received (well, critically at least) “The Tyranny Of Distance“ is something of a revelation. Rather than wallowing in the furore of the ongoing rock revival and using the popular Ramone and Television blueprint against which to measure his awkward rebellion, Leo lifts licks and pulls punches from peculiarly English icons like Dexys Midnight Runners, Elvis Costello, Billy Bragg, The Specials and Thin Lizzy – the working-class cream of the 80s rather than Continue Reading