Years before ‘Trainspotting’ cemented its place in literature and film history, auteur Gus Van Sant, along with screenwriter Daniel Yost, created a brilliant film about a bunch of junkies and the rigmarole of fixing. Here, the setting is Portland and the decade, the early seventies. Matt Dillon is the lead character, Bob, putting his broodingContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Drugstore Cowboy (1989)”
Tag Archives: Indie
Favourite Cover Versions: Radiohead Homage The Smiths
Two of the greatest British bands of all time feature in this post today… What’s not to like? Radiohead covering The Smiths ‘ peerless, typically arch song ‘The Headmaster Ritual’ is a glorious thing to behold indeed. Here it is. Notice how lovely Thom cracks up and can’t get through the line, “spineless bastards, all”.Continue reading “Favourite Cover Versions: Radiohead Homage The Smiths”
Lost In Music: Alt Blk Era
Nottingham sisters Nyrobi and Cheya Becket-Messam are kicking a hole through musical genres and expectations. The dynamic pair make music that straddles EDM, indie and metal, and their sparky debut album ‘Rave Immortal ‘,which was released last year, earned much critical and fan acclaim. Their outspoken attitude on issues like Black culture and disability, cheekyContinue reading “Lost In Music: Alt Blk Era”
Lucifer Over Lanarkshire: Wet Leg
Look at this clip. Are Wet Leg for real? I had the misfortune to recently review their latest album, Moisturizer, for The Wee Review, and gave it two stars. The music is incredibly watered down indie, with vapid, adolescent lyrics. And the way they present themselves is cloying, as insincere as the sound they make.Continue reading “Lucifer Over Lanarkshire: Wet Leg”
Album Review: Pickle Darling- Bots
Bedroom pop seems to finally be having it’s moment, so New Zealand artist Lukas Mayo, who records as Pickle Darling, can confidently sit among the likes of Jasmine 4.T and Clairo in capturing the charm of lo-fi, beautifully executed indie pop. Their fourth album may be, for the most part, hushed and delicate, but it’sContinue reading “Album Review: Pickle Darling- Bots”
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”
Lost In Music: The Cure- Lovesong
Ooooh, Disintegration. As any Cure fan will tell you, there are few finer words in the English language. I was reminded of this masterpiece of a song from said album when binge -watching the latest BBC drama Mix Tape. The poignant series, focussing on a rekindled love afair between two indie kids thirty years later,Continue reading “Lost In Music: The Cure- Lovesong”
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”
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 