Anya Plaschg, the Austrian artist who records as Soap & Skin, has been doing her own thing since the mid-noughties, but this new album pays tribute to her diverse influences over the years. There’s a pretty faithful cover of Bowie’s dark, dense ‘Girl Loves Me’, and a sweet cover of Sufjan Steven’ ‘Mystery of Love’,Continue reading “Album Review: Soap & Skin- TORSO”
Category Archives: Album
Album Review: Amyl and the Sniffers: Cartoon Darkness
“I don’t wanna be stuck inside that negatIvity, cunt, you’ll never get with me”, hollers the blushing wallflower Amy Taylor through a wall of noise on ‘Jerkin”. Of course, this is typical of the Melbourne punk scamps, and their irrepressible frontwoman. So too is ‘Tiny Bikini’ and ‘U Should Not Be Doing That’, a flipContinue reading “Album Review: Amyl and the Sniffers: Cartoon Darkness”
Overlooked Classics: The Cure- Disintegration
People often forget this album, and I don’t know why. Possibly it’s the ubiquity of curated playlists, or the attention span of the 21st century- so many people don’t have time to listen to whole albums anymore. It’s a masterpiece, either way. The eighth studio album saw the band losing Lol Tolhurst and Robert SmithContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: The Cure- Disintegration”
Album Review: Zombina and the Skeletones- The Call of Zombina
Liverpool garage horror fiends Zombina and The Skeletones have been doing their own creepy, kooky-ooky -ooky thing since 1998, and this new album, just out in time for The Witching Season, is a nice mix of ghoulish Hammer Horror and itchy riffage. It should sate fans of Death Valley Girls, The Cramps and Pebbles compilationsContinue reading “Album Review: Zombina and the Skeletones- The Call of Zombina”
Overlooked Classics: Rachel’s – Music For Egon Schiele
I’ve always hated that apostrophe in the chamber music band – it’s as though the band were running a diner or something.I suspect it was due to the band being the brainchild of pianist and composer Rachel Grimes. Regardless of dubious punctuation marks, though, the Kentucky band were always makers of exquisite music, drawing asContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Rachel’s – Music For Egon Schiele”
Album Review: Yoo Doo Right -From The Heights Of Our Pastureland
The third album from the enigmatic Montreal trio is, in their own words, a rumination about “the storm of colonialism, the collapse of capitalism and the massive undertaking it is to rebuild with past mistakes taken into deep consideration”. The enormity of such thematic concerns is encapsulated by the band’s glorious instrumentation. The title track,Continue reading “Album Review: Yoo Doo Right -From The Heights Of Our Pastureland”
Album Review: Geordie Greep- The New Sound
Trust Geordie Greep , former lead singer of the endlessly inventive Black Midi, to blend a huge cocktail of genres for this, his debut solo album. Much of his work is all about pulling together genres to create something unique and wilfully bonkers. Take the first single to be lifted from the album, ‘Holy Holy’.Continue reading “Album Review: Geordie Greep- The New Sound”
Album Review: Nubya Garcia – Odyssey
It’s hard to believe that this is only the second studio album from tenor saxophonist Nubya Garcia, such is her effortless sounding, voluptuous playing and compositional skill. The range of moods here, too, often takes others a lifetime to perfect. ‘Clarity’ for example, is a slow-burning dreamscape with a hypnotic melody line. The shimmering ‘Solstice’Continue reading “Album Review: Nubya Garcia – Odyssey”
Grace at 30
I remember the first time I heard Jeff Buckley singing. I was hanging out at my then boyfriend Paul ‘s flat. He’d just bought the album. I sat frozen in my seat, jaw dropping. I perused the album cover: the impossibly beautiful man in a sequinned coat, looking soulful and untouchable, clutching an old-fashioned microphone.Continue reading “Grace at 30”
Album Review: Masayoshi Fujita- Migratory
Inspired by the endless wonders of nature, and in particular the flight paths of birds, Japanese vibraphonist and marimba player Masayoshi Fujita has created a beautiful, meditative album here, with enough left turns to stop it fading into the background. In that sense, it’s a post-ambient work. ‘Tower Of Cloud’ is hypnotic and dreamy, butContinue reading “Album Review: Masayoshi Fujita- Migratory”
Hit The North 