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The Watkins Book of Urban Legends
October 2024 - Exquisite Terror Review 14 Oct 2024 'Engaging and insightful, rekindling the joyousness in the contemplation of the “it’s true, I swear!” secondhand stories we all tell.' Link: https://www.exquisiteterror.com/the-watkins-book-of-urban-legends Read more -
No More Apocalypse Father Plead We Are Winter’s Blue and Radiant Children
September 2024 - Popmatters Review 17 Sep 2024 On their first missive, We Are Winter’s Blue and Radiant Children create beauty amid the contemporary horror of a vicarious, voyeuristic existence. Link: https://www.popmatters.com/we-winters-blue-radiant-children-2024 Read more -
Arab Strap Still Clearly Give a Fuck on Their Latest LP
May 2024 - Popmatters Review 14 May 2024 Once again, Arab Strap have done a grand job worthy of broad smiles, screens off, and the stereo turned all the way up. Get outside and hear the birds sing.... Read more -
Melvins’ ‘Tarantula Heart’ Marks Their Strange Trip
APril 2024 - Popmatters Review 17 Apr 2024 'Melvins are masters of their craft, still able to make songs that stand with their finest work precisely because they’re never trying to recapture that past.' Link: https://www.popmatters.com/melvins-tarantula-music-review Read more
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Erika Angell’s New LP Makes You Appreciate Her Excellence
April 2024 - Popmatters Review 10 Apr 2024 'Experimentalist Erika Angell has a deep track record of producing intriguing music, but here, under her own name, it feels like she’s created her masterwork.' Link: https://www.popmatters.com/erika-angell-obsession-with-voice Read more -
The Libertines’ ‘All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade’ Is a Welcome Return
April 2024 - Popmatters Review 4 Apr 2024 'The Libertines’ All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade is something of mixed bag, but it’s worth persisting with for its moments of beauty and always fun energy.' Link: https://www.popmatters.com/libertines-all-quiet-eastern-esplanade Read more -
Punk Rockers CNTS Offer ‘Thoughts & Prayers’ to the Hypocrites
March 2024 - Popmatters Review 26 Mar 2024 'Punk rockers CNTS have created a tight album that brings the hothouse vibe of a crammed club: bare concrete walls, bodies slamming in from all angles, and crowd surfers.' Link:... Read more -
Myrkur Rejects What Came Before on ‘Spine’
November 2023 - Popmatters Review 13 Nov 2023 'After an unimpeachable run of Scandinavian black metal and folk albums across the 2010s, it’s not yet clear what Myrkur will be here in this decade.' Link: https://www.popmatters.com/myrkur-spine-album-review Read more
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Niecy Blues’ ‘Exit Simulation’ Is the Sound of a Singular Artist
November 2023 - Popmatters Review 2 Nov 2023 'Niecy Blues’ Exit Simulation is a breathtaking and immaculate creative statement, expanding R&B. It will lay down fire and love in innumerable hearts and minds.' Link: https://www.popmatters.com/niecy-blues-exit-simulation-review Read more -
Venera’s Debut Is a Compelling Suite of Industrial Electronica
October 2023 - Popmatters Review 31 Oct 2023 'On Venera’s self-titled debut, nu-metal royalty James ‘Munky’ Shaffer and renaissance man Chris Hunt make a compelling suite of industrial electronica.' Link: https://www.popmatters.com/veneras-debut-album-review Read more -
Massimo Pupillo’s Prayer for the Survival of the North Is a Haunting Ambient Masterpiece
October 2023 - Popmatters Review 16 Oct 2023 'Massimo Pupillo’s Our Forgotten Ancestors takes the Sámi peoples of the Arctic Circle as its theme and inspiration for an instrumental tour-de-force.' Link: https://www.popmatters.com/massimo-pupillo-our-forgotten-ancestors Read more -
Revisiting Melvins’ Mid-1990s Makes Claim for Their Sheer Excellence
September 2023 - Popmatters Review 14 Sep 2023 'At the Stake: Complete Atlantic Recordings 1993-1996 gathers the three album run Melvins delivered during their short stint on a major label.' Link: https://www.popmatters.com/melvins-at-the-stake-review Read more
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Public Image Ltd Skirt Between Success and Failure on ‘End of World’
August 2023 - Popmatters Review 14 Aug 2023 'Public Image Ltd’s End of World, their first in eight years, marks some of John Lydon’s best work in decades and a half that should have never left band practice.'... Read more -
Rancid Set Sail for Glory on ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’
June 2023 - Popmatters Review 21 Jun 2023 'A rollicking experience from start to finish, Tomorrow Never Comes shows once again why punk rockers Rancid are so fondly regarded. Here’s to them!' Link: https://www.popmatters.com/rancid-tomorrow-never-comes-review Read more -
Boy Harsher’s ‘The Runner’ Is Compelling as Both Film and Soundtrack
February 2022 - Popmatters Review 9 Feb 2022 'Boy Harsher chose to fill dark times by creating a film and soundtrack. The Runner, a sharp 30-minute horror, unfurls tantalizingly ambiguous events at a stately place.' Link: https://www.popmatters.com/boy-harsher-runner-soundtrack-review Read more -
Burial Has Carved Out an Inimitable New Space with ‘Antidawn’
February 2022 - Popmatters Review 8 Feb 2022 'Burial continues an almost unfeasibly long hot streak of evocative and compelling sonic visions with Antidawn. It feels like an entirely new genre of field recording and is his most... Read more
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Iggy And The Stooges 'You Think You're Bad, Man?
November 2021 PopMatters Review 17 Nov 2021 THE STOOGES KICK AGAINST THE PRICKS ALL THE WAY DOWN INTO THEIR GRAVE 'Cherry Red's new box set finds Iggy Pop and the Stooges on their final death trip, falling... Read more -
This Heat 'Made Available'
November 2020 PopMatters Review 10 Nov 2021 THIS HEAT’S ‘MADE AVAILABLE’ IS A NEAR PERFECT BBC SESSIONS LP 'Refusing to colour within the lines, This Heat presented new and radically revised work on this 1996 compilation.' Read more -
Black Marble 'Fast Idol'
October 2021 PopMatters Review 25 Oct 2021 BLACK MARBLE’S ‘FAST IDOL’ DOESN’T WORSHIP THE PAST, IT MAKES IT ANEW 'Black Marble rolls forward growing bigger and brighter in positive ways on the new album Fast Idol, which... Read more -
Iggy And The Stooges 'Born In A Trailer'
Sept 2021 PopMatters Review 20 Sep 2021 THE STOOGES REMAINED MUSICALLY POWERFUL ON THE VERGE OF TOTAL COLLAPSE 'These recordings still carry that talismanic “lost album” energy that makes one wonder what a fit and healthy Stooges... Read more
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Arab Strap Live at Fiddlers, Bristol
Sept 2021 PopMatters Review 13 Sep 2021 COVID ENDS WHEN ARAB STRAP BEGIN THEIR SHOW 'Arab Strap’s return to touring is a musical triumph as well as a chance for people to breathe together as one after... Read more -
Melvins 'Working With God'
March 2021 PopMatters Review 10 Mar 2021 MELVINS’ ‘WORKING WITH GOD’ DISPLAYS A REFRESHING SENSE OF HUMOR 'Melvins come across like a musical Three Stooges on this compact, but cheerful new album in their prolific and storied... Read more -
Arab Strap 'As Days Get Dark'
March 2021 PopMatters Review 1 Mar 2021 ARAB STRAP BRIGHTEN THE NIGHTS WITH HOPE, HUMOR, AND SONGCRAFT ON ‘AS DAYS GET DARK’ 'Arab Strap’s comeback album As Days Get Dark stirs fond memories while making a quantum... Read more -
Mogwai Live Premiere from Glasgow's Tramway
February 2021 PopMatters Review 16 Feb 2021 MOGWAI PERFORM PREMIERE OF NEW ALBUM ‘AS THE LOVE CONTINUES’ 'Mogwai can still make blood boil, but only when the love stops and the slaughter of the innocents begins.' Read more
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Mogwai 'As The Love Continues'
February 2021 PopMatters Review 15 Feb 2021 MOGWAI’S ‘AS THE LOVE CONTINUES’ IS A 25TH ANNIVERSARY MARKED IN STYLE 'After seven soundtracks, a plethora of quality EPs, plus remix, live, and radio compilations, Mogwai hit another inimitable... Read more -
Boris/Merzbow '2ROI2PO'
January 2021 PopMatters Review 27 Jan 2021 BORIS AND MERZBOW’S ‘2R0I2P0’ HOWLS DEFIANCE 'On 2R0I2P0, Boris and Merzbow show they still have a wealth of ingenuous music-making and mayhem within them.' Read more -
Massimo Pupillo 'The Black Iron Prison'
January 2021 PopMatters Review 26 Jan 2021 MASSIMO PUPILLO’S ‘THE BLACK IRON PRISON’ RUNS THE GAMUT OF MODERN COMPOSITION 'While the field of dark ambient is an increasingly crowded one, Massimo Pupillo has crafted a remarkable entry... Read more -
J Mascis 'Fed Up And Feeling Strange'
January 2021 PopMatters Review 13 Jan 2021 J MASCIS WELCOMES YOU TO THREE NIGHTS OF EXQUISITE SONGCRAFT AND PURE FUN 'Fed Up and Feeling Strange: Live and in Person (1993-1998) shows the Dinosaur Jr maestro doesn’t need... Read more
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Nihiti 'A New Kind Of Weather'
December 2020 PopMatters Review 2 Dec 2020 NIHITI’S DARK AMBIENT ELECTRONICS SUIT THE SEASON ON ‘A NEW KIND OF WEATHER’ 'Even at only five tracks long, NIHITI's A New Kind of Weather never feels stunted. A single... Read more -
This Heat 'Live 80-81'
November 2020 PopMatters Review 11 Nov 2020 ‘LIVE 80-81’ IS TESTIMONY TO HOW HOT THIS HEAT WERE ON STAGE 'Released in 2006, this live LP documents This Heat as a formidable live rock presence.' Read more -
This Heat 'Repeat/Metal'
November 2020 PopMatters Review 9 Nov 2020 THIS HEAT’S POSTHUMOUS ‘REPEAT / METAL’ EP OF 1993 TOOK EXTENDED PLAY LITERALLY 'Years before rock bands regularly crafted songs of this length, This Heat presented 40 minutes of music... Read more -
Molchat Doma 'Monument'
November 2020 PopMatters Review 9 Nov 2020 MOLCHAT DOMA’S ‘MONUMENT’ ECHOES THE BELARUSIAN PROTESTS 'Molchat Doma's Monument makes the subtle point that water pressing on weak foundations will undercut and topple even the most colossal testament to... Read more
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This Heat 'Deceit'
November 2020 PopMatters Review 6 Nov 2020 1981’S ‘DECEIT’ IS THIS HEAT’S DEFINING STATEMENT AND A CHILLING DOCUMENT OF THE NUCLEAR AGE This Heat's last statement prior to their dissolution, Deceit saw the trio continuing to plot... Read more -
This Heat 'Health And Efficiency'
November 2020 PopMatters Review 5 Nov 2020 THIS HEAT REMADE THE ROCK SONG TEMPLATE ON 1980’S “HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY” 'Now available on digital formats, This Heat made what might have been a casual release into a statement... Read more -
Dead End America 'Crush The Machine'
November 2020 PopMatters Review 2 Nov 2020 OLD SCHOOL POLITICKING GETS POWERFUL PUNK BACKING ON DEAD END AMERICA’S ‘CRUSH THE MACHINE’ 'Released on Southern Lord to mark the US election, Dead End America spit fire in the... Read more -
This Heat 'S/T'
October 2020 PopMatters Review 27 Oct 2020 1979’S ‘THIS HEAT’ REMAINS A LODESTONE FOR AVANT-ROCK ADVENTURE 'On their self-titled debut, available for the first time on digital formats, This Heat delivered an all-time classic stitched together from... Read more
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Kenneth Goldsmith's 'Duchamp Is My Lawyer'
September 2020 PopMatters Review 2 Sep 2020 UBUWEB’S KENNETH GOLDSMITH WRITES THE BOOK ON INTERNET ARCHIVING 'Kenneth Goldsmith's Duchamp Is My Lawyer, a tale of the creation and upkeep of the anti-internet internet, UbuWeb, is highly engaging... Read more -
Urusei Yatsura 'Can You Spell...'
August 2020 PopMatters Review 10 Aug 2020 ‘CAN YOU SPELL URUSEI YATSURA’ IS A MUCH NEEDED BURST OF HOPEFULNESS IN A DESULTORY SUMMER 'A new compilation online pulls together a generous helping of B-side action from a... Read more -
Jaye Jayle 'Prisyn'
August 2020 PopMatters Review 7 Aug 2020 JAYE JAYLE’S ‘PRISYN’ IS A DARK RIDE INTO ELECTRIC NIGHT 'Jaye Jayle salvage the best materials from Iggy Pop and David Bowie's Berlin-era on Prisyn to construct a powerful and... Read more -
Lou Barlow 'Emoh'
July 2020 PopMatters Review 29 Jul 2020 LOU BARLOW’S ‘EMOH’ IS ANOTHER QUIET TRIUMPH IN A LONG HISTORY OF HUMBLE GENIUS 'Re-released on vinyl to celebrate its 15th anniversary, Lou Barlow's EMOH offers a wide array of... Read more
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Buzzcocks 'A Different Compilation' / 'The Way'
June 2020 PopMatters Review 4 Jun 2020 2011’S ‘A DIFFERENT COMPILATION’ AND 2014 ALBUM ‘THE WAY’ ARE A FITTING FULL STOP TO BUZZCOCKS PAST 'In the conclusion of our survey of the post-reformation career of Buzzcocks, PopMatters... Read more -
Buzzcocks 'Flat-Pack Philosophy'
June 2020 PopMatters Review 3 Jun 2020 2006’S ‘FLAT-PACK PHILOSOPHY’ SAW BUZZCOCKS DETERMINED TO BUILD SOMETHING OF QUALITY 'With a four-decade career under their belt, on the sixth disc in the new box-set Sell You Everything, it's... Read more -
Buzzcocks 'S/T'
June 2020 PopMatters Review 1 Jun 2020 ON THEIR 2003 SELF-TITLED ALBUM, BUZZCOCKS DONNED A HARDER SOUND AND WORE IT WITH STYLE AND TASTE 'Buzzcocks, the band's fourth album since their return to touring in 1989, changed... Read more -
Buzzcocks 'Modern'
May 2020 PopMatters Review 29 May 2020 ‘MODERN’ IS THE PINNACLE OF POST-COMEBACK BUZZCOCKS’ RECORDS 'Presented as part of the new Buzzcocks' box-set, Sell You Everything, Modern showed a band that wasn't interested in just repeating itself... Read more
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Buzzcocks 'All Set'
May 2020 PopMatters Review 28 May 2020 BUZZCOCKS’ 1996 ALBUM ‘ALL SET’ SEES THE VETERAN BAND STRETCHING OUT AND GAINING CONFIDENCE 'After the straightforward and workmanlike Trade Test Transmissions, Buzzcocks continued to hone their fresh identity in... Read more -
Buzzcocks 'Trade Test Transmissions'
May 2020 PopMatters Review 27 May 2020 BUZZCOCKS’ 1993 COMEBACK ‘TRADE TEST TRANSMISSIONS’ SHOWED PUNK’S GREAT SURVIVORS’ CONSISTENCY 'PopMatters' appraisal of Buzzcocks continues with the band's proper comeback LP, Trade Test Transmissions, now reissued on Cherry Red... Read more -
Buzzcocks '1991 Demo LP'
May 2020 PopMatters Review 26 May 2020 ‘SELL YOU EVERYTHING’ BRINGS TO LIGHT BUZZCOCKS ‘1991 DEMO LP’ THAT PASSED UNDER-THE-RADAR 'Cherry Red Records' new box-set issued in memory of Pete Shelley gathers together the entire post-reunion output... Read more -
Markus Float 'Third Album'
May 2020 PopMatters Review 8 May 2020 MARKUS FLOATS CREATES A WARM SPACE THAT NEVER DALLIES IN ONE PLACE FOR LONG 'Third Album reflects experimental electronic artist Markus Floats' belief that music isn't just something one does.... Read more
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Human Impact 'S/T'
April 2020 PopMatters Review 2 Apr 2020 HUMAN IMPACT HIT HOME WITH A SEISMIC FIRST ALBUM FROM A VETERAN LINEUP 'On their self-titled debut, Human Impact provide a soundtrack for this dislocated moment where both humanity and... Read more -
Myrkur 'Folkesange'
March 2020 PopMatters Review 23 Mar 2020 MYRKUR’S ‘FOLKESANGE’ MAKES A CASE FOR THE POWER OF TRADITIONAL SONGCRAFT 'Neo-folk/black metal artist Myrkur bolsters her impressive discography with yet another distinctive and enthralling album that draws on other... Read more -
Liturgy 'H.A.Q.Q.'
February 2020 PopMatters Review 27 Feb 2020 ON ‘H.A.Q.Q.’, LITURGY CRAFT A COMPELLING CASE FOR TRANSCENDENT BLACK METAL 'Hunter Hunt-Hendrix and his comrades in Liturgy combine ambitiousness, risk-taking and sheer skill into a fresh triumph on H.A.Q.Q.' Read more -
Throbbing Gristle 'Part Two: The Endless Not'
February 2020 PopMatters Review 10 Feb 2020 THROBBING GRISTLE SOUNDED ONLY HALF ALIVE ON ‘PART TWO: THE ENDLESS NOT’ 'The promised new album emerged in 2007 mashing together an EP's worth of new Throbbing Gristle, four outtakes... Read more
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Throbbing Gristle 'TG Now'
January 2020 PopMatters Review 29 Jan 2020 THROBBING GRISTLE’S 2004 EP ‘TG NOW’ OFFERED HOPE FOR THE FUTURE 'The demon stepchild shadowing punk's footsteps in the 1970s, Throbbing Gristle, returned in this new century making the case... Read more -
Throbbing Gristle 'Live December 2004: A Souvenir of Camber Sands'
January 2020 PopMatters Review 28 Jan 2020 MUTE’S THROBBING GRISTLE REISSUE CAMPAIGN ENTERS THE REFORMATION YEARS 'In the latest component of a comprehensive reissue series, three limited-edition releases from the 2004-2007 iteration of Throbbing Gristle are back... Read more -
Joe Meeks 'I Hear A New World'
December 2019 PopMatters Review 3 Dec 2019 AT 60 YEARS DISTANCE, JOE MEEK’S ‘I HEAR A NEW WORLD’ STILL SOUNDS UNIQUE 'Joe Meek's vision of life on a different planet is placed in a fresh context by... Read more -
Opium Lord 'Vore'
November 2019 PopMatters Review 4 Nov 2019 OPIUM LORD’S ‘VORE’ ENDS THE BAND’S TIME IN THE WILDERNESS 'Opium Lord's Vore is a soul-blackened missive tailor-made to spark crowds as well as to reward contemplative listening.' Read more
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Dinosaur Jr 'Hand It Over'
September 2019 Review 27 Sep 2019 ‘HAND IT OVER’ IS DINOSAUR JR.’S MAGNUM OPUS — TOO BAD IT WAS TOO LATE 'The last in Cherry Red Records' four Dinosaur Jr. album reissue series, Hand It Over,... Read more -
Dinosaur Jr 'Without A Sound'
September 2019 PopMatters Review 26 Sep 2019 DINOSAUR JR.’S ‘WITHOUT A SOUND DESERVES’ – AND GETS – A FRESH LISTEN WITH CHERRY RED’S REISSUE 'Dinosaur Jr.'s last chance to bite at the apple of fame came in... Read more -
Dinosaur Jr 'Where You Been'
September 2019 PopMatters Review 25 Sep 2019 DINOSAUR JR.’S REISSUED ‘WHERE YOU BEEN’ IS A ROUGH-CUT DIAMOND 'One of alternative rock's key statements arrived in 1993 with Where Have you Been. It receives the definitive treatment from... Read more -
Dinosaur Jr 'Green Mind'
September 2019 PopMatters Review 24 Sep 2019 DINOSAUR JR.’S REISSUED ‘GREEN MIND’ IS THE SOUND OF A SINGULAR TALENT 'A long-overdue reissue of Dinosaur Jr.'s Green Mind from Cherry Red Records wraps a superb album in top-notch... Read more
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Neurosis / Jarboe 'S/T'
September 2019 PopMatters Review 18 Sep 2019 NEUROSIS AND JARBOE CREATE A TITANIC AND UTTERLY ENVELOPING MUSICAL EXPERIENCE 'Neurosis and Jarboe collaborated on a stunning album of heavy metal experimentation back in 2003. Now the album has... Read more -
'Spectra Ex Machina: A Sound Anthology of Occult Phenomena 1920-2017'
August 2019 PopMatters Review 6 Aug 2019 ‘SPECTRA EX MACHINA’ IS A GENUINELY ORIGINAL COMPILATION CONCEPT THAT BEARS STRANGE AND DELICIOUS FRUIT 'Spectra Ex Machina: A Sound Anthology of Occult Phenomena 1920-2017 Vol.1 provides a tour through... Read more -
Nodding God 'Play Wooden Child'
July 2019 PopMatters Review 31 Jul 2019 'David Tibet's new project, Nodding God creates a truly charming testament to finding originality in absurd combinations and the most unexpected places.' Read more -
Massimo Farjon Pupillo 'S/T'
April 2019 PopMatters Review 30 Apr 2019 'Massimo Farjon Pupillo's self-titled solo album offers an inner space for meditation or a view out onto a world of majesty worth exploring.' Read more
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Sunn O))) 'Life Metal'
April 2019 PopMatters Review 30 Apr 2019 SUNN O)))’S ‘LIFE METAL’ LOSES SOME OF THEIR PATENTED EXPERIMENTALISM 'Your reaction to Sunn O)))'s Life Metal will depend on whether you prefer a reminder of what Greg Anderson and... Read more -
Lil Pump 'Harverd Dropout'
March 2019 PopMatters Review 11 Mar 2019 LIL PUMP’S DEPTHLESSNESS IS ACTUALLY QUITE REMARKABLE ON ‘HARVERD DROPOUT’ 'Why feed pigs cherries when they're happy with swill. On Lil Pump's sophomore album it's hard to find a single... Read more -
Green River 'Dry As A Bone' / 'Rehab Doll'
February 2019 PopMatters Review 8 Feb 2019 TWO NEW RE-ISSUES SHOW HOW GREEN RIVER COULD HAVE BECOME THE FIRST SUPERSTARS OF GRUNGE 'From the misty time before Seattle became Sub Pop Rock City, that rarest of things:... Read more -
Maarja Nuut / Ruum 'Muunduja'
November 2018 PopMatters Review 21 Nov 2018 MAARJA NUUT AND RUUM CONJURE SUBTLE MAGIC ON ‘MUUNDUJA’ 'This collaboration between two Estonian talents, Maarja Nuut and Ruum, is a refreshing melding of the electronic and the acoustic, of... Read more
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John Carpenter 'Halloween' OST
October 2018 PopMatters Review 31 Oct 2018 JOHN CARPENTER’S NEW ‘HALLOWEEN’ IS A FATHER-SON BONDING ACTIVITY REMEMBERING TIMES PAST RATHER THAN FINDING NEW PLACES TO GO 'John Carpenter revisits his most iconic work of horror with a... Read more -
Jessica Moss Live in Bristol
June 2017 Clash Music Review 23 Jun 2017 Feeling Love In A Melting World: Jessica Moss Interviewed 'As a member of Montreal’s creative circle centred on the Constellation label, Jessica Moss has spent over two decades as violinist... Read more -
Drone 'A Perfect Blind'
April 2017 Words & Guitars Review 18 Apr 2017 'Drøne, as a name, is a flood of misdirection. It implies both vaguely Scandinavian origins and a genre label – neither of which is accurate. Duality and sleight of hand... Read more -
Anjou 'Epithymía'
April 2017 Words & Guitars Review 10 Apr 2017 't’s hard not to listen to Anjou’s new album without feeling keenly aware of the past I bring to it. In the late nineties when post-rock appeared to be the... Read more
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Ulver 'The Assassination of Julius Caesar
April 2017 Words & Guitars Review 5 Apr 2017 'Ulver’s eclecticism has seen the band swap identities on a regular basis, rarely lasting more than a couple of releases without delving into the potential offered by other genres and... Read more -
Luca Forcucci 'The Waste Land'
April 2017 Words & Guitars Review 4 Apr 2017 'Forcucci’s website cites his intellectual debt to Pauline Oliveros’ concept of ‘deep listening’: the ability to appreciate and perceive an environment then offer a sonic (or other) response. The results... Read more -
Zu 'Jhator'
March 2017 Words & Guitars Review 28 Mar 2017 'Zu exists along the intersections where an open embrace of the potential of sound dissolves all genre boundaries. Having previously delivered some tastily metallic riffage, jazz frills and math rock... Read more -
PVT 'New Spirit'
March 2017 Words & Guitars Review 7 Mar 2017 'The PVT trio – brothers Richard and Laurence Pike with friend Dave Miller – re-emerge after a quiet few years since 2012’s Homosapien album. Their sound has moved on from... Read more
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Sult / Lasse Marhaug 'Harpoon'
February 2017 Words & Guitars Review 21 Feb 2017 'This collaboration between Lasse Marhaug – one of the far north’s most consistently excellent exponents of extreme music – and improvisational duo Sult sees both parties mesh seamlessly across two... Read more -
Shirley Collins Live at Bristol Colston Hall
February 2017 Words & Guitars Review 13 Feb 2017 'Two years ago at London’s Union Chapel, at a show by Current 93, David Tibet had persuaded Shirley Collins that there was still an audience for her, a desire to... Read more -
Crystal Fairy 'S/T'
February 2017 Words & Guitars Review 13 Feb 2017 'Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover return with Crystal Fairy, featuring the wickedly wild presence of Teri Gender Bender (Le Butcherettes) and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (Mars Volta/At The Drive In). Apparently the... Read more -
Loscil 'Monument Builders'
December 2016 Words & Guitars Review 19 Dec 2016 'Listening to Loscil’s album, Monument Builders, I came to view it as a counterpoint to the equally intense dark ambient record Towards A Bleak Sun by Mesektet. While Mesektet wandered... Read more
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Uniform 'Ghosthouse'
December 2016 Words & Guitars Review 13 Dec 2016 'Sacred Bones Records is a label, the way labels should be: a starkly rendered visual identity and a tangible presence behind the bands and music they release – one which,... Read more -
Obake 'Draugr'
December 2016 Words & Guitars Review 12 Dec 2016 The combination of baritone guitar and electric bass creates a broiling, frothing layer that underpins the arrangements throughout. Bass tones aren’t so much foregrounded, it’s their constancy, the way this... Read more -
The Weeknd 'Starboy'
December 2016 Words & Guitars Review 5 Dec 2016 'Late 2012, gambling on The Weeknd’s Trilogy was the best ten quid I’ve ever spent – swear to god, the BEST. It felt like a long-shot; I’m generally no RnB... Read more -
The Sweet Release Of Death 'S/T'
October 2016 Words & Guitars Review 15 Oct 2016 'The name is a complete misnomer: The Sweet Release of Death is a band, and self-titled album , buzzing with late-night energy. They give off the kind of head-nodding, body-shaking... Read more
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Naked 'Zone'
October 2016 Words & Guitars Review 7 Oct 2016 'September. St John at Hackney church. My faith in live music as an opportunity for fresh discoveries is renewed with Naked, the duo of Agnes Gryczkowska and Alexander Johnston. I... Read more -
Urusei Yatsura 'You Are My'
September 2016 Words & Guitars Review 13 Sep 2016 'There was something in the water in Nineties Scotland; a stellar wave of talent – ranging from Idlewild to Mogwai, the Delgados and Arab Strap – arrived onto the scene... Read more -
Dumb Numbers 'II'
September 2016 Words & Guitars Review 8 Sep 2016 'Dumb Numbers, the brainchild of Adam Harding, casts its arms wide, drawing in the talents of diverse musicians – including David Yow, Dale Crover and Lou Barlow among others –... Read more -
Okkultokrati 'Raspberry Dawn'
September 2016 Words & Guitars Review 1 Sep 2016 'Who says there are no good political songs anymore? When Okkultokrati vocalist Black Qvisling sardonically sneers “World peace!” on the opening track of Raspberry Dawn it says everything about how... Read more
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'Orbital Planes & Passenger Trains Vol 1' Compilation
August 2016 Words & Guitars Review 26 Aug 2016 'With Orbital Planes & Passenger Trains Vol.1 Serein – a label based in Wales and specialising in ambient electronica – have provided a masterclass in what the compilation should be.... Read more -
Hypnopazūzu 'Create Christ, Sailor Boy'
August 2016 Words & Guitars Review 19 Aug 2016 'The first minute of Hypnopazūzu – the duo of producer Youth and Current 93’s David Tibet – suggests merely Tibet’s diverse, yet mid-paced psychedelia hardwired with electronics. It’s a deeply... Read more -
The Stargazer’s Assistant 'Remoteness Of Light'
August 2016 Words & Guitars Review 10 Aug 2016 'Electronica regularly comes with all the surprise of flat-pack furniture; often feeling layered and constructed rather than imagined and discovered (a consequence of machine design and an absence of human... Read more -
Norman Westberg 'MRI' / 'The All Most Quiet'
August 2016 Words & Guitars Review 8 Aug 2016 'Norman Westberg made his name as Swans’ premier guitar sorcerer and has, on occasion, lent his talents to other outfits but it is only recently that he has channelled his... Read more
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Elliott Smith 'Heaven Adores You' (OST)
July2016 Words & Guitars Review 27 Jul 2016 'Knowledge is cumulative; it’s impossible to unlearn once absorbed. I didn’t hear a song by Elliott Smith until sometime after he left the planet in October 2003 and I will... Read more -
Heretics 'S/T'
July 2016 Words & Guitars Review 25 Jul 2016 'You can’t eat inspiration. Music demands people who feel it is of sufficient value to be worth paying for. With many now deeming Spotify’s $0.008 per play a fair exchange... Read more -
Melvins 'Basses Loaded'
July 2016 Words & Guitars Review 11 Jul 2016 'Melvins’ Basses Loaded is a pile-up on the motorway of music – Christ, such a mess of broken machinery and bloodied shreds. The album concept involved collaborations with six bassists... Read more -
Metallica 'Kill Em All' / 'Ride The Lightning'
June 2016 Words & Guitars Review 6 Jun 2016 'It’s far harder to be a living legend than a dead one. Metallica’s run of four albums between 1983 and 1988 defined a new sub-genre – thrash – while reinvigorating... Read more
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Ben Vince 'The Purge'
April 2016 Words & Guitars Review 11 Apr 2016 'A saxophone darts and stabs around buried bass notes and a shimmering alarm – ‘Ankhering’, the first track on Ben Vince’s The Purge, presents the listener with a scene of... Read more -
Steven James Adams 'Old Magick'
February 2016 Words & Guitars Review 26 Feb 2016 'With the new album from Steven James Adams, there’s a thread of tone and topic firmly tied back to his 2002-2009 work with the Broken Family Band – a warm... Read more -
Zeitkratzer 'Stockhausen - Aus Den Sieben Tagen' / 'Kore'
February 2016 Words & Guitars Review 15 Feb 2016 'I approached Zeitkratzer only last year – and was delighted to experience near instant revelation as the ensemble’s acoustic rendering (via amplification) of the ear-scorching nastiness of Whitehouse added a... Read more -
Norman Westberg '13'
November 2015 Words & Guitars Review 23 Nov 2015 'On this three track release, Norman Westberg’s work harks back to his late-90s contributions to Swans’ final (and arguably best) album Soundtracks for the Blind, and to Michael Gira’s subsequent... Read more