The Mary Onettes – Hit The Waves

By Charlotte Stones

13 March, 2013

Five years following the release of The Mary Onettes‘ debut self-titled album and the ’80′s obsessed Swedes are still out to prove that their homeland has much more to offer than blondes, Benny and Björn. Even its follow up Islands was sitting fittingly amongst the age of synth-pop, of new New Romantics and of the return of face glitter, but hasn’t time changed since then? Things have moved on but The Mary Onettes have gladly stayed put, reeling out more of their nostalgic ’80′s pop. … Continue Reading

Stornoway: Part One

By Halla Mohieddeen

March 13, 2013

This week sees the release of Stornoway‘s second album Tales from Terra Firma.

Our very own Halla Mohieddeen has been wrapping her ears around the new release, and has been talking to the band themselves about the new record. Here, in the first of a two-part interview and review feature, we find out a bit more about the history of the band, the changes brought by the last three years, and the themes that dominate the album. … Continue Reading

Summer Series at Somerset House: Line Up Revealed

By Danielle Gibson

March 12, 2013

Great news! Summer Series at Somerset House has announced its 2013 line-up. From July 11 – 21, Brit Award nominee Alex Clark will kick of proceedings, with the likes of Lianne Le Havas, Tom Odell, Of Monsters and Men and Jessie Ware to follow. … Continue Reading

My Bloody Valentine, O2 Academy, Birmingham

By Paul Stephen Gettings

March 12, 2013

Many, many column inches have been dedicated to just how loud My Bloody Valentine are during their live shows, but nothing actually really prepares you for it. Conversations stop mid-flow as Bilinda Butcher strikes a tentative chord before launching into opener ‘When You Sleep’; even unaccompanied, the sound of her guitar is deafening. By the time bandmates Deb Googe, Colm Ó Cíosóig and Kevin Shields join her, the noise is so all-encompassing that you’re left swaying, stunned and dumbstruck.

… Continue Reading

The Creeping Ivies, The Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh

By Kenny McMurtrie

March 12, 2013

Lux is dead; Long live Lux. Imagine therefore if you will Poison Ivy gaining a few inches in height and joining forces with Lightning Beatman. And them both becoming Scots. Got that? … Continue Reading

David Bowie – The Next Day

By Antonio Tzikas

March 12, 2013

So basically, the world woke up on the 8th January to find a new David Bowie single had suddenly been released, totally out of the blue. It was his first new material for a decade and the first peep out of him for a good while, save for a few red carpet appearances at premieres of his son Duncan Jones‘  film Moon a few years back.

… Continue Reading

Devendra Banhart – Mala

By Rob Aldam

March 11, 2013

It would be fair to say that, over the course of his previous seven albums, Devendra Banhart’s output has been a bit hit and miss. Clearly very talented, the Texan draws from a vast reservoir of influences to create his own brand of off-kilter psyche-folk which ranges from the highly innovative to the self-imitative. Appearing from out of nowhere in 2002 after being discovered by Michael Gira and signed to Young God Records, he worked incessantly for several years, producing a plethora of releases and collaborations. After switching labels he eventually signed to Warner in 2009 and released What Will We Be, the follow-up to 2007’s Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon. The release of his last two albums seemed to coincide with the reining in of his musical commitments, and sadly also seemingly his inclination to innovate and desire to tread fresh ground.

… Continue Reading

Brandt Brauer Frick – Miami

By Matt Jones

March 11, 2013

When 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne spoke through my speakers of a band of classically-trained German musicians making house and hip-hop using only ‘traditional’ instruments, my ears perked up. Brandt Brauer Frick is the German trio in question, and the unprecedented hype about their third album is widespread. Arguably their most high-profile yet, Miami includes collaborations with soul singer Jamie Lidell, hip-hop artist and producer Om’Mas Keith and German electronic musician Gudrun Gut. Even for those new to BBF, it all sounds very exciting. … Continue Reading

They Might Be Giants – Nanobots

By David Beech

March 8, 2013

Massachusetts-born, Brooklyn-raised They Might Be Giants have been making their own bizarre blend of comedic college rock since the early 1980s. Once just a duo with a drum machine that recorded their music on an answer phone, TMBG have since become a fully-fledged band with a prolific back catalogue that spans TV theme songs to educational music for children. Now, over 30 years since their début, the band are releasing album number 16, Nanobots.

… Continue Reading

Hard Skin – On The Balls / Why Do Birds Suddenly Appear

By Jono Coote

March 08, 2013

Despite what seems to be changes for the better in recent years, the area of the South East surrounding Hastings never offered much in the way of gigs for me when growing up as a punk music-obsessed teenager. Instead, grabbing some train beers and jumping on the train to Brighton was the usual order of the day, where Buz ran (and still runs) the Punker Bunker record store and booked many of the bands I wouldn’t otherwise have got to see. … Continue Reading