PRISM SHORES OUT FROM UNDERNEATH MERITORIO RECORDS If you would want to characterize the state of interesting indie pop/rock at the start of 2025, you probably wouldn’t have to go further than Montreal’s Prism Shores and their new [...]
BLUE LAKE WEFT TOTAL UNION With modern instrumental music that relies on more subtle, gentler sounds there was always a line (a very thin one at that) between being excellent and aural wallpaper. Even the most careful and knowledgeable artists [...]
FLORA HIBBERD SWIRL 22TWENTY RECORDS New singer-songwriters seem to crop up in a single day, and the competition (if it really exists) for the attention of an audience is even stiffer. Some of these artists can show what they are made of on a [...]
GEOWULF THE CHILD NETTWERK MUSIC GROUP Australia’s Geowulf is an intriguing dream pop project driven by the songwriting and singing of one Star Kendrick with the help of her longtime friend and collaborator, Toma Banjanin. With a series of [...]
TELEVISION PERSONALITIES TUNE IN, TURN ON, DROP OUT – RADIO SESSIONS 1980-1993 FIRE RECORDS Television Personalities formed at the tail end of the UK punk scene, in 1977. They released their debut EP, Where’s Bill Grundy Now? (referring to [...]
THE WEATHER STATION HUMANHOOD NEXT DOOR RECORDS/FAT POSSUM At the core of The Weather Station is Tamara Lindeman. It has always been her project and vision. Humanhood is the seventh album and the first album since the very successful and [...]
STEVE HACKETT LIVE MAGIC AT TRADING BOUNDARIES CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS It has become a tradition for Steve Hackett to perform at Trading Boundaries, in Sussex, UK. He usually schedules shows every year between Christmas and New Year. This is a [...]
TERRY DRAPER INFINITY TERRY TUNES RECORDS Terry Draper is a brilliant artist and one of the hardest working musicians in the business. His most recent solo album, In The Beginning, was released in 2023. It was his 13th album. This year he also [...]
PHILIP RAMBOW I’M AN ARTIST INDEPENDENT It has been far too long since we had an album of new material from Philip Rambow. Here, on I’m An Artist, Rambow has returned with 11 songs of what he does best. These are personal and emotional songs set [...]
FRANZ FERDINAND THE HUMAN FEAR DOMINO RECORDS Franz Ferdinand’s first studio album in seven years (Always Ascending being 2018’s major effort) is instantly identifiable from its opening track “Audacious”. Alex Kapranos’s voice has lost none of [...]
RINGO STARR LOOK UP UNIVERSAL MUSIC Ringo Starr has always had a love of country music. With The Beatles he recorded a cover of Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally” and always spoke about his appreciation of that genre. Country music was always very [...]
AVI C. ENGEL NOCTURNE (SOUNDTRACK FOR AN INVISIBLE FILM) ELEPHANT SHREW EDITIONS Toronto’s Avi C. Engel is on a serious release streak. They already have a serious set of singles, EPs and albums under their belt, and after the Bestiary EP [...]
RIVAL SONS A PAIR OF ACES: LIVE FROM SANTA CATALINA ISLAND (PART 2) SACRED TONGUE RECORDINGS Following last month’s release of A Pair Of Aces, Pt. 1, a live record which saw Rival Sons perform their debut album, Before The Fire, entirely live [...]
PROPAGANDA PLUS 5 BUREAU B Propaganda’s latest release, Plus 5, is a very interesting and well-constructed release, that is on one hand very techno, and on the other, quite chill and relaxing. Ralf Dörper (keyboards) and Michael Mertens [...]
BLUE ÖYSTER CULT 50th ANNIVERSARY LIVE – THIRD NIGHT FRONTIERS MUSIC From September 21 through to September 22, 2022, Blue Öyster Cult performed three very special shows at Sony Hall in New York City. They performed, in their entirety, [...]
CRACKER ALTERNATIVE HISTORY: A CRACKER RETROSPECTIVE COOKING VINYL Cracker’s new album, Alternative History: A Cracker Retrospective, is a boozy, bumpy and smoke-fueled ride through the band’s crazy career. It’s equal parts a tribute to [...]
LEON RAUM BASEMENT MEDITATION SONAR KOLLEKTIV It might be that Basement Meditation is Leon Raum’s official debut EP, but this prolific German producer, drummer, multi-instrumentalist has been around for a while and has worked with several [...]
SAINT ETIENNE THE NIGHT HEAVENLY RECORDINGS Saint Etienne, probably one of the best electro-pop bands around may have previously released 11 excellent albums, but as a band, they haven’t been heard of for a while. It seemed that Sarah [...]
MENNO VERSTEEG WHY WE RUN ROYAL MOUNTAIN RECORDS Menno Versteeg has plenty to be proud of. The Hollerado co-founder and front man, who also performs and records with Anyway Gang, has previously released music under the pseudonym Mav Karlo. Why [...]
THE NATIONAL ROME 4AD The National have had a busy few years, encompassing two albums, a well-received Glastonbury headline slot, and a much-needed return to the top table of indie rock. This, then, doubles as a celebration of that re-ascension [...]
HOLY VOID ALL WILL BE REVEALED IN TIME INDEPENDENT Hailing from Winnipeg, MB, Holy Void is a six-piece alternative rock band. All Will Be Revealed In Time is their second full-length album, following 2019’s Naught, and a previous pair of EP’s [...]
MOVIELAND THEN & NOW 604 RECORDS Vancouver’s Movieland made a name for themselves in the 1990s with their shoegaze style of music. They established themselves due to their music being quite different from the then popular world of grunge. [...]
VARIOUS ARTISTS BEST OF JETHRO TULL (REDUX) MAGNETIC EYE RECORDS Best Of Jethro Tull (Redux) is the second of two Jethro Tull tribute albums from Magnetic Eye Records. Both albums feature ‘heavy metal’ interpretations of classic Jethro Tull [...]
VARIOUS ARTISTS AQUALUNG (REDUX) MAGNETIC EYE RECORDS Jethro Tull has been classified as an art rock band, prog rock, folk rock, and just play rock. They have never been seen as a heavy metal band. Sure, guitarist Martin Barre could trade licks [...]
