Month: August 2006

Whatever the actual motivation for playing up to full blown solo aspirations in between the now stock-quality Manics albums – and James Dean Bradfield certainly doesn’t have the air of a man desperately in need of alternative creative avenues, another cup of cranberry juice maybe, or a trouser press – this debut release from the frontman in comfortable slacks can claim at least one unexpected triumph. It is proof, if some were needed, that he is no Nicky Wire. His Continue Reading

The Two-Headed Monster. It’s a neat title at least, beating hands down the usual tales of two cities we get from the likes of Ministry who balance their double-disc mixtapes with titles as dull and effortless as ‘Beach Disc’ and ‘Club Disc’. In the one corner we have Transparent Sound who have been leading the UK electro drill since forming in 1994, and in the other Craig Richards part-time photographer, designer and Tech House DJ and famed for his 24-hour Continue Reading

I knew I was going to like this record when the first languorous, swarthy jazz measures of 4 Hero’s ‘Conception’ came loping out of the speaker like some deep and rich Mochacinno flowing across the table at café Mambo with a sitar hooked up to the orchestra somewhere in the background. I guess this is what you called chilled, Frappecinno style. Plain, low and slow, higher and lower, all those things hinted at in Afterlife’s ‘Half Time’. Which leads me Continue Reading

The Norwegian indie/power pop quartet Beezewax are into their fourth album and the first that seems like capturing a sizeable audience in the UK and beyond. ‘Who To Salute’ is a gently euphoric wash of jangly guitars and thin yet soaring vocals, for example their opener  ‘Let The Future Be A Stranger’ which layers voice upon voice into a calming wash of sound that leads us into the second track and their latest single ‘When You Stood Up’. I’ve said Continue Reading

Black has paid his dues as innovator, rebel, indie darling and whatever else critics (rightly) loved him for. Now, he’s padding through this stage of his career like a wayward dog on the scent of something pretty special but as yet, beyond our ken. ‘Fast Man Raider Man’ is a rich, uneven double album of songs recorded  in a series of mammoth sessions with a host of guesting musicians and will inevitably fall foul of some critics for, well, for Continue Reading

My first thoughts upon hearing Miss King were ‘how long does this go on for?’ and ‘I wonder what the hamster is doing’. Initially, it really was that bad. Then I allowed myself to listen to ‘Yellowcake’, King’s opener and latest single, properly, and I realised it was not actually that bad at all. Dwelling upon ‘Yellowcake’ a little longer, I find it sums up King’s work entirely, in that her music isn’t for everyone and it is slightly strange, Continue Reading

The Other Side, a joint venture between Time Out and Resist Music is an interactive guide to the bleeding edge of the world’s great cities. Utilizing the Dual-Disc format, each edition of The Other Side is comprised of two key elements: a mixed CD compiled by a native audio pioneer and a DVD guide to the “other side“ of the city – a visual handbook for both the frequent flyer and the armchair traveller. We’ve already had Fischerspooner direct us Continue Reading

It’s likely that I don’t know where I’m going with this, but that’s okay, when you don’t have great expectations you seldom experience disappointment, and as much could be said of Laura Lopez Castro; you don’t where it’s leading, but for all its sighing, spectral elusiveness it’s still a wildly seductive journey even in spite of Castro’s convoluted and slightly misleading history. On the surface of it, it sounds almost casually certain that Castro was born, bred and beautified in Continue Reading

Welcome then, to this year’s Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Although we realise that strictly speaking this year’s Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, having snuck through on a UK release date technicality. This season’s CYHSY anyway, more dusty summer than spring, we’re certain of that. It’s a convenient comparison, granted, but it is relevant one beyond just being 2006’s approved US indie hyperbole magnet. From their self-sourced DIY beginnings, through to shipping countless records Continue Reading