Album Reviews

For those who are unsure what a kleptocracy is, it is defined as a society whose leaders make themselves rich and powerful by stealing from the rest of the people. This may strike a chord […]

“It’s a bit of a ‘wilderness years’ album,” states Holly Ross, one half of Lancastrian DIY psychedelic punk outfit, The Lovely Eggs. Without a new album in four years, you would be excused for thinking […]

Our modern society seems to prefer it if everything is neatly labelled. Whilst this is great if things can be clearly defined and pigeonholed, some things aren’t easily categorized. It is the latter that Frank […]

It is well documented that Merseyside has produced many great musical artists over the years. From The Beatles to Cast, Echo & The Bunnymen to Ken Dodd, the music scene would look very different today […]

London-based singer-songwriter Jewelia releases her new album, Little Wins, a dozen tracks of alt-pop songs embracing a common theme: self-acceptance. According to Jewlia, “I’m exploring feelings of inadequacy, feeling mediocre or even like a failure, […]

Indie singer/songwriter Sam Beam better known under his moniker Iron and Wine returns to the music industry after a seven-year hiatus with his new release Light Verse. The album follows his 2017 release Beast Epic, […]

When Pearl Jam premiered Dark Matter at an exclusive listening event in January, frontman Eddie Vedder made a big claim – “this is our best work yet”. The remark raised a few eyebrows, particularly as […]

Suppose you talk to any Irish person within a certain age bracket. In that case, there’s a good chance you’ll hear a humble brag about how they saw U2 before they broke big, which can […]

English Teacher’s debut album, This Could Be Texas, may lack direct references to its titular state, but it offers a rich tapestry of British and local influences, firmly rooted in the experiences of its Leeds-based […]

The third album from the American punk cultural commentators sees the band go back to the beginning to move steadily forward. Eight years ago, a band known as Bodega Bay created a double album, thirty-three […]

Aaron West is a fictional character, the brainchild of Dan Campbell from The Wonder Years. For those unfamiliar, Aaron’s story started with Campbell writing an album “about the worst year of Aaron West’s life,” in […]

Having emerged as one of Ireland’s finest talents in recent years, the Belfast shoegaze quintet Virgins release their debut album. This record sounds fresh and invigorating, nodding to the past with the brightest of futures. […]

The very notion that The Libertines would release a stunning fourth album in 2024 is something that would have seemed ridiculously over-optimistic, if not utterly preposterous, twenty years ago… writes John Kearns. However, here we […]

In 1986, John Lydon let rip and roared, “Anger is an energy” in the cracking Public Image Ltd song, ‘Rise’. If proof were ever needed to support his claim, it would have been delivered in […]

Boise, Idaho-based mixed-media performance artist Street Fever releases their new album, Absolution. The album is a sermon addressing recovery, faith, disruption, and perseverance. Absolution merges techno, industrial, electro, rap, hardcore, and electronic body music elements. The […]

The third album of the second era from OX4 shoegaze legends Ride is their most inventive and creative work to date. One of the finest things about music, specifically genres, is how a theme can […]

Pacific Northwestern quartet Chastity Belt releases their fifth album, entitled Live Laugh Love, recorded over three sessions in three years – January 2020, November 2021 and 2022. Chastity Belt was formed in 2010 in Walla […]

Since Gossip last released a studio album, the UK has had five Prime Ministers, the US has seen an insurrection, the Earth’s surface temperature has increased by another 0.5°Celsius, and the price of a Freddo […]