Zayn - Room Under the Stairs

3 Stars

Admirable in its emotional mining, but left wanting for just a little more Zayn sparkle.

17th May 2024

Wallows - Model

3 Stars

Before long, ​‘Model’ begins to feel like a series of safe options.

10th May 2024

Cloud Nothings - Final Summer

3 Stars

There’s the occasional roar, yet the muted way in which they’re almost hidden makes for a frustrating mismatch.

17th April 2024

Blu DeTiger - All I Ever Want Is Everything

3 Stars

A genre-hopping work, anchored unsurprisingly by infectious basslines.

27th March 2024

C Turtle - Expensive Thrills

3 Stars

If its experimental side appeared less calculated, ​‘Expensive Thrills’ could have been a stellar album. As it is, it’s a perfectly fine one.

6th March 2024

Alkaline Trio - Blood, Hair And Eyeballs

3 Stars

Fans will find pockets of the band they fell in love with, while less seasoned followers may be better served diving deeper into the back catalogue instead.

28th February 2024

Real Estate - Daniel

3 Stars

There is plenty to like here — but there’s a sense of creative inertia that means it’s a difficult record to truly love.

21st February 2024

Meltheads - Decent Sex

3 Stars

The Belgian outfit excel when they live up to their name.

7th February 2024

HEALTH - RAT WARS

3 Stars

An album that can wash past with as much staying power as candyfloss in a puddle.

6th December 2023

Chartreuse - Morning Ritual

3 Stars

At points it does seem as if the Midlanders are aware of their own ability to be consumed by their own mellow.

8th November 2023

HONEYMOAN - Sorry Like You Mean It

3 Stars

For all the record’s willingness to explore, the songs’ deeper sentiments are often lost in its pilgrimage for heterogeneity.

27th September 2023

Animal Collective - Isn’t It Now

3 Stars

As their longest album to date, it’s hard to shift any accusations of self-indulgence.

27th September 2023

Kim Petras - Problématique

3 Stars

Without a proper roll-out, it’s chained to its history.

20th September 2023

YOWL - Milksick

3 Stars

YOWL do what they do well, but it feels like they’ve shown their full hand already.

13th September 2023

Courtney Barnett - End Of The Day

3 Stars

‘End of the Day’ feels like a long, slow goodbye to her old life; elegant and, given the context, elegiac.

6th September 2023

Art School Girlfriend - Soft Landing

3 Stars

A record which clearly finds contentment in its sonic solitude.

4th August 2023

Olivia Dean - Messy

3 Stars

For a record titled ​‘Messy’ it could ironically do with being a little less neat and tidy.

30th June 2023

Albert Hammond Jr - Melodies on Hiatus

3 Stars

There’s an innate quality control filter missing.

21st June 2023

Chain of Flowers - Never Ending Space

3 Stars

Alive, well, and still heavily indebted to the gothic indie rock stylings of the 1980s.

24th May 2023

7ebra - Bird Hour

3 Stars

There’s a vibe here that 7ebra are more than adept at conveying, it could just do with a little more focus.

3rd May 2023

Chappaqua Wrestling - Plus Ultra

3 Stars

There’s a perfectly fine indie-rock record here, if only it were a little less obfuscated by an aim it doesn’t quite achieve.

14th April 2023

Billie Marten - Drop Cherries

3 Stars

Its simplicity does leave the listener wanting more, and its poignancy often lacks any punch.

7th April 2023

Babymetal - The Other One

3 Stars

What, on the surface is mostly a fun, noisy collection also offers an infinite rabbit hole to dive down.

24th March 2023

M83 - Fantasy

3 Stars

It ultimately fades into the background.

17th March 2023