Review
by Joshua Cole
As anyone who has experienced his live show will understand, David Thomas Broughton is no ordinary singer-songwriter. Tonight I can't be the only person who doesn't know whether to laugh or cry»
Review
by Joshua Cole
The Smitten King Laments is Simon Breed's second album in less than a year, following on from much-acclaimed The Filth and Wonder of… released last May. Although marginally less experimental than its predecessor, this is still a rich and sometimes excellent record, flawed only, oddly, by too-high highlights»
Review
by Joshua Cole
Hello, Blue Roses are a duo consisting of visual artist Sydney Vermont and her more well known boyfriend, Dan Bejar, of Destroyer, Swan Lake and New Pornographers fame. Vermont's Kate Bush-esque wailing is the leading voice on the album, and Bejar takes something of a supporting role vocally»
Review
by Joshua Cole
In a performance that lasted over three hours, never sagged, and encompassed songs from 1963 to 2007, I may as well give away the ending now and reveal that this really was a fantastic show»
In Depth by Joshua Cole
DiS's Joshua Cole takes in the Lovebox Weekender: Is a ‘London festival’ a contradiction in terms? I mean, where’s the camping? Where are the flooded tents and ever-rising pools of liquid shit? And where’s that dawning sense of What The Hell Have I Let Myself In For Again...
»
In Depth by Joshua Cole
How could a festival boasting 22 stages with names like Lush Reggae Positive Vibration Stage, Tuborg HappyNoviSad Stage and Latino Be Positive Stage fail to be brilliant? DiS heads to Serbia's Exit Festival to find out about its East Anglia roots... and to see some bands...
»
Review
by Joshua Cole
The record is adeptly propelled forward by retch inducing vocals and cack-handed drumming, rushing past in a blistering furor of sub-Billy Talent brilliance...»
Review
by Joshua Cole
Though best known as Caroline Banks, drummer for indie-rockers Seafood, Caz Mechanic has decided to leave the kit behind, and if there's any justice out there then her solo alias will soon shine brightly through. After all, ‘Moveover’ is absolutely gorgeous...»
Review
by Joshua Cole
Gradually, folk music has been choked half to death by prefixes. Freak-anti-avant-nu-neo-psych and now rave-folk* have all been hailed as the genre’s second coming. While I’m no naive sub-genre dismissing fool, until the clutter is eventually swept away will you please just leave me alone with this intimate and wonderful prefix-free album...»
Review
by Joshua Cole
It was exactly ten years ago when the founders of Gringo Records picked up their first release from the pressing plant. Ten years later to the day, on a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon in Nottingham, twelve acts from Gringo’s past and present (as well as a few friends) come together to celebrate a small and wonderful label reaching double figures...»
Review
by Joshua Cole
I’m not sure why reviewing Willy Mason is proving to be so difficult, and yet for some reason I just cannot get started. It’s been almost two weeks now, and the page remains blank...»
Review
by Joshua Cole
Sadly the most exciting things about this evening’s performances are the two bands’ names. Money Mark and Lucky Jim sound like a pair of optimistic PartyPoker.com addicts...»
Review
by Joshua Cole
Appearing on stage largely unnoticed, the two members of I Was A Cub Scout are, in age and attire, entirely indistinguishable from their audience (with the very notable exception of a huge old Scottish man on crutches, who unexpectedly appears at the front midway through latest single ‘I Hate Nightclubs’ to attempt a hysterical pogo shuffle, before retreating just as suddenly)...»