“Bring Back Those Happy Days sounds anything but: a confused noise, (sounding suspiciously like a kitchen attacked by a Robin Reliant) takes quite some time to reveal its swampy, scratchy muse. ”
Continue reading “Heaven And – Sweeter as the Years Roll By”
Round the Hoorn with Calvin Party
“Manchester was never very far away in their music, but somehow that’s not really a problem with Calvin Party, because their overwhelming saving grace is that they are out to entertain, empathise and connect. ”
Continue reading “Round the Hoorn with Calvin Party”
The Long Blondes – Melkweg, Amsterdam 23/04/08
“Quite apart from their peculiar brand of dour charm they’re the only band who I reckon could get away with appearing on Last of the Summer Wine in an entirely non-ironic way. Simply put, whatever they do won’t change them as an entity. ”
Continue reading “The Long Blondes – Melkweg, Amsterdam 23/04/08”
No Age – Nouns
"Perhaps the cover’s job is to remind one of Generation X because the CD’s sound certainly harks back to a time when a hipster would be sound-tracking the extenuated moping about that passed for their existence to the strains of Daydream Nation, 69 or Sister. "
Wire – Ekko, Utrecht 30/04/08
"Dutch Wire fans look incredibly battered (years of being glum and post punk can take it’s toll, not to mention the Sisyphean struggle of getting into increasingly ill-fitting drainpipe jeans) "
Richard Swift: An appreciation
Onasis I is, quite simply, wonderful. Onasis II, not so much, but it’s very listenable all the same, as long as you’re not seeking the depth and emotion of his previous records. I like to listen to this record whilst ironing.
Mystery Jets – Making Dens
"Ultimately this contrariness does seem to be a quite intentional (and sometimes even rather studied) aspect of Mystery Jets’ music, and as a matter of fact it does seem to be a significant part of their appeal to their fans, but for those who prefer songs to be straightforward and immediate then Making Dens may be at times rather difficult to swallow"
The Smiths – The Tatty Truth
Try introducing someone to the Smiths by playing them Miserable Lie and I guarantee they’ll run for the hills the second Moz starts yodelling.