Feature: Overlooked Albums #24: Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes - This Time It's For Real

Angel Aguilar — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:28:04 +0000

Co-writing credits for Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt, backing vocals from The Drifters - just why wasn't Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes' This Time It's For Real a colossal hit?

Let’s get the hard truth out of the way: Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes made three critically acclaimed albums in the late 70s that barely raised their profile before returning to the same clubs where they came from. Unfair? Yes, considering the great talent and musicianship involved. That’s the price to pay for going against the grain of synthetic pop.

Feature: Can you separate The Art from The Artist?

Alan Shulman — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:30:12 +0000

As a fan, what do you do when it transpires your heroes and creators of your favourite works are responsible for reprehensible acts? Can you look past violence and intolerance? How about racism, homophobia, murder? Here, Alan Shulman addresses these problems and ponders the question: is it possible to separate the art from the artist?

I faced my first epicurean crisis when it was discovered that Woody Allen had been banging his girlfriend's daughter. As a teenager, I idolized Allen intensely, identifying with his neurotic Jewish pose and his simultaneous courting and ridicule of the intellectuals that littered New York in the 70s and 80s.

Music Review: The Money Store - Death Grips

Mark Davison — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:41:30 +0000

Death Grips may have announced themselves as one of the most exciting voices in hip-hop with last year's Ex Military, but it wasn't exactly much fun to listen to. Will the influence of a major label on this second album change matters?

If for nothing else, The Money Store will be noteworthy for featuring perhaps the most unnecessary use of the "Parental Advisory: Explicit Language" label in its entire history. For a start the little monochrome killjoy is tucked away underneath an unapologetically crude sketch of a dominatrix and her (presumably) male yet mammary-endowed gimp.

Feature: Green Gartside (Interview)

David Zammitt — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:24:50 +0000

Green Gartside talks about his part in the upcoming Sandy Denny tribute concerts, his own influences and the future for Scritti Politti.

It's now been more than 34 years since folk icon Sandy Denny passed away. Her influence continues to live on, and this month sees the reissue of Denny's final trio of albums for Island Records as well as a tribute tour, featuring artists such as Thea Gilmore, PP Arnold and Joan As Policewoman.

Music Review: Bloom - Beach House

Forrest Cardamenis — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:58:27 +0000

Over two years removed from the critically lauded Teen Dream, Beach House are back with their fourth LP and first misnomer.

Beach House was not unknown before Teen Dream was released, but it was that album that put them on the map as a constantly improving, effortlessly impressive dream pop duo. But Bloom, not unlike their previous albums, sees its biggest strengths in the production and in how the album sounds rather than how good the songs are.

Music Review: Royal Headache - Royal Headache

Juan Edgardo Rodriguez — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:29:24 +0000

Fronted by a singer with a soulful delivery, the Australian garage band makes combustible pop tunes that harken back to mod punk exuberance and frolicky rhythm and blues.

Without even the slightest warning, it just starts. There’s no need to build a tonic chord in Royal Headache’s career opener Never Again – it does, however, set the groove with a hulking rhythm section that hurtles full-throttle without concerning itself with coming to a complete stop before it hits red. And out of nowhere appears a glandular set of pipes, courtesy of bandleader Shogun, hastily evoking as much emotion as he can in the little amount of space that’s been provided to him in those quick-fire verses.

Feature: The Singles Bar: 14th May 2012

Joe Rivers — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:19:25 +0000

Joe Rivers has studied the alphabet, taken its constituent letters, and rearranged them in various forms to create 1,603 words. When read in order, these words go some way to conveying his feelings on this week's new single releases.

Today sees the debut of the UK singles streaming chart, which seeks to give a more accurate view of what the good citizens of this fair isle are actually listening to on a regular basis. So, what’s number 1? Have the British public gone leftfield with their streaming choices, leading to a chart-topper that’s far removed from what’s being purchased? Um… it’s Carly Rae Jepsen.

Feature: The Drums (Interview)

David Hogg — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:53:29 +0000

Jacob Graham and Jonathan Pierce from indie-pop surfing enthusiasts The Drums join David Hogg for an interview. They discuss facing reality with their new album, a lack of planning, and understanding the concept of live music.

Currently touring the U.S. in support of their second album, Portamento, The Drums have been haunting audiences and listeners with infectiously catchy pop songs about death, heartbreak, religion and, of course, surfing.

Music Review: The Only Place - Best Coast

Stephen Wragg — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:15:09 +0000

Best Coast follow up their debut of super-simplistic, sunny jangle pop with cleaner production and a self-described "grown-up" new sound. But is this really the sound of a band maturing?

“It is pretty emotional. I'm not really holding back. And that makes me a little bit nervous because I am letting the public in on all of these personal things.” So says Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino of her new “grown-up record”, and before I listened to The Only Place, this seemed like exactly what I wanted from Best Coast.

Music Review: Break It Yourself - Andrew Bird

James McKenna — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:57:53 +0000

Andrew Bird's hardcore rap album. Just kidding, it's another album of folky baroque pop.

In my ideal world, Andrew Bird is what qualifies as pop music. He writes songs about love, they’re sweet, his voice is soft and he sounds like the sort of guy you could introduce to your grandparents. It’s not like his songs aren’t catchy because they are, give Give It Way (sadly not a folk cover of the Chili’s masterpiece) or Eyeoneye a go and you’ll be humming and singing for a day.

Music Review: OFF! - OFF!

Forrest Cardamenis — Thu, 10 May 2012 07:47:54 +0000

A quick burst of turmoil and angst 1978 style is a good way to start the day, so get out that Black Fla--wait, OFF!? ...It's over already? And it's a NEW band? Yes, but more than that, they're worth your time.

16 songs, 16 minutes, all of which as harsh and direct as the name OFF! suggests. OFF!

Feature: Phèdre (Interview)

Matt Bevington — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:11:22 +0000

The elusive Dan and April from Phèdre took time out to discuss how they met, their inspirations and a few other things, including NASA and Tupac.

During my research for the review of Phèdre's self-titled debut there was very little information about the band available and that kind of helped in many ways. There were no prejudices or assumptions and I had no idea what to expect. All that I knew, or was told, was that the band morphed out of an attic among summer evenings dripping with cheap wine. I didn't know their names, and I, in fact, had never heard of them before.

Music Review: Small Faces, et al - Small Faces

Alan Shulman — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:20:22 +0000

No need to read our review - buy this!

Small Faces - Deluxe Edition (Decca)

Music Review: Europe - Allo Darlin'

Joe Rivers — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:19:03 +0000

Following the success of their 2010 self-titled debut, London-based four-piece Allo Darlin' have beefed up their sound for album number two. So, how do you feel about Europe?

For any artist, the debut album is absolutely pivotal. It’s the culmination of all life experiences collected up to that point and a real statement of intent for a potential career. It’s a manifesto; a way of presenting to the world who you are and how you see things. It’s also a tremendously exciting time; countless are the artists who never made it to that first record stage, so it’s a kind of validation of your work and says what you do has some kind of intellectual merit.

Music Review: Gift for the End - Mariee Sioux

Mark Davison — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:29:46 +0000

Mariee Sioux is another one of those beautifully sensitive folk singers, just like... [insert name of critically respected, cult-y singer-songwriter here]. But what she lacks for in distinctiveness, she more than makes up for in spookiness.

In the promotional notes for Mariee Sioux's fourth album (apparently her fifth is also imminent) the usual suspects that any self-respecting young ethereal folk-singer should cite - the list that generally starts with Nick Drake and runs all the way up to Joanna Newsom - all make an appearance. And yet there is still one absence that seems fairly egregious: Marissa Nadler.