New album: Powerful, passionate highly accomplished fourth indie-rock album by singer/songwriter Louisa Roach and band from Wirral in Merseyside, one broadening her musical scope and perspective, not just socio-political and soul-searching personal, but also spanning eons, fuelled by some personal heartbreak
Read moreDu Blonde: Sniff More Gritty
New album: With a startling new look, the multi-talented British singer-songwriter and video artist Beth Jeans Houghton returns with her powerfully anthemic glam rock, grunge pop and fuzz guitar indie in this follow-up to 2021’s Homecoming
Read moreOur Girl: The Good Kind
New album: The London indie trio of singer/guitarist Soph Nathan, drummer Lauren Wilson and bassist Joshua Tyler’s new LP has a beautiful warmth of sound and optimistic honesty in lyric, borne from a theme of celebrating of determination against difficulty
Read moreTHUS LOVE: All Pleasure
New album: This second LP by the post-punk quartet self-style queer post-punk band from Brattleboro, Vermont, is pulsating, visceral, panache-filled, and themed about the so-called nourishing euphoria that comes from real-life experiences rather than easy-access digital dopamine hits
Read morePeter Perrett: The Cleansing
New album: A golden late period by The Only Ones frontman continues with this third solo album, and having famously survived addictions, it muses on morbidity and other themes with a droll brilliance, aided guests including Johnny Marr, Bobby Gillespie, and Carlos O’Connell of Fontaines DC
Read moreThe Cure: Songs of a Lost World
New album: Powerful, moving and dark, on grief, loss and the passing of time, this milestone release by the British cult band of Robert Smith is their first LP of new songs for 16 years, but is worth the wait with its emotional depth and strength
Read moreAmyl and The Sniffers: Cartoon Darkness
New album: The Australian punk band fronted by the electric personality of irrepressible singer Amy Taylor return with another set of fabulous songs, with some new musical dynamic variation, plenty of humour, swearing, exposed flesh, but also self-aware, kick-ass feminism driven by great riffs and melodies
Read moreSilverbacks: Easy Being A Winner
New album: The Dublin sextet of frontman Daniel O’Kelly, brother Kilian and co return with a third album, one of mischief, eccentricity and no shortage of musical skill, witty lyrics and clever, intricate and powerful triple guitar riffing, co-produced by Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox
Read moreBlood Incantation: Absolute Elsewhere
New album: Appearances might partly deceive, as while this almighty release by the Denver, Colorado quartet of Paul Riedl, Isaac Faulk, Morris Kolontyrsky and Jeff Barrett has a grunting death metal tag, it also traverses a wondrously inventive landscape of dynamic prog, folk, rock, krautrock and beyond with an accompanying film
Read moreThe Linda Lindas: No Obligation
New album: The engaging and likeable American Asian-Latin band of two sisters, cousin and friend return with a second album of infectious, broad appeal, ,energetic, rock, indie and punk pop, following 2022’s debut Growing Up
Read moreGoat: Goat
New album: The mysterious masked Swedish collective return with their third LP in as many years with a heady new dose of primal prog, funk, folk and psychedelic rock sitrred in a pot of guitar pedals, flutes, drums and ritualistic-style vocals
Read morePublic Service Broadcasting: The Last Flight
New album: Inspired by the same subject as Laurie Anderson’s Amelia album earlier this year, a the experimental news archive-digging British rock group formed by J Willgoose Esq return by paying tribute to the pioneering female American aviator Amelia Earhart
Read moreThe Hard Quartet: The Hard Quartet
New album: This seasoned pro supergroup of Stephen Malkmus (Pavement and Jicks), Matt Sweeney (Chavez), Emmett Kelly and Jim White create a marvellously muscular debut collection of indie, rock, blues punk, but also beautiful Byrds-like numbers
Read moreBeing Dead: EELS
New album: As a title not to be confused with the indie band of Mark Oliver Everett, this new LP by the Austin, Texas band of Falcon Bitch & Shmoofy (fka Gumball), is a different sort of fresh sounding, catchy quirkiness - a throwback 60s garage rock and produced with the mark of quality by John Congleton
Read moreGodspeed You! Black Emperor: No Title As of 13 February 2024, 28,340 Dead
New album: Explosive but also expressive innovation by the returning veteran Canadian post-rockers, with a title that explicitly references the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, but on a larger scale expresses an apocalyptic vision through some extraordinary, prog-rock experimental instrumentals
Read moreGeordie Greep: The New Sound
New album: The former Black Midi frontman’s debut LP is a brilliant swirl of guitar rock, jazz, prog, funk, pop and a big dash of Latin, channelling Frank Zappa, a dramatic Scott Walker delivery, Broadway musicals, cello, a punchy horn section, his distinctive voice, clever, humorous, soliloquy-style lyrics
Read moreThe Smile: Cutouts
New album: Following January’s Wall of Eyes, the trio of Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke, alongside Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner, return with a second LP this year, and third overall – of intricacy and invention – with dark, moody lyrics, and musical excellence
Read moreThe WAEVE: City Lights
New album: This second, very strong and striking LP by the couple duo of Blur guitarist Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall strikingly embraces a variety of indie rock, synth pop and psyche-folk styles, again produced by James, and, as well as guitar, featured Coxon’s reborn love for the saxophone
Read moreBright Eyes: Five Dice, All Threes
New album: Equal measures of toe-tapping catchiness, poignantly sharp, intelligent lyrics, intensity, tenderness and moving melancholy come in this excellent new LP by the US indie-folk rockers fronted by singer-songwriter and guitarist Conor Oberst, and featuring guests Cat Power, The National’s Matt Berninger, with co-writing by Alex Orange Drink of New York punk band The So So Glos
Read moreThe The: Ensoulment
New album: The distinctive rich toned, talking-singing vocals of Matt Johnson and band return with their first studio album of new songs for 24 years, with some echoes of those excellent songs of 1983’s Soul Mining period while capturing a current time of disconcerting change
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