Beardyman – ‘Distractions’ [Review]

beardyman distractions

In an age of instant gratification, where everyone wants everything yesterday, dropping a sophomore album over three and a half years after your debut can be an anxiety-provoking event. It can be argued that music fans are more fickle than ever, easily susceptible as we all are to distraction and immediate amnesia – and under such conditions, almost any musician could reasonably expect the world to have moved on over the course of 42 minutes, let alone months. However, Beardyman is no standard-issue artist. Read more…

Posted on 08 November 2014

Submotion Orchestra – ‘Alium’ [Review]

submotion orchestra aliumAmid endless seas of wannabes trapped in a quicksand composed of hollow and lifeless MIDI sequences, Submotion Orchestra have long stood out by a fair few light years. Their recordings consistently ooze warmth and a vital humanity – and Alium continues this trend in impressive and impactful fashion. Read more…

Posted on 28 October 2014

Inner Pieces feat. Hayley Chalwin – ‘Guided Meditations’ [Review]

inner pieces guided meditationsAs a writer, having a mind that’s always on is kind of a good thing. Writing has been described as thinking on paper – but as horror maestro Stephen King points out, writing is actually more than that.

Writing is telepathy. Read more…

Posted on 07 June 2014

Nanaki – ‘Afterlight’ [Review]

nanakiIn a world so dominated by and dependent upon the Internet, Afterlight‘s opening tune Antisocial Media is a uniquely intriguing musical statement. Its followers are no less effective: Vocal-free and well produced, each track manages to capture the thoughts, ideas and insights associated with its respective title while working as a downbeat but welcoming piece of music. Read more…

Posted on 19 May 2014

Princess Slayer / ERIKA / Natalie Ross / Stella [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 8/5/14]

girls of guildfordWhen I first saw that poster, my first thought was that this show would turn out to be a serious sausage party, full of hot-under-the-collar guys who’d assumed that an evening spent being entertained by women would entail something very different. I was relieved to arrive at the Boileroom and find that I was wrong; like the performers, last night’s crowd was stylish, socially competent, and clearly excited to be in the presence of the following: Read more…

Posted on 09 May 2014

Dani Rosenoer – ‘Basement Jams 2 EP’ [Review]

dani rosenoer basement jamsAs we saw last December, Dani Rosenoer thinks differently. So, for this review, so will I. I’m going to attempt to sum up each track on Basement Jams 2 in a single sentence. Let’s see how it goes… Read more…

Posted on 01 May 2014

A Guide To Lazy Habits – Part Two (‘RMX’)

LH_RMX_1600[2][3][1]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…

Posted on 04 February 2014

Gutterfly – ‘Live The Life EP’ [Review]

Gutterfly is a man of few words, and many notes. So I’ll keep this short, and let you get stuck into the streamable tracks below. Read more…

Posted on 29 January 2014

The Best Pessimist – ‘Love Is…’ [Review]

According to the greatest Facebook page ever, the term ‘alexithymia’ refers to “An inability to describe emotions in a verbal manner”. Although this definition only scratches the surface of alexithymia’s psychological repercussions, it serves perfectly well to describe my state of mind when listening to Love Is…. Read more…

Posted on 20 January 2014

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