Amongst the potted palms of the mobile lobby of Gruff Rhys’s Hotel Shampoo, support band Y Niwl emit wave after wave of their own brand of crystalline surf rock. The Peter Gunn-esque ‘Pedwar’ opens the show, followed by the standout Chwech,…
EP | Sarah Blasko – Cinema Songs
If you’re looking for new material from Sarah Blasko, Cinema Songs is not going to help you out. There’s nothing new here at all. Not only are the five tracks all covers – but they were already released, at least…
Album | Jonny Kearney & Lucy Farrell – Kite
More than most kinds of music, folk is good at doing a genre piece. I like Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell’s Kite in the same way many people like a good murder mystery novel or a solid romantic comedy film…
Album | Josh Rouse – Josh Rouse & The Long Vacations
Josh Rouse has always been a man whose music was of a particular place – if not necessarily of one particular place. Early albums like Dressed Up Like Nebraska and Home spoke of the American mid-west where he was born.…
Album | Flashguns – Passions of a Different Kind
Wandering around the Underage Festival in 2009, I came across many bands that have since faded from memory. My search for the ‘next big thing’ seemed hopeless; that is, until I saw Flashguns. Their urgency as a live act left…
New Bands Panel | Oh Stockholm!
Birmingham’s Michael Hutchinson and his mate Anna Bennet have moved from electro-pop to sad solos to something a little folky. With two EPs available online and gigs aplenty – the panel stepped up to check ’em out… Nicholas Franks: The…