The “death of the album” has been declared many times in recent years – but nonetheless, musicians keep making them and are showing no signs of stopping (and thank God for that!). Almost a decade and a half into the twenty-first century, there still exist bands and artists capable of composing immersive, engaging, and fully satisfying collections of songs that stand up to repeated, unshuffled listens. Here are fifteen of them. Read more…
I have a very strong emotional attachment to many of the releases listed below. Choosing this list was exceptionally tough; I’ve been fortunate to discover some incredible bands and artists over the past year, and it’s safe to say that outside this list lie a great many immense tunes that can be found via a quick browse through TMMP’s archives when you’re done with this lot. However, the following choices are the cream of the crop. Read more…
2014 has been a difficult time for underground live music in the UK. With small venues across the country facing all manner of issues, it was heartening to see the team behind Guildford’s Boileroom make it through an emotionally trying licence review process and move on to host some incredible gigs and community-oriented events. With any luck, 2015 will see a change in fortunes for venues like the Boileroom.
From intimate showings from ska legends to inhumanly tight math-pop sets via beatboxing virtuosity and an audience with the professor of punk, here are TMMP’s top gigs of 2014. Read more…
As the originators of the metal style known as djent, Meshuggah are one of the most influential heavy bands in existence today. If you’ve ever sat and scratched your head at an ultra-complex riff until you listened to the cymbal pattern and suddenly it all made sense, you were most likely listening to a band paying lip service to Meshuggah – if not a track by the Swedish maestros themselves. Djent bands the world over owe their rhythmic and tonal signatures to Meshuggah, although the origin of the genre-encompassing word itself is the subject of much controversy. Read more…
There will always be a special space reserved in my heart for bands who make me nostalgic for my years at Guildford’s Academy of Contemporary Music. Soul-fuelled vocals, rock solid musicianship, a touch of The Funk, a few cues taken from the pop-rock world, and a few tastefully non-distracting flashy moments are all common key ingredients to look out for if you’re looking to spot an ACM-related band – and Sonder include them all to great effect. Read more…
For the past several months, TMMP has watched Bristol-based math rock quintet Chronographs go from strength to strength while pursuing their ‘One Song A Month For A Year’ project. Then disaster struck last week with the departure of vocalist Jon Sinfield – the lyricist and voice behind tunes as varied as the haunting Porcelain and upbeat, summery Flat White. Read more…
It’s been a while since TMMP placed jazz in the digital spotlight – but you need to switch things up now and then to cleanse your palate and avoid stagnation. As palate-cleansers go, this album is set to be perfect, a collection of original cool jazz tunes with a 1950’s vibe and beyond-flawless playing from a pair of master musicians in Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel / King Crimson) and Pete Levin (Miles Davis / Jaco Pastorius). Read more…
Chronographs are a recent discovery, and they’ve made a real impact in a very short time. I’ve written a lot recently about how I try to offer constructive criticism where possible; but I just can’t think of any way to improve this band. Chronographs are like a firework with a lit fuse. Your best course of action is to stand well back, and watch them go. Read more…
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Click here for Part One.
To review Lazy Habits’ latest release – RMX – I sat on a Northern Line Tube train and got stuck in. I chose this location for two reasons: 1) I could sit down and go through the entire album uninterrupted, and 2) opposite my seat was an unevenly positioned sticker ordering NO EYE CONTACT – PENALTY £200. These were my (mostly unedited) thoughts: Read more…
If you got to this post via a self help-oriented Google search, and think you might be in the wrong place, hold on a second. This guide may not help you stop smoking, quit drinking, or persuade you to dump that no-good long term partner who won’t stop cheating on you, but it will improve your quality of life significantly. The Lazy Habits we’re looking at here are a London-based hip-hop band with talent to burn – and here, in the first part of a two-part guide to their world, your ears are going to meet the soundwaves kept captive on their debut album. In Part 2, we’ll be checking out their latest release, a remixed version of Lazy Habits’ eponymous debut featuring a wealth of special guests. Trust me – if slick musicianship and catchy songs are your thing, you’re going to get along very well.
While preparing to review Lazy Habits’ debut, I decided to put this album to the ultimate urban-music quality test. Rather than sitting quietly with headphones on, I kept Lazy Habits in my ears while I spent a day exploring central London – and it passed said ultra-scientific, in-no-way-completely-subjective test with flying colours. Read more…