Following the successful release of his debut album, Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm, five years ago, Benjamin Francis Leftwich unexpectedly vacated the spotlight. His sudden departure in 2013 to grieve the devastating loss of his father lasted three tumultuous years.…
The synth blast, urgent backbeat and whirling guitars that kick off Real Estate’s fourth LP augur well. You’d never accuse the New York band of urgency; they’re more prone to meander down melodic rivers with their jangle pop influences bobbing in their…
The idea of reviewing of Stornoway’s last gig of their farewell tour, in the town where they built their career strikes me as inappropriate. It’s like trying to review any sort of local, natural, beautiful, beloved phenomenon in Oxford. One…
The newest addition to the every burgeoning Bella Union label, Holly Mcvae, has released her debut record Golden Eagle, and deserves the plaudits she is sure to receive. The opening track, ‘White Bridge’, sets the tone for the record. The…
At this point Alynda Segarra is Hurray for the Riff Raff – her songs, her music, her vision. Leaving the Bronx at the age of seventeen and riding the rails like a female Woody Guthrie, Segarra spent three years exploring…
The ‘Black Lives Matter’ flag so often draped over an amplifier is missing. ‘What It Means’, Patterson Hood’s song about the violence directed at African Americans of late, may have been a setlist mainstay during the North American leg of…
“Varium at mutabile semper femina” – “A woman is an ever fickle and changeable thing”. The origins of the title for Laura Marling’s latest masterpiece encapsulates her vision perfectly. Produced by the richly-gifted Blake Mills, the record serves as an…
Taking cues from artists like Emelie & Ogden, First Aid Kit, and Aurora, Eva & the Oak are a five-piece alternative folk outlet who aim to create ethereal and haunting soundscapes to pierce their listeners’ heart. Their clash between dream…
Have you ever dreamt of Neil Young in outer space? Have you ever imagined what it would sound like if he and a spacey glam rocker like Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie somehow diced up their DNA and created some sort…
Japanese composer Tatsuya Oe is best known for the upbeat work of his original stage moniker, Captain Funk. In recent years, though, Oe has developed another alias to release music as. His latest project, Dark Model, is regarded as Captain…