PoorlySketchedChap has written the following articles:
The Magnetic North are never going to get the party started or kick a live audience into gear, but on this evidence they have an unnerving ability to transport you to a bleak but beautiful part of the country.»
Allo Darlin’ succeed by building a world in their songs that’s different to the one we see everyday. Throughout Europe, they manage to make that sound like a pretty nice place to be.»
Whatever your preconceptions of Hawley and his music, this is definitely an album you should bend a considered ear towards.»
It’s a strange beast, but Year Zero also shows that there’s still life to be found in a band that you might have worried had run out of ideas.»
The beauty of The Wave Pictures lies in how they can take such rudimentary ingredients and create something genuinely exciting. This is the band’s third album in as many years, with singer David Tattersall releasing at least two solo albums or collaborations in between. Rather than exposing the limits of their sonic fields though, this proficiency has allowed The Wave Pictures to push and stretch the edges of that traditional three piece line up, seeing just what they can do with the basics. To describe Tattersall as an English Jack White might seem faintly ridiculous, but I’m going to do it anyway. »
It’s a nice, lush sounding record – it’s just missing some of the grit that you’d find with the full Felice family in action.»
Noel Gallagher has been bigging up his collaboration with the Amorphous Androgynous for a while now, suggesting that it’s going to be pushing the boat out. Hate to tell you our kid, but Paul Weller’s got there and done it before you.»
Once people see it’s not the next 21, hopefully Home Again will be able to stand out for its own virtues.»
Can being a musician, writing pop songs and gigging around the country, ever be considered a ‘proper job’? Most musicians might not delve too deeply into the true dynamics of what they do to make a living, but it’s definitely something that occupies thoug»
That we’ve got a band asking such questions of themselves, whilst making some of the most thoughtful, intelligent pop in the country, should be celebrated.»
At just 33 minutes long, Your Truly, Cellophane Nose is chaotic, cluttered and certainly not straightforward enough to cast her as the ‘next Laura Marling’. Thank goodness for that. »
Each year, DiS asks our staff to vote for their albums of the year. We vaguely tot up their 'votes' and then contrast and compare with what's been written about, as well as what has been talked about all year on our boards, and compile some sort of year-end list, that attempts to approximately sum up the year that was. However, each and every year, there are records which slip through the cracks, that individuals who write for the site absolutely adore, yet few others seem to even be aware of the record in question. To help highlight a few lost records, we invented the Lost List, and ask individuals to write some words explaining why the love the album in question. Over the next 11 days, we'll be counting down our lost 11 of 2011, and here comes number one... »
Dan Michaelson has come to the understanding that although it’s nice to dress that voice with all manner of different instruments, the most impressive thing he can do is wrap his rich, slow rumbling croon around as many languid syllables as possible. »
From the title onwards, you know that this isn’t going to be the most serious of endeavours. »
Ryan Adams has never been about doing things differently, just doing the traditional things well.»
Like its two predecessors, The Whole Love has been made entirely by the six middle aged men who currently play a part in Wilco, and it’s an accurate reflection of their talents. For them to attempt anything else would be a lie. »
If you ignore the plotline, there’s plenty of enjoyment to be found in The High Country. »
A glacial, considered approach might not win The War On Drugs many radio plays, but it’s a method that pays off handsomely across a full album.»
A band that had pretty much done all they could with one particular musical avenue, and were brave enough to head in another direction. »
It’s the mix of simple, effective songwriting with exquisite musicianship that makes Gillian Welch so special.»
The Errant Charm isn’t as instant as its predecessor, but the quality of Andy Cabic’s songwriting which underpins the entire operation ensures that this formula pays off after repeated listens.»
Frustratingly, where once My Morning Jacket were an act unafraid to let their hair down and rock out, Circuital is pretty reined in throughout.»
This record can stand confidently next to its predecessor.»
Seven sparse pieces of music, accompanying Bill Callahan’s particularly dry sense of humour and his stark visual metaphors, his latest LP is as reliably fine as a new film from the Coen Brothers.»
Hardly a major leap in any direction for Adams, but rather another environment in which he can craft his particularly English way with words.»
They could sing the songs of Las Ketchup and make them sound impossibly sad and beautiful. »
As part of a longer discography, Smart Flesh will probably stand as a good, solid point in The Low Anthem’s career, a sign of the band developing their sound and their songwriting before delivering something truly special. »
Most Gruff Rhys releases come with a grand concept or a silly idea behind them, only to reveal themselves as gently psychedelic indie-pop creations, and Hotel Shampoo is no different. »
If ever there was a popstar who you would bet on writing a novel, it would be the literary-minded man behind Belle And Sebastian, Stuart Murdoch.»
It confirms Orange Juice as more than an influential indie band – it shows up their ridiculousness, their ambition, their open-mindedness, their limitations, their self-reliance. »
