Opinion
Although I hail from Britain – a place where so much musical originality originally originated, and a country firmly considered as part of the West – I’ve never been a big fan of the label ‘world music’. Read more…
Opinion
One of London’s best-kept secrets, Hazlitt is an artist with a very unorthodox history. Following a decade-long stint as part of experi-punk outfit Tiger Force came Requiem For Little Bird – a complete 180-degree creative turn encompassing classical influences, lyrics in Latin, and a violin in place of her formerly treasured guitar. Since that gutsy debut Hazlitt has attracted a wide variety of followers, including eclectically inclined Strapping Young Lad frontman Devin Townsend, shared a stage with said legend, and thrown herself into a range of collaborative projects.
Battlecat – Hazlitt’s second solo album – has its own unconventional tale to tell. For the past year Battlecat has only been available to the people who paid for it to be made – an arrangement facilitated by crowdfunding platform Pledge Music, and necessitated by the destruction of Hazlitt’s home and studio in the 2011 London riots – but as of now it is up on Bandcamp to be enjoyed by the rest of the music-loving world. I’ve lived with this album for twelve months, and it still sounds as fresh and invigorating as it did on that hotly-anticipated first listen. Read more…
Opinion
As the first Musical Melting Pot Top 10 demonstrates, I’m a bit of a fan of Princess Slayer. Their first EP is stunning, and their live set – their first show ever, as part of the launch party for said EP – was, frankly, even better. Read more…
Opinion
Princess Slayer – a Guildfordian producer-vocalist duo known by day as Vince Welch and Casey Lim – have managed to bypass the usual first-release jitters and put out a five-track EP jammed with slick and ultra-sexy electronic tunes. Read more…
Opinion
With Things We Found In The Sea, their first release since second album Europa back in 2010, The Swears have taken a very interesting creative turn. Their old organic and earthy pop stylings have been entirely abandoned. Where once there were acoustic guitars and happy-go-lucky summer vibes, we now find a pair of gently unsettling alt-pop meditations. Read more…
Opinion
With their eponymous debut EP, a collection of edgy/sexy live recordings, Southampton funk-rockers Tenga Sol have set out to prove their live prowess and succeeded admirably. Read more…
For as long as Quinn could remember, the window had been there. The world around it was chaotic, turbulent, constantly changing; but through it all, the window remained.
Quinn hated that window. Beyond it lay an endless array of glittering, beautiful and alluring things that he knew, with an unquestionable certainty, that he would never possess. And the simple act of knowing made him crave them all the more intensely.
His obsession had been started through no choice of his own – he had simply been placed on a stiff old sofa, and allowed to stare into the window’s depths as a treat. Wonderful things could be found behind that glass; exotic visions and delights from across the known universe. He witnessed awe-inspiring natural spectacles, mind-boggling physical feats, the loftiest peaks of humanity’s cultural achievements. But over time he became bored with them all, and his focus shifted. The same sights that had once inspired him found themselves ignored in favour of objects. Read more…
Fiction
Beneath the blanket, the grass was soft and inviting. As they lay together, the city spread out beneath them, a silence enveloped the world. No rumble of distant traffic, no sirens, no dogs howling at the rising moon. Summer was fading, and with it many long months of excited planning and fantasising. The time they had been waiting for was finally here, and they could scarcely believe it. Read more…
After battering my brain with progressive music for my last two reviews, this album by The Swears comes as a welcome relief. Sometimes simplicity is just what you need. Read more…
