Born and raised in the small town of Marion, Arkansas – just outside of Memphis – Bailey Bigger has always been steeped in country sounds. And the authentic sound of Americana runs deep through her debut album, which is packed with mid-tempo, gather-round…
Specky Cult? Aren’t they that three-piece acoustic punky outfit from the north-east who don’t take themselves too seriously? Bang on, and their latest album is packed with tuneful ditties (and ditties is the right word) that are the polar opposite of po-f…
Placebo are back! Who’d have thought it! This is their eighth studio album (their first in nine years) and, pleased to report, they still have plenty to say about the human condition in all its messy glory. They remain a band who deftly manage to strip aw…
MJH&TSB are a recording project from Gateshead and their self-titled debut album, released in 2018, was a dream-pop-dunked thing of beauty. Their second long-player sees Hammond exploring the impact five years’ worth of training to become a psychotherapis…
In ‘Few Good Things’, Saba opens up about the deep period of reflection that successful artists often reach by their third album. In his own words, “The concept of ‘Few Good Things’ is the realisation of self after a search for exterior fulfilment. It is …
Sea Change (aka Norway’s Ellen A. W. Sunde) won plenty of plaudits for her previous album ‘Inside’, which was inspired by the club culture of Los Angeles and Berlin, but her latest stuff was recorded back in Norway during lockdown. This – the first cut fr…
Our favourite Glaswegian rock duo sound completely different on this quirky, pop-infused album. It is a far cry from the heavier anthems such as ‘Heart and Soul’ and ‘No Sleep’ that the band are most known for. However, their charisma makes it work. I did…
Full of synthy, indie goodness, ‘Now or Whenever’ has a song for whatever mood you’re in: energetic, sing-a-long anthems, chilled out, bluesy explorations of emotion, and pretty, stripped back acoustic croonings. The poetic lyrics and sense of bittersweet…
Two of the most exciting artists on the hip-hop scene right now - Grammy nominated producer and songwriter, Murrille, and up and coming rapper and lyricist, Lady London - join together for this electric album. The witty lyrics both have become known for e…
This 6-track release from New York DJ and music producer, POZIBELLE, is a colourful explosion of sound. From 90s mixtape samples, fizzing textures, thundering beats and jungle influences, it is an all you can eat buffet for your ears. POZIBELLE’s music tr…
Boris are the female fronted rock outift from Japan who are the very definition of a cult band. These dark-riff boffins have collaborated with everyone from Sunn O))) to Merzbow and have been around, in one form or another, since 1992. This is their first…
This London indie-rock band have been around for 15 or so years now, but they still sound bursting with ideas on this, their sixth album. They know exactly when to wheel out those huge, anthemic riffs, but they’re also keen to push their electro-pop melod…
This is the sixth album from this feisty indie-rock duo and, pleased to report, they remain as crunchy as ever. What’s different this time is the very real sense of dark drama they manage to inject into these tracks – from the electro thrum of ‘Morbid Fas…
Suthering (formerly known as Julu & Heg) have won much acclaim on the folk and acoustic circuit for their fresh, feminist interpretations of traditional and self-composed songs and their latest album (featuring eight original songs and a couple of covers)…
Sasami won much critical acclaim for her self-titled debut album back in 2019, with its indie-rock stylings, and she’s upped the heaviness for her second long-player. Even on power-ballads such as on the fabulous ‘The Greatest’, she brings a certain scuzz…
This is the third in Cat Power’s reinterpretations of songs by classic and contemporary artists and, once again, she’s produced an arresting collection. Alongside covers of rock and roll tracks from icons such as Nico and Nick Cave, she’s also tackled the…
This is the seventh album from this Japanese singer and guitarist and this time she’s pulling a concept album on us. A soundtrack to an imaginary film (a fantasy science fiction thing about a voyage through the East China Sea) it’s a gorgeous piece of wor…
Oh man! The new album from this north-east rapper is citrus sharp and it should see him catapulted into the national consciousness forthwith. His grime-inflected beats are never less than fresh, interesting, and right up in your business, but he also know…
Featuring Kathryn McCaughey’s confident yell and blistering bassline, along with Sarah Dion’s pounding drums, this chunky release oozes more glam chops than Suzi Quattro being dunked in a large vat of glitter. It gets in and out in little more than two an…
Adele has been making headlines for persuading Spotify to remove the shuffle button from albums, tweeting: “We don’t create albums with so much care and thought into our track listing for no reason. Our art tells a story and our stories should be listened…
What better way to chase away those winter blues than with this: an explosion of Colombian warmth from Paulo Olarte Toro’s latest musical project, El Dragón Criollo. From bouncing beats to chilled out basslines, this is an undeniably feel-good album - kee…
Rachael Talbot Dunn and Richard Dunn (aka Isolated Community) are based in Newcastle and have a noted reputation for ambient recordings. Their latest release features things such as ‘The Cat Enters the Hedge’ (discombobulating piano and disembodied voices…
This Danish quartert are the next bunch to emerge from Scandinavian rock scene and they’re fully intent on jacking things up that extra notch. This – their second album – is a full-on blast of punky hardcore, which is toting an abundance of energy and fie…
The debut album from this North London band harness the vocals of Danielle Kranendonk (who has something of Amy Winehouse about her) for a release that finds room for both plenty of trip-hoppy, jazzy cuts such as ‘Unfold’, to more up and at ‘em bangers an…
Following the release of her acclaimed ‘Penelope Three’ album in May 2021, Penelope Trappes has now hit us up with a very sparse and very magnetic instrumental reworking of that original album, imagining – get this! – the sounds and moods felt within the …
Louise McCraw – chief mover and groover behind Human Danger – has been inspired by everyone from St. Vincent (check out those strident melodies) to Daughter (check out that urban gothic atmosphere) for an album of dream pop that tracks a world made up of …
The first solo album from Julie Doiron since 2012 couldn’t be more welcome. Doiron’s voice is as beautiful as ever, it’s chameleon-like nature able to convey the power of the rocky, upbeat tracks as well as the gentle vulnerability of the more stripped ba…
‘Cocoon’ is the eagerly awaited follow-up to this Scottish folk singer’s lovely ‘The Hidden World’ album and it’s every bit its match and then some. Put together under lockdown restrictions, it’s a release that captures life in slow motion, mixing memorie…
The New Jazz and Improvised Music Recording project was established during the height of the pandemic to offer a creative output for musicians when live performance opportunities were scarce. This, their eighth release, sees Shiver (Chris Sharkey, guitar;…
Alt R&B artist Clear Mortifee’s latest release is full of bouncy hip-hop beats, a delightful mix of electronic and instrumental melodies, and a spectrum of vocals that range from defiant rap lines to sweet, breathy trills. However, this EP goes deeper tha…
Love is Larry Love of South London outlaws Alabama 3, and O’Connell is Brendan O’Connell, his songwriting partner. Their first release under the O’Connell & Love banner was 2015’s ‘Minesweeping’ (released to much acclaim) and this album is similarly packe…
Seamlessly blending hip hop and modern afrobeat with the Ghanaian jama soundscapes he grew up with, M.anifest creates a trademark sound that is rich in both originality and heritage. From songs like ‘Confusion’, ‘E No Easy’ and ‘1000 ways’ (it’s impossibl…
The debut album from these New Zealanders is a delightful listen, imbued with powerful Northern Soul and R&B and some choice cover versions (including The Cure’s ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ like you’ve never heard it before). They finish with three acoustic tracks i…
I was particularly excited about this release after hearing the Durham-based band’s single, ‘Cassini’. Laura Kovic’s dreamy vocals, paired with Daniel Ellis’ lively guitar solos, Greg Ullyart’s punky basslines and Nathan Stephens Griffin’s thunderous drum…
From emotional, string-accompanied ballads, to soulful hip hop beats, to poppy sing-alongs and stripped back piano tracks, Crookes proves that she can do it all. Uniting all the tracks is her effortlessly smooth vocals, full to the brim with emotion that …
It’s impossible for me to choose a favourite track from this album, because they all do something different. Not in a dissonant, disjointed way, but instead embodying a kaleidoscope of emotions, of experiences and even of musical genres, reflecting the fl…
This is the second album from the multi-talented Anna Lena Bruland (aka EERA), a Berlin-based Norwegian singer, songwriter and guitarist, and it’s a real lapel-grabber. Her debut release – 2017’s ‘Reflection of Youth’ – took its cue from the likes of PJ H…
One Key Magic are Dr. Michael Mulvihill – the first artist in residence at RAF Fylingdales (where those three giant domes are) – and musician and producer Chris Tate. Together they are looking to: “interpret and materialise the scintillations and aurora o…
The second album from this Saskatchewan singer/songwriter arrows straight for you heart and then, in turn, pummels and lifts it. It sees Nash trawling the demise of her marriage for clues that led to its demise and set her on a path toward some sort of st…
The Swedish-American pop duo of Shpresa Lleshaj and Cole Randall have buried themselves deep into the hearts of music fans with their two previous studio albums, which melded sun-blushed folk and blissful vocals to fine effect. Their latest is equally imp…
Ouseburn Collective is nominally Michael Cook, a fella who once plied his trade with the Scottish Polis Inspectors (who I seem to remember releasing the excellent ‘Gina McKee’ album). Anyway. Here Cook is mostly alone and in full-on noodle mode, with part…
The redoubtable BBE Music are celebrating the centenary of recorded Ghanaian Highlife music with this double album reissue of two rare LPs recorded by the late Atakora Manu. Within these grooves you will find a mix of vintage, rootsy ‘palmwine’ blues-styl…
Swedish post-punk band Dogsmile’s newest release is rather retro-sounding, with its jangling guitars and synth. Possibly, this is due to the influence of the band’s roots in Camoflague, a band popular in the 90s. Yet, the EP still manages to sound fresh w…
The cover art of ‘Comfort to Me’, Aussie punk rockers, Amyl and the Sniffers third album, sums up exactly what it is: a colourful, slightly bonkers explosion of quirkiness. It is the epitome of feel good punk rock; every single track made me want to blast…
The much anticipated latest release from North Shields’ own Sam Fender does not disappoint. His vocals are as seamlessly powerful as ever, his lyrics witty as ever, daring to tackle subjects from the Epstein Scandal, to toxic masculinity, to his own comin…
Parcels are the Aussie band with a drive-time sensibility (they’ve toured with the likes of Air, Phoenix and their debut single was produced by Daft Punk). For their second album, they’ve expanded their smooth-euro-pop-by-way-of-Steely-Dan sound for a rel…
I do love a curio, and this Israeli singer/songwriter/producer and has certainly produced one here. It’s a reworking of her ‘Kids’ album (released earlier this year to great acclaim) but each track has been recreated as bold, non-electronic production. An…
Hailing from the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, Megan Nash has justifiably been gaining a reputation among country-pop fans. Her new album sees her raking over the coals of her marriage for a collection of songs that tackle that collapse from a variet…
You know those comfort albums that you put on when you really need to take some time out? This new LP from Cincinnati indie quartet, The Ophelias, is one of those. Filled with dreamy string moments, rhythmic guitar plucking and soft vocals, the album has …
“That river in the winter, it can fuck me up…” is the opening salvo from Margo Cilker’s startlingly good country album. She’s a singer songwriter who has been on the road for the past seven years, taking her from her native Oregon to the Basque country in…
Jackie Leven remains something of a cult figure. The Scottish singer/songwriter began his career in the late 1960s on the folk circuit and found later success with his new wave band Doll By Doll. He would later release a whole clutch of albums as a solo a…
The husband and wife duo Adam and Paula Pickering are true independents and over the last ten years they have managed to build up a sizeable following, releasing six albums on their own label. The multi-instrumentalists are not confined by any traditional…
Once upon a time Alicia Walter was lead singer with Chicago-based art-rock outfit Oshwa, but for her debut solo release she’s embraced the joy of poppy hooks (the lead single from the album, ‘Standing at Your Doorstep’, is pure Jackson 5 style sunshine). …
Admittedly, I’ve never been a fan of the sad boy genre that seems to get more and more popular lately, but Memphis’ Blvck Hippie may be the one to turn me. This is one of my favourite indie records that I’ve heard this year; I just can’t get enough of the…
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