Musicians, like film stars and television broadcasters, are some of the most important cultural icons in history. Furthermore, instruments can carry as much, if not more, powerful symbolism than musicians themselves. Take the electric guitar, for example, and Jimi Hendrix…
Category: Records
Album | Anna Ternheim – The Night Visitor
In recent years Sweden has proved itself the prime producer of US-style cultural exports. In film and television, the likes of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Wallander have caught the imagination of viewers in the UK, appearing at…
Album | Admiral Fallow – Tree Bursts In Snow
Admiral Fallow spent two and a half years crafting the songs that made up their debut album Boots Met My Face before committing them to the tape, part of a slow-burning process that saw the record released twice before it…
Album | Smoke Fairies – Blood Speaks
If there’s been one constant in the Smoke Fairies’ story to date, it has been their refusal to stand still. From leaving their Sussex roots to spend time living in America and Canada before returning to London, to their frantic…
Album | Patrick Watson – Adventures In Your Own Backyard
Falsetto voice, piano, experimentation… It’s all been done before, right? What with the Jeff Buckleys, the Rufus Wainwrights and the Bon Ivers, there really isn’t much room in the market for more. Anyone looking to venture down a similar path…
Album | Ren Harvieu – Through The Night
Ren Harvieu’s debut LP, Through The Night, lays its cards on the table almost straight away as you press play: it’s a album about romance and it’s not going to be a subtle ride. The melodrama factor is cranked up…
EP | Paul Thomas Saunders – Descartes Highlands
The latest EP from 20-year-old singer-songwriter Paul Thomas Saunders is a shimmering kaleidoscope of eerie nostalgia and twinkling pianos, which, despite its melancholy air, manages to evoke optimism and euphoria in its hypnotic beats. Named after the area on the…
Album | Crybaby – Crybaby
Crybaby, real-name Danny Coughlan, seems very keen to be the new poster-boy for heartbroken storytelling. And with his self-titled debut, he may just achieve that status. This compact collection of poignant ballads will no doubt project Bristol-born Crybaby into the…
EP | The Son(s) – Leviathan
The Son(s) latest EP, Leviathan, is as atmospheric as they come. From beginning to end, it is quite apparent that this follow-up to their debut album was recorded in an old, empty flat during Edinburgh’s coldest winter in 50 years.…
Album | Father John Misty – Fear Fun
Joshua Tillman has left the milk-and-honey kindness of the Fleet Foxes to craft a more rebellious guise for himself as Father John Misty, a kind of lone cowboy in black. The sound will be familiar to Fleet Foxes fans, with…