Siouxsie - Mantaray

4 Stars

The opening sounds of ​‘Mantaray’ are like the world grinding to a halt on a metallic axis before starting to spin in an entirely different direction.

10th September 2007

Asobi Seksu - Citrus

4 Stars

It appears inevitable; this one’s going under the microscope.

13th August 2007

Various - Hallam Foe Original Soundtrack

4 Stars

It’s rare to find a soundtrack that’s so much more than the sum of it’s parts. But, with Domino at the helm, it shouldn’t be surprising.

13th August 2007

Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks

4 Stars

But best of all, is that it’s a collection of very good songs, played in a completely unpretentious, honest way.

6th August 2007

New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom

4 Stars

‘Fantastic Playroom’ is easily, and most definitely a party album. Thankfully, however, it’s not just one for the Skins generation.

9th July 2007

Annuals - Be He Me

4 Stars

With a strong aversion to strict paradigms and a fetish for convulsing dynamics, Annuals juggle volumes and tempos with preternatural style.

18th June 2007

Dizzee Rascal - Maths And English

4 Stars

In straddling the chasm between the niche and the mainstream, Dizzee has done far, far better than most.

4th June 2007

The National - Boxer

4 Stars

‘Boxer’ offers a continual flight of fancy that takes the arrangement levels up a grade without losing out to overproduction.

21st May 2007

Sophie Ellis Bextor - Trip The Light Fantastic

4 Stars

First off, ​‘Trip The Light Fantastic’ could just about be the perfect title for a pop title ever.

21st May 2007

1990s - Cookies

4 Stars

1990s are as joyous and gleeful as their namesake decade was cynical and materialistic. You’d be a fool not to love them.

14th May 2007

Björk - Volta

4 Stars

‘Volta’ just continues to prove that Bjork is ace. And while she remains so there’s nothing better to do than just listen.

7th May 2007

Feist - The Reminder

4 Stars

Profoundly introspective and breathtakingly sincere, these songs are stripped of flashy commercial crutches to successfully stand out on basics alone.

23rd April 2007

Mark Ronson - Version

4 Stars

Ronson’s place as a genius should be certified. Hell, he’s a man who’s made The Zutons sound relevant.

16th April 2007

Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures

4 Stars

Bloc Party may be the next Radiohead to some, but Maximo Park are the next Maximo Park.

2nd April 2007

The Rakes - Ten New Messages

4 Stars

The Rakes have mixed together very well positive and negative in an album that not only kneels down and begs for repeated plays, but also provokes a bit of thought.

19th March 2007

Kubichek! - Not Enough Night

4 Stars

Kubichek! are your mates’ band gone right. Very right.

19th March 2007

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

4 Stars

May the congregation be seated. The service is about to resume. Pay attention. It’s fantastic.

5th March 2007

!!! (Chk Chk Chk) - Myth Takes

4 Stars

‘Myth Takes’ shuffles and twists like the coolest dad at the coolest wedding in the world, keeping their frenetic, funky boom-bass but slicing off any unnecessary bits.

5th March 2007

Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position

4 Stars

It’s fair to say that, as much as some wallow in their own misery, there’s going to be a vocal minority who preferred things as they were. Miserable sods.

26th February 2007

Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly, Angry Mob

4 Stars

By no means all things to all men, Kaiser Chiefs do what they do better than anyone else.

26th February 2007

Findlay Brown - Separated By The Sea

4 Stars

Of course, if there’s anything that DIY loves more than a story of pain, it’s a story of pain with a happy ending.

19th February 2007

Dartz! - This Is My Ship

4 Stars

We’re relieved. After shamelessly banging on about Dartz! for a fair while now, it’s a good job that this is ace with added (cow) bells on.

12th February 2007

Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City

4 Stars

It’s obvious that ​‘Weekend In The City’ isn’t the tame pet that ​‘Silent Alarm’ became as it dabbled its paws in indie discos everywhere.

5th February 2007

The Shins - Wincing The Night Away

4 Stars

All the subtleties of ​‘Oh, Inverted World’ with the pop panache of ​‘Chutes Too Narrow’, The Shins are still making pop look easy.

29th January 2007