Twin Atlantic, By Julia Stryj
By Julia Stryj
December 9, 2011
Last week, Twin Atlantic took to the stage at Edinburgh’s Picturehouse for a gig, supported by Dinosaur Pile-Up – our photographer, Julia Stryj, was there to bring us these stunning pictures. … Continue Reading
Zola Jesus
By Robert Freeman
November 23, 2011
She may look like a little Legolas borrower, but when Nika Danilova sings it’s like watching a hurricane. On new album Conatus, her operatic vocal stylings act as a focal point for the listener, even if at times one could be forgiven for wishing that the style didn’t obscure the content quite so much. As she belts out her vocals they come from the very back of her throat, and at times it’s a wee bit tricky to actually hear what she’s singing. … Continue Reading
James Blake
By Russell Warfield
November 29, 2011
This is the second time I’ve seen James Blake live this year. The first time was very early this year in Leeds, when the vocal-based debut album material hadn’t quite nestled in with me yet. That show was a conversion of the highest order – an absolutely engrossing hour of sound, dispelling any shadowy doubts I might have had about the merits of his slightly more restrained full length. Tonight was equally as excellent, and with half a year’s worth of absorption of his incredible album under my belt, my ability to appreciate his craft was also healthier than last time. … Continue Reading
Anyone Can Play Guitar
By Kenny McMurtrie
November 29, 2011
When was the last time Mark Gardener was asked to turn it down by an annoyed old biddy? Probably not for many a year yet that’s what happened here tonight. Mid-way through his short semi-acoustic set a sinister silver-haired figure was seen to scurry in through the street door of the bar and engage the bar staff in animated conversation and two songs later it was all over. Fair enough – Midnight wasn’t far off and he’d only one more number up his sleeve but still, doesn’t a nice bloke occupying his place in the rock pantheon deserve some more respect? Clearly not from Supergran. … Continue Reading
Oneohtrix Point Never
By Greg Salter
November 24, 2011
A church seems like an appropriate venue to hear Daniel Lopatin present the music he’s been making as Oneohtrix Point Never over the last few years. His albums, particularly the sci-fi ambience of 2010’s Returnal and the more fractured, abject tracks on this year’s Replica, are meditative, insular, cerebral things, best heard all the way through, on your own. What’s more, it seems kind of fitting that an artist who has just created an album out of samples from television adverts from the late ‘80s and ‘90s (long forgotten, useless artefacts) should be performing in a relic of a building – though St Giles is still very much an active church, you sense that Lopatin might have enjoyed performing in a space never intended for his strange, haunting experiments. … Continue Reading
Azari & III
By Stef Siepel
November 20, 2011
The woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks. With freaks, naturally being used as a term of endearment in this case. Wearing a t-shirt might just mean you are terribly underdressed when Azari & III come to town. Boys on heels, girls with half-shaven heads, and suddenly a small group in new wave black hits the scene. When the boys come on and hit the crowd with ‘Manic’, ‘Reckless With Your Love’, or some of the other album hits people are using the sparse room they have in the sold-out Amsterdam venue Trouw to strut their stuff. So plenty of people working it, and the two singers of Azari & III lead by example. … Continue Reading
Zappa Plays Zappa, by Julia Stryj
By Julia Stryj
November 19, 2011
Zappa Plays Zappa took to the stage at the HMV Picture House in Edinburgh last weekend – Kenny McMurtrie was there to review for us, and Julia Stryj took these fantastic images – take a look below. … Continue Reading
Zappa Plays Zappa, by Kenny McMurtrie
By Kenny McMurtrie
November 19, 2011
Finally. A gig worthy of the term ‘muso’, to the extent that you could have paid a three figure sum to get in early and witness the soundcheck (and probably have a bit of banter with Dweezil and the band). The maintenance of an ongoing musical legacy probably generates profits greater than that of some small nations, and t-shirts at £20 and proper shirts for £55 go a long way to keeping the family business in the black. … Continue Reading
Homework, by Kenny McMurtrie
By Kenny McMurtrie
November 18, 2011
Finally. After four years of contributing to this site I’ve got a band to tip for success in the coming year. Homework‘s show tonight (to launch mini-album All That Glitters) was a revelation, not least because prior to the show I’d been less than impressed with their recorded output on their earlier singles. Live, however, they’re a far weightier and more powerful proposition. Coming on like a combination of Nine Inch Nails, Placebo and Jane’s Addiction, their sound turns out to be a dazzling amalgam of intrepid drumming, solid basswork, yearning, angsty vocals and blunt, propulsive riffs along with extensively employed synths. … Continue Reading
Owen Pallett
By Stef Siepel
Eindhoven is radiant due to all the city lights that have been placed for the Glow festival. Massive amounts of people are ant-like finding their way through the city center, which is bending if not breaking. In the midst of it a huge church is crowded by a throng of people, who see light coming from the House of the Lord and think, Well, maybe there is something in the church that has to do with Glow. So people hoard around the entrance, most of them being told that, in fact, this is a ticketed event. A gig, no less. It is, namely, the end of Owen Pallett’s two-and-a-half year world tour, which he concludes with orchestra. … Continue Reading
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