It stands to reason that as a band ages their popularity should take that natural ascension up into the stars. It’s exactly what all their fans hope for, to see the band with all that talent finally getting the kudos they always deserve. But the trouble is that when the band reaches that level of adoration from so many people they automatically lose some of that magic that made them so precious in the first place. This is the perilous ledge that TV on the Radio find themselves on as they take to the stage for their biggest show in the UK, following the mammoth success of their last album ‘Dear Science’.
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EP: The Dufflefolks – Through Fire Escapes Love
Through Fire Escapes Love is the enigmatic title wrapped around the new EP from London band The Dufflefolks, whose mercurial sound is difficult to classify in terms of genre.
Album: Tinariwen – Imidiwan: Companions
Surely one of the most unique and original ‘bands’ releasing music in the UK today, Tinariwen are a group of musicians out of Mali who came together in the 1970s to play traditional Touareg music. They formed around Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, who spent his early life in a Malian refugee camp and made his first guitar as a young child after seeing a cowboy playing a guitar in a Western.
Album: Catherine MacLellan – Water in the Ground/Dark Dream Midnight:
Catherine Maclellan has done the folk world a bit of a favour by not only releasing her third album Water in the Ground but by also including her first album Dark Dream Midnight- two great and very different albums for fans to take in.
Album: The Rumblestrips – Welcome to the Walk Alone
Fans of The Rumble Strips will have been shocked when they heard the hornless first release from the new album Welcome to Walk Alone. Given the band have teamed up with producer Mark Ronson, you might be forgiven for expecting it to sound like Grimethorpe Colliery Band covering the back catalogue of Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Instead it opens with the majestic ‘Welcome to the Walk Alone’ which is reminiscent of Scott Walker’s saturnine best.
Album Sampler: Lisa Mitchell
Nineteen year old Australian Lisa Mitchell has come along way since her breakthrough as a finalist in the 2006 Australian Idol. Even then as a little sixteen year old, she showed immense potential that is finally getting realised. Lisa has taken a hop, skip and a jump from Albury, New South Wales, all the way over to London to prepare her debut album Wonder.
Album: Water Tower Bucket Boys – Catfish on the Line
If you don’t like Bluegrass then you might as well stop reading now.
Hello…(hello)…(hello). This here internet sure has a mighty big echo when it gets empty. Well, since you’ve stuck around I’ll keep on reviewin’:
Single: The Momeraths – Millipede Stomps
The debut single from The Momeraths has definitely been released at the right time of year, as Millipede Stomps is the perfect summer single. The male/female vocals complement each other fabulously and are bouncy and uplifting, oozing the excitement of youth. As well as having the feel good factor, it also delivers a chorus that will be sang all year round.
EP: Mondesir – It Would Not Be A Rose
Mondesir is a solo project from the London-based artist Josienne. Her EP, It would not be a Rose, includes four songs packed with delicate and heartfelt lyrics. What’s striking about Josienne is the organic and unpretentious nature of her songs. No clichéd lyrics or “cool” gimmicks. She’s the kind of artist you can imagine writing songs on scraps of paper on a park bench.
Single: Wildbeasts – Hooting and Hollowing
Hooting and Hollowing is the latest musical gem from the Wild Beasts. Although the four piece from Kendal still ooze theatrical charisma, the absurdly fantastic quirks that defined their first album are slightly diluted and replaced by mystical guitar echoes, layered arrangements laced with understated funk and a deep bass that punctuates the song.