Last years’ double dose of Black was in comparison to this a rather sprawling and patchy affair. Gone are the dust balls, mothballs and mutant side-show freaks of ‘Black Letter Days’ and the blurry, agitated glam of ‘Devils Workshop’ and in their place a bakers dozen or so tracks of effortlessly consistent – if sardonic –alt-country rock. It wasn’t that the last two were in any way sub-standard, it’s just that they were a little less economical. Not so much Continue Reading

The thing about cults, you see, is that there’s almost certainly something alarm-ringingly wrong-in-the-head about them. Otherwise the natural human sheep-herding instinct would have kicked in wouldn’t it, and when there’s no more room in the paddock, it’d have to move to larger premises and probably end up building a ticket office and merchandising stand into the entrance hall. Then it loses its privileges and can be a cult no longer. Meaning a cult can only actually be a cult Continue Reading

A leopard can change its spots, particularly if they’re only made from glitter and felt, stitched to a pair of its mam’s old curtains and tied round its neck with a velvet-substitute rope. See, Muse are prog as fuck, with bells on. Gleaming church bells at that compared to the relative Christmas cracker hand-chimes of yesteryear (as air-rattling as they may have seemed at the time). But prog ain’t the creature it used to be, which is good news for Continue Reading

The ninth month of the year two thousand and three AD must clearly be remembered as the best, most monumental and indeed important 30 days for British rock since the sun began its first creeping cycle between doom-laden clouds over a freshly erected Stonehenge back in the day. Muse finally release an album that makes perfect sense of its own ridiculousness, The Cooper Temple Clause release a sophomore effort that actually stands up unaided (look, no hands!), and Oceansize penetrate Continue Reading

Phil Oakey may not have been the most versatile singer in the world, he may not have been the most versatile dancer, in fact his every move both vocally and physically seemed as rigid and robotic as the analogue synths and clockwork beats that drove the sound. What he had though was an almost totally accidental gift for crafting perfect pop from the flex of wire and steel he found at hand. You may cringe at the crazy, lopping haircuts, Continue Reading

You have to admit, that if you believed everything you read about Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, you’d be under the impression that it was one of the most prodigious and pioneering events in the last twenty years. And whilst everyone may be waxing lyrical about the swelling, intergalactic, lush and pastoral 4/4 beats – when we do calm down we may begin to notice that for all its interplanetary, most extraordinary craft – it’s a fairly arduous Continue Reading

“ The look – the visual creation and expression of an identity – is part of the very essence of rock & roll.” Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone said this in 1995. And for Dexys Midnight Runners it was nothing short of vital. Not that the band needed it at all, or as one might first suspect. With the insurmountable swagger of a thumping horn section, the lingering swell and burn of a Hammond stab and the vociferous and athletic soul address Continue Reading

That IMA Robot recently opened up for US America label mates Blur somehow manages to explain the band and this record more than words ever could. Wrapped up and served in the same punky and pseudo-anarchic cellophane of tracks like Blur’s ‘Song 2’ and the disastrous ‘Crazy Beat’, ‘Ima Robot’ satisfies any kind of appetite whetted for off-kilter new wave and random, explosive energy. First exploding onto the US rock scene with debut single ‘Dynomite’, the band have already had Continue Reading

There are many fine lines in this life. Between dangerously funny and offensive, between The Stereophonics and inhumane Geneva Convention contravening torment, and between shambling peculiarity and curious genius. Scout Niblett falls quite certainly into the latter category, as anyone who’s experienced her live irregularity will surely attest. Shoddily played drums, rudimentary strummed guitar (only occasionally experienced simultaneously) and wavering, unrestrained, verging on hysterical vocals from a woman who sounds like she’s very much in-between places. It’s hardly pop music, Continue Reading