Cheap Trick – ‘Bang Zoom Crazy…Hello!’ [Review]

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Not many musicians can say they’ve been in the game for close to half a century – but Rick Nielsen is one of the rare few who have made it. Over the past several decades, Nielsen has driven the streamlined musical sports car named Cheap Trick through a bewildering string of twists and turns to arrive in 2016 with a new album, Bang Zoom Crazy…Hello!

Bang Zoom Crazy…Hello! happens to be Cheap Trick’s seventeenth studio album – and that is Read more…

Posted on 19 March 2016

The Dandy Warhols – ‘Distortland’ [Review]

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The average band doesn’t make it past their first album. Sometimes the sophomore slump hits hard, sinking careers as that difficult second long-player either never gets released, or just blows instead of blowing up. Rarely, you’re talking three to four albums – but you’re talking really rarely.

Keeping the flame burning after ten albums is an impressive feat – and with Distortland, The Dandy Warhols have hit an all but unbelievable career landmark.

Distortland is one of The Dandy Warhols’ most focussed albums Read more…

Posted on 17 March 2016

Malumi – ‘Monsters And Fireflies’ [Review]

A jack of all trades is a master of none.

Or so we’re told. It sounds like common sense – and it is. But common sense isn’t always accurate.

Between them, Klaire de Lys and Sara Rose have almost every art, craft, and entertainment-related outlet covered. From comedy writing and lifestyle blogging to award-winning YouTube makeup tutorials, fantasy novels, webcomics, sculpture, visual art, and a head-spinning range of future projects in the pipeline, Klaire and Sara are both pretty busy, to say the least.

So, that makes them jacks (or Jills?) of multiple trades. Following the apparently immutable logic of common sense, Malumi and their debut album Monsters And Fireflies should be mediocre at best. This review, in turn, should be Read more…

Posted on 16 March 2016

The Jezabels – ‘Synthia’ [Review]

The Jezabels have a real knack for music that flows like water. Stand And Deliver pounds and washes like stormy seaside surf before the tide recedes, leaving rocky drums, the sparsest synthetic trickles, and a fiercely powerful vocal. It’s a beautiful start to a beautiful album.

Seething synthpop given guts and strength by frequent bursts of rhythmic energy and Read more…

Posted on 03 February 2016

The Black Queen – ‘Fever Daydream’ [Review]

Feel. Soul. Depth.

These words are ubiquitous in the music world. They pop up in press releases for everything from reality-shattering mathcore to surgically dehumanised bubblegum pap. They’re used to imply authenticity, whether or not it’s actually present in the music.

And what the hell is authenticity, anyway? If you define something inauthentic as “fake,” then that implies deception and dishonesty. Flip that over, and authenticity is really about honesty.

True honesty in art takes you somewhere beyond feel, soul, and Read more…

Posted on 29 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