Prelude to EcstasyAlbum by The Last Dinner PartyReleased 2 February 2024Indie RockProduced by James FordRating – 8.5/10 How The Last Dinner Party fuel ecstasy… – This is a rewrite of my review of The Last Dinner Party’s Prelude to Ecstasy. While I initially highlighted the hobbies and druthers that make the London quintet tick – […]
And in the Darkness, Hearts AglowAlbum by Weyes BloodReleased 18 November 2022Baroque Pop / Piano RockLabel – Sub PopRating – 8/10 Beauty. – Weyes Blood may transform into any shape, splitting and tilting through some of the most beloved baroque pop of this or any generation, whilst floating in variegated, chamber-bound dream states, prided on […]
And I Have BeenAlbum by Benjamin ClementineReleased 28 October 2022Art PopProduced by ClementineRating – 6/10 Riskless by Benjamin Clementine standards, but otherwise powerful. – When Benjamin Clementine emerges from the woodwork, he does so with an explicit, Romanesque presence, mythical in its untried character design, with versification both grizzly and loving, and a spinto tenor […]
The CarAlbum by Arctic MonkeysReleased 21 October 2022Chamber Pop / Lounge PopProduced by James FordRating – 5/10 They’re staying in that hotel + casino indefinitely… – Alex Turner loves words like they’re a friend he made during his military service. While the classification of Arctic Monkeys’ sound as an expansion is up for debate (what […]
C’mon You KnowAlbum by Liam GallagherReleased 27 May 2022BritpopLabel – WarnerRating – 5/10 A very Liam Gallagher album. – C’mon You Know safely keeps Oasis alive. As is the case with much of Noel and Liam’s post-Oasis work, the group’s former frontman uses tried assurance to provide the quota, otherwise infrequent in the lives of […]
FriendsAlbum by The Beach BoysReleased 24 June 1968Sunshine PopLabel – CapitolRating – 7/10 Squeaky, cutesy, and against the grain – this is ‘Friends’. – I have a love-hate relationship with The Beach Boys’ album ‘Friends’. The band’s sole 1968 studio album, following a packed ’67, divided fans and critics when it was released, and it […]
SlingAlbum by ClairoReleased 16 July 2021Indie Pop / Folk RockProduced by Clairo/Jack AntonoffRating – 6.5/10 The subtle luxury of Jack Antonoff’s production helps to make Clairo’s second album a proud one. – I’m not sure what it was that led to theories of Clairo being an industry plant. Not to give such rubbish allegations an […]
The Turning WheelAlbum by SpelllingReleased 25 June 2021Progressive PopProduced by SpelllingRating – 7/10 ‘The Turning Wheel’ is a well-travelled collection of curious heart songs. – We need this opening paragraph to result in the phrase “this ain’t your grandpa’s Spellling album”. Ready? Well, compare ‘The Turning Wheel’ to the musting ruins of ‘Mazy Fly’ or […]
OK HumanAlbum by WeezerReleased 29 January 2021Chamber Pop / Baroque PopProduced by Jake SinclairRating – 8.5/10 Weezer’s baroque explosion demonstrates capability and sincerity akin to their earlier work. – Lockdown is nothing new for Rivers Cuomo – sure, it may be one of the more unpleasant periods of his life, one he’d prefer to forget, […]
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