Latest Reviews

American singer and songwriter Madison Beer got her break aged just thirteen when Justin Bieber tweeted a link to Beer’s YouTube cover of Etta James’s At Last, then signed her to Island Records. Her first single Melodies was then released in 2013 (the video featured a cameo from Bieber himself), and Beer began work on her debut album, reported at the time to have pop and R&B influences.

Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III – known by his stage name Aloe Blacc – is a man of many talents. As a musician, singer, songwriter and record producer, he’s worked on a wide variety of projects. He topped the UK charts with his singles I Need A Dollar and The Man, and wrote and performed vocals on Avicii’s Wake Me Up, which topped the charts in 22 countries, and has amassed almost 1,250,000,000 streams on Spotify. Alongside fellow US record producer Exile, Blacc also forms the hip hop duo Emanon.

Fans of NOFX might be a little bit confused by the opening notes of their fourteenth studio record Single Album. Not only did the edgy, palm muted guitar that opens the album take five years to arrive (for such a prolific band, the long wait since their last album First Ditch Effort dropped in 2016 seems cavernous) but yes, no matter how many times you listen to it, there’s no escaping the fact that that’s the riff from Bryan Adams’ Summer Of 69…

Davy has always found ways to push the envelope when it comes to musical innovations. He has always refused to stick to one genre, or rather to let himself be boxed in to labels. With each new track, it seems to get harder and harder to describe his music other than to simply say “It’s Davy”. It’ll be Okay, his newest single, is by far the most ambitious of his recent releases.

The Hold Steady are one of those bands that seem to have been around forever, a bonafide part of the fabric of American music. But despite their reliable, dependable name, and penchant for telling Springsteen-esque tales of life in the USA, they’re also not afraid of mixing things up. From the concept album debut of Almost Killed Me right up to their latest and eighth studio album Open Door Policy, which they’re sprinkled with a healthy dose of brass.

When you think of charity, you think positive, right? The feeling of hope and grace are undoubtedly positive, and the group Midlife did a wonderful job capturing pure joy in its most wholesome form with their newest charity-single Rude Girl #doingitforlaura. 

Jessy Rose takes us on a captivating journey of rebirth and reflection in his debut solo single “Set Free.” The single is pop perfection, with a crisp and warm production that sets the stage for the artist to express his most piercing vulnerabilities all while remaining emotionally accessible and personable. 

Glasgow post-rock outfit Mogwai carved out a name for themselves in the 1990s and early 2000s with their expansive, idiosyncratic soundscapes and intense live performances. Their early collections, including the likes of Mogwai Young Team and Happy Songs For Happy People, remain immensely well loved by a loyal following who have grown with the band over the years.

In what might be the most interesting blend of genres, Jealous by Mahalia, featuring Rico Nasty, is an interesting tune through and through, and both plays into what works in modern music and what’s so beautiful about Mahalia’s musicality.

London-based four-piece Django Django have long been a difficult band to label. Mixing electro and rock elements, with an art house aesthetic and an indie foundation, they’ve consistently turned out big, melodic tunes across their three albums to date, even if the edges have blurred between genres throughout their back catalogue.