Fra_Jones has written the following articles:
Fernando Corona (aka Murcof) has always bristled ceaselessly against the conventions of electronica, and as he prepares to unleash his latest awing endeavour, Océano, in the UK, he told DiS about his life's work to date»
With a few tweaks and some more daring choice of acts, Belsonic should become an Irish festival to cherish but 2008's event is certainly a promising start»
Even if it doesn’t quite represent the grand tour Nightmares On Wax originally envisaged, Thought So at least provides an enjoyable detour or two.»
The Week That Was' debut unfurls the strands of a crime thriller whilst commenting upon the complexities of our relationship with the media»
The music of Indian Jewelry stands like the black obelisk in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey – dark, foreboding, mysterious»
I’m sorry if this sounds like the superlative haemorrhaging bluster of an over-stimulated music writer but The National are astoundingly good»
An enviable knack for elevating the everyday into the realm of the eternal distinguishes Matthew Ryan from the alt-country pack. He is a prolific talent, releasing no fewer than eleven albums in the past ten years»
This is too self-indulgent, Richard Swift seeking to exhume the riches of past and only demonstrating how paltry his musical present is. Really, it’s this flawed offering which should be buried»
The vulnerability of Casiotone's performance is what is so affecting, the intimacy of the biographical fragments, this big guy unburdening himself of his most secret, painful and profound experiences»
With Here Comes The Wind, Envelopes have delivered a smorgasbord of all the finest delicacies that indie-pop has to offer. It is a credit to inspired songwriting and impeccable taste»
Remembrance of things past provides the lyrical thrust of Brutal, the romantically wearied debut of Nathan Akin’s Clear Tigers. Always, our man is casting back, capturing disappointment, regret and the occasional moment of joy in the net of his nostalgia»
Conceptually, musically and visually British Sea Power are arresting. They like to dress the part, to wear their eccentricities in a literal sense. Hence the army surplus gear, the rolled-up trouser legs and woollen socks, and a violinist attired in a fancy-dress animal suit»
Keep Your Eyes Ahead is an album possessing deep felt emotion delivered with effortless execution, and proves that there’s nothing like a little trial and tribulation to get the artistic synapses firing»
Melodies shimmer within the depths of a narcotised haze, teasing the ear, the extraterrestrial bleep and chatter of The Heliocentrics’ sci-fi rock enticing us to the freak limits, pushing us all the way, Out There»
Doors are not long opened, but already a sizeable crowd has flocked through the doors of Belfast’s Speakeasy, gathered in anticipation of Andrew Bird, onetime Swing Jazz musician and a classically trained violinist, whose boundless imagination and distinctive song mark him out as a truly rare breed»
The Drift operate at the point where jazz and rock intersect, taking the more liberal, free-flowing attributes of the former and tethering them to the physicality of the latter»
Dukes of Windsor may tread a well-trodden path, but they do with a certain élan, ensuring that the dance-rock journey of The Others, even if familiar, is frequently exhilarating...»
On the basis of ‘Crocodile’, Underworld seem static and beyond evolution...»
A timely reminder perhaps that, regardless of how artfully others may re-imagine their material, there is no substitute for the duo’s own giddily enrapturing offerings...»
Increasingly courted by the hip-hop mainstream and with a second album scheduled for a March 2008 release, Cadence will soon have a choice to make: “Like Bob Dylan on the fence / Will I sell out or buy in?” On the basis of the ever exhilarating Breaking Kayfabe, I’m hoping he keeps it “heavy mental”...»
As a first step, Finistère remains an engaging, musically accomplished affair, and there is time yet for The Winding Stair to cast their gaze to the margins...»
Having relocated to the sprawling expanses of Ormeau Park from the old Botanic Gardens site, this year’s Tennents Vital (held August 21-22) is quite clearly grasping at grandness. Unfortunately the choice of today’s headliner, Razorlight, singularly fails to excite. There are, by way of consolation, all manner of interesting bands further down the main stage bill, or playing in the Radio1 tent...»
There’s an unrelenting intensity about Bill Callahan. He acknowledges the audience with only the occasional, cursory “thank you”, and even that seems begrudging. But hell, why squander words on pleasantries when he puts them to such fine use in his music...»
Convention and genre cannot contain Marc Rigelsford, AKA Magic Arm. He is a musical Harry Houdini, slipping the binds of common expectation to deliver a debut EP, Outdoor Games, which fully warrants that much used and abused term, eclectic...»
Maybe it’s just me, but odds and sods compilations often seem to be nothing more than an exercise in exploitation. As soon as a band achieves moderate success their label or, in this case, former label decide its time to flog the carcass of their back catalogue red raw...»
Catoan walk a musical tightrope, attempting to balance rock, jazz and classical and produce a cohesive whole. Get it wrong and you end up with an unpalatable pate, get it right and you have a glorious riot of sound and imagination. Thankfully they have enough poise and precision to ensure that, despite the odd ponderous moment, they deliver the latter...»
Some records are a barrage of sound and fury, bulldozing the listener into submission; others inveigle their way into our affections through more subtle means. Grown Ups, the debut from Leeds-based The Lodger, belongs firmly in this latter category...»
As part of their 40th Anniversary celebrations, Trojan records have been inviting contemporary musicians to curate a collection of their favourite Trojan cuts. Following in the footsteps of Jonny Greenwood and Lee Scratch Perry, Guto Pryce of Super Furry Animals is the selector third time out...»
Attack Decay Sustain Release defies trite categorization and, ultimately, what it is or isn’t doesn’t really matter. All you need to know is this is quality...»
To listen to Swedish duo Hearts of Black Science is to be transported to the dark corners of the ‘80s, their songs of faith and devotion paying tribute to the likes of Depeche Mode, The Associates and Echo & The Bunnymen. Nonetheless, whilst treading where countless others have trod before, these devils do so with a certain panache and no little technique...»
