Captured Tracks US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Mac Demarco has a certain cachet as a happy-go-lucky slacker, with campfire atmosphere to spare and chorus pedals set to stun, somewhat in the manner of a millennial Cat Stevens. The songs on 'This Old Dog' go way beyond - focusing on his relationships with family and friends, they're in equal parts mature, affecting and memorable in their melodic sleight-of-hand. Certainly the lazy charm and laid-back goofiness are present and correct here, but 'This Old Dog' displays a genuine reflective depth and emotional resonance.

Review: Long Island outfit The Lemon Twigs frequently leave critics confounded and confused, in part because their shape-shifting style tends towards the over-the-top and grandiose. Rooted in a love of 70s glam, the theatrical rock pomp of Queen and a tongue-in-cheek love of overblown rock operas, they seem to delight regular listeners while rubbing reviewers up the wrong way. On Everything Harmony, their new album, they've re-set their influences once more, delivering a blend of folk-rock, Simon & Garfunkel style folk revivalism, prime Beatles and the close harmony bliss of the Beach Boys, with a dash of fuzzy garage rock and giddy psychedelia thrown in. It's well-crafted and expertly executed stuff that's hugely easy-going and enjoyable, whatever sniffy critics may say,