Release Reviews
The Music - Take The Long Road And Walk It
Regular listeners to Radio One’s Evening Session will no doubt have already come across this, the latest new sensation hailing from up North; Ladies and Gentlemen I am proud to announce, The Music. With their attitude-splattered baggy-esque indie sound, Steve Lamacq favourites The Music, release this thei»
Emetrex - Metacomet
It’s impossible not to turn on the radio or TV these days and not be harassed by one of two devastating evils; a stream of pop music and the apathy that accompanies it or numetal/ska punk (cos lets face it they don’t know the difference themselves) inflicting depression on a nation’s youth and trying to instil an oh»
Muse - Origin of Symmetry
You know the story. You’ve heard the rumours. You may own a t-shirt. If you’ve been naughty you may have the dodgy live mp3’s from Napster… But do you know WHO Muse are? The singer, Matt Bellamy clearly isn’t the same as everyone else and that is definitely not a bad thing. “Paradise comes at a price” is »
Sparklehorse - It's a Wonderful Life
As I scrape the pixie dust from the corner of my eyes, I press play. My head returns to the pillow. Several minutes pass. These are several minutes, maybe an hour or so of dreamy perfection. Sparklehorse have created a perfect barely awake, sleepy layering of introflective sound – and that is a good thing»
Lahannya - Drowning EP
As many people know, a lot of demos suck, so imagine my joy when I found out this 4 track CD didn't. An artist on the Kabuki label, they expect big thing from her... and it's not hard to see why. Lahannya's music is remeniscent of The Cranberries in vocal style but musically, it is like a les»
Pete Rock - PeteStrumentals
“In early 2000 BBE hooked up with Pete Rock and he decided to produce an eclectic album for our BEAT GENERATION. A fusion of jazz, pop, folk, rock and soul laces this ground-breaking project. A scattering of MC tracks (featuring a new crew called the UN) are also present to whet the appetites of Pete’s traditiona»
Destrovert - No Need To Shout
Destrovert are a metal band of four young men who have perverted the eardrums of those in Walthamstow's popular music emporium - The Standard. Incredibly young nu-metal types SugarComa have also appeared at this venue. "Oh no! Not another nu-metal band! " I hear you cry. Yes, you »
The Buggers - Here Comes The Times
The Buggers first grabbed my attention when I saw them a few weeks ago playing a small local punk night at the Foundry in Birmingham. Their set was top notch, skilfully dishing out tuneful punk rock anthems to a wilful crowd lapping up every strum & beat. It’s no wonder they were voted No.7 best unsigned band in last y»
Jennifer Lopez - Play
The Butt is back. She has dumped Puffy (no, I never will be able to bring myself to call him P Diddy as I get the giggles each time I say it.). She has changed her name to the infinitely snappier J-Lo. And she is releasing a nice little r’n’b number that is a bit like most of her other tunes. »
8:58 - The Weakest Linc
I should warn everyone that this thing ‘ere is a novelty club track, sampling, funnilly enough, excerpts from that popular self-esteem lowering quiz show “The Weakest Link.” The proper song is shit. But then proper novelty club songs always are shit, ‘cos the black box noodlers are trying too hard. Ok, »
Black Candy - Downfall
There’s a well touted quote from the NME imploring all the ‘fat, lazy, deaf A & R bastards’ (or words to that effect) to sign up this bunch of rap-metal heavyweights who hail from perhaps the most unlikely place to find metal, Oxford. So, is this challenge to major labeldom justified or is the NME just talking c»
Horny Toad - Thirteen
'Thirteen' is one of the most shamefully over looked albums of the past 10 years in a genre which adores bands like Smash Mouth, Rancid and [Spunge]. Imagine [Spunge] jamming with Bullyrag and Eddie Grant's backing band and you are almost on the right track. Their style of up-t»
Jan Johnson - Flesh
Trance and proud. There’s nothing here to distinguish this from the Fragma’s of this world but that’s not such a bad thing. A dreamy female vocal, a 4/4 beat, a 303, a 909, and a couple of novel electronic riffs and piano lines. I see thousands of hands in the air all over Ibiza this summer (again)… Better than Hi-Gate»
Echobelly - Tell Me Why
2001 seems to be the year for britpop comebacks. Along with new releases from both Shed 7 and Cast, come Echobelly, now releasing through their own indie label. Musically nothing much has changed, a jaunty strum combined with Sonya Aurora-Madden’s familiar gliding vocal. In sho»
Shed Seven - Truth Be Told
Shed 7 are a band that no-one can link to specific songs but can sing along to when they’re on the radio. For a band who’ve had enough top 20 hits to compile a greatest hits package Rick Witter’s gang disappeared with little fanfare when they split from Polydor some 2 years ago. Now back on an indie the Shed’s pick up »
Luck & Neat - Present...II
A double cd of garage grooves and two step exclusives. Luck & Neat have left pretension at home and collected some 44 tracks that will appeal to anymore, opposed to anal selecta trainspotters. The bumbling MC banter works to a degree and gives the package some personality at the very least. Choice tracks include the or»
Timo Maas - Connected
Important point, this is not an album by Timo Maas. This album does not even include the “whoomp whoomp” Maas remix of the Ibiza 2000 anthem “Dooms Night”. This is Timo’s record collection, slung together in an ever so professional mix by the man himself. The problem is that said record collection is so homogenous, and»
Weezer - The Green Album
The fact that Weezer are back is a reason to celebrate in itself. After creating the two greatest pop-rock records in existance it's time to add a third. One listen to The Green Album has you eating out of Rivers Cuomo's hand just like in the past. For the un-educated amongst our readers it's a case of this, if you lik»
Tool - Lateralus
Here it is then. The record that most of rock civilization has been crying out for. Something without funny backwards red baseball caps, boiler suits or gimmicks of any kind. With Tool, it's common knowledge that the music will speak for itself and it will be speaking many volumes. 'Lateralus' is absolute»
Frankie Machine - 54th And 3rd
Every time a Frankie Machine single arrives, I get a rush of excitement only for that to be quashed by pure fear. And the arrival of '54th and 3rd', the third release is no different. Having heard and loved the first two EPs, there does seem no way this new single can live up to my expectations.»
The Nectarine No. 9 - Received, Transgressed and Transmitted
I'm a great fan of hiding one's light under a bushel. It means that those people who come to appreciate how worth knowing about you really are have made an effort and are genuinely interested in what you do.
So I'm intrigued to find kindred spirits in The Nectarine No. 9. They formed back in 1993, with ex-Fire»
The Lollies - Bang Bang Bang! Lookout Lookout Lookout!
The Lollies are purveyors of deliciously danceable bubblegum pop. None of the songs on this 5-track EP stray much beyond the 3 minute mark, and combine smart indie (Dandy Warhols, Sleater Kinney), with 60’s garage guitars, retro organs and breezy harmonies. Another high point is Kate St Claire’s lyrics, which are w»
Brave Captain - Better Living Through Reckless Experimentation
Third release from Brave Captain aka Mr Martin Carr… and Derrero.
The kid’s done good… four more (practically) perfect pop songs reminiscent of his childhood heroes John Lennon and Brian Wilson.
The ‘Captain starts with ‘Better Living Through Reckless Experimentation’ a sing-along-“o»
The Cooper Temple Clause - Panzer Attack
Most people who take a serious interest in music have heard of The Cooper Temple Clause by now. Introductions in the NME, favourable reviews, word-of-mouth ravings about their live performances, and the BUZZ that surrounds this band at the moment are impossible to avoid. Not so many people have actually heard them yet;»
Champion Sound #13: Part 1 – Ten Yeezus Pieces
Parklife Weekender 2013 – The Drowned in Sound Review
Drowned In Sheffield #14
DiS Does Singles 17.06.13: Dornik, Washed Out, AlunaGeorge
All Hail the Culturati... Fighting Over Radiohead's Hail to the Thief
Cutting Through the Noise: What it's really like representing new artists at events like The Great Escape
Twitter
Facebook
Last.fm
SoundCloud
MySpace
Friendster
RSS
