Ever since its unexpected release around Halloween, West End Girl by Lily Allen has had people talking. Inevitable comparisons to Beyonce’s Lemonade have been made, but for me it’s more akin to Joni Mitchell ‘s Blue or Bjork’s Vulnicura. It hurts, and it seems apposite to close the year with this album as a contrastContinue reading “Not Gilding The Lily”
Tag Archives: Album
Album Review: Constant Smiles- Moonflowers
Constant Smiles mine the gentle end of indie folk pop. Their warm sound is like the days of the late eighties, on the cusp of grunge, when we ordered albums by mail order and plaid shirts and vintage style was becoming fashionable. ‘Harriman,’ with lead vocals from drummer Nora Knight, evokes Yo La Tengo whenContinue reading “Album Review: Constant Smiles- Moonflowers”
Overlooked Classics: The Fall- Bend Sinister
Mid-eighties Fall were, as ever, a strange proposition, fast becoming a cult band; yet always wilfully on the sidelines, casting caustic barbs at the more banal elements of pop culture. So it was with the ninth album, the brilliant Bend Sinister. It was named after the Nabokov novel. Even the cover points to the kindContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: The Fall- Bend Sinister”
Album Review: Anna Secret Poet- I Saw This And Thought Of You
Friend of Hit The North and all -round legend Anna Secret Poet is back with arguably her most epic album to date. There’s some introspection wrapped in a piledriving anthem (‘Aimless’) a soupcon of cheeky country grunge with ricocheting guitars (‘ Old Unfaithful ‘) and the typical eccentricity we’ve come to associate with her songContinue reading “Album Review: Anna Secret Poet- I Saw This And Thought Of You”
Album Review: Rival Consoles- Landscape From Memory
What a beauty. The gorgeous, endlessly inventive new album, from Rival Consoles, aka Ryan Lee West, invokes a kind of synaesthesia: you can almost hear colours. It’s textured, layer upon layer, like a kind of complex tromp l’oeil painting in sound. Tracks like ‘Catherine’, ‘Known Shapes’ and the stunning, shimmering ‘Soft Gradient Beckons’ appear likeContinue reading “Album Review: Rival Consoles- Landscape From Memory”
Album Review: Frankie Cosmos- Different Talking
For over a decade, Greta Kline with her band Frankie Cosmos has been making her own brand of sweetly introspective indie pop, full of wry observations and a melancholic undertow. There’s more of this on her sixth studio album, but with some nice experimentation thrown in. Call it ‘Sad Girl Summer’ if you like. IContinue reading “Album Review: Frankie Cosmos- Different Talking”
Sometimes, More Is Less
Pulp’s reunion has been all over the press here, and understandably so- they’ve not made a studio album in twenty four years. I was so excited to hear the latest fruits of their labour, as Jarvis Cocker is one of the UK’s most astute frontmen and waspish wits. I love the outsiders; the oddballs, theContinue reading “Sometimes, More Is Less”
Archive Review: Julia Holter- Aviary
Julia HolterAviary Uneasy listening from LA multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter In a sea of twee folksy singer songwriters, it’s reassuring that we are blessed with some genuinely unique and gifted artists who occupy their own sonic territory: singular women like Annie Clark, aka St Vincent; Kathryn Joseph, Solange, Jane Weaver, FKA Twigs, and Mary Epworth. Los Angeles based multi instrumentalist and singer-songwriter JuliaContinue reading “Archive Review: Julia Holter- Aviary”
Album Review: CLAMM- Serious Acts
Melbourne trio CLAMM have been bubbling up over the last few years, creating an enjoyable and disarming racket. The band, who consist of Jack Summers, Stella Rennex and Miles Harding, mine the best parts of punk, post -punk and noise music, but they’ve got a lot to say about contemporary society too, reflected in theirContinue reading “Album Review: CLAMM- Serious Acts”
Album Review: Ezra Furman- Goodbye Small Head
As the culture wars rage on, Ms Ezra Furman plays in the rubble, seeking diamonds. This is a return to form after the slightly disappointing previous album, All Of Us Flames, which seemed at times like she was coasting through a more commercial sound. There are no such problems here. As the transphobic laws wereContinue reading “Album Review: Ezra Furman- Goodbye Small Head”
Hit The North 