Everybody cites Hole as fine purveyors of pure feminine rage, and rightly so, but for me, Babes In Toyland did it better, and with more eloquent ferocity. I first heard Dust Cake Boy where else but on John Peel’s peerless late night radio show on Radio 1. His son Tom Ravenscroft recently spoke on 6MusicContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Babes In Toyland- Spanking Machine”
Category Archives: Music
Album Review: Speedy Wunderground Vol 5
The legendary label is nearly a decade young, believe it or not. Dan Carey, Alexis Smith and Pierre Hall’s baby just keeps going from strength to strength, as evinced by their latest compilation. From Lazarus Kane’s opener Narcissus, a kind of hyper- caffeinated Talking Heads meets Hot Chip groove, through to The Lounge Society’s broodyContinue reading “Album Review: Speedy Wunderground Vol 5”
DVD Review: The Sparks Brothers
Edgar Wright’s The Sparks Brothers is more than a traditional rock doc. A visually glorious pop art paean to the shapeshifting nature of pop music, Ron and Russell Mael, aka Sparks, represent longevity, invention and playful erudition. From their LA childhood on the beach, absorbing their artist father’s paintings, and being driven by their motherContinue reading “DVD Review: The Sparks Brothers”
Garlands Is 40
More people seem familiar with later work from Cocteau Twins but their debut album Garlands is still beautiful. Having just turned forty, I thought this record was worth a reappraisal. Featuring the original lineup of Liz Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie, the original sound was dark, dense and as tight as a boa constrictor.Continue reading “Garlands Is 40”
Album Review: Todo Muere
Be still, my goth heart. This compilation from Sacred Bones is the best of experimental, psych, drone and noise music. It’s a drop of the dark stuff. Boris, the Japanese noise legends do a slinky take on Jim Jarmusch’s Squrl from Only Lovers Left Alive, and like the titular vampires Adam and Eve, it’s faithfulContinue reading “Album Review: Todo Muere”
Album Review: Sound Of Ceres-Emerald Sea
A unique audio visual collaboration between enigmatic NY musician K and legendary performance artist Marina Abramovic, this album falls between the cosmic experimentation of Broadcast and sci-fi emulating sixties production of Joe Meek. Even the artwork points to what to expect: a kitsch image with K looking like a Puckish figure. It suits the symphonicContinue reading “Album Review: Sound Of Ceres-Emerald Sea”
OK Computer Is 25
An unexpected alarm call. To be better. To try harder. To push further. Pre- mobile phones; smart devices, stupider voices. To rail against complacency, the government and mass consumption. Do you trust your leaders? The sleeping leading the half-asleep. Choices, barcodes, receipts. A graveyard of technology, rapid fire jump cuts. A need for something simpler,Continue reading “OK Computer Is 25”
I Blame Robert Smith…
At fourteen, I was a bona fide Goth. Black of eyeliner, crimped of hair, and with a tendency towards a shyness and melancholy. Small-town life in rural Perthshire just wasn’t cutting it for me. I wanted to see bands, dance and theatre, but there was nothing within the vicinity and we were a working classContinue reading “I Blame Robert Smith…”
Techno Tinkerbell: Bjork at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, 1997
This film marks Bjork’s transition from the “shy girl” from Debut, as she put it, to the bolder, almost cartoonish Techno Tinkerbell ( my term) of the Post tour. The whole band are on fire here. From Leila Arab mixing, Ed Handley and Andy Turner on keyboards to Guy Sigsworth making ambient sound, to CobaContinue reading “Techno Tinkerbell: Bjork at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, 1997”
The Future’s Here Today: Yazzus
Based between London and Berlin, DJ and producer Yazzus is brilliant – a cheeky, smart lady who mixes like a dream, crossing genres: pop, drum ‘n’bass, electro, house, techno,grime, trap and soul- you name it, she can skilfully weave it altogether into a beautiful sound collage. Recently, she’s exclusively mixed for BBC 6Music, Radio 1Continue reading “The Future’s Here Today: Yazzus”
Hit The North 