Submotion Orchestra – ‘Colour Theory’ [Review]

A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.

Over the course of three stellar albums (2011’s Finest Hour; 2012’s Fragments; 2014’s Alium), Submotion Orchestra’s signature sound has been explored in detail and depth. A peerlessly idiosyncratic mix of bass-heavy dub, soul, classical and jazz influences, it’s never been less than spellbinding, immersive, and classy. Since day one, the Submotion Orchestra sound has won over an ever-increasing mass of critics, fans, and tastemakers.

On paper, it would have been very easy for Submotion Orchestra to play it safe on Colour Theory. The normal thing for established bands to do is Read more…

Posted on 21 January 2016

Ben Caplan – ‘Birds With Broken Wings’ [Review]

Picture a hoedown in Hell. Demons dancing around fire pits, tormented souls screaming lyrics at the top of their lungs. That kind of thing.

Birds With Broken Wings is the perfect soundtrack to that kind of party.

Recorded over three weeks of ten-hour days with a gang of Ben Caplan’s dream collaborators, you can easily hear the bloody-minded love, passion, and Read more…

Posted on 20 January 2016

Petrol Girls – ‘Some Thing’ [Review]

In a culture that’s become increasingly impersonal and dehumanising, bands willing to get their hands dirty and dig into real, human issues are more essential than ever before. Turn on the radio and you’ll hear plenty of auto-tuned and hyperquantized songs about going to a club and getting “crunk on da flo’,” but turn it off and look around you and you immediately realise that the radio doesn’t reflect reality.

Why?

Because it’s easier to bury your head in the sand than it is to take even the smallest of actions. Petrol Girls get this – and Read more…

Posted on 19 January 2016

Sithu Aye – ‘Senpai EP’ [Review]

Since I travelled to Paris to see THE END, an opera starring Japanese virtual pop idol Hatsune Miku, Japanese-culture-related music has been thin on the ground here at TMMP. Enter Sithu Aye and an EP that began as a joke, but wound up becoming seriously awesome.

Senpai (in English, someone who will never notice you) is one of the Read more…

Posted on 18 January 2016

Skunk Anansie – ‘Anarchytecture’ (Album Review)

After the recent loss of David Bowie, the rock world needs all the unique and exciting oddness it can get. With Anarchytecture – their third album since reforming in 2009 – Skunk Anansie continue to contribute exactly that.

Although rock is the dominant flavour present on Anarchytecture, there are plenty of extra spices floating in the mix. Skin’s vocal is, as always, unmistakable – and curious listeners can expect a healthy helping of dub vibes and electronic elements alongside the big riff monsters and vulnerable ballads that tick Read more…

Posted on 16 January 2016

Panic At The Disco – ‘Death Of A Bachelor’ [Review]

Panic At The Disco have long been synonymous with sexy, sensual, and theatrical pop-rock-or-just-pop-I-can’t-quite-tell. From stomping grooves to synth-heavy production, ecstatic vocals, the occasional tasty guitar riff, and a heaped helping of just-fuck-me-already attitude, Panic At The Disco have already proven to the world that they have what it takes to entertain and beguile massive crowds of pleasure-seekers.

Of course, success brings haters, people eager to tear others down, often simply because they just don’t get it. To be honest, in Panic At The Disco’s early days, I always shrugged my shoulders and Read more…

Posted on 15 January 2016

Dan Sugarman – ‘Centersun’ [Review]

2016 seems set to be an eventful year for lovers of instrumental guitarists. Dan Sugarman (six-string slinger for uncompromising metal band As Blood Runs Black) is the latest to step up and speak his mind without words – and on Centersun, he has a lot to say.

The story behind Centersun is best told in Dan’s own words:

“This album is a bit of a departure from my typical writing process, in the sense that all 6 songs were improvised on the fly in a 7 day period. The reason? I had just come home from a 1.5 month long headlining tour with As Blood Runs Black with the plan of coming home to start writing and recording my album, when I received the news the day I got home that my mother’s brain tumor had returned. I was absolutely devastated…so I took a day to myself to kind of figure out my next move, and then I locked myself in the studio for a week straight. Read more…

Posted on 14 January 2016

Dorje – ‘All’ [Review]

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2016 looks set to be Dorje’s year.

Dorje’s first ever release, Primordial Audio Chronicle, formed the backbone of one of Indiegogo’s most successful crowdfunding campaigns of 2012; the video for their signature track Aeromancy has attracted some 800,000 views to date; and 2015’s Catalyst EP managed to top album charts across the Internet. Not a bad backstory for a band who are essentially an industry unto themselves, hitting heights that even bands with serious label backing struggle to reach.

All – the second Catalyst EP track given a spectacular Read more…

Posted on 10 January 2016

David Bowie – ‘Blackstar’ [Review]

Where have all the real rock stars gone? Those unique individuals capable of capturing the imagination of a mass audience without dumbing down the fruits of their labours? The musicians who can spin your head around, widen your horizons, and still meet with large-scale acceptance?

On Blackstar – his twenty-sixth album – David Bowie inspires, provokes, bewilders and bewitches as only he can. Taking the scenic route through Blackstar‘s title track, full to bursting with Read more…

Posted on 08 January 2016

Cage The Elephant – ‘Tell Me I’m Pretty’ [Review]

Rock’n’roll, garage rock, psychedelic rock, alternative rock – call it what you like, throw a rock today and you might well hit someone in a soundalike, dime-a-dozen band matching one of those descriptions. They look the same, sound (almost) the same, pose the same way in pictures – and they’ve occupied the “wrong side of the tracks” position in the mainstream for over a decade.

Cage The Elephant, however, are Read more…

Posted on 07 January 2016