Listen/review: LAGS – Fear, Control, Mothers

Nick Mee October 8, 2015

The lashing six-string, growling rhythmic rumble, throaty melodic roar and overall Hurricane Jaoquin levels of energy mark 'Fear, Control, Mothers' most clearly as A-grade punk rock, and LAGS as a band to get psyched about

Listen/review: Luo – Ebb & Flow

Nick Mee September 29, 2015

The jaw-dropping percussive engine takes top billing on ‘Ebb And Flow’, blending the trad and the tech to craft a showcase pitching up between downtempo dubsteppy nocturnes and adventurous post-rock.

Listen/review: Tempers – Trains

Dein Moore September 28, 2015

The music kicks in at a heart-racing tempo that has the whole track moving, your heart pumping and your blood constantly at the edge of your skin.

Listen/review: Sudakistan – Mundo Mamon

Dein Moore September 23, 2015

Latino influences are infused throughout, which brings a nice extra element and helps to distinguish Sudakistan’s sound from the wall of punk that slams you in the face for the rest of 'Mundo Mamon'

Listen/review: The Vryll Society – Air

Nick Mee September 20, 2015

Despite a peppering of diverting effects, The Vryll Society’s hypnotic hazy psychedelia is comforting in its familiarity. ‘Air’, the lead track from their new EP ‘Pangea’, holds many reference points in its eddy of gentle space rock

Listen/review: Boddhi Satva – Skin Diver (feat Teedra Moses)

Dein Moore September 8, 2015

The first thing that grips you is those vocals, which are absolutely gorgeous and go down smoother than a finely aged spirit, whetting an appetite that is then satisfied further by a drumbeat adding unexpected dance rhythms

Listen/review: Bachar Mar-Khalifé – Kyrie Eleison

Nick Mee September 2, 2015

"The whispered chants, plaintive harmonies and lingering piano crescendo of the opening segment are compelling enough, but it is the stampeding bass notes and forceful chorale of the mid-section that packs the punch: piano hammers strike the strings like desperate blows on a bolted door as the singer directs his anger towards an unreachable almighty."

Watch/review: White Reaper – Pills

Tim Hakki August 31, 2015

"'Pills' eschews the Buzzcocks-esque thrum of much of White Reaper's oeuvre for something closer to the classic pop punk of Blink 182. It’s a piquant evolution from their humbler lo-fi beginnings."

Watch/review: The Garden – All Smiles Over Here :)

Will Tomer August 28, 2015

"The Garden's philosophy of 'Vada-Vada', described by Wyatt as 'an idea that represents pure creative expression that disregards all previously made genres and ideals' seems to be more alive than ever as the brothers effortlessly defy categorisation."

Watch/review: High Safari – Find Your Way Back

Dein Moore August 23, 2015

"The song has a real sense of maturity and ease, delivering the message with eloquence. It proceeds to get brighter and sunnier as it progresses, reminiscent of Sixties British pop in its rhythm and melody, plus some modern influences"

Watch/review: This Is The Kit – Silver John

Nick Mee August 19, 2015

"Listen closer and there’s a composite of swirling instrumentation and subtle harmonics packed into ‘Silver John’’s backing. And that’s before we get to the effortlessly comforting timbre of Stables’ folksome vocal"

Listen/review: Darwin Deez – Time Machine

Matthew Doyle August 10, 2015

"Deez has this amazingly affable talent to bash up songs that anyone and everyone would want to dance to. This latest single is a perfect example"

Watch/review: Samantha Crain – Killer

Dein Moore August 9, 2015

"A great track with a powerful message, but the video is truly something special. It’s been described as a call for people to not take the media and their leaders at their word but to seek the reality of situations for themselves, and I couldn't possibly think of a more eloquent way of explaining what has been produced here."

Live review: Let's Eat Grandma at Camp Bestival 1/8/15

Holly Warren August 8, 2015

'The 15-year-old girls from Norfolk are an experimental cross between MGMT and Haim. It was deliberately DIY, the musical equivalent of a Jackson Pollock, and entirely captivating.'

Live review: Long Teeth at The Finsbury 1/8/15

Nick Mee August 6, 2015

"Long Teeth’s key strength lies in dynamic contrast, tonight showing how pared-down guitar, bass and drums can pull out drops and crescendos worthy of the dancefloor dedicated." And if you did have to compare them to a pizza...

Listen/review: White Reaper – Make Me Wanna Die

Nick Mee July 30, 2015

'A fortifyingly direct slab of melodic rock’n’roll – as if Oasis had been forced to hone their musical chops at CBGB – with an arms-aloft vocal growl that slices through the clattering overdrive while a tremulous Casio-like keyboard sprinkles some incongruous sweetner on top.'

Listen/review: Ideomotor – Amplified

Dein Moore July 18, 2015

"A Finnish indie-electro band whose polished production resonates with a synth-heavy sound and eerie vocals, sprinkled with moodily atmospheric guitar/keyboard elements that are oddly soothing and mesmerising to the ear."

Listen/review: Deradoorian – A Beautiful Woman

Nick Mee July 8, 2015

"There are elements of everything from Bow Wow Wow to Can, Grace Jones and (courtesy of the breathy squeaks) Laurie Anderson amid this leftfield mashup – and you’d be right in thinking that makes for a intriguingly scope-swelling whole"

Watch/review: Venice Trip – Look Forward

Dein Moore July 7, 2015

"An excellent mix of old and new, which you can't help but tap along feverishly to. 'Look Forward' spreads its loveliness throughout and remains in your head"

Watch/review: Rocky Nti – Ride On

Nick Mee June 30, 2015

A guitar-driven spike of jangling energy that swiftly shifts through the cordially vocalised gears to hit its catchy bridge and the sort of borderline-anthemic chorus that the Maccabees took a couple of albums to master