since-last-summer has written the following articles:
If Björk’s last two albums were impersonal voyages of artistic license and collaboration, Vulnicura is deeply personal and so much more rewarding for it»
Perhaps the deeper mystery, for Liz Harris, is that of our own lives - slowly eroded around us by time, leaving us with with only ‘emotional garbage’; our conscious states left apart as spectators, gazing over the ruin of ourselves.»
It’s a strange collage of effects and affects that sometimes don’t coalesce and sometimes do.»
The point is the journey, rather than the destination.»
Mirrorring is Liz Harris and Jesy Fortino, better known as Grouper and Tiny Vipers respectively. That there might be an overlapping space between their projects is unsurprising to anyone familiar with their work, each creating solo music imbued with an ambient, meditative quality, both beautiful fragile and darkly unsettling.»
The fuzz has been wiped away, leaving a shiny surface that, whilst impressively gleaming, suffers from a lack of texture.»
Electrelane point the way for all British guitar bands – be smart, not dumb. Be honest. Be real.»
If At Echo Lake hit the jackpot, Sun & Shade is more hit and miss.»
Let's not beat around the bush here - this is preeeeeety late. Er, yes, sorry about that, but hey ho - remember when there used to be ATPs in May? If not, here's a reminder!»
Feels more like a logical evolution than a shocking change.»
Common Era is an undoubtedly beautiful record, one that delves unflinchingly into the sense of alienation in Eighties new wave, blending it with an ambient sensibility that makes for compelling listening, driving closer to the spirit of the era than faceless pretenders like Editors could ever get. »
When ‘folk’ in the singer-songwriter sense is reduced to phone advert platitudes, looking further back, or sideways, into the folk canon makes sense.»
Chasney’s vision is as precise and piercing as ever.»
LAKE have supported Bonnie Prince Billy and Laura Veirs, played as Adrian Orange’s backing group, and sometimes include legend of the North West, Karl Blau, among their number. DiS met singer Elijah Moore to talk Washington, K Recs, and his favourite bands.»
Avey Tare’s first solo project away from Animal Collective always looked a difficult prospect. Written just after the death of his grandmother, his sister’s hospitalisation with cancer, and the breakup of his marriage, it was always going to be a particularly introspective record.»
Still, it’s hard to begrudge a band their niche when they do it so well. »
The sound of someone confronting their demons and coming away stronger.»
Some of the music here is slightly too po-faced to bear repeated listening. Nevertheless, you have the real sense of Blackshaw as a musician and composer in a process of constant evolution, and it’s a fascinating and melancholy pleasure to hear his journey.»
To paraphrase the title of one of Bethany Cosentino's tracks she’s more “brat” than lovable mope.»
My hope is that Love King, for all its failings, proves a success, and that more people explore The-Dream's back catalogue as a result. »
For anyone interested in pop songs, or the general craft of songwriting, the release of a new The-Dream album is big news.»
To a hushed audience in a studio room in Covent Garden Lauren Laverne announced this years's Mercury Music Prize nominees. The expected names - The XX, Dizzee Rascal, Corinne Bailey Rae - were all there, as well as a few mild surprises - Villagers anyone?»
Even without it being Jack Rose’s last musical statement, Luck In The Valley is a brilliantly strong record that reminds you both of Jack Rose’s own majestic ability, and the playful power of these seemingly ancient and ‘primitive’ musical forms, something Rose understood as well as anyone.»
Ride Slow is a furious blend of sounds and influences, which apes the grand styles of their forbearers whilst staying true to an admirably lo-fi aesthetic. »
This weekend sees DiS hotfoot it to Wales for 2009's Green Man Festival and boy, we can't wait. Here's a Spotify Playlist celebrating some of the festival's finest, as well as a few words on some acts you might do well to take a punt upon and the festival itself...»
In Duncan Jones’s recent film Moon, Sam Rockwell’s protagonist deals with the anxiety of replication, waking up from a crash on th»
It seems only natural that Loren Connors and Jim O’Rourke should collaborate together: both have had a large influence on the Amer»
Owen Ashworth has achieved that most difficult of things – in an impossibly crowed field, he’s carved out a unique and recognisabl»
Lewis’s attempts to excavate and explore his neuroses are so startlingly lucid and hyperactive that it’s easy to caricature him as a kind of blend of Woody Guthrie and Woody Allen, a travelling poet dedicating paeans to pattern baldness rather than dust bowls.»
Not many singers have mastered the folky frail, warm warble like Matthew Houck. Under the moniker of Phosphorescent, Houck has released three notable LPs full of delicate yearning and humble heartwarmers. It’s stirring, tragic fare that demonstrates why To Willie is a good introduction for those new to Nelson and Houck alike.»
