Review
by Will Dean
When this writer first heard the name Little Man Tate he stretched his mind back a few years, thinking they were a bunch of 15-minuters from Britpop’s half-hearted death. The name. Och, it's awful. It's the name of a Jodie Foster movie. It's horribly, painfully, achingly 1998...»
Review
by Will Dean
Cold War Kids are a good band, no doubt. Any band that does a fairly accurate take on White Album-era Lennon and the bass-led twang of any number of great American bands from the last thirty years or so can't be bad... »
Review
by Will Dean
Will Oldham just knows. He does, doesn’t he? As well as having a name that is almost a portmanteau of your writer’s forename and hometown, he's been producing beauties like 'Lay & Love' for 13 years now, and still seems to hit the mark with an alarmingly-good regularity...»
Review
by Will Dean
Morrissey plays the final conductor as he oversees the last two gigs at a famous Manchester venue...»
Review
by Will Dean
Pharrell Williams was always much more fun when he was hiding behind the mixing desk with Chad Hugo – the other half of The Neptunes...»
Review
by Will Dean
Christmas isn't fun any more. But if there's one man who can save the festive period from the blues it's Sufjan Stevens. He's the only artist who could make you look away from the baying crowds desperate to get a copy of Rudebox for their little sister and think, "that’s sweet"...»
In Depth by Will Dean
A young man stands on stage smiling in incomprehension. His band, just 14 gigs old, are halfway through their set at Camden's Barfly. The crowd sings along, cheering to tracks they've only heard on the internet like they're Greatest Hits staples. It's one o'clock on a Saturday morning and this, ladies and gentlemen, is Los Campesinos! »
Review
by Will Dean
Nathan Willet's Californian croon makes 'We Used To Vacation' an absolute triumph. It's a bittersweet pop-novella about a remorseful drunk who misses his kids' graduations and drinks during the day, but can't quite kick his habit. Or, as he puts it: “it sounds so soothing to mix a gin and sink into oblivion”...»
Review
by Will Dean
Where to start with United State of Electronica? Well, you know that nice whooshing sound you get on fancy new fawcets. They have them in nice hotel bathrooms and the like. Whoooosh they go...»
News
by Will Dean
Cardiff's fantastic. It rains a lot certainly, but you can walk everywhere and a pint can be found for less then two bob. To conclude, it's super. Where were we...»
Review
by Will Dean
Obviously The Be Be See subscribe to the red-top sub-editors' gospel that there is no such thing as a bad pun...»
Review
by Will Dean
First things first, pop-pickers. When first encountering the name Bromheads Jacket, one would think that the Jacket in question was an actual jacket. Y'know, like in Blink-182's Take Off Your Pants And......»
Review
by Will Dean
Last year Subtle's tour van hit black ice in Ohio and flew off the road. While the rest of the band survived unhurt, the accident left keyboardist Dax Pierson quadriplegic. Eighteen months later and adversity has been overcome: Subtle have released one of the albums of the year and 'The Mercury Craze' is its breathtaking first single...»
Review
by Will Dean
Tenacious D are rubbish. In fact, all comedy bands are rubbish. From 'Weird' Al Yankovic, to Goldie Lookin’ Chain, to Spinal Tap (who were funny, but still rubbish) to U2 to Jack Black and Kyle Gass's Tenacious D. The Shirehorses had their moments, mind...»
Review
by Will Dean
Having song titles that make one reach for the Chambers is neither big nor clever (see: Oasis' 'Acquiesce') and just serves to remind your listeners that you were a lot more fun when you had songs called 'Fuck a Dog' and 'The Party Song'...»
Review
by Will Dean
It's appropriate that the worship of the cult of Yo La Tengo took place in one of Wales's best venues. The Point is a converted church tucked in around the corner from the regenerated estate agent-trendy Cardiff Bay...»
Review
by Will Dean
If Justin Timberlake wrote me a symphony just to say how much I meant to him I'd be thrilled. If he told me I was beautiful I probably would, on the balance of all probabilities, date him “on the regular”...»
Review
by Will Dean
Although this gig is officially a Levi's One to Watch showpiece, there seems to be very little in the Barfly to suggest that we ar»