Review: The Smile's latest remix compendium is a striking one, with two eminent producers reimagining tracks from the British rock band/Radiohead offshoot's latest and third album, CUTOUTS. This remix-set takes the core of the band's genre-blend sound, from art rock to experimental electronica, and contorts it into yet another division of volatile allotropes, this time welcoming light show IDM extravaganzist James Holden and East Kent musician Robert Stillman. Both versions are full displays of productive talent, humanisti, but still cognitively vector-mapped out in digi-space ahead of time, mirroring the abstracted, rather listless and amoral lyrics heard in the title track ("And your force means nothing...")
Review: Every once in a while, you get a band emerge from the vibrant London music scene that you notice aren't like all the other bands. You sense they have something a bit special. BC, NR are like that - they offer something so rich musically that it appears immune to any potential threat that could come from changing trends. This third studio album of theirs comes under what looked like difficult circumstances from the outside. Their lead singer and songwriter Isaac Wood left the band shortly before the release of their second album. But they've withstood the pressure incredibly and are on top form here. There's more emphasis than ever on sharing the role of frontperson so the album is like a smorgasbord where you sample different voices and songwriting styles that exist within the group. Lead single 'Besties' is violinist Georgia Ellery's. It thrives off of its dynamism with explosive Phil Spector-esque wall of sound moments set in alongside elegant indie folk. A truly massive chapter awaits.
Review: There's no denying it: this is a supergroup. When you have Norman Blake (songwriter and lead vocalist of Scottish indie rock royalty Teenage Fanclub) Bernard Butler (Mercury Prize nominated solo artist, serial collaborator and former Suede member) and James Grant (a Glaswegian from highly regarded sophisti-pop band Love and Money) you can't say this is an ordinary line-up. The group first played together at Saint Luke's in Glasgow in 2022 for Celtic Connections and the response to their stunning songwriting was so strong they left a gaping hole when they stopped playing. Thankfully they can now have an eternal presence through the shape of this album, which involved a novel means of collaboration. Instead of splitting the songwriting within a song, each member labels which song is theirs then all three perform. The lead single 'Bring An End' (Norman Blake's) explores renewal and love, with the lyrics particularly evocative when underpinned by pastoral psych instrumentation. There's a Crosby, Stills & Nash level of tenderness to the harmonies and delicate guitar interplay, leaving an unforgettable impression in its wake.
Review: Chase Atlantic's fourth album offers a more mature sound than previous LPs while exploring themes of loneliness, depression and fear. The title reflects the paradox of being in an ideal place yet feeling miserable and the music showcases the band's evolution into a fusion of pop, rock and r&b in their signature genre-defying style. The lead single quickly gained popularity by amassing millions of streams and views and follow-up 'Doubt It' continues the trend with addictive melodies and fresh sounds. Although Chase Atlantic pushes boundaries here, their original fans will still remain happy with the signature energy of this album.
Review: American singer-songwriter of Grammy-winning Boygenius and solo artist fame has switched over to Geffen from Matador to deliver her fourth album. The Virginia-raised singer's profile has been overshadowed by the gargantuan success of Boygenius bandmate Phoebe Bridgers, but this sounds like the album that's going to be a gamechanger. Album single 'Ankle' is a case in point: the string-laden number is a hypnotic, emotionally charged epic full of temperature-raising double-entendres. Elsewhere, on the tender ballad 'Limerence', Dacus sounds timeless, like we're in the company of a songwriter who's going to be around doing this music making thing for the rest of her life. An extraordinary talent.
Review: Vancouver band Destroyer's latest isn't just a "boogie" in the common senseiit's a slippery, shape-shifting act of survival, deception and late-night epiphanies. Dan Bejar calls it "a hustle, a scam that doesn't quite work," and that tension runs through every note. 'Bologna' casts Bejar as a supporting player, with Simone Schmidt's piercing vocal turning the track into a noirish fever dream. 'Hydroplaning Off the Edge of the World' swings between peppy charm and spiraling dread, while 'Cataract Time' stretches into an eight-minute epic, its melancholic weight somehow tasting like hope. Where past Destroyer albums battled the world, this one dances with itishifty, urgent, and impossible to pin down.
Review: For the past decade and a half Mike Hadreas has been making some of the most ambitious and powerful baroque pop music on the planet under his artistic moniker Perfume Genius. The Matador signee's seventh album is an ambitious affair and his most collaborative to date. Whereas before his process would be one of full control, this time his compositions were open to alteration from his band. And it's a move that's yielded fantastic results. 'It's a Mirror' is one of the most stylish songs he's ever written and it's recorded in a way that you really feel like he's going through the things he's singing about. You can imagine Michael Stipe begging for a guest spot on this beautifully orchestrated number. Meanwhile, the more complex and dynamic cut 'No Front Teeth' features one of the best voices of the century in Aldous Harding. The song is subtly haunting, with lyrics that sound culled from a H. P. Lovecraft story and delivered with such intensity. Artistically Perfume Genius is on another level here and likely to be peppering many end of year lists come winter.
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