Okkervil River: In the Rainbow Rain review – surgery meets soft rock
Perhaps because of a perceived lack of glamour, tracheotomies have never featured prominently in song lyrics. Okkervil River’s ninth album seeks to address that historical oversight. Famous Tracheotomies poignantly recounts how singer Will Sheff underwent the procedure as a consequence of … Continue reading
Blossoms: Cool Like You review – drivetime indie punches below its weight
Best when forging ahead with pace and melody, the Stockport band’s second album is otherwise easily forgotten
Gomez review – reformed post-Britpoppers prove prescient
Gomez’s psych, funk and electronics should be a mess, but on tour to celebrate the 20th-anniversary edition of their Mercury-winning debut it’s clear their songwriting really stands up
Natalie Prass review – fighting oppression with a charm offensive
The Virginia songwriter has added funk and soul to her swooning ballads and 60s pop, fired up by ‘all the crap that’s going on in our country right now’
Lord Huron: Vide Noir review – pop goes the astral plane
Ben Schneider’s band have lost the ethereal Americana and adopted a bigger muse: the whole cosmos
Drinks: Hippo Lite review – Cate Le Bon’s postcards from the edge
The second album from Cate Le Bon and Tim Presley, recorded in France, is a playful post-punk tonic full of cryptic skronk
Shame review – wet sweat and dry quips from seething post-punk kids
The young Londoners make no bones about thieving ideas from other bands, but their blend of intense rhythms and sarcastic banter is unique
The Courteeners review – indie-rock underdogs defy the naysayers
The atmosphere is like a football match as this once-maligned band celebrate 10 years at the top with massed chants and singalong choruses
Jarvis Cocker review – lusty and electrifying works in progress
Moving like a spider and dispensing fruit to the audience, the one-time Pulp frontman’s new songs seem some of the best of his career
Sunflower Bean: Twentytwo in Blue review – shoegazers find their feet
When this Brooklyn trio first emerged with 2016’s Human Ceremony, with band T-shirts and scraggly hair, they looked like archetypal indie rockers. Two years on, singer/bassist Julia Cumming is the epitome of blond chic while guitarist/vocalist Nick Kivlen and drummer … Continue reading
Courtney Marie Andrews: May Your Kindness Remain review – Americana on the brink of eruption
A couple of minutes into the title track of Courtney Marie Andrews’ new album, a stately ballad suddenly explodes with guitar: not noise, or shredding, just a simple but massively reverbed solo, the notes teetering on the edge of feedback. … Continue reading