We first saw Villagers at Bestival in 2010, and they were visceral then, all howling and catharsis, but they’ve got a bigger range in their sound now, and the personal feels more political. There are strong electronic beats, LOUD guitars…
This is the third Widowspeak release I’ve reviewed, and the first track, ‘Brass Bed’, is lively compared to the sleepy, smoky wooziness of their debut, with a brisk wooden beat. Lead singer Molly Hamilton gives her dreamy voice definition: “Baby…
I saw Laura J Martin play at Bestival back in 2010, looping flute and mandolin to her voice; if you have no patience for vocal oddity (Kate Bush, Joanna Newsom etc) you might find her pixieish otherworldly presence grating, otherwise…
Within/Without signifies a second 2013 release from London trio Bear’s Den. Following on from February’s stunning EP Agape, this latest offering picks up exactly from where we were left, wanting more. Opening track ‘Sahara pt.I’ will already be well-known to…
City Forgiveness, the fifth studio album from the Wave Pictures, is a rare thing: an album full of substance and ideas, but bound in by style. It’s a road trip album, forged from notes that lead singer David Tattersall took…
I’ve been looking forward to Los Campesinos!’s fifth album NO BLUES for absolutely ages. The same will be true for a lot of 20-somethings, for whom LC! have been a bit of a soundtrack band since they first emerged as…
Earlier this year Richard Hawley caused something of a kerfuffle when he revealed he had turned down a slot at Glastonbury because the famous festival had become “meaningless”. For devotees of the Worthy Farm experience this was tantamount to heresy,…
Andrea Tomasi’s debut album, Hurricane Dream, is incredibly beautiful, and instantly comforting on dark autumn days. Beginning with a campfire guitar, the instrumental opening feels self-assured. It was recorded outside, in the woods: crickets chirping away create a natural space…
To celebrate Halloween Joe Innes is offering a free download of his zombie-filled track The Frighteners. He calls it his “lo-fi indie version of Michael Jackson’s thriller” and when it’s played live the crowd provide a backdrop of growls, werewolf…
An evening curated by Jarvis Cocker was never going to be dull. Hosted in their tiny chapel by the House of St Barnabas, a private members’ club that uses its profits to operate as a charity for the homeless, this…