romanisbetter has written the following articles:
If you’re looking for an album to soundtrack lazy Sundays and picnics in slightly-too-chilly weather, then Second Move will help you pass the time when time is there to be wasted. »
It all feels as though Broken Records weren’t quite sure what they wanted to do so stuck firmly in the middle of the road. »
This is a record that most Jimmy Eat World fans will struggle to recognise as the band they fell in love with.»
On Timber Timbre, Taylor Kirk shows how familiar he is with the styles of songwriting that paved the way for so much of contemporary music. But he adds little of himself to that journey.»
The test for Esben and the Witch now, is to see whether they are confident enough to write more songs that feed off their own momentum rather than spluttering to a halt under the strain of their ambition. »
It might feel sometimes that their experimentation is misguided, and the overall consequence of cramming so many ideas into half an hour does make Zeus a disjointed listen. But it also makes Zeus a healthy record to listen to at this stage in British Sea Power’s career, as they work out which exciting new journey they will take their audience on nex»
It remains to be seen whether A Swedish Love Story marks the beginning of a new era in Owen Pallett’s career. What it is for certain, however, is a small glimpse of the extraordinary range of songs he is capable of writing. »
Progression like this, seemingly for the sake of it, isn’t really progression at all. »
They named themselves after a song by The Smiths, but it was difficult to trace the connection between Morrissey and Marr’s maudlin melodies and Good Health, the first album by Pretty Girls Make Graves. Things became a lot clearer on The New Romance, th»
The hour-long main section of Jojo Burger Tempest is too hollow to be of much merit.»
Zounds sounds like a compilation that charts all of the slightly awkward musical trends that have soiled the music press over the last five years.»
Cold Seeds documents the process of a group of musicians trying to get something off their chests. It is this ambiguity that raises intrigue and will bring you back for more. »
It’s not been long since Pulled Apart By Horses released their eponymous debut album to, it would seem, unanimous praise – including a snazzy eight points from DiS. Never complacent though, the band have spent that time touring the length and breadth of B»
While he still means what he says, Duckworth doesn’t say it with the same youthful frustration that used to ignite his inspiration.»
On the whole, Menomena have made an album of exceptional maturity, which itself is a symptom of their talent for avoiding clichés and their ability to prevent listeners from making any assumptions about what their music should be. »
Despite one or two blunders, Fierce Panda has struck gold enough times on Licensed To Drill to consolidate its position as one of the most reliable UK labels around. »
This band are no mere copycats (and cats and cats). »
Heavy Ghost Appendicesoffers the kind of haunting that every house should welcome. »
With its ambiguous musical beginnings, this album places itself in the thick of the vegetation, but with clever instrumentation, the sounds spark images of stunning green scenes – some safe, some scary, some seemingly from another world. »
Listen to Gangbusters! and you won’t regret the lost half hour. This is, after all, a solid album of melancholy, slightly folky, slightly twee pop songs.»
The expectation was never for The Shills to live up to their own hype.»
There is nothing quirky, nothing challenging, nothing innovative and nothing particularly compelling about Pin Me Down. »
Peggy Sue are poignant and articulate as they wallow in the turmoil of lost love. »
It’s best to think of Dark Dark Dark as what the Arcade Fire’s Régine would sound like if she started a band with Regina Spektor.»
As a creative artefact its merits are limited, and does little, if anything, to contribute to Tim Burton’s creative vision. »
If anything, this record should be remembered as a tribute to the way individuals can pull through even the greatest heartache. »
Anyone who spends a little bit of time with Boo will find themselves going back for more, time after time after time, trying to work out what it’s all about. »
Like many (most, probably) folk acts then, Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou are at their most appealing when they shrug off all the clichés of a genre that, through its age, is full of them. »
There’s just enough energy captured throughout for the label to establish itself as one to keep an eye on in 2010. »
It might be a bit much to suggest that Sparrow And The Workshop might do for folk what The Strokes did for rock ‘n’ roll at the start of the decade. Still, few other folk (or anti-folk) contemporaries have managed to rejuvenate the world’s oldest genre, by paying homage to their influences, yet without losing any of their own imagination. »
