Catfish and the Bottlemen review – adoring fans take over the ride
Van McCann’s band play up to the screaming masses, but struggle to keep the atmosphere alive under the weight of adulation
Fear of Men review – shimmering dreampop with all the sharp edges intact
Singer Jessica Weiss sways and the music sways with her in a confident set of elliptical, engaging songs about love gone wrong
Yeasayer: Amen & Goodbye CD review – moments of brilliant weirdness
At the turn of the decade, Brooklyn band Yeasayer released their second album, Odd Blood. It was an indie record that generated a terrific amount of buzz, seeing the foursome loosely grouped with slightly eccentric but unashamedly pop-sensible acts such … Continue reading
Bibio: A Mineral Love review – balmy, surreal soundscapes
Stephen Wilkinson’s fifth Warp release is a spritely collection of balmy, surreal soundscapes in which he channels his fascination with nature, nostalgia and the type of strutting funk affiliated with brown nylon flares. His most intricate album to date, A … Continue reading
Primal Scream review – Bobby G’s barmy army earn Glasgow kiss
Primal Scream’s lineup has shrunk of late, but nothing can diminish still-youthful Bobby Gillespie’s presence in front of an ecstatic home crowd
Kiran Leonard: Grapefruit review – esoteric, orchestral and abrasive
The 20-year-old indie-rock misfit summons the spirit of Jeff Buckley and Thurston Moore on his second studio album
Wolf Alice live review – goodbye, cool world
The London four-piece tear up the indie rulebook, combining candyfloss melodies with a feral, steely edge
Kiran Leonard: Grapefruit review – heavy, all-elbows indie folk
It might be reductive to describe something as a bloody racket, but Kiran Leonard’s second record is unquestionably that – albeit with plenty to cling to in times of almost intolerable discord. The 20-year-old makes heavy, all-elbows indie-folk that manages … Continue reading
The Joy Formidable: Hitch review – driving indie rock born of heartbreak
Related: Why music videos need more nude men London-based trio the Joy Formidable produced Hitch themselves in their north Wales studio. Their guitar riffs are indeed as formidable as anyone who has heard their previous two albums would expect – … Continue reading
Wet review – slow jams draped with smoke and allusion
Chattering fans get their marching orders as the Brooklyn trio summon the shimmering sound of their new album
Diiv review – redolent of the emptiest end of shoegaze
Zachary Cole Smith, wearing an inflatable alien as a scarf, mumbles half-melodies about drug fevers and dying young in this uninspired set
Cullen Omori: New Misery review – ambitious debut hints at indie mastery
Another skinny kid singing about the human condition might not sound essential but Omori brings a swaggering grandeur that outstrips many of his contemporaries
Primal Scream: Chaosmosis review – another not entirely coherent reinvention
Primal Scream’s last album, 2013’s More Light, felt like a victory lap: after reinventing their sound countless times over the preceding decades, here was Bobby Gillespie and gang showing everything off for the cameras. So it’s understandable that the band … Continue reading
Meilyr Jones: 2013 review – beautiful chamber pop from Wales via Rome
In 2013, after the breakup of both his relationship and his band, Race Horses, Meilyr Jones went to Rome. That visit helped inspire his first solo album, in which euphoria and despair sit side by side. 2013 It fits snugly … Continue reading
The Coral review – ready again for liftoff
The rejuvenated Mersey five-piece host a trippy party to showcase their comeback album Distance Inbetween, and throw in a heartfelt greatest hits selection too