Review Corner

Tag: Congleton Chronicle

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    Gorillaz:Humanz / Paul Weller: A Kind Revolution / Paramore: After Laughter

    We’re lumping these albums together under the heading “stadium bands” because all we need to do is tell you they’re out. Oddly enough, we’ve never been fans of any: we never got Gorillaz, thought The Jam/Weller humourless (good singles, admittedly) and Paramore are the band we let the children like (they’ve got to have something…

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    Mélanie Pain: Parachute

    We’ve not come across Pain before but the Press notes say she has “left her pop-folk influences far behind”. Well, not all that far. This is a piano-based album that aims to be slightly arty and dreamy, with a minimalist sound. She sings in French throughout, the soft vocals part of the texture as much…

  • Anteros: Drunk EP

    Anteros (we assume it’s pronounced Ant-air-ross) are a London-based quartet playing indie pop/rock that channels the 80s. While nothing new, it’s fun and full of bounce, and plenty of hooks. The title track opens, about being drunk and in love, and doing crazy things. Drunk and happy or drunk and wearing beer goggles is never…

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    Hunter and The Bear: Paper Heart

    The Press release says this band are the “heroes British rock needs right now” and for once (music Press releases can be so gushing they make the Niagara Falls look like a park weir) it’s an understatement. Hunter and The Bear are unbelievably good and the band the whole world needs, never mind our small…

  • Plaitum: Constraint

    Plaitum do one thing. They do it really well but it’s their one trick: if you’re in the mood for cavernous, grandiose electronic pop it’s really good. If you’re not, it’s a band doing the same thing for 40 minutes. As a debut album, it’s pretty impressive, though. The Press release talks about more modern…

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    Mieczyslaw Weinberg: Complete Sonatas For Violin And Piano

    Weinberg is recognised as one of the outstanding Russian composers of the second half of the 20th century (say the Press notes, we won’t pretend we knew that). He was feted for his symphonies and string quartets, but also wrote a sequence of violin sonatas. Shostakovich’s influence is evident (say the notes) in the Third…

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    The Undercover: Hippy Truth and Fiction

    The Undercover Hippy — his mum calls him Billy — is one mixed up dude: he sounds like he should have long hair but doesn’t; on record he sounds a bit of a crusty but he’s a smart young man (his mum must be proud); he raps like Eminem but to reggae. He’s certainly different.…

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    The Jesus And Mary Chain: Damage and Joy

    We were never ones to worship bands; we never raved about The Jesus and Mary Chain — they’re just a band, all said and done — so this new album, the first new one in 19 years, seems pretty good. Maybe diehard fans will feel differently. The main problem for the band’s Reid brothers is…

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    Ben Marwood: Get Found

      There’s a raft of bands rotating around the daddy of this genre, Frank Turner: we most recently reviewed Beans On Toast, but there’s any number of singer-songwriters playing folk-based tunes with sincere and/or entertaining intelligent lyrics, and with links to Turner. Marwood is another. After the first couple of plays, we’d have said his…

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    Mark Nevin: My Unfashionable Opinion

    If you’re a fan of grown-up pop music, this is about as good as it gets. Nevin is best-known for his work with Fairground Attraction and Morrissey, and his last album, Beautiful Guitars was excellent. My Unfashionable Opinion, his fifth solo album, kicks off strongly with the title track, a song that features sterling organ…