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Various - Warp20 (Unheard)

Review by Alex Hegazy

Back in Sheffield it’s 1989 and Warp(ed) records is open for business. Have you heard?»

The Research - the old terminal

The Research - The Old Terminal

Review by Alex Hegazy

Who could resist their debut longplayer Breaking Up - so catchy, catty and delightfully, harmoniously tuneful, have they managed to follow it up...?»

Bricolage, Head of Steam, March 16 2008

Bricolage

Review by Alex Hegazy

On special at the Pop Shop tonight are the all-singing Bricolage, stopping by on their way home to Glasgow after a mini UK tour, having played sleazy Soho cabaret joint the Black Gardenia the night before»

bearsuit lp

ohio

Review by Alex Hegazy

So this lot, then: they’ve got it all. Creative instinct, male and female vocals, and a plethora of instruments and themes. All they need now is your ears...»

The Rumble Strips - Girls and Boys in Love

Review by Alex Hegazy

Fresh from the tea-and-cake Field Day festival, The Rumble Strips summon the sound of a good-time drinking band...»

dead 60s stand up

The Dead 60s - Stand Up

Review by Alex Hegazy

Appreciation for Dad Rock (see Stereophonics or, with a twist, The Zutons) never died. Liverpool-based The Dead 60s’ latest single is clearly a homage to this enduring sub-genre...»

Bearsuit ....Wigan Casino

Bearsuit - More Soul Than Wigan Casino (EP)

Review by Alex Hegazy

It starts with some well-timed wake-up-call shouts and a guitar line that follows a sultry but shrewd female vocal. Then the male vocal comes in. Then there’s a time change and more shouts. And the vocals mix up. And then…»

love streams

Jesse Malin - Love Streams

Review by Alex Hegazy

Jesse Malin has obviously penned some good songs in his time – this much is apparent from but a cursory listen to Glitter In The Gutter, where both Josh Homme and Foo Fighter Chris Shiflett make appearances. Nevertheless, this is a reasonably dreary affair...»

new young pony club 200

New Young Pony Club: Mercury nominees talk Einstein

In Depth by Alex Hegazy

Some people act like bands appear from nowhere. Some people might think that London-based band New Young Pony Club achieved easy success by jumping on the nu-rave banger bus. But this band has been three years in the making, and they have puked their guts out, literally, to get where they are now...»

new young pony club

New Young Pony Club – Koko, Camden Town June 6th

Review by Alex Hegazy

First things first, then: we really need to address this new rave thing, ‘cause that’s what you’re thinking as soon as you see the New Young Pony Club name...»

pleasurewood lost penguin

Lost Penguin - Pleasurewood Kills

Review by Alex Hegazy

'Cool' people like Lost Penguin...»

futon by julie anderson

Futon at London Camden Barfly, Thu 18 Jan

Review by Alex Hegazy

This is Futon’s final date on their mini London tour before jet-setting it back to their Bangkok home for more live antics, and it turns out to be their best 2007 show so far...»

errors salut

Errors - Salut! France/Maeve Binchy

Review by Alex Hegazy

Ever wondered what Mogwai get up to in their spare time? Well here is one piece of evidence from Errors that shouldn’t go unnoticed. This single has been released on Mogwai’s record label and it shows astounding musical imagination, mixing up indie guitar with cocksure experimental techno beats and bobs...»

gay against you from myspace

Gay Against You at London Madame Jo Jo's, Tue 12 Dec

Review by Alex Hegazy

Glaswegian duo Gay Against You knock over Kevin Belchdom on their way to the 'stage'. This show is apparently their last 'til June 2007. Do we believe them? Nope. Unless they have exams and their mums won’t let them out...»

adjagas mun ja mun

Adjagas - Mun Ja Mun

Review by Alex Hegazy

Ever heard Sami music before? It’s traditional Norwegian folk music, apparently, and it’s a little different from, say, Sugababes...»

howling hex nightclub version

The Howling Hex - Nightclub Version of the Eternal

Review by Alex Hegazy

Neil Michael Hagerty is back with his latest The Howling Hex album and this time it’s less accessible than the last...»

boyfriends cover art

The Boyfriends - The Boyfriends

Review by Alex Hegazy

Decades pass and many things stay the same. People get attached to old woolly cardigans, buildings remain but become a bit dirtier, and some indie bands cling to retroactive sounds. And The Boyfriends prove this with their almost-'80s C86 sound. The feel of this eponymous album is akin to the bedsit brigade of bands like The Wedding Present and The Pastels, and if you were being nice at times you might say they echo the sound of The Smiths...»

telemetry empire

Telemetry Orchestra - Empire

Review by Alex Hegazy

Out of the sonic ether emerges Empire, the third album from Australian daydreamers Telemetry Orchestra...»

switches law down the law

Switches - Lay Down The Law

Review by Alex Hegazy

If you squeeze your ears hard enough you can hear Franz Ferdinand at the beginning. Then it goes into "we’ve laid down the law so what so what the hell are you here for", which turns out to be its main hook. At least Switches are being faithful to the song title, eh...»

the blow paper television

The Blow - Paper Television

Review by Alex Hegazy

The kitchen is in the bedroom and indie is not what it once was. After the amalgamation that was electroclash, the indie kids got confused. A few years down the line we have indie glitch pop, with Khaela Maricich in her Portland bedroom, singing sensible and thoughtful lyrics over Jona Bechtolt’s mostly minimalist electronic flutterings...»

magic numbers take a chance

The Magic Numbers - Take A Chance

Review by Alex Hegazy

Things have never seemed quite the same since that TOTP incident with Richard Bacon introducing The Magic Numbers and making some cheap jibe about their size...»

css alala

CSS - Alala

Review by Alex Hegazy

‘Alala’ opens with some distorted guitar and a tease of drums, it could be any second rate indie band that’s around now. But they’re not. For a start they’re Sao Paulo-based, there’s six of them that met on the 'net and, yes, one of them is a bloke...»

peaches at london forum by peter herbert

Peaches

Review by Alex Hegazy

Outside, streaming down Kentish Town Road, is a mixture of fashionistas and freaks. Inside are some rubbish support bands, whoever thought Humanzi was adequate support for Peaches should be orgasmatroned to death, Barbarella style. Where is Mignon when you need her? It’s easy to see why Peaches has attracted the kind of crowd she has: she is one-third freak show, one-third glamour girl gone ballistic, and a final third rock goddess... »

johann johannsson the sun's gone dim

Jóhann Jóhannsson - The Sun's Gone Dim And The Sky's Turned Black

Review by Alex Hegazy

Ring ring, ring ring... Hello? Iceland calling...»

les georges sangure puro

Les Georges Leningrad - Sangue Puro

Review by Alex Hegazy

They’ve run circles round everyone, ‘laid a bat’s egg’ of an album and left behind a cloud of confusion and innovation, just for fun...»