This is a strong acoustic pop album. You should buy it. We preface the review with that in case you remember GCWCF and think, “oh no, not more average indie”. We suspect Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. (aka Sam Duckworth) is stuck with the grammatically imperfect name, which probably seemed cool a decade ago when […]
Mahir Cetiz, Panayiotis Demopoulos: Anairesis
This is one for lovers of modern, harsh music, though it’s mostly not as harsh as it could be; less aural barbed wire than, well something not as barbed or as wiry. It’s written for small chamber ensembles and when one instrument is being harsh, another is more soothing. Much of the music is like […]
The Go Team: Semicircle
When the Go Team first emerged, we (and lots of other people) loved them: infections, joyous pop/hip hop performed by a lively band, led by a singer called Ninja. We saw them live three times; by the third time we were a bit “meh”, the lack of depth to their tunes soon leaving the listener […]
The Limiñanas: Shadow People
The last Limiñanas album we had to review was cool but a little dull, the highlight a song with Hooky on bass. This new album from the hip French duo is much better, so much so that the apparently statutory Hooky song is something of a jarring oddity on an otherwise fine album. (We assume […]
Weaves: Wide Open
Weaves mix genres as readily as Heston Blumenthal blends snails and porridge: New Order, the B-52s, a dash of glam rock; just when you’ve got a comparison they switch direction. At heart it’s raucous indie with swagger and ideas aplenty. Opener #53 is inspired by Springsteen but it’s more for the moshpit than lyrical analysis; […]
Howie Payne: Mountain
Payne was previously in The Stands, short-lived melodic rockers treading the same ground as The Thrills and The LAs. We found their appeal, like that of The Thrills, limited. This album was recorded over four days. Most of the songs were done in a couple of takes, giving it a relaxed, live vibe. While he […]
Jamie Lawson: Happy Accidents
Lawson, who is 42, was the first artist to be signed by Ed Sheeran’s record label Gingerbread Man Records. He and Ed were mates back in the day. Top marks to Sheeran for loyalty but he’s never going to sign a death metal band: his acts are going to sound like him. (As far as […]
To Kill a King: The Spiritual Dark Age
The cover art and the lyrics (“poetry about serotonin and dopamine”) shout “Arcade Fire!” and To Kill A King attempt the same trick: Deep and Meaningful lyrics coupled with danceable music. But they’re just an indie band with high ambitions and, in the Arcade Fire stakes, fall short. But it’s solid, albeit overly polished in […]
Neil Young: The Visitor
Young’s 39th album is another partly political one, this time with an electric band. It’s typical Young at his loosest, a little sprawling and all over the shop but still good. Clearly Trump gets some stick (“I’m living with a game show host / Who has to brag and boast” but he addresses other topics, […]
Michael Korstick: Dmitri Kabalevsky, Piano Sonatas and Sonatinas
The sleeve notes say Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky, born in St Petersburg on 30th December 1904, achieved international success with music such as his Second Symphony (1934). He came behind Prokofiev and Shostakovich and along with Khachaturian in the “big four” of Soviet music. The First Sonata (1927), which opens this CD, is among Kabalevsky’s earliest […]
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