Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band - Outer South
2 Stars
Cutting out one-third of ‘Outer South’ would have saved this from sounding much like rubies being strewn across a cesspitt.
5th May 2009
2 Stars rated Albums & EPs
The Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts
2 Stars
If you enjoy your music soundtracking Hollyoaks, this might be the perfect album for you.
27th April 2009
Head Of Programmes - The Magnetic South
2 Stars
Midway through the album, things kick into gear.
2nd April 2009
Le Reno Amps - Tear It Open
2 Stars
What it does do, very well in fact, is pay homage to the four-piece’s idols.
27th March 2009
Lucy Day - A Trick Of The Light
2 Stars
Maybe, with practice, Day will make perfect.
13th March 2009
The Yellow Moon Band – Travels Into Several Remote Nations Of The World
2 Stars
What a wonderful time they had in the ’70s.
11th February 2009
Dent May - Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
2 Stars
Crooning is a lost art that seemingly died out in the late 70s…
30th January 2009
Laurel Collective - Feel Good Hits Of A Nuclear Winter
2 Stars
That’s enough to get the ‘Vuitton Blues’ indeed: it smacks of marketing exactly as much as the ugly Vuitton bags.
11th May 2008
Matthew Ryan - Matthew Ryan vs Silver State
2 Stars
The musical equivalent of your mum serving you cold curried sprouts on Boxing Day morning.
1st April 2008
Junkboy - Three
2 Stars
This music has nothing to say, but says it pleasantly: in short, an art of rhetoric, which reveals an intelligence, a talent, a culture, but no depth.
18th February 2008
Laguna Meth - Laguna The Puma
2 Stars
‘Laguna The Puma’ is a joyful, hazy, hazy surreal mishmash of an album but for all that it’s also a bit flabby round the edges.
3rd December 2007
Bella - No One Will Know
2 Stars
The word ‘indie’ certainly doesn’t mean anything anymore (has it ever?), but as such, it is suitable for Bella.
18th September 2007
Plain White T’s - Every Second Counts
2 Stars
Power chords, lyrics laden with angst, and the kind of musical sensibilities that are all too common on the soundtracks of big-budget no-brainer American teen movies.
3rd September 2007
The Coral - Roots And Echoes
2 Stars
‘Roots And Echoes’ might have shown that the band aren’t afraid of change, but it’s also confirmed that they’re bloody boring.
6th August 2007
Client - Heartland
2 Stars
On ‘Heartland’ they’ve tried to go a bit emotional with their electronica to mark themselves out from the crowd. And to some extent, a stab at ‘emotronica’ works.
30th July 2007
The Young Knives - …Are Dead …And Some
2 Stars
Trouble is, the youthful inexperience of a band yet to find their voice is all too apparent.
30th July 2007
Newton Faulkner - Hand Built By Robots
2 Stars
Smug, over-produced and about as challenging as a copy of OK Magazine.
30th July 2007
The Hours - Narcissus Road
2 Stars
‘Narcissus Road’ might not live up to the glories of the past — but then, what does?!
5th March 2007
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder
2 Stars
Ultimately, it sounds like a rushed follow-up, patched together from half-ideas and a lack of direction.
29th January 2007
Bright Eyes - Noise Floor (Rarities 1998-2005)
2 Stars
If any artist has the back catalogue to carry off a rarities collection, it’s Conor Oberst. With that in mind, ‘Noise Floor’ can’t be too bad, can it?
9th October 2006
The Zutons - Tired Of Hanging Around
2 Stars
It’s three tracks into the new Zutons album and DIY is yawning. Not just a little bit; Night Nurse never worked so well.
17th April 2006
Mystery Jets - Making Dens
2 Stars
For where the three recent singles are able to sound as new, fresh, and exciting as they did the first time we heard them, the rest of ‘Making Dens’ does little more than grate. A lot.
6th March 2006
The Ordinary Boys - Brassbound
2 Stars
If it wasn’t for the fact they didn’t have the charm, charisma, and all out pop genius of Kaiser Chiefs, you’d almost feel sorry for The Ordinary Boys.
20th June 2005
We Start Fires - Caught Redhanded
2 Stars
We loved Kenickie almost as we love making lazy journalistic references. North Eastern? Check. Three quaters female? Yep. Jangly indie-tinged punka anthems? Need we even ask?
13th September 2004
Festival special! Featuring Wolf Alice, Kasabian, Lykke Li, Marmozets, Genesis Owusu and more.