White vinyl. Limited edition of 300 copies. Ultra-vinyl. Picture disc. All wonderful. All valuable (well, sometimes. That Bon Jovi picture disc might just be past it’s sell by date – and you’ll never shift those Gary Glitter and Rolf Harris records… Read More ›
Stoke Newington duo Cowbell are set to release their second album, “Skeleton Soul” on Monday 29th September. Their debut LP “Beat Stampede” was one of my albums of 2012, and was a sixties-tinged garage rock classic. Let’s do a quick… Read More ›
One of the by-products of iTunes, mp3s, downloads, streaming and so on is that the price of second hand CDs has fallen lower than the spirits of Brazilian football supporters. Music fans on a budget, or tight-wads generally, are able… Read More ›
After the rain-enforced break that threw Jimi Goodwin offstage, on came four punks / stoners / who knows? in the form of Parquet Courts. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Parquet Courts were perhaps one of the most highly anticipated bands… Read More ›
They say if you remember the sixties, you weren’t really there. Well now there’s a new band who definitely weren’t there, but have solved that problem by recording a modern album that brings the sixties sound into the 21st century…. Read More ›
A couple of weeks ago I talked to author Zoe Howe about her new Jesus and Mary Chain Official Biography “Barbed Wire Kisses” which is being released this month, and is the first ever account of the band, some thirty… Read More ›
Anyone living in the UK over the past few weeks and not trapped under something heavy cannot fail to have noticed it is the twentieth anniversary of Brit Pop this year. Polls, documentaries, radio shows and news articles have all… Read More ›
Studio news reaches my ears from Every Record Tells A Story favourites (and ERTAS Album of the Year 2012 winners) Sweet Billy Pilgrim. Sweet Billy Pilgrim are looking towards crowd-funding to help raise the funds needed to produce their fourth… Read More ›
A Tale of Two Bands… It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… In 2000, a young Chris Martin must have been feeling good about life. After his band Coldplay had released three EPs without troubling… Read More ›
Damien Jurado’s Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Sun is a barking mad “dream” concept album – but a great one. I have a mixed view of concept albums. At best, they are all-encompassing and wonderful things. At worst, well… Read More ›
“So Now You Know” is the second track to be revealed from The Horrors’ fourth album “Luminous” which is out on May 5th. Whilst the first preview from the album “I See You” was a seven and a half minute… Read More ›
In August 2013, We Are Augustines announced to the press they were changing their name, after the successful conclusion of a legal dispute. “From henceforth, we are Augustines, not We Are Augustines”, they said. There then followed a certain amount… Read More ›
Back in 1999 Beck Hansen released the funky Midnight Vultures. Songs like Sexx Laws and the fantastic “Debra” with its chorus of “I want you / only you…. / …and your sister / I think her name is Debra” were… Read More ›
You probably want to know about Elbow’s latest release, so here’s a review: It has a slight American influence, whilst remaining distinctly British. It’s better than their last one. It’s bittersweet. It’s also amber coloured and 4.25% by volume. Well,… Read More ›
It’s day two of The Best Records of 2014, and this one is an album that is released today. A long way removed from the blood and thunder of yesterday’s pick, Royal Blood, Tom Hickox is a singer/songwriter I have… Read More ›
