This is a strange one. Tess Parks, the Canadian singer- songwriter who recently collaborated with Anton Newcombe from Brian Jonestown Massacre, is clearly steeped in retro influences, most notably the Paisley Underground and post- PU outfits like Mazzy Star, as well as the original bands who influenced them like The Seeds and West Coast PopContinue reading “Album Review: Tess Parks- And Those Who Were Seen Dancing”
Category Archives: Review
Album Review: Hatchie- Giving The World Away
Harriette Pilbeam is the singer- songwriter behind Hatchie. This new release is effervescent dream pop, confident sounding, featherlight but with a little bittersweetness. ‘Lights On’ and ‘The Key’ have Cocteau Twins in the shimmering, chiming sound, while 80s and 90s jukebox favourites like Depeche Mode, New Order and St Etienne loom large, in the bigContinue reading “Album Review: Hatchie- Giving The World Away”
Dance Film Review: Rambert 2- Block Party
Canadian choreographer Megan Lawson has worked with Adele, Madonna and Katy Perry amongst others. Her new short film created in collaboration with the young dancers from Rambert Dance Company, Rambert 2, is called Block Party. It’s an eye-popping, vibrant and surreal film, with the colourfully attired ensemble rippling as one like a snake and topplingContinue reading “Dance Film Review: Rambert 2- Block Party”
EP Review: Eydis Evensen- Frost
Inspired by the unique landscape of her homeland, Icelandic composer/ musician Eydis Evensen has created effortless beauty here with new EP Frost . Minimalist but effective, her elliptical piano playing spirals around strings, creating an eerie soundtrack to the famous mountains, geysers and hills. Tracks like the swooning Svartnaetti and Dawn Is Near have anContinue reading “EP Review: Eydis Evensen- Frost”
Album Review: Erasers- Constant Connection
There’s definitely a trend at the moment for indie bands to emulate post-punk bands. I can hear traces of The Raincoats, Wire and Fatal Microbes in current popular bands like Dry Cleaning, Yard Act and Life. So it goes with the incredibly minimalist Erasers. The duo from Perth in Australia, comprised of Rebecca Orchard andContinue reading “Album Review: Erasers- Constant Connection”
EP Review: Jackson Hill- Rabbit Feather
What a strange and beguiling debut from the Raleigh- based ambient musician and producer. Rabbit Feather weaves in and out of speakers. Its trippy strangeness is both unsettling and comforting. There’s a lullaby like fragility to Figment and Whatever Helps You Sleep At Night makes you feel encased in some kind of space PID, untilContinue reading “EP Review: Jackson Hill- Rabbit Feather”
Album Review: Hinako Omori- A Journey…
Inspired by the practice of forest bathing, Japanese artist Hinako Omori’s new album breathes like new buds bursting into life. Created using scientific binaural sounds and more organic processes of field recordings, the album pulses with transcendental shimmering beauty. Tracks like Levitation see Omori’s modular synth patterns resemble chirruping birds, while her voice soars onContinue reading “Album Review: Hinako Omori- A Journey…”
Album Review: Cate Le Bon- Pompeii
Even at her sweetest, Welsh avant-pop artist Cate Le Bon is always wilfully opaque. This, her sixth album, is even murkier than before. There’s nothing as driving here as Mother’s Mother’s Magazines or even Sisters. What there is instead feels like a series of dizzy spells, which seems appropriate for our weird and frightening times.Continue reading “Album Review: Cate Le Bon- Pompeii”
Album Review: Sea Change- Mutual Dreaming
Norwegian producer and singer Ellen A W Sunde has produced yet another elusive, shining sad gem. Mutual Dreaming hits that half awake/half asleep tender spot. Her dreamy, often whispered vocals cast her as sonic somnambulist, and songs like Night Eyes, OK and the title track are like drowning in pixels. It’s elusive, warped and prettyContinue reading “Album Review: Sea Change- Mutual Dreaming”
Album Review: Boris-W
For well over two decades, Japanese experimental doom band Boris have been treading their own path, through line-up and label changes. Too avant-garde for the mainstream, they nonetheless have a loyal fan- base, not least because of working alongside collaborators like Sunn 0))). This, their first album for Sacred Bones, has enough light and shadeContinue reading “Album Review: Boris-W”
Hit The North 