NeillyNeil has written the following articles:
This is Alex Turner's real age of understatement and it's a resounding success. »
Erland and the Carnival are a group who don't need to concern themselves with where they figure in the history and future of folk music in any sense. They are more than interesting enough just being themselves.»
Absolute works as an overview of one the UK's most bold, daring, intelligent and unique pop groups as opposed to that of bold, daring, intelligent and unique post-punk pioneers and taken at a purely superficial level it remains a collection of mostly immaculate pop music. »
Despite the presence of a few genuinely excellent remixes, the overall quality rarely transcends the status of 'pretty average' and points are lost for the all round pointlessness of the record. »
The Gay Blades remain a band infinitely less interesting on record than on paper.»
James Yorkston's writings provide more insight and humour in their coverage of five tours than most musicians could manage in a whole ghost-written life story. »
Some will decry Valhalla Dancehall's essential familiarity, but on their fourth album proper British Sea Power are a band unique, complex and confident enough in their own right to remind us why we loved them in the first place whilst making modest refinements to their sound. »
Lonely Galaxy is still setting his stall and in promising fashion. »
The Echo and the Bunnymen it‘s ok for Kasabian fans to like.»
While other post-punk bands were making greater experimental advances, few had the tunefulness, eccentric personality or fearlessness about engage with the less hip aspects of our musical past that The Soft Boys did.»
Ultimately The Same Crooked Worm is rendered a disappointment by the failure to express, in an engaging manner, the circumstances and feelings which were the record’s raison d'être. »
Twenty-year-old Coco Sumner is indeed the fruit of the bass-thumbing Police-man and film producer Trudie Styler’s collective loins. I Blame Coco sees her try her hand at shamelessly retrogressive synth-pop. »
Although it may often be breathtakingly evocative, Ancestral Star is a record that many could admire, but few could truly love. »
Thirty years on this reissue reaffirms the status of Searching For the Young Soul Rebels as a landmark British debut album.»
Bryan Ferry has produced another album of inessential middle-of-the-road cosmopolitan adult-pop. »
Celebrate What You Can’t See effectively reaffirms the straight up quality, as opposed to mere potential, which You Never Did Anything Wrong To Me greeted us with.»
At one point a balaclava like that worn by James on their infamous TOTP performance of ‘Faster’ was thrown onstage and, James refusing to wear it, Nicky put it on one of the glittery mannequins which was already sporting a feather boa. This bizarre sight was an aesthetic contradiction on par with the mess of contradictions that Bradfield, Wire and Moore have always been throughout their career. Over 20 years into their career, the live arena remains the best place to bear witness to it and one where “mass communication” still seems a given.»
An extremely satisfying stop-gap for fans of The Twilight Sad’s second album.»
OMD gut their earlier sound of all the fascinating idiosyncrasies and experimental flair that distinguished it and coat the empty shell in high sheen electro-pop gloss and drape it platitudes. »
Innundir Skinni is a modest little record compared to the self-indulgence of Joanna Newsom’s latest or grandiose ambitions of countrymen like Sigur Rós, but its charms are plentiful and in her own humble, but distinct, way Ólöf Arnalds confounds expectations. »
Although it’s never groundbreaking, Maximum Balloon is a dizzyingly good pop record»
Despite the newfound taste for country pop, Flamingo ultimately has the feel of a Killers record in almost every aspect. »
As part of our 10-week “DiS is 10!” celebration, we’ve asked 50 of our favourite people to tell us about one of their favourite albums of the past 10 years. Here, DiS contributor Neil Ashman shares his choice... at_theHug&Pint-ArabStrap480.jpg" wid»
Weathervanes is a catchy album that will satiate those with an indie-pop sweet tooth and maybe even offer the odd moment of genuine inspiration. »
If you need an indie-pop sugar rush this a pretty good place to go. »
'Promising' once again seems like the right word, but on Where The Messengers Meet the Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band do a good deal of delivering too. »
Future Balearica succeeds in working as a good mixtape as opposed to the state-of-the-scene address that word 'future' in the title might hint at. »
Regardless of its creators intent, however, the result is an interesting and strange little record that is instantly likeable, yet unmistakably the output of someone most comfortable working in the realm of the avant garde. »
For an album that wears its classic pop influences so clearly on its sleeve Sunshine Pops! is sorely lacking in arresting melodies.»
'O My Heart' is an album people will love just for making them feel good, without giving any great deal of thought as to why, which is exactly what good pop music should be capable of doing.»
