The New Pornographers: Whiteout Conditions review – euphoric powerpop pile-up

Since 2014’s acclaimed Brill Bruisers, the Vancouver collective have lost founding drummer Kurt Dahle and (at least for now) songwriter Dan Bejar (also of Destroyer) and set up their own label, but the upheaval has simply changed their course slightly, … Continue reading →

Future Islands: The Far Field review – thriving masters of modern synth-pop

Samuel T Herring’s hiccupping vocal mannerisms recall the late-night ennui of Tindersticks’ Stuart Staples, and what Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer might once have described as “singing in the club style”. Along with Herring’s distinctive delivery, Future Islands’ appeal rests … Continue reading →

The Big Moon: Love in the 4th Dimension review – nostalgic indie with wide-eyed conviction

The golden age of indie might be over, but The Big Moon are resuscitating its corpse for one last hurrah. As if recorded on a grotty Camden bar crawl, the quartet’s debut crashes and careens, as romantic as it is ramshackle, … Continue reading →

British Sea Power: Let the Dancers Inherit the Party review – written more in hope than despair

British Sea Power’s first album of new material in four years was written against a backdrop of what guitarist Martin Noble calls “politicians perfecting the art of unabashed lying, social media echo chambers and electronic toys to keep us befuddled”, … Continue reading →

Warpaint review – shimmering dreampop toughens up live

The LA band are a good proposition live, especially dynamic drummer Stella Mozgawa. Though they sound decorative, it’s not twee or wispy

Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales review – elegant, sardonic and alluring

The pair’s performance of Room 29, a suite of songs about old Hollywood history, was part gig, part immersive theatre and entirely impeccable

Grandaddy review – rapturous return for indie’s elder statesmen

The Californian five-piece let their freak flag fly during an evening of glorious, driving noise, emotional peaks and deadpan humour

Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales: Room 29 review – nuanced portrait of murky morals

Jarvis Cocker bleeds Sheffield, but it’s hard to imagine an artist better suited to slithering around the Chateau Marmont after Hollywood skeletons. On Room 29, a song-cycle about the fabled LA hotel, Cocker’s knack for pinpointing nihilism’s abiding allure finds … Continue reading →

Soulwax: From Deewee review – impressive, seamless art experiment

Hearing that Soulwax’s latest was recorded in one take – a process that must, then, have taken them a whopping 49 minutes and 5 seconds – makes you wonder what took them so long. It has been more than a … Continue reading →

Craig Finn: We All Want the Same Things review – master storyteller gets personal

Craig Finn loves filling his music with stories. So much so, you suspect that if the Hold Steady vocalist ever tried his hand at a minimalist techno album he’d still manage to cram the thing full of themes, characters and … Continue reading →

The Jesus and Mary Chain: Damage and Joy review – a decent but self-sabotaging return

Related: The Jesus and Mary Chain – 10 of the best The first Mary Chain album in 19 years kicks off in fine fettle: Amputation grumbles along on a William Reid riff that’s half biker rock, half pure 60s pop, … Continue reading →

The Moonlandingz: Interplanetary Class Classics review – gleefully untamed pop

As an increasingly homogenised pop landscape reaches peak Sheeran, this collaboration between part of the Fat White Family and Sheffield electronic oddballs Eccentronic Research Council adopts a gleefully untamed, bull-in-a-record-shop approach. It’s an inspired mish-mash of Glitter Band tribal drumming, … Continue reading →

The Shins: Heartworms review – an album of candid, heartfelt anecdotes

In the years since their surge of popularity in the early noughties, the Shins have more or less been whittled down to a James Mercer solo project. This record, his first in five years, certainly has the markings of a … Continue reading →

Spoon: Hot Thoughts review – indie experimenters dance the night away

Spoon have released nine albums since the early 1990s, the last three reaching the US Top 10. So they have nothing to prove, but you wouldn’t know that from the 10 songs here: Hot Thoughts is loaded with tunes, invention … Continue reading →

Real Estate: In Mind review – understated pleasures from steadfast indie-rockers

Real Estate have never been ones for taking giant leaps. Not for them any sudden changes in genre, double gatefold concept albums or other signifiers of a band wanting to “expand their horizons”. Instead, the New Jersey outfit’s career to … Continue reading →

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