Author: Jordan Dowling Page 4
Lupe Fiasco - Lasers
Operating in a genre in which hype and proclamations of self-genius are very much par for the course, the background to 'Lupe Fiasco's LASERS' (Love Always Shines Everytime: Remember to Smile) is interesting, perhaps moreso...
Review posted on 14th March 2011
Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding
It would be easy to ridicule Beady Eye, essentially Oasis sans Noel. It would be easy to snipe, to dismiss, to fill up a review with 'hilarious' comments about the band, their fan-base and what...
Review posted on 21st February 2011
British Sea Power - Nottingham Rescue Rooms Thursday 10th February 2011
It speaks volumes of British Sea Powers almost unique position in the current British music climate that they can be labelled as a 'cult' and 'criminally ignored' band and effortlessly reach the Top 40 Album...
Review posted on 14th February 2011
Esben And The Witch - Nottingham Rescue Rooms 5th February 2011
Nottingham's own Spotlight Kid have blossomed out from the 'collars up' shoegaze of former bands Six By Seven and Model Morning and into something much more interesting. Sure, there are still nods to the typical...
Review posted on 8th February 2011
Seefeel - Seefeel
Like Portishead before them Seefeel have returned with an album of surprising velocity and power, yet whilst Portishead found new life from decade/s old influences in the shoegaze and krautrock brackets and channelled it all...
Review posted on 20th January 2011
The National - Warwick Arts Centre - 25th November 2010
Just into their second decade as a band, The National are finally coming close to getting the recognition they deserve. Appearances on Jools Holland and a thumbs up from Barack Obama have helped, but the...
Review posted on 29th November 2010
Interpol, Nottingham Rock City 24/11/10 Live Review
It is argued by a friend before the gig that Interpol are a band living off a reputation. Following their fourth album they stand accused of living off their début, the fantastic Turn On The...
Review posted on 29th November 2010
Crystal Castles - Nottingham Rock City, 21st October 2010
HEALTH may seem like strange touring partners to Crystal Castles at first glance if you were not aware of their previous collaborations. Yet they fit perfectly, putting the hedonistic synthetic blasts of the headliners into...
Review posted on 28th October 2010
Yuck - Nottingham Stealth 9th October 2010
It would be easy to feel a little apprehensive when seeing Yuck advertised as headlining Nottingham Stealth on an early Saturday night line-up (strict finish before ten so everyone can pretend to like 4/4 dance...
Review posted on 14th October 2010
World's End Girlfriend - Seven Idiots
Reviewing a World's End Girlfriend album is not an enviable task; much of his work is hard enough to comprehend, never mind analyse. 'Seven Idiots' is the first full-length on Virgin Babylon Records, a new...
Review posted on 20th September 2010
Summer Sundae - De Montfort Hall, Leicester
On its tenth anniversary Summer Sundae, the crown jewel in the Midlands festival schedule, is showing no signs of slowing down. The weekender is an annual pilgrimage for many in the surrounding area (and for...
Review posted on 19th August 2010
Indietracks Festival - Butterley, Ripley / 23-25 July 2010
Summarising highlights and lowpoints of a festival like Indietracks can sometimes seem pointless, such is the harmony of the weekend. Few people bother with itineraries and simply saunter between bands and other attractions. A cynic...
Review posted on 28th July 2010
Indietracks Festival - 23rd-25th July 2010 Butterley Hill (Ripley), Derbyshire
When Indietracks creator Stuart Mackay describes it as a 'niche festival' he isn't doing so to create an air of exclusivity so often exuded by those who actively label themselves as 'indie', there is merely...
Review posted on 24th June 2010
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Saturday June 12th.
The term 'triumph over adversity' is hideously over-used, from sketch-scripted sports movies to motivational speeches, but there is an eternal truth that success is much sweeter after frustration and strife. Ariel Pink's latest jaunt to...
Review posted on 15th June 2010
The Hidden Cameras - Nottingham Bodega Social, Friday 19th March
The Bodega Social, an unspectacular L-shaped venue in the centre of Nottingham, is not quite suitable for a band like The Hidden Cameras. Despite limiting the line-up to an octet, down from a mean of...
Review posted on 24th March 2010
The Irrepressibles - Mirror Mirror
Review of The Irrepressibles album Mirror Mirror released through Rough Trade.By listening to The Irrepressibles' 'Mirror Mirror' you are only getting half the story. Jamie McDermott's pop dectet are so rooted in theatrics and operatics,...
Review posted on 7th January 2010
FatCat Records - The Surrogate Home Of Scotlands Finest Music
The Surrogate Home Of Scotlands Finest Music: FatCat Records.Brighton based label FatCat has become a surrogate home for the most exciting music to come out of Scotland in recent years. Always a go-to label for...
Review posted on 30th November 2009
A Place To Bury Strangers - Nottingham Bodega Social, Friday 6th of November
Review of A Place To Bury Strangers live at Nottingham Bodega Social on Friday 6th of November.With the release of their second album 'Exploding Head' you might have half-expected A Place To Bury Strangers to...
Review posted on 17th November 2009
Alberta Cross - Broken Side Of Time
Review of Alberta Cross' album Broken Side Of Time released through Ark Recordings.A couple years ago it seemed the world was at Alberta Cross' feet. Their first single 'Lucy Rider' was a corker, an emphatic...
Review posted on 21st September 2009
Summer Sundae - Leicester, De Montfort Uni
Review of Summer Sundae at De Montfort Uni, Leicester on 14th to 16th August.As the only thing worth doing in Leicester at any time of the year Summer Sundae, at the supposed peak of the...
Review posted on 19th August 2009
Mew - No More Stories
Review of Mew's album No More Stories released through Columbia. Despite passing fifteen years as a band 'Mew' have always retained an innocent quality. The fey, quivering but rarely off-key vocals of Jonas Bjerre bore...
Review posted on 13th August 2009
Summer Sundae - 2009
Summer Sundae 2009 PreviewLeicester's long-running family friendly festival has a long tradition of poor, uninteresting headliners and a fantastic undercard, and this year the rule is truer than ever. The Streets, The Charlatans and The...
Review posted on 7th July 2009
Shugo Tokumaru, London Relentless Garage Live Review
Review of Shugo Tokumaru live at London Relentless Garage 29th June 09.A few weeks ago whilst clearing out old mementos I found a sketch from my primary school days. It was a crude drawing of...
Review posted on 6th July 2009
The Warlocks - Mirror Explodes
Review of The Warlocks album Mirror ExplodesBehind all the press hype and stories of massive quantities of drug intake The Warlocks have always been one of the strongest bands under the space-rock/psychadelica umbrella. In their...
Review posted on 22nd June 2009
De La Soul - Nottingham Rock City
Review of De La Soul live at Nottingham Rock City on 8th June 09.There ain't no party like a De La party. No-one encapsulates the good time vibes like the magic three; Kelvin Mercer, David...
Review posted on 15th June 2009
Riceboy Sleeps - Self-titled
Review of Riceboy Sleeps self-titled debut album released through Parlophone.Featuring Jón þór Birgisson, vocalist of Icelandic post-rock darlings Sígur Rós, Riceboy Sleeps were always going to have a weight of expectation placed upon them. A...
Review posted on 15th June 2009
My Latest Novel - Deaths & Entrances
Review of My Latest Novel's album Deaths & Entrances released through Bella Union. My Latest Novel are yet another example that Scotland is the true hotbed of indie-rock. The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit and We...
Review posted on 11th June 2009
Speck Mountain - Some Sweet Relief
Review of Speck Mountain's album Some Sweet Relief released through Bella Union. Speck Mountain exist somewhere on the horizon, just in sight but miles away from reach. Their music rolls like waves under the clearest...
Review posted on 9th June 2009
Dot To Dot, Nottingham, Sunday May 24th Live Review
Review of Dot To Dot festival in Nottingham on 24th May 09. This year Dot To Dot has gone back to basics. After last years bloated, and uniformly indentikit, line-up it has retreated to a...
Review posted on 27th May 2009
The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
Review of The Low Anthem's album 'Oh My God, Charlie Darwin' released through Bella Union. Usually the process of summing up a bands sound is a pretty simple one. Even the most adventurous of bands...
Review posted on 5th May 2009
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