Reviews

Danny Wright heads to Royal Festival Hall to see an incredible diverse and brilliant set from Yo La Tengo

Wishing you a very happy 5th birthday dear Lex, you are more dependable on for a top night out than my friends will ever be. Here's the to next five.

The frenetic dance punk formula of their debut has enough life in it to make their reunion a cause for raised roofs, not eyebrows. The thrill of the old is enough

Saddle Creek // July 8th You wouldn't immediately guess that Icky Blossoms are a Tilly and the Wall side-project. Electropop, and without a hint of...

How often in life are we wholly, heart-stirringly stimulated? To be fuelled and fulfilled at the same time is an indulgence reserved for those...

Toeing the line between sparse, spacious sounds and forward thinking, futuristic tones.

Even the dorkiest kid becomes a minor hooligan when the Koisser’s and gang unleash their major chords.

A self-assured twosome; delivering melodic indie hooks and amiable comparisons to the likes of Dum Dum Girls, but do we really need another blend-in indie band?

Stunning at times, Muscle Memory has definitely been worth the wait for fans of this under-rated outfit who join the growing rank of impressive British synth-led alt-poppers

Scala - 19/6/13 Lanterns on the Lake's return to the London stage marks a tentative step back into the limelight for the Newcastle five-piece, following...

It only took the subtlest gestures from Oumou Sangaré to completely transform the vibe at her Roundhouse show last week.

There’s sanctuary and hope offered in this album, and you’d be foolish to not accept it

None of that can take away from the undeniable wit of this band, and even in the most unremarkable phases of this record they display a knack for making their personality shine through.

Perhaps sat on a Portuguese beach, sipping on caipirinhas, II would begin to get a whole lot more appealing, but right now it seems a tad underwhelming

It's all down to the good vibes, Kurt explains, and the Philly native ain't wrong.

This is a record that constantly, and beautifully, cuts deep – led by a hazy sense of magic that’s simply unyielding

Dark, melodic and intelligent, The Birthday of the World is more intriguing than expected

Recorded in a single eight-hour session, the tunes sound fresh with Yussef Dayes' sizzling and shuffling drums as the engine room.

Preoccupations tonight are back where they belong. And that is a relief for all of us.

Essentially, he's the last musician you'd go to for light relief, and yet this new record was designed to "make people happy and spread peace."

In these Rayna James inspired times - with flannel shirts and broad Texan accents firmly back on the agenda - a re-imagining of what we once, half-embarrassed, called Alt.Country seems way overdue.