Latest Reviews

London-based singer-songwriter Sody has been impressing with her sublimely rich vocals and ability to craft raw, honest pop songs since she dropped her debut release Wasted Youth back in 2016. Still a teenager, Sody (otherwise known as Sophie Dyson) is already clocking up almost two and a half million monthly listens on Spotify and has collaborated with the likes of Cavetown on her work to date.

Burrows, the long-awaited debut for Leeds-based trio Caro, is a beguiling beast. They’re a gloriously diverse band, skipping merrily from psychedelic electro to introspective folk and back again with a seemingly reckless abandon, and that makes Burrows a fantastically rewarding listen. For the uninitiated though, it’s a record that might take a while to settle into. But when you do, it’s an absolute delight, like passing through the wardrobe door into a musical Narnia, albeit a very troubled one.

Singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, global superstar – there’s plenty of labels you could attach to James Blake. But throughout his glittering career, which has so far featured a Mercury Prize win (and a further nomination), a Grammy Award (and five further nominations) and three Brit Award nominations, as well as projects working with everyone from Bon Iver to Beyonce, he’s never shied away from changing things up.

One Cure for Man has just dropped another gorgeous new single, following on from his May 2020 release, “Haunted.” Also known as James Parkinson, One Cure for Man is once again showing his amazing ability to take inspiration from the most heartbreaking losses, to teach and encourage us, through his apt and eloquent lyrics and catchy musical style.

After founding as a four-piece in 2009, indie hip-hop outfit Twenty One Pilots were reduced to the duo of vocalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun when fellow founding members Nick Thomas and Chris Salih departed in 2011. That might have derailed lesser bands, but Twenty One Pilots refocused, and have enjoyed a huge amount of success over the last decade or so in this guise.

A Belle And Sebastian live album has been a long time coming. The Scottish indie outfit have been bombarded by fan requests for just such a release for years, and it’s easy to see why: they’re a fantastic live band who excel in connecting with their audiences. This 23-song collection contains the pick of tracks from their 2019 tour, and from their appearances at their own Boaty Weekender festival, making it a sort of ‘best of’ live album, though there are one or two of the band’s most famous works missing, which might irk some. But there’s also plenty of big hitters, chief among them The Boy With The Arab Strap.

Ska-punk scamps Less Than Jake have been recording, touring, and starting drunken teenage parties around the world for closing in on three decades now. But, just like their legions of fans, they’re growing up and growing older. It's been seven years since their last studio album See The Light was released, and there must have been some out there among us that were wondering in the intervening years if we’d ever get them back.

It seems like in the jazz and folk scene, just about everyone’s heard of Dodie, and for a while, too, but it’s only now that she’s finally dedicated herself to an album. Part of that upcoming album is this newest single, titled “Rainbow”. Truthfully, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a song so appropriately titled for a track. It begins with a beautiful guitar progression, plucked one note, one string, at a time, and soon accompanied by the soothing, delicate voice of Dodie.

Sheffield sensations the Arctic Monkeys were widely heralded as the saviours of authentic indie rock when they burst onto the scene with breakthrough hit I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, and the album from which it was taken, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, which became the fastest selling debut album in British music history when it sold a staggering 360,000 copies in its first week of release.

Black Eyed Peas’ recent comeback scores a rush of excitement in the form of Shakira in their latest single ‘A Girl Like Me’. This beloved group has reassembled in the past year but most would notice that their latest work has been missing a certain feminine flavor. Though Fergie and her captivating vocals are still nowhere to be found, Shakira’s wild and over-the-top charisma shines through and makes an impact regardlessly. It helps that there’s a strong chorus to match Shakira’s spirit, one that distorts her voice at the end and layers it up a couple of pitches. The end-product is a fun, exaggerated, high-pitched refrain that echoes through the silence and builds up the mood for a rambunctious adventure.