Cloud Nothings - Attack On Memory
By Paul Faller
Discussing the title of the third Cloud Nothings record in a recent interview with Pitchfork, Dylan Baldi said that he “wanted to make it apparent that it’s an attack on the memory of what the band was.” It’s fair to say that Attack On Memory makes good on this promise, marking a significant progression from the lo-fi pop punk sound of his previous LPs. … Continue Reading
The Duke Spirit - Bruiser
By Paul Faller
The words ‘criminally overlooked’ are somewhat of an understatement when it comes to The Duke Spirit. Their debut record Cuts Across The Land was a bit of an odd one out in 2005′s indie crowd, its dark and brooding style at odds with the ‘popular’ notion of indie at the time. A follow-up was slow to emerge, but worth waiting for, and 2008′s Neptune married the group’s distinctive style with a hook-laiden sense of immediacy. It seems that three years is about the right gestation period for the band, as 2011 saw third album Bruiser land, get some decent reviews, then fall straight off everyone’s radar, which is pretty criminal in my opinion. Nevertheless, North Americans finally have the chance to get their hands on a physical copy of the record in early February – and as we haven’t reviewed Bruiser before now, it seems as good a time as any to explain why it was one of my favourite records of last year. … Continue Reading
FOE - Bad Dream Hotline
By Paul Faller
FOE is the alter ego of 21 year-old Fleet-based musician Hannah Clark, who started out this project with a £40 Technics organ and a distinct sense of not fitting in. But while early influences PJ Harvey and Nirvana do inform her debut album Bad Dream Hotline to an extent, there’s a deliciously dark world to be discovered within, and it’s very much her own. … Continue Reading
Islet - Illuminated People
By Paul Faller
Trying to review any release by Cardiff four-piece Islet is a difficult task, but it’s fair to say that they put the ‘mental’ in experimental. I mean that in the best way possible, of course – watching their live show, you’re never quite sure where they’re going to go next, making for a chaotic but compelling spectacle. Following up from their two previous EPs Celebrate This Place and Wimmy, debut full-length Illuminated People certainly aims to capture the unpredictable nature of the band – and at its best, the album absolutely succeeds in doing so. … Continue Reading
Patrick Wolf - Brumalia EP
By Paul Faller
Ever the restless creative, Patrick Wolf follows up this year’s full-length album Lupercalia with six brand new tracks, courtesy of a new EP entitled Brumalia. Named after an ancient Roman festival that celebrates winter, the EP aims to offer a contrast to the generally more upbeat nature of Wolf’s last record.
Brumalia gets off to a strong start with ‘Bitten’ – oppressive beats are matched with mournful strings and skittering synths in a style that harks back to Wolf’s work on Lycanthropy and Wind In The Wires. Indeed, trivia fans may be interested to know that this is the first Patrick Wolf recording that he’s played theremin on since he was 13. It’s not just the sonic palette that has a touch of his earlier work about it either – the dark narrative concerning addiction is a continuation of the story of Lucy from ‘Bluebells’, a track which appeared on The Magic Position. … Continue Reading
Esben And The Witch - Hexagons EP
By Paul Faller
Following on from the largely positive critical response to their debut album Violet Cries, Esben And The Witch have returned with the six-track Hexagons EP. Rather than merely presenting a collection of experiments and album off-cuts, the band have created a self-contained body of work that compliments their full-length album while also standing apart from it. … Continue Reading
Howling Bells - The Loudest Engine
By Paul Faller
Firstly, some context. 2006′s self-titled debut record by Howling Bells remains a personal favourite of mine – it’s a masterpiece of bleak, 3am loneliness, all haunting guitars and fragile emotions, and it positively drips with atmosphere. By contrast, I found 2009′s follow-up Radio Wars to be a huge disappointment – it felt like the band had forgotten everything that made their music good in the first place. Thankfully, I’m pleased to report that third album The Loudest Engine feels like a step back in the right direction. … Continue Reading
The history of Manchester-based four-piece WU LYF has been well-documented, but here’s a brief re-cap for those who may not be familiar with them. Once upon a time there was a band called WU LYF, and they were super mysterious, shunning the press, releasing vague promo shots, and generally not giving very much away about themselves at all. Of course, it later transpired that this apparently self-crafted mystery was, in fact, a clever marketing ploy, but by then its work had already been done. Inevitably, the band had to be more forthcoming with information about themselves – it’s kinda difficult to promote your album otherwise – and with the mystique gone, that record, Go Tell Fire To The Mountain, is what we are left to judge them on. … Continue Reading
Anyone still clinging vainly to the hope that the new Patrick Wolf record will be a return to the darker days of Lycanthropy and Wind In The Wires, please, stop – for your own sake. Indeed, you need only take a look at the cover of Lupercalia to get an inkling that he’s moved on – its stark white on white portrait of Wolf offers a clear contrast to the dark backdrops of his previous records (even the colourful fairground ride on The Magic Position was set against a black background). At 27 years old, Wolf is no longer the lost soul he was on his early records – he’s found love at last, and as such Lupercalia is a journey through the ups and downs that come with it. … Continue Reading
The formation of Young Legionnaire can be traced back to Yourcodenameis:milo’s 2006 collaborative project Print Is Dead Vol 1, wherein the band invited various musicians and bands up to their Newcastle studio to record a track in the space of a day. One of those tracks, ‘Wait A Minute’, featured Bloc Party’s Gordon Moakes. With Bloc Party on hiatus and former YCNI:M frontman Paul Mullen having some time off from his commitments with The Automatic, the stage was set for the two to reconvene – and Crisis Works is the result. … Continue Reading
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