Apparently, Maria Byrne used to work as a welder, tackling hairline cracks in Rolls Royce jet engines. Having never taken a naked flame anywhere near a jet engine, I can only imagine it to be an intensive, noisy way to…
Category: Records
EP | Esben & The Witch – Hexagons
2011 has been a good year for those of us who thrive on female-driven, experimental, neo-goth, with the likes of Austra, Warpaint and Zola Jesus bringing their sexed-up, spiky versions of gothic gloom to the airwaves. With their latest EP…
Album | Strange Boys – Live Music
If you thought that Ryan Sambol‘s voice was a little too much like a cat being skinned by a chainsaw, Live Music, the third offering from Texan foursome Strange Boys, will come as a pleasant surprise. Sambol has refined his…
Album | Real Estate – Days
The word ‘sunny’ rarely gets a look in around this time of the year, when daylight itself becomes a precious commodity. But Real Estate are a band that can’t avoid the word. Categorised as ‘surf-pop’, which essentially means they sound…
Album | Erica Buettner – True Love And Water
It is always pleasing to see a New Bands Panel graduate – especially one you enjoyed at the time – return with a full album, and so it proves as well-travelled American Erica Buettner’s True Love And Water reaches us.…
Album | Ane Brun – It All Starts With One
Despite putting out five studio albums, working with the likes of Peter Gabriel and Ron Sexsmith and receiving two Norwegian Grammys, Ane Brun (real name Ane Brunvoll) has flown under the UK radar for some time. This might all be…
Album | Mat Gibson – Forest Fire
Mat Gibson’s eagerly awaited follow-up to the acclaimed debut Home Movie has come in the form of the wonderful Americana mini-album, Forest Fire. Aided by his brilliant Ryan Adams-esque voice and emotive story-telling, Gibson has created a collection of songs…
Album | Summer Camp – Welcome To Condale
Partially-funded by fans using the PledgeMusic site, Welcome to Condale is the debut album from Summer Camp, made up of duo Elisabeth Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley. Treats such as a batch of Elisabeth’s brownies or Jeremy’s books were the incentives…
Singles round-up | Los Campesinos!, The Miserable Rich, Grass House, Lupen Crook, Ellen & The Escapades
Los Campesinos! – Hello Sadness Heading up the singles round-up this week is the title track from Los Campesinos!’ forthcoming album Hello Sadness. Nearly every song on that album is catchy enough for its own release but perhaps a little…
Album | Shelby Lynne – Revelation Road
Since 2008’s delightful ode to Dusty Springfield, Just a Little Lovin’, released on Lost Highway, Shelby Lynne has retreated from the limelight she fought so hard to find. She quit the major labels who had eventually picked her up after…