Biffy Clyro live are known for playing massive, stadium-pleasing songs, with their shirts off. This new CD is part of the reborn series of Unplugged shows, and shows how strong some of their songs are without the volume. The CD opens with the crowd chanting “C’mon The Biff” so they’re guaranteed a warm reception and […]
Flaming Lips: Greatest Hits Vol 1
The Review Corner has seen The Flaming Lips live countless times, we’ve danced on stage with them (when they had Santas and Aliens) and when two Review Cornerers got married, a Lips’ song (Do You Realize?) was the first dance. Just to say: we’re biased. This will not be a critical review. The Flaming Lips […]
Sean McGowan: Son Of The Smith
This came as a download and we thought it was Shane McGowan, drunken Pogue; we were not expecting the “cor blimey guv’nor” sound of the latest everyman poet McGowan clearly hopes to be. McGowan is a cross between sturdy man of the people Frank Turner and young voice of the streets Jamie T. His band […]
Neil Young: Roxy Tonight’s The Night Live
This is a live release whose backstory is perhaps as interesting as the actual album. It was originally released as a record store day package, so more of a treat than essential listening, good as it is. The 1973 gig, the inaugural show at the Roxy in LA, was the first public performance of the […]
Neil Young + Promise of the Real: Paradox
For parts of this movie soundtrack you think, “If Heineken did soundtracks…”; other parts are apparently men eating crisps in a field and playing guitar, so less so. Paradox is a film directed by Neil’s other half, Daryl Hannah. Its plot: Sometime in the future past, the “Man in the Black Hat” (Young), the “Particle […]
Denis Jones: 3333
Like The Courteeners, Denis Jones is from Manchester but unlike them he makes interesting music. On a website we found he was described as making “scuzzy Mancunian blues”, which is good, but misses out the word “electronic”. It’s the blues of a dirty city where residents have good reason to sing soulful songs, but it’s […]
Bryde: Like An Island
A lot of whether you like a song is down to the vocals: love the voice and you’ll like the music and vice versa (hence our apathy to Arctic Monkeys). Bryde’s voice is mesmerising and we love it. It’s strong but sounds vulnerable, and she reminded us of Paula Cole (Where Have All The Cowboys […]
Turnstile: Time And Space
A bit like Wille and the Bandits last week, the familiarity of this was instantly comforting, at least if you like punk/rock and some screamo/falsetto vocals. Ok, so you’ve got to like loud music to appreciate this but it’s so much more than whatever you first think it is. It reminded us of Beastie Boys, […]
Lauri Porra: Entropia
This meld of prog rock and classical is as interesting an album as you’d want; entertaining if you like your prog broken down and your classical with bass solos and lots of 4/4 time. Mike Oldfield managed it on Tubular Bells. Adventurous brass band fans might also find much to like. Porra, (40), is an […]
The Stranglers: The Classic Collection
The Stranglers were without doubt the best band to emerge from the punk era. The Damned were largely rubbish, the Sex Pistols as manufactured as The Spice Girls and The Clash lacked any quality control; their longevity is down to all their fans later becoming music journalists and banging on about what a seminal band […]
