#716: Los Campesinos!, Kentish Town Forum, London

Los Campesinos! have always been a band to cater to themselves, and to their fans. Never ones to pander to major label whimsy or managerial bullshittery, the band have instead, for the last ten years, stuck to their guns and their principles; their fans returning the favour with an religious-like zeal. That doesn’t mean to say they’ve not changed over the years, they have, and for the better, but only when the time’s felt right.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#715: False Heads - Less Is Better

London snot-poppers False Heads return with an EP as gritty and as uncompromising as the band themselves. 

At a time when the country is becoming increasingly more divisive, and indeed divided, it’s becoming increasingly clearer that something needs to happen in order to politicise its youth beyond that of leftist memes and football-like chants; something that’s not been seen en masse since the ‘70s.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#714: Songs for Walter, YES, Manchester

Tonight, as local singer/songwriter Songs For Walter launches his second album An Endless Summer Daze is the basement venue which that plays host to the party; the upstairs venue housing Riot Jazz, making for a mixed crowd in the venue’s main bar area. It’s the smaller of the two spaces, and perfectly suited to the intimacy of Songs for Walter’s introspective folk-pop.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#713: Swearin' - Fall in to the Sun

Everyone has their own take, finds their own meaning, in songs or indeed entire albums, often as a result of drawing parallels with their own worldview and life experiences. Fall into the Sun, the second album from Philadelphia indie darlings Swearin’ is one such album, resonating instantly before even a single playthrough.

This review was originally written for Line of Best Fit. Click here to read in full.

#712: Andrew Bayer - In My Last Life

For fans of electronic music, Andrew Bayer should need little introduction. Having already earned a Grammy nomination for his production work, not to mention appearing at festivals such as Creamfields, Electronic Zoo and EDC Vegas, Bayer is something of a personality within the world of electronic music.

This review was originally written for Clash. Click here to read in full.

#711: Muncie Girls, The Deaf Institute, Manchester

Anyone familiar with Manchester’s iconic Deaf Institute, either as a venue or just a bar, will probably be aware that the building’s second floor is where its shows take place. An old theatre with limited seating and a large disco ball, it’s one of the city’s most characterful venues, and any show there is usually worth going just to see the venue in itself.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#710: Songs for Walter - An Endless Summer Daze

Songs for Walter, otherwise known as Manchester-based songwriter Laurie Hulme, is rapidly becoming one of the city’s unsung heroes thanks to his seemingly whimsical, but often deeply touching brand of folk-pop.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#709: Muncie Girls - Fixed Ideals

Bridging the gap between punk and indie-pop, Muncie Girls straddle the same fine line as bands such as Diet Cig, Trust Fund and The Spook School, creating effervescent indie-pop that harbours DIY ideals and a punk attitude.

This review was originally written for DIY Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#708: Bad Sounds - Get Better

Bringing together elements from a multitude of genres, Bad Sounds have rapidly carved a niche of their own, resulting in a record that’s deliciously unpredictable and varied. Founding members and brothers Ewan and Callum Merrett have previously dipped their toe into different musical worlds; the former was a hip hop producer, the latter, a studio engineer with a penchant for artists as diverse as Michael Jackson and The Flaming Lips. It’s this combination of hip-hop swagger and soul-tinged pop polish that forms the backbone of the album, and indeed many of the tracks themselves.

This review was originally written for DIY Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#707: Alkaline Trio - Is This Thing Cursed?

Though Alkaline Trio are certainly a band who need little introduction, the past decade has seen them release a triptych of records that tried to recapture the jaded angst of their early years, yet unfortunately fell short of the mark. This, coupled with frontman Matt Skiba replacing Tom Delonge in Blink 182 back in 2015, suggested the future of Alkaline Trio looked uncertain at best.

This review was originally written for Clash Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#706: Foxing - Nearer My God

Taking its name from an 18th century hymn, and the song that was allegedly played as the Titanic sunk, Nearer My God is the third album from St Louis four-piece Foxing, and, much like its name suggests, is a record that wrestles with concepts such as religion, as well as politics, mental health and the mounting sense of cynical indifference that seems to be proliferating currently.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#705: Deaf Havana - Rituals

Despite coming quickly off the back of last year’s ‘All These Countless Nights’, ‘Rituals’ shares little similarity with its predecessor. Instead, it forgoes the Springsteen stylings of Deaf Havana’s last two releases, and relishes in pop pomp.

This review was originally written for DIY Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#704: Protoje - A Matter of Time

Growing up white and relatively middle-class, reggae for this writer used to be synonymous with high school, with skived PE lessons and of course, the smell of spilled bong water. And as such, while the politics of bands such as Black Uhuru and Burning Spear have always been present, it’s difficult for such things to resonate when you’re hearing it through someone’s phone speaker and a fug of Lemon Haze.

This review was originally written for The Independent. Click here to read in full.

#703: Punch Brothers - All Ashore

All Ashore, the fifth album from Brooklyn’s Punch Brothers, is a difficult one to pin down. One part forward-thinking and avant-garde, the other steeped in the traditional sounds of their home country, it’s a record both open and expansive, while feeling understated and harbouring a quiet intelligence.

This review was originally written for The Independent. Click here to read in full.

#702: Skeletonwitch – Devouring Radiant Light

Having not released a record in five years, the longest such stint in their 15-year career, the sixth album from Ohio metallers Skeletonwitch arrives on a wave of anticipation. Thankfully, and despite the propensity of some tracks to hang around longer than they might need to, it lives largely up to expectations.

This review was originally written for The Independent. Click here to read in full.

#701: Jon Hassell - Listening to Pictures (Pentimento Volume One)

It’s difficult to know where to begin as far as Listening to Pictures (Pentimento Volume One), is concerned. The usual place would be the beginning, moving forward chronologically as most music is intended. As far as this record is concerned however, the bottom might be a better choice.

This review was originally written for The Independent. Click here to read in full.

#700: Gruff Rhys - Babelsburg

While Babelsberg, Gruff Rhys’s fifth solo record, might well have been recorded over a three day session back in early 2016, its release now, a little over two years later, feels no less salient than were it released back then.

This review was orignally written for The Independent. Click here to read in full.

#699: Holy Esque - Television/Sweet

If Holy Esque’s 2016 debut At Hope’s Ravine felt like the band teetering on the brink of said ravine, only retaining their grip thanks to its occasional moments of optimism, then their follow up, Television/Sweet, feels like them losing their grip completely, plunging headfirst in to a desolate and dystopian miasma.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War.

#698: Culture Abuse - Bay Dream

That Bay Dream, the second album from San Francisco’s Culture Abuse should drop amid what’s arguably the best weather Britain has had in years is nothing short of kismet. Sunkissed and perhaps a little stoned, its warm melodies and easy-going nature offer the perfect accompaniment to the time of year.That said, Bay Dream is also far from a breezy record made for background listening, but nor is it as anywhere near as pissed-off as its predecessor.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#697: wojtek the bear - a talent for being unreasoanble

There’s something about Scottish indie that sets it apart from the more typical stuff found elsewhere across Britain. You can forget your Fratellis or Franz Ferdinand, scratch beneath the surface, and you’ll find a wealth of talent that defines the country’s scene far more than the ubiquitous indie pop/rock that immediately springs to mind.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#696: Festival Coverage: Mallorca Live 2018

Most people are familiar with UK festivals, their etiquette (or lack thereof) and the general goings on within them. And while line-ups may differ massively in scope and style, the protocol remains much the same: wake up, drink, try and sneak beers in to an overly priced arena the moment it opens (to varying degrees of success), drink some more, rinse, repeat. It’s a well-trodden and often muddy rite of passage that starts to wear a little thin after you hit 25.

This review was originally written for Drowned In Sound. Click here to read in full.

#695: Girls Names - Stains on Silence

‘Stains on Silence’, the fourth album from Belfast-based post-punks Girls Names (and first since the departure of drummer and founding member Neil Brogan), as a record came very close to not being released at all. With financial strain, personal upheaval and doubt all taking their toll, a completed mix of the album was shelved, the band took a break, only to then dismantle the record and build it again, almost from the ground up.

This review was originally written for DIY Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#694: Frank Turner - Be More Kind

It seems that Frank Turner has been on an upward trajectory since 2015’s Positive Songs for Negative People, both emotionally and professionally. Be More Kind picks up where that record left off, and finds Turner at his most empathetic, and most accessible.

This review was originally written for The Independent. Click here to read in full.

#693: Peace - Kindness is the New Rock and Roll

When Kindness Is The New Rock and Roll opens with recent single “Power”, three minutes of undeniably quintessential Peace, it’s easy to assume that it will set the tone for what’s to follow instantly. And though ideas of upbeat positivity are something that recur throughout, such assumptions are only partially right.

This review was originally written for The Independent. Click here to read in full.

#692: Gaz Coombes - World's Strongest Man

With 2015’s Matador, Gaz Coombes elevated himself from Supergrass frontman-turned-solo-artist into a Mercury Prize-nominated musician that could be taken on his own (substantial) merit. Its follow up, World’s Strongest Man, sees Coombes propel himself further, allowing the more experimental side hinted at on the aforementioned to really come to the fore.

This review was originally written for The Independent. Click here to read in full.

#691: Marine - Fable Electric

On the one hand Fable Electric, the debut album from London quartet Marine, is a bold and brash that’s as uncompromising as it is confident. On the other however, it’s ethereal and otherworldly; its nuanced matched only by its inherently enigmatic nature. The result is an album as beguiling as it bombastic.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#690: Cloud - Plays With Fire

There’s something both sad and reassuring about the sheer number of albums released recently that are hinged on the agonies and anxieties of the twenty-something. Reassuring in their messages of solidarity, and in the idea that such feelings are seemingly ubiquitous, yet sad in the sense that such anxieties are as far-reaching as they are, and in the fact there’s little really that can be done to address them.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#689: Fickle Friends - You Are Someone Else

Arriving on a wave of icy synths and hyperbole, ‘You Are Someone Else’ is the highly anticipated debut from Fickle Friends and finds the Brighton-based quintet awash in button-bright textures and unashamedly pop production. But while the sugar-sweet indie-pop might well be moreish in smaller servings, the 16 tracks on offer here feel overindulgent, especially on consecutive listens.

This review was originally written for Clash Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#688: The Wonder Years - Sister Cities

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Whenever anyone mentions The Wonder Years, I’m instantly taken back to being at uni, where Get Stoked On It was often the soundtrack to the rare handful of warm days Leeds gets each year. I never dug much further than that however, so it came as something as a surprise to find that not only is Sister Cities the band’s sixth album, but The Wonder Years clearly aren’t the same band that soundtracked fleeting summers several years ago.

This review was originally written for Line of Best Fit. Click here to read in full. 

#687: Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog

With 2015’s Painted Shut, Philadelphia's Hop Along somewhat fittingly made the jump from irresistibly scrappy indie-pop project to a fully realised band. On their third album, Bark Your Head Off, Dog, they take it a step further.

This review was originally written for Line of Best Fit. Click here to read in full.

#686: Black Foxxes - Reiði

Inspired following frontman Mark Holley’s extended trip to Iceland in between records, Reiði is the second record from Exeter’s Black Foxxes. Much like the geography of the country from which it takes its influence, it’s equally as imposing as it is staggeringly beautiful.

This review was originally written for Line of Best Fit. Click here to read in full. 

#685: Moose Blood - I Don't Know If I Can Do This Anymore

Since their inception back in 2012, Canterbury’s Moose Blood have been fusing together the lovelorn sounds of Midwest emo with a distinctly British brand of power-pop, and have been turning heads and breaking hearts ever since.

This review was originally written for Line of Best Fit. Click here to read in full.

#684: Teen Creeps - Birthmarks

Teen Creeps’ aesthetic is one that feels nostalgic, certainly, but succeeds not just in dusting off any pre-assumed cobwebs but incinerating them completely; its angst and anger tangible in the pained delivery of Bert Vliegen, its heartbreak evident in his heart-on-sleeve lyricism.

This review was originally written for DIY Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#683: We Are Scientists - Megaplex

18 years and six albums in, it makes sense that We Are Scientists should know exactly what they want to sound like. Where previously the band claim to have used their records “to educate, to enlighten, to awaken people to the depth and complexity of moral concerns”, ‘Megaplex’ eschews the soapbox in favour of ten tracks of button-bright indie-pop.

This review was originally written for DIY Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#682: Table Scraps - Autonomy

Coming across as the bastard offspring of Big Black and Alice Cooper, Birmingham’s Table Scraps are scuzzy, uncompromising, and more than a little tongue in cheek. As such, second album, ‘Autonomy’, harbours many of those same traits, and though its clattering garage rock may feel familiar for those who spent any time with the band’s debut, it does just enough to distance itself from its predecessor.

This review was originally written for DIY Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#681: Brian Fallon, O2 Ritz, Manchester

No stranger to stages of any size, Brian Fallon has been record and releasing music under various guises since the tender age of 17. Best known for his work as frontman of The Gaslight Anthem, yet harbouring a litany of other credits under his belt, both before and after, the native New Jersian has been turning heads and inspiring devotion in his fans almost from the word go.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#680: Happy Accidents - Everything But The Here And Now

Much like its predecessor, Everything But the Here and Now is a record built around everyday experiences and anxieties. But while 2016’s You Might Be Right was a deliciously DIY affair, its follow-up feels fuller, and more expansive, something that stems from a number of factors.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#679: The Front Bottoms, The Albert Hall, Manchester

A little over a year ago I reviewed The Front Bottoms’ previous UK tour. The New Jersey-based trio played Manchester’s O2 Ritz as part of their Back On Top tour – a choice of venue I was slightly sceptical of given its capacity. Thankfully my scepticism proved unfounded, and the band went above and beyond in delivering what was arguably one of the best shows of 2016, right at the end of the year.

This review was orignally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#678: Lemuria - Recreational Hate

Opening their fourth album Recreational Hate with the spindly meanderings of “Timber Together” was a brave move from New York’s Lemuria. A far cry from anything that proceeds it, it’s lo-fi bedroom pop at its most twee, and does little to suggest that the next 25 minutes would be any different.

This review was originally written for Line of Best Fit. Click here to read in full.

#677: Will Varley - The Spirit of Minnie

Already able to count the likes of Billy Bragg and Frank Turner amongst his fans, Will Varley is one of the UK’s fastest rising folk songwriters.

This review was originally written for Clash Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#676: Dashboard Confessional - Crooked Shadows

“Every album is personal, but as this album was coming together I realised…that ‘personal’ did not necessarily mean ‘mine.’ Suddenly, ‘Me’ became ‘We’ and that realisation was empowering, comforting and terrifying all at once,” says Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba about ‘Crooked Shadows,’ the band’s highly anticipated eighth studio album. But while said realisation might well be a recent one as far as Carrabba is concerned, as far as their fans go, that’s always been the case.

This review was originally written for Clash Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#675: Leon of Athens - Xenos

Conveying the depth and nuance of ‘Xenos’ in a little over 150 words isn’t easy. The third album from Greek musician Leon Veremis, otherwise known as Leon Of Athens, is a record interested in estrangement, displacement, politics, and one hinged on Europe’s refugee crisis.

This review was originally written for Clash Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#674: The Spook School - Could It Be Different?

The world is a weird place to live at the moment. On the one hand, it’s never felt more progressive and forward-thinking, as the attitudes of younger generations generally become more liberal than those that came before them. On the other however, and in what feels like a direct reaction to an increasingly tolerant Western world, conservative ideologies, both extreme and otherwise, are on the rise. As such, ‘Could It Be Different?’, the third album from Glasgow four-piece The Spook School comes at a vital time, and clutching a vital message.

This review was originally for Clash Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#673: Brain Fallon - Sleepwalkers

While the opening guitar/organ combo of Sleepwalkers might well share more in common with the likes of Fleetwood Mac, or more recently, Haim, it’s a record takes little time to establish itself as quintessential Brian Fallon.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#672: The Menzingers, O2 Ritz, Manchester

Arguably one of this generation of punk’s consistently impressive bands, Pennsylvania’s The Menzingers have been turning heads since their inception back in 2006. Now five albums in to a 12 year career, the four-piece may have mellowed somewhat over time, but they still they possess plenty of bark and bite to keep even the most ardent a punk appeased. Don’t believe me? You obviously haven’t seen the band live.

This review was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#671: Justin Timberlake - Man of the Woods

“Y’all can’t do better than this,” proclaims the opening line from ‘Midnight Summer Jam’, the second track on Justin Timberlake’s fourth album, ‘Man Of The Woods’. While many would argue that such a statement is just typical pop music posturing, the fact is that it’s something else entirely. It’s got to be.

This review was originally written for Clash Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#670: Pale Waves - All Those Things I Never Said

If 2017 proved to be a whirlwind year for Manchester’s Pale Waves, 2018 is likely to be something else entirely. As if earning fifth place in the BBC’s Sound of 2018 wasn’t enough, this month also sees the four-piece release All the Things I Never Said, their Matt Healy-produced debut EP.

This review was originally written for Line of Best Fit. Click here to read in full.

#669: A Grave With No Name - Passover

Written during a stay at his family home following the death of his grandmother, ‘Passover’ is the sixth album from songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alexander Shields, otherwise known as A Grave With No Name. Like much of his previous output, it's equally as arresting and intriguing as it is sombre and sincere.

This review was originally written for Clash Magazine. Click here to read in full.

#668: Synths and Sensibility: Catching Up With...Acre Tarn

In creating sounds and music that are difficult to categorise, to pigeonhole, bands run the risk of alienating their established fan-base, or worse still, failing to establish that fan-base to begin with. Fortunately for the London-based, Lake District’s Acre Tarn, their esotericism is what makes them so utterly irresistible to begin with.

This feature was originally written for Louder Than War. Click here to read in full.

#667: Wooden Arms - Trick of the Light

It’s difficult to know where to begin with Norwich’s Wooden Arms. Self-described as ‘genre-fluid’, and with as much disregard for convention as such a label justifies, the five-piece craft seemingly effortless arrangements that veer from fragile and introspective, to sprawling and optimistic, often within a single track. And while ‘Trick Of The Light’, the band’s latest album, feels more sombre than the chamber pop of their debut, it still retains all the nuance, beauty and varied influences that made said debut so impressive.

This review was originally for Clash Magazine. Click here to read in full.