Domino Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Real Estate's sixth full-length album Daniel was recorded in an ebullient nine-day spree at RCA Studio A, in Nashville with GRAMMY-winning producer and songwriter Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves). In 11 compulsively tuneful songs, they connect the uninhibited wonder of their earliest work with the earned perspective of adulthood. Several days into recording, all five members of Real Estate were discussing album titles when someone suggested Danielmsimply because it seemed funny to bestow a human name upon a record. Was it for Daniel Tashian? Maybe. Was it a nod to The Replacements' Tim? Possibly. Was it the sign of a band that has now been around long enough to take its music seriously without taking itself or its perception too seriously? Absolutely.

Review: Ryder-Jones is something of a Liverpudlian legend, a troubadour who originally made his name with The Coral, yet one whose charismatic talents have extended beyond the '60s-worship of his origins to a very personal place on this, his third solo album to date. Recorded in the bedroom of his childhood home, 'West Kirkby County Primary' is a work of heartache, loneliness and melancholia that finds its metier somewhere between the work of Michael Head and Springsteen's 'Nebraska' - Ryder-Jones' mood may be desolate, soul-searching and reflective, yet his songwriting flair lurks behind every corner.

Review: There's an ultimately '90s shoegazing feel to the music of Bill Ryder Jones and the Merseysider leaves no emotional stone unturned with such phrasing in this album's songs like 'the silence is killing me' and on opening track "Yawn": 'But there's a fortune to be had from telling people you're sad'. Dare we say it, there's splashes of Happy Mondays, Stone Roses and The Jesus & Mary Chain in his music too, however there is no denying Bill Ryder Jones originality, and the washy, distorted and melancholic tones and timbres of this album revel in a tear-jerking, emotional lustre.

Review: Sorry are fast becoming a pre-requisite name on the list of what's actually good in UK music in the 21st Century. They wowed us with mixtapes and delivered a very good first album in 925. Now behold the difficult second, which blows all of that which came before out of the water, and manages to straddle accessibility and experimentation with aplomb. Dedicated to heartbreak, Anywhere But Here is nothing if not massively varied, like the moods we experience when that essential organ is ripped from our chests and trodden on by someone we thought was protecting it. We have trip hop and angsty post-rock, driving guitar garage, curiously jaunty-yet-depressed bluesy bits, and grungy pop. In a word: exceptional.

Review: Following up her last spate of albums, Colourgrade and Highgrade, South London vocalist and musician Tirzah adds to her streak of successes with Trip9love...???, a comparatively glossier update to her sound. Produced in collaboration with her longtime friend, collaborator and composer Mica Levi, the album recalls the melancholic, piano-driven r&b and beats formula that ensured the success of her debut album Devotion. But there's a rougher, more phased-out extension to her sound here, with more emphasis and effects placed on Tirzah's vocals, and a production gamut that more recalls the early-2010s weightless 'wave' productions of Mr. Mitch or Mssingno. An icy, elusive addition to Tirzah's catalogue, sure to take the South London contingent in particular by storm.

Review: Ten years after she made her debut on Greco-Roman, singer-songwriter Tirzah drops her third studio album, a collection of imaginative and sugar-free love songs crafted with the help of frequent collaborator Mica Levi. Trip9Love, which was recorded over the course of a year at their homes and "various studios around South-East London and Kent", is relatively minimalistic in terms of the musical elements employed - think looped piano motifs, beats that sit somewhere between lo-fi hip-hop and hyper-pop, and Tirzah's now familiar voice - but still sounds surprisingly "big". It's a great example of a simple idea, executed brilliantly, with standout cuts including the infectious 'You All The Time', the ambient pop style 'Their Love', the gritty and crunchy 'Stars', and the flash-fried '2 D I C U V', where Polly Jean Harvey-esque guitars catch the ear.

Review: Conor O'Brien's sixth album under the Villagers moniker, That Golden Time, takes a departure from the band-oriented sound of its predecessor, Fever Dreams. Instead, O'Brien delivers a collection of vulnerable and intimate solo-based songs, recorded mostly in his own apartment. The album's title reflects its warm and nostalgic atmosphere, while also touching on the tension between romanticism and realism in life.
Continuing his tradition of crafting melodies that captivate and arrangements that subtly enhance the emotional depth of his lyrics, O'Brien invites listeners into his world of hopes, fears, and dreams expressed through richly absorbing poetry. Despite the intimate nature of the album, O'Brien collaborates with guest musicians, including Planxty's Dónal Lunny, to add depth and texture to the sonic landscape. O'Brien's artistry and ability to create music that resonates deeply with listeners is also a journey into the heart and mind of one of Ireland's most talented singer-songwriters.

Review: Hailing from the Isle of Wight and steadily building in momentum via a run of stunning singles, Wet Leg are making their much anticipated breakthrough with their debut album on Domino. The duo hit a note between the brooding post punk and new wave romanticism and a spikier pop streak which should find them winning hearts and minds all over festival season. 'Chaise Longue', 'Wet Dream' and 'Too Late Now' have been doing the rounds since the girls signed to Domino in 2021, and it only takes one listen to know they're going to be huge. Razor sharp hooks, singalong choruses and a droll sense of humour are all conspiring to make Wet Leg your new favourite band.

Review: Given that Isle of White twosome Wet Leg (AKA late twenty-somethings Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers) broke through with an insanely infectious chunk of monosyllabic rap-sporting post-punk pop, the stupidly catchy 'Chaise Longue', it seems fitting that the song lands early on their self-titled debut album - track two, to be precise. While the set features little else quite as upbeat, energetic and unashamedly joyous, it's still a boisterous and at times brilliant debut full of tongue-in-cheek lyrics, low-slung post-punk intent, raucous references to vintage '80s and '90s indie, weighty guitar riffs and ear-catching melodic motifs. It's the kind of set capable of pushing them towards super-stardom and will undoubtedly be warmly received by critics.

Review: Whoever wrote the release notes to Matthew E White's long-awaited return to the release schedule, take a bow. "Retro-futurist magic tricks," they say about his music. While the wording is abstract enough to border on nonsense, we're struggling to think of a better way to describe K Bay. It's constantly switching things up on you, producing one white rabbit from a black hat after another. Even expecting the unexpected can't save you from being consistently (and pleasantly) surprised.

Throughout the course of the record you'll find epic string balladry, 1980s pop, disco, funk, dad rock, acoustic guitar work, and marching band oddities. It's a varied celebration that truly summarises the musical era we are living in - best described simply as post modern. An age when the rules no longer apply because the charts are no longer relevant, leaving artists free to explore their creative ideas to the nth degree.

Review: Robert Wyatt is one of those artists you can't help but find fascinating, having overseen some seismic shifts in the UK music scene since emerging in the mid-1960s as a kit drummer for Soft Machine and member of fellow Canterbury prog rockers Matching Mole. Over the years he has given us some incredible art-pop jazz stuff, helping lay at least some of the necessary groundwork for lo-fi soul and electronica, slowly becoming something of a mythical legend in his own right.

His Greatest Misses is a great way to familiarise yourself with the musical story, if all that was news to you. Contrary to the title's suggestion, not everything here flew under the radar when it was first released. His incredible, hypnotic interpretation of 'I'm A Believer' by The Monkees is one, the other is 'Shipbuilding', written for Wyatt by Elvis Costello and Clive Langer. Details aside, this is more than an anthology - it's a presentation on why the artist demands such respect among peers and public alike.