A little respekt: new Regina album imminent
Kooky New York pianist Regina Spektor has announced details of her second album proper, Begin To Hope...»
Articles
benmarwood has written the following articles:
Club Velocity at Reading Rising Sun Arts Centre, Fri 30 Jun
The concept couldn’t be simpler: take one guitar, give it the muddiest sound you can think of, play only power chords on it (roughly in time) and get your partner to yell punky vocals over a drum machine backing track.»
Napoleon IIIrd, Pagan Wanderer Lu - Brainlove 7" Club no. 1
The first offering from the Brainlove Records Singles Club scoops songs from Napoleon IIIrd and Pagan Wanderer Lu from the sizzling baking tray and shovels it into our hungry, fat mouths.»
Royksopp - Royksopp's Night Out EP
A head-pounding aural assault, Messieurs Brundtland and Berge all but abandon their soft beginnings in favour of tranced-up, pulsating dancefloor-fillers, adapting their earlier songs to fit this newer regime as they go.»
Regina Spektor, Only Son at London Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wed 28 Jun
She may be weary, but from the second she opens her mouth to sing the jazz a-capella of ‘Eight Miles High’, the audience hang off Regina Spektor's every word.»
At The Lake - I Made My Excuses And Left
Forder’s vocals owe more than a little to Morrissey, Marc Almond and 1988, but behind the frustrated, introspective voice of the London quintet lays a desire to turn up the volume.»
Sunday Best folk stuff up
Sunday Best have announced details of a new-folk compilation, entitled Folk Off, due for release on July 10th.»
Minotaurs - Demonstration #1
Formed from the ashes of 21gunsalute, the South Shields sextet Minotaurs have shed the space rock vibe and are going directly for your pop jugulars, as self-assured as their mythological namesake.»
Billy Talent discover roman numerals, tour to celebrate
Screamy emo-types Billy Talent release their sophomore album Billy Talent II on June 26th...»
Mean Fiddler to release new Reading Festival tickets on Tuesday
Promoting behemoths Mean Fiddler have announced that they are to release more weekend tickets for the Reading leg of the Carling Weekend this Tuesday (20th June) at 9am.»
Here's the buzz: Lightyear return
Ska-punkers Lightyear, defunct since 2003, have announced their reformation for a brief jaunt around the UK this summer, culminating in slots at both legs of the Carling Weekend.»
M. Craft - You Are The Music EP
Subbed, lovely. 12th June - Gen --- 'You Are The Music' is quite literally a better music mix: the dry delivery of Cake's John McCrea, the pronunciation of Ben Lee and the occasional double-tracked vocal reminiscent of Peter Gabriel and the essence of 'Lost In Music'-era disco all rolled into three minutes.»
Ed Harcourt - The Beautiful Lie
Ingredients for a great album being present, The Beautiful Lie doesn’t ignite, perhaps due to the unmoving, maudlin stance from which it is all delivered.»
(Untitled)
Northampton indie-punk-rockers The Retro Spankees are to release a tribute to the late presenter Richard Whiteley, one year after his death...»
Hey Gravity! - Inside Out
For a band that spent so long together playing Yeah Yeah Yeahs-style garage punk, ‘Inside Out’ is surprisingly crisp and clear in place of the grit which one was present.»
Lee Rogers - Drawing Clocks
Lee Rogers may sound bluesy, he may even loosen his grip on the English language in an attempt to get that authentic feel, but despite his best efforts, Drawing Clocks remains void of emotion.»
Gomez - Girlshapedlovedrug
‘Girlshapedlovedrug’, mixes the sunny, three-part harmony antics of Dodgy’s ‘Good Enough’ with the cart-wheeling youth of early Midget and the beaming grin of Snug.»
The Futureheads - Skip To The End, The Futureheads, Digitalism - Skip To The End - Digitalism Mixes (Download Only)
The Futureheads’ output thus far has been one angular, start-stop-start-pause sonic barrage after another, so what you’d probably not expect from ‘Skip To The End’ is for it to sound, well, normal.»
Shooting At Unarmed Men - Yes! Tinnitus!
Yes! Tinnitus! tries hard to discard the floundering filler present on their previous effort, but it seems for every example of excellence is one of relative indifference.»
Midlake - Young Bride
'Young Bride' doesn't reach out and grab you immediately, such is its tranquility, yet its subtlety is heartwarming.»
The Cooper Temple Clause at Reading University Students Union, Sun 21 May
Inevitably, they look older, warier after the reshuffle bought on by having lost bassist Didz Hammond almost overnight to Carl Barat's new Libertines tribute act. As it happens, they needn't have worried.»
Hot Chip - Boy From School
'Boy From School' is the party equivalent of the reserved boy in the kitchen, as quiet and understated as the soothing, reverb-heavy vocal line is, set amongst the pounding, relentless torrent of bleeping, looping noises that surround it.»
The Presidents Of The United States Of America - The Presidents of the United States of America
This is three-minute pop under a layer of fuzz and ludicrous lyricism; incessantly catchy, instantly accessible but as deep as Victoria Beckham and just as daft.»
Muse go Supermassive!
Stadium-packing Devonshire trio Muse are to release their new single, 'Supermassive Black Hole', on June 19th.»
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
If 'Steady, As She Goes' is an indication of the quality of Broken Boy Soldiers, then surely The Raconteurs are about to blow Fall Out Boy back to the pit they crawled from and claim their titles as Biggest International Breakthrough Act of 2006. But it’s never that simple, is it.»
Shooting At Unarmed Men - Girls Music
So what if it’s simple, and so what if it lacks finesse? Shooting At Unarmed Men don’t want to tie a pretty ribbon around 'Girls Music', maggot, they want to penetrate you with it.»
Snow Patrol - You're All I Have
When Gary Lightbody hits the bridge it all becomes clear: Snow Patrol are the new Del Amitri.»
Mew - The Zookeeper's Boy
A single angelic voice to shatter the hearts of the Seraphim, Mew vocalist Jonas Bjerre needs neither harps nor psalms to deliver his testament, just guitars, a xylophone and a drum set woven expertly into a down-tempo composition.»
Captain - Broke
It's as if indiepop scousers Ooberman came down from the Faraway Tree and bought a house together, got an ISA and a subscription to the Independent.»
Panic At The Disco - But It's Better If You Do
Should they ever move away from overly-emotive vocals to something with a little more conviction, Panic! At the Disco could become something better than the next My Chemical Romance.»