Album Review: Jasmine.4.t- You Are The Morning

It’s not even out until January, but I’m calling it already: this thing of beauty will be one of 2025’s finest. Based in Manchester, Jasmine Cruickshank, who writes and records as Jasmine.4.t , makes music that disarms through its intimacy and hopeful, wistful intensity. Produced by Boygenius, it shares sonic DNA with early Perfume Genius,Continue reading “Album Review: Jasmine.4.t- You Are The Morning”

Pop Perfection: Miso Extra- Good Kisses

The best pop is always out of leftfield, eccentric and seems to burst out of the speakers. So it’s no surprise that pop maverick Miso Extra has teamed up with the equally glorious Joe Mount of Metronomy, no stranger himself to creating genius indie pop. Of the track, she says it’s all about “this crushinglyContinue reading “Pop Perfection: Miso Extra- Good Kisses”

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: 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”

Album Review: Lili Holland-Fricke and Sean Rogan- Dear Alien

This debut is a glorious thing indeed, bringing some much needed sunshine as days get colder. The duo, both based in Manchester, recorded the album in Greenwich, and it’s both melodic and full of improvised energy. Sleepy, feline cellos mesh with tape loops and it’s Holland -Fricke’s unique approach to cello playing that feels soContinue reading “Album Review: Lili Holland-Fricke and Sean Rogan- Dear Alien”

New Release: Kim Deal- Crystal Breath

*Klaxon* Attention, good people of Earth! American indie goddess and Breeders/Pixies icon Kim Deal has a new solo album forthcoming in November, and the second single to be lifted from it, ‘Crystal Breath’, is absolutely brilliant. See the video here, it’s glitchy, it’s itchy, and you’ll want to shake your bones to it. Nobody LovesContinue reading “New Release: Kim Deal- Crystal Breath”

Album Review: Dummy- Free Energy

Dummy’s new album, Free Energy, is perfect for moving to, or moving around cities to. It hits the sweet spot between experimentation and melodic indie pop. The Los Angeles band, comprised of Emma Maatman, Alex Ewell, Nathan O’ Dell and Joe Trainor, feel very much of the zeitgeist, as well as timeless. ‘Nine Clean Nails’Continue reading “Album Review: Dummy- Free Energy”

Lost In Music: Will Gregory Moog Ensemble

While his singing half treads a more commercial path these days, Will Gregory from Goldfrapp has a project that’s experimental, doffing a hat to pioneers like Stockhausen and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. It’s wonderfully out of step with current trends in modern music, like the recent jazz revival and hyperpop. Will Gregory Moog Ensemble isContinue reading “Lost In Music: Will Gregory Moog Ensemble”

Album Review: Xiaowang-Kachakacha

What an exciting debut from this young Bejing band. Xiaowang make music that’s as unexpected as it’s exhilarating. They’re described as “kawaiicore” and that’s a perfect term, as their music is often pitched between the fun and the terrifying. Steal vacillates between deadpan choppy postpunk and death metal roars, whereas Duck Song is slicing, staccatoContinue reading “Album Review: Xiaowang-Kachakacha”