Maxi Curnow – ‘STEM’ [Review]

maxi curnow stemPrepare to have your brain broken.

Maxi Curnow is, I suspect, not really human. As a guitarist, he’s capable of channeling Guthrie Govan, Alex Machacek, and Steve Vai; as a vocalist, Curnow can give any leading tech-metal frontman a run for his money. Calling Maxi Curnow “talented” just doesn’t work. The only option here is to go nuclear and pull out “virtuoso” instead. It may be an overused phrase these days, but it has to be said: Maxi Curnow is a virtuoso. Full stop. Read more…

Posted on 27 May 2014

Yuval Ron & Residents Of The Future – ‘Residence Of The Future’ [Review]

yuval ronOpen any book on increasing your productivity, and you’ll find this ubiquitous piece of advice: “Never check your email in the morning.” It’s often backed up with a statement along the lines of “Email is the mind-killer.” Not just any mind-killer, but the mind-killer.

Perhaps my inbox is unique, then. The messages it contains consistently offer me the opportunity to expand my mind, not blunt or damage or kill it. This is, definitely, partly due to Gmail’s super-effective spam filters (no more “COLLECT YOUR NIGERIAN LOTTERY WINNINGS” subject lines), but it’s mainly due to messages from musicians like Yuval Ron.

Yuval Ron’s music manages to make you listen and think without draining your mental energy. It’s complex, multifaceted and intricate, yes – but there’s something refreshing and cognitively nourishing buried in there. An appreciation of the need for space, a permission given for the music to breathe and really come to life. Read more…

Posted on 14 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

Now, Voyager – ‘Tell-Tale Hearts EP’ [Review]

Well, fuck me. These kids are pretty angry! Hardcore prog-punk’s been a fairly trendy genre since the rock world wised up to the genius of The Dillinger Escape Plan, and few bands following in Dillinger’s wake have made a serious, crystal-clear-obvious effort to escape their heroes’ back-flipping, ceiling-walking, onstage-shit-flinging shadow. But on Tell-Tale Hearts Now, Voyager do precisely that.  Read more…

Posted on 25 January 2014

Marcus Rexford – ‘Exposure EP’ [Review]

Time and patience are beautiful things. Without time, you’re screwed: You’ll wind up late for everything, faced with angry people at every turn, and you won’t get anything done. Without patience, you won’t use the time you do have effectively, squandering it instead on the pursuit of instant gratification and doing nothing of any lasting usefulness.

When you have both time and patience on your side, however, you will be duly rewarded. And that’s what has happened to London-based songwriter Marcus Rexford. This EP shows all the telltale signs of relentless drive and obsessive attention to detail that inevitably result in positive reviews and happy listeners. Track-by-track breakdown below: Read more…

Posted on 23 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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