The Joy Formidable - Wolf’s Law
4 Stars
Their leaning towards the epic hasn’t been cast aside; it’s just been deployed with more precision.
17th January 2013
4 Stars rated Albums & EPs
Nils Bech - Look Inside
4 Stars
Tackling joy and vulnerability, ecstasy and guilt, this guy’s got all the emotional work sorted.
14th January 2013
L. Pierre - The Island Come True
4 Stars
‘The Island Come True’ has a real innate beauty that makes it an utterly bewitching listen.
13th January 2013
Dutch Uncles - Out Of Touch In The Wild
4 Stars
The Stockport quintet might start simple, sure, but when they’re finished you’ve got something more than a little odd.
10th January 2013
Everything Everything - Arc
4 Stars
It’s maximalism to the max on the Manchester quartet’s not-so-difficult second album.
9th January 2013
Rachel Zeffira - The Deserters
4 Stars
It’s Zeffira’s ability as a composer that gives the album real class.
10th December 2012
Scott Walker - Bish Bosch
4 Stars
Unsurprisingly, the music is just as dramatic as Walker’s themes.
2nd December 2012
Memory Tapes - Grace / Confusion
4 Stars
For the most part, ‘Grace/Confusion’ erupts in epic belters; the most intense yet in a Memory Tapes record.
1st December 2012
Clinic - Free Reign
4 Stars
‘Free Reign’ is kaleidoscopic, warped and utterly brilliant.
11th November 2012
Deftones - Koi No Yokan
4 Stars
The most remarkable quality of the band’s seventh effort though, seems to lie in the fact that they are so willing to push their own boundaries.
9th November 2012
Sam Willis - Winterval
4 Stars
It’s an immersive album, without ever fading away from your immediate attention.
5th November 2012
P.O.S. - We Don’t Even Live Here
4 Stars
If Death Grips are the Sex Pistols then P.O.S. is The Clash — enraged, political, stylistically broader and a lot more eloquent.
3rd November 2012
Stars - The North
4 Stars
Where it excels is really in its quieter, more delicate moments.
3rd November 2012
The Twilight Sad - No One Can Ever Know: The Remixes
4 Stars
It could not have been predicted those remix buffs would have made it even darker than the original.
2nd November 2012
A.C. Newman - Shut Down The Streets
4 Stars
As self-reflective and prone to quiet moments as much as he is able to pen a proper pop melody.
29th October 2012
Cody ChesnuTT - Landing On A Hundred
4 Stars
Whether it’s soul, blues, funk or rock and roll the musicianship is leather pants-tight.
27th October 2012
Egyptian Hip Hop - Good Don’t Sleep
4 Stars
Amidst such moments of cloudy reverberation and shimmering elegance — both never conflicting — there are still reflections of the band’s madcap past.
21st October 2012
Andy Burrows - Company
4 Stars
The soft folksy guitar and graceful strings of the opening title track are indicative of the gently unfurling charms of the album.
20th October 2012
Paul Banks - Banks
4 Stars
There’s something dream-like about everything Banks puts out as a solo artist.
19th October 2012
U.S. Girls - Gem
4 Stars
Instead of playing up to the conventions associated with golden-age retro pop, U.S. Girls turn them on their head and not just for the sake of it.
19th October 2012
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
4 Stars
Beauty emerging from clatter and chaos, and at times it has moments of transcendental bliss.
16th October 2012
Bat For Lashes - The Haunted Man
4 Stars
The sound of pop’s dark heart carving out its own niche.
15th October 2012
The Jim Jones Revue - The Savage Heart
4 Stars
The Jim Jones Revue are diesel-drinking, smoke-spewing, bar-room trashing atavists.
14th October 2012
Jason Lytle - Dept. Of Disappearance
4 Stars
Former Grandaddy frontman’s latest solo record is a veritable joy to the earholes.
13th October 2012
Festival special! Featuring Wolf Alice, Kasabian, Lykke Li, Marmozets, Genesis Owusu and more.