Latest Reviews

Kojaque, otherwise known as Kevin Smith, is the latest in a long line of musical talent coming out of Dublin. On his debut album, the young rapper specialises in carving out sharply observed slices of life in the Irish capital, and in particular the experiences of the city’s young people, ravaged by years of political, economic and social change that have priced many out of finding their own home. Indeed, Kojaque wrote the album while living at home with his mum. 

Best known as the lead vocalist of Australian pop rock outfit 5 Seconds Of Summer, Luke Hemmings has stepped away from the band to launch his solo career, beginning with the release this week of his new single Starting Line, produced by Sammy Witte.

Willow manages to push her limits as an artist once again with an analog twist. “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l”, her newest single with the percussive powerhouse Travis Barker (Blink 198).

“Cathartic” is the single word 21-year-old Londoner Aziya Aldridge-Moore (known as just Aziya) used on her official Facebook page to describe the release of We Speak Of Tides, her first EP and a release that was spawned from the last year and more of life lived under lockdown. Unable to perform with her band, Aziya instead took to social media, releasing covers of some of her favourite artists, and working on the tracks that would form her debut EP.

Maisie Peters has already enjoyed a truly meteoric rise. After gaining popularity through YouTube and dropping the EPs Dressed Too Nice for a Jacket (2018) and It's Your Bed Babe, It's Your Funeral (2019) through Atlantic Records, the 21-year-old singer songwriter penned a record deal with none other than Ed Sheeran earlier this year, and the ginger-haired pop behemoth is all set to release Peters’ debut album You Signed Up For This later this summer through his Gingerbread Records label. 

Birmingham-born singer, songwriter and composer Laura Mvula has endured a particularly difficult few years. It’s not just the constraints and strains of lockdown that we’ve all endured either. After her first two albums – 2013’s Sing To The Moon and The Dreaming Room in 2016 – were both Mercury nominated, her debut winning two MOBO Awards and the followup an Ivor Novello Award, Mvula was unceremoniously dropped by Sony from her five-album deal. Incredibly, she only found out the news by email. 

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia and led by the captivating vocals of frontman Andy Hull, Manchester Orchestra are a band that have achieved one of the trickiest feats for an indie rock outfit – making each album feel at once unique yet quintessentially identifiable as theirs. From debut album I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child all the way through to their most recent release, 2017’s A Black Mile To The Surface, each new Manchester Orchestra record not only felt like it contained the band’s DNA at it’s very core, but also progressively improved on its predecessor and offered something new. Very few bands can do this, and it's a sign, if any were needed, of their incredible talent as songwriters and performers.

Let’s start this review with a quick bit of trivia: what is the best selling album of all time in the UK?

Hailing from Washington, west coast rockers Modest Mouse were one of the key flag bearers for the indie revival of the late 1990s. Their rapid fire release of three albums in just five years, from their debut This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About, to follow up The Lonesome Crowded West, and 2000’s The Moon & Antarctica, catapulted them to worldwide acclaim, and rightfully so. These early volumes were captivating, free flowing masterpieces of the genre that stand up more than two decades on.

Lockdown must have been a tricky prospect to deal with for Ripley Johnson, the hardworking singer and multiinstrumentalist who is one half of Moon Duo and the frontman of west coast psychedelic rockers Wooden Shjips. Suddenly forced off the road, the enigmatic Johnson turned his hand instead to crafting a new album, despite only releasing his last offering as Rose City Band last summer.