adream has written the following articles:
Host will buzz your guts off.»
Radio 4 seem to be listening to different frequencies, but we love them for it.»
Finley, Finley, Finley.... The first time I heard Finley Quaye was on a 50p remaindered sample cd rescued from the Camden branch of the Vinyl Exchange. The recommendation had been from a friend of mine who claims to have come up with "the Tricky spin" on this new reggae artist who was going to wipe aw»
I am a FAN. This band are ace, and there is no doubt in my mind that with the right place/right time interface, they could clean up everywhere. This album is the culmination of months of hibernation in their studio, honing the shimmering retro sounds of Duran Duran and early Blur. At first listen, i»
The last time I saw Bjork was at a festival, supported by Massive Attack. The gig was a joyful mishmash of uptempo beats and general impish lunacy. In the general scheme of things, I think that she has since then wilfully destroyed her commercial appeal, and stepped back into a haze of experimental noise-»
There are certain bands that do exactly what is says on the tin live: The Rolling Stones rock and ROLL, and are more than likely STONED.... The Kinks KINKY as they come. Stereophonics are more than likely to be in STEREO.
Not so Neil Young, as he spends the majority of the concert seate»
I promised a good friend of mine that I would not mention The Coral in this review, so here goes.... This new wave of "garage punk" is truly played out at this stage. It will take another 6 months or so to find out which of these new gems will still shine after the inevitable backlash has tarnished the rest.»
Goldfrapp = Moloko. Discuss. This is purely a hedonistic and scary talent. As a statement of intent, this is as far away from 'Utopia' as you can get. A driving rhythm (like a train, unsurprisingly) underpins a fine and sultry vocal performance that is half Roisin Murphy and »
For one heavenly minute I thought Robbie had come to his senses and tackled a cover of the Peaches classic...
Not so, I am disappointed to announce/discover.
The "fat dancer from Take That ™" has had his moments of pure pop heaven; like 'Kids' and 'Rock DJ'. He also has»
They are mindbending, original, stellar and catchy as Hong Kong fluey.
A full 3 months since I heard the incredible debut album 'The Light Years Ahead', I catch Alternative 3 at their poptastic best in what looks like the dusty confines of a Goth's cellar.
It is often said that you cannot judge»
This is the second album from the incredibly talented and passionate Jamie McDermott. The first record, 'Newclear Skies', was a predominantly acoustic affair, building towering soundscapes derived from Jamie's incredible Buckley-esque voice against a windswept backdrop of acoustic guitars and minim»
There was a time when making music didn't mean that you had to fit a category that was delineated by the sections on a record shop shelves.
It was made freer by the proliferation of a new breed of record companies that are now referred to (laughably)as "independent".
When the business of making money was bei»
There are two things that are certain in life: Death and Taxes, as a famous philosopher wrote.
There are two things that are certain in Techno. 1: 808 State will release a fantastic album, and 2: Everyone will ignore this fact.
Finally, after several wilderness years, punctuated only by a (largely ignored, and »
"The awful silence that follows violence" Lomax come on like a spastic Clash humpbacked with the ghosts of Joy Division and the spirits of the politically serious bands of the 80s. First track, 'Brought to Rights' is a spitting and snarling attack on something/someone I ca»
It was with good humour that I turned over from the rerun of the Michael Jackson expose to ITV News last night. It was with horror and great sadness that I realised the reason for the phone interruption. My friend and beautiful soul, Margaret has been stabbed to death in Hackney. A regular of TRASH club, and »
Cargo has no atmosphere, and tonight Electric Eel Shock bustle onto stage fresh from a gig played at another venue.
The sight of three undeniably rockanroll japanese freaks is enough to cause a curious surge to the front of the stage.
The bass player puts on his bass
The singer attaches a studded w»
A rush of synth sweetness for a guitar-tooth... Nemo manage to hybridise (is that a word?) the very best of guitar pop with the squelchy and arcane worlds of electro. Not in a Ladytron standoffish way, and not in a Fischer Spooner studied art school pose but in a real, passionate and most of »
Junkbox are rocking the stage. Their DIY approach is breaking shambolic wind in the faces of the gathered masses for the umpteenth Artrocker extravaganza. An audience of excited and excitable people are desperately vying for space in this cramped and seedy feeling underground box-room. Reminiscent of the <»
JJ72 are a strange mixture of rock and pop in equal measures. They are an old-skool guitar act, not rough enough to be Ash, and not weird enough for Placebo.
This song provides a well meaning epic slice of U2 and Hothouse Flowers style Irish lilting.
The familiar boy?/girl? vocal»
There has been a hell of a lot of talk on message boards and chatrooms recently about nepotism. People complaining 'til they're blue in the face about the new breed of online music magazines. It is symptomatic of the new age of media that we have a fast turnaround of ideas and people verbally sparring in defence/att»
I was there at the Hammersmith Apollo to catch the little man prancing around in full-on genius musician mode
The experience was a good one, revealing that he had lost none of his genius for performance, and none of his skill as an ente»
I saw Radio 4's video for their single 'Dance To The Underground' on MTV2, and was charmed by its spiky guitars and funky as hell disco beats and bass line. This is the sound of the future: punk disco. They followed it with the best video of the year - Electric Six, Danger Danger, High Voltag»
Those few who have tasted the delights of Iain Banks’ writing through his altogether skewed masterworks such as “The Wasp Factory” and “Walking on Glass” would be advised to lend a quiet caution to the decision to embark upon this novel. Where previously, he has leaked subtle invention into plot lines and connec»
There never has been a more amusing sight than that which meets the eyes tonight. The famous "Shopping Centre Legend" is full to the brim with eyelinered and misshapen-haired noveaux goths. Mostly seated on the floor, a tribute to the old shoegazing days that must have inspired the headliners tonight. The air is fil»
This venue is cool. What more could you want from a Sunday night than the opportunity to sit on leather sofas watching a sex show and two exceptional punk bands? Under the same watchful and haphazard eyes of the people who brought you the F**k the Jubilee festival in hoxton, and the “let’s try to make a c»
As hip hop nights go, this is a strange environment. Like falling down a rabbit hole into a cellar full of twisted and sparse beats, populated by white kids and crammed with “industry types” who are used to populating the more traditional rock venues, and nodding their heads to sterile, bleached-out guitar pop. Strang»
It is an interesting fact that the more this man involves talented people to play with him, the more his own formidable abilities seem to be watered down. Tonight, his band is the slickest I have ever witnessed in a group of musicians. With each hand movement, they punctuate Prince’s wishes with horn stabs, or»
It is in the dummers tonight. Mclusky’s plays some incredibly skewed and quirky beats with the brutality that befits their screeching vocals and screaming guitars. Evoking the Pixies and Bleach-era Nirvana, they re-evaluate the modern punk revival, twisting the genre around an experimental and at times dif»
It is the turn of the century. Urchin boys run through the streets, their lovable faces stained black with coal dust and grime from the chimneys of Victorian London. A perpetual pea-souper reduces vision to a few feet. Languishing in an opium den off the New Regent Street is a foppish waif. His addled brain is mi»
Suicide bear all the hallmarks of a classic band. They were around in the crucial time for music when new styles had still not been exploited to their commercial conclusion, watering down the elements that made them great. All the bands that drew their influences from this duo (Spacemen 3, Loop<»
