#628: Connor Oberst - Salutations

When Conor Oberst released ‘Ruminations’ last October, it wasn’t quite the record he set out to make. Recorded in just 48 hours with nothing but his voice, piano, guitar and harmonica, what was originally intended as the record’s bare bones became its fully realised form. The result was arguably his most honest work to date, but while the world was singing his praises, he forged ahead with his plans to record with a full band.

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

#627: TYPES - The Future is Close Enough

With its working class playing such a huge role in the City’s musical history, it’s surprising how few of Manchester’s contemporary bands seem interested in the current social and political climate of the UK. And though there are a handful of bands with left-leaning tendencies, Cabbage for instance, they’re often overtly brash in their sentiment, all bark if you will. TYPES are an exception to this rule.

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

#626: Here's to the Sixth Time - Catching Up With Los Campesinos!

“There are very few bands that formed in 2006 that are still releasing records now,” says Gareth David, frontman of Los Campesinos!. He has a point. In a testament to both the throwaway nature of indie-rock, and the lasting appeal of the band themselves, many of the acts they started out sharing stages with are now confined to the annals of history; remembered only in rose-tinted listicles and drunken YouTube sessions. Los Campesinos! on the other hand, have endured. But it’s not always been easy.

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

#625: Punk & Politics: Catching Up With False Heads

Punk in 2017 feels like a diverse, even contentious subject. Now approaching its 40th anniversary, there’s little doubt that what was once a moral panic causing act of youthful rebellion, is now accepted, even celebrated, by the establishment it once sought to rebel against (look to PUNK.London, for example, as proof). While the movement has become ingrained in British culture, often to the point of caricature, the general disenfranchisement felt across the social strata is crying out for another similarly motivated movement.

This feature was originally written for London In Stereo. Click here to read in full.

#624: Los Campesinos! - Sick Scenes

It’s been ten years since Los Campesinos! exploded on to the UK’s indie scene in a technicolour array of synths and suspicious looking stains they swore were cherryade. A hell of a lot has changed in that time, not least of all Los Campesinos! themselves, whose journey from indie-pop poster kids to genuinely skilled songsmiths is one of the most overlooked careers in contemporary indie.

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

#623: Sleaford Mods - English Tapas

While ‘English Tapas’ might literally refer to a menu item at “some random pub” visited by Sleaford Mods’ button-presser Andrew Fearn, it’s a fitting title for an album that’s predominantly interested in dissecting and digesting various pockets of society. At their strongest when pointing out the ironies and idiocies of modern day England, they’re a band who divide opinions while being unflinching in their own.

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

#622: Sundara Karma - Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect

Already daubed rockstars in waiting, Reading’s Sundara Karma are a band destined to be huge. Forming way in back 2010 – though only becoming their current iteration in 2015 – the Berkshire-based four-piece have been turning heads since their inception, and now, signed to Sony’s RCA label, show little sign in slowing their ascent to the top.

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