Category: Indie
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Timeshares: Already Dead
Without wanting to sound like sad music geeks, we didn’t have to look it up to know this was on the reliable SideOneDummy Records. SideOne helped to break Gaslight Anthem and its stable of artists usually has that blue collar Springsteen punk rock ‘n’ roll feel to them. Serious musicians playing serious music to have…
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The Wombats: Glitterbug
Time travel does exist: The Wombats are in fact a cheesy 70s disco band stranded in this century. Shortly after an appearance on Top Of The Pops in 1975, they took a wrong turn and ended up in Dr Who’s Tardis, then found themselves stuck in 2007. Still dressed in Wombat suits and with Peter…
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Mounties: Thrash Rock Legacy
Two albums of the year are reviewed this week — this one will be one of ours, John McClaughlin will, we suspect, be other people’s. We were expecting little of this, so were very impressed. Mounties are made up of Hawksley Workman and Steve Bays, whose previous band Hot Hot Heat got a bit famous…
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Young Kato: Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow
Young Kato are the Haircut 100 of the 2010s. For those who don’t remember 80s pop, the Haircuts popped up early in that decade and scored a handful of hits. They released an immaculate pop album that was, as radio stations like to say, the sound of summer. They’re an under-rated band, mainly because while…
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Django Django: Born Under Saturn
This lot were critically adored for their debut album, although we’re not sure that translated into sales (we think we read they sold about 50,000 copies). If you missed them then, they play a distinctive style of indie pop, distinctive because it’s very percussive, the band being led by a drummer. The new album opens…
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Death Cab for Cutie: Kintsugi
We have to declare an interest: we love Death Cab For Cutie and would give any album a glowing review, but even we have to admit that the band have left the glory days of 2003’s Transatlanticism far behind. The early songs were about new-found love and hope, now they’re all getting older and more…
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Meadowlark: Dual EP
Anyone who listens to new music on a regular basis will know that feeling when you play a track and know it’s going to be your must-play record for the next week. It doesn’t happen very often but was the case with the first track on this lovely EP from Meadowlark, which we’ve been playing…
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Purple: [409]
Purple are a band we can imagine going to see at the Sugarmill, getting there to find the venue packed with young people who know every word to every song and mosh madly down at the front while the band goes bonkers on stage. It would be a short gig, as this is their only…
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Echosmith: Talking Dreams
This is an excellent pop album, with all the benefits and disadvantages that entails. On the upside: think Ladyhawke. Catchy/lively pop/dance tunes that rapidly wend their way into your brain. They’re all catchy and instantly likeable; not least Come Together, the opening track, and Cool Kids, which is all about wishing you were as cool…
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The Subways: The Subways
It must be quite good being in The Subways. Despite being mocked by the NME, they probably have a solid fan base who will buy the album, pay to see them and then buy lots of merchandise. So they make a living from music without the hassle of being stopped in Tesco by weird people.…
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