Radiohead review – no surprises but an intriguing, triumphant finale
Roundhouse LondonThe final night of the band’s residency has few shock moments, but makes up for it in intimacy and Thom Yorke’s effusive stage presence
Radiohead review: textured set that flits between medicinal bliss and fractious fury
Roundhouse, LondonThe second of the Oxford band’s three sold-out shows in the north London venue sees them start slow but build to a life-affirming close
Methyl Ethel: Oh Inhuman Spectacle review – regular indie in a rainbow poncho
All the hallmarks of a cosmic psychedelic eccentric are stamped on the surface of Jake Webb’s career: hailing from Tame Impala’s birthplace, Perth, the former bedroom recorder possesses the knackered aesthetic of a 70s rock star, his lyrics like curious … Continue reading
Beth Orton: Kidsticks review – radical reinvention is as dreamy as ever
Back in the 1990s, Beth Orton gained a rep as the comedown queen: her folksy music boasted an electronic edge and her involvement with Heavenly’s dance crew – she collaborated with the Chemical Brothers – ensured that her music could … Continue reading
Clare Maguire: Stranger Things Have Happened review – classy retro pop
At the turn of the decade, Clare Maguire was loudly touted as the heir to Amy Winehouse and Adele, and courted by the likes of Jay Z and Rick Rubin. Her debut album, however, turned out to be a collection … Continue reading
Amber Arcades: Fading Lines review – shimmering indiepop from a real talent
What music might you expect a former aide at the UN war crimes tribunals to make? Something raw and confrontational? Or, as Annelotte de Graaf makes under the name Amber Arcades, something so none-more-indiepop you feel like going out and … Continue reading
Catfish and the Bottlemen: The Ride review – crushingly prosaic indie rock
Aiming themselves squarely at the lowest common denominator, Van McCann and co make meat-and-potatoes music for festival crowds to punch the air to
Liss review – the sound of school discos and adolescent heartbreak
Combining experimental guitar pop with boyband sincerity, the Danish four-piece want to take you out on to a teen-filled dancefloor
Modern Baseball: Holy Ghost review – haunting and heartfelt pop-punk
Related: Modern Baseball: meet the band tackling pop-punk’s crude image Pop-punk, with its goofy songs full of knob and poo gags, in which women (girlfriends, mothers, etc) are mostly depicted as sources of irritation, has long been the genre of … Continue reading
Richard Ashcroft: These People review – nothing brutal from a mellifluous foghorn
Making an album that strikes chords with pretty much the totality of the British populace means you will be forever be defined according to its terms. But for all the raging against things that Richard Ashcroft does in interviews, that … Continue reading
Various artists: Day of the Dead review – keeps the freak flag flying
A five-CD, 59-track compilation of alt-rock Grateful Dead covers – curated by the National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner – reveals the band’s timeless songcraft
Eagulls: Ullages review – fails to go anywhere interesting
In theory, cleaning up their previously scuzzy guitar sound and stripping out the hardcore stylings ought to have made Eagulls’ post-punk songs more accessible. And yet, although that’s precisely what the Leeds five-piece have done on their second album, curiously … Continue reading
Twin Peaks: Down in Heaven review – exuberant garage rock refuses to grow up
Garage rock has long been affixed to adolescence. Not only was its raucous sound supposedly hammered out in the outbuildings of parental residences, but it was also founded during pop’s own coming of age. This third album by Chicago band … Continue reading
Yak: Alas Salvation review – a force of nature
It can sometimes be hard to feel optimistic about rowdy, new guitar music. So much sounds grubby and calculated, grabbing at the receding coat-tails of past fads. And then you come across a band like Yak, a three-piece whose live … Continue reading
Eagulls: Ullages review – a headlong plunge into 80s angst-rock
Related: Eagulls: Eagulls review – exciting times for British guitar music The sound of Ullages (an anagram of Eagulls’ name) is bigger and more expansive than the Leeds five-piece’s 2014 debut, but there are fewer catchy tunes. It lacks the … Continue reading