Grouplove – Spreading Rumours
2 Stars
Not a lot on ‘Spreading Rumours’ makes sense.
15th February 2014
2 Stars rated Albums & EPs
Keel Her – Keel Her
2 Stars
A record infinitely more about the process than the result.
10th February 2014
Peggy Sue - Choir of Echoes
2 Stars
It seems a mix of songwriting and production consigns ‘Choir of Echoes’ to the pile of not-quites.
26th January 2014
Dog Bite - Tranquilizers
2 Stars
An intermittently enjoyable record, albeit one that suffers from a lack of quality control.
25th January 2014
Canterbury - Dark Days
2 Stars
A head nodder rather than a head banger.
19th January 2014
Triptides – Predictions
2 Stars
Essentially, here Triptides are attempting to prolong the golden hour until there’s nothing else left.
1st December 2013
Weekend - Jinx
2 Stars
‘Jinx’ promises much more than it delivers.
26th November 2013
Wooden Shjips - Back to Land
2 Stars
It’s more reasoned and more fluid, but ‘Back to Land’ simply doesn’t pack the same punches.
10th November 2013
Pick A Piper - Pick A Piper
2 Stars
Pick A Piper’s multi-narrative structure is a little problematic.
3rd November 2013
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - The Speed Of Things
2 Stars
By trying too hard to sound ‘interesting’, the MOR pop loses its sheen.
20th October 2013
Of Montreal – Lousy With Sylvianbriar
2 Stars
“Lousy” might just be the operative word.
19th October 2013
Cass McCombs - Big Wheel And Others
2 Stars
Not without its merits but fundamentally too long.
5th October 2013
Glasser - Interiors
2 Stars
The whole thing collapses into, well, very little.
2nd October 2013
Okkervil River – The Silver Gymnasium
2 Stars
The band’s most uninspiring album yet.
27th September 2013
The 1975 - The 1975
2 Stars
It’s almost as if the songs were constructed by way of algorithm.
5th September 2013
Maps - Vicissitude
2 Stars
It all feels slightly cheap, fatigued, and a little bit colourless.
5th July 2013
ADULT. - The Way Things Fall
2 Stars
An album which makes for difficult listening and is hard to engage with.
1st July 2013
Mudhoney - Vanishing Point
2 Stars
For the most part this feels languid and laboured, weighed down with history and age.
31st March 2013
Hadouken! - Every Weekend
2 Stars
There’s only one way to enjoy this album. By embracing how ridiculously stupid it is. Possibly with booze.
18th March 2013
Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
2 Stars
The New Yorkers’ latest is a toothless shark, re-heating sounds that’ve been in vogue back home for over a decade.
13th March 2013
Ringo Deathstarr - Mauve
2 Stars
Here’s hoping that Ringo Deathstarr celebrate themselves, ‘cos Lord knows nobody else should.
4th October 2012
The Tallest Man On Earth - There’s No Leaving Now
2 Stars
On his earlier work, Matsson stuck to a few, radiant formulae. Here, he only stuck to one.
21st June 2012
The Hundred In The Hands - Red Night
2 Stars
A passable if disappointing montage of mid-tempo electro-pop.
8th June 2012
Flats - Better Living
2 Stars
Dead Kennedys? The Damned? The Clash? It’s closer to Cher Lloyd.
4th June 2012
Featuring Yard Act, Death Cab For Cutie, Graham Coxon, Maisie Peters and more.