Latest Reviews

What is the secret recipe to make a summer hit song? If you posed this question to a producer, they would most likely answer with the following: popping electronic drums on an energetic tempo, acoustic guitar coupled with thin Stratocaster chord punches, catchy vocal melodies, heavy compression, all toppled with a variety of production gimmicks finished with a seasoning of synth swoops and plucks. Just thinking on all those, you could probably make your own summer anthem for your thoughts alone, or you could be blackbear and exercise all these in an eccentric new summer anthem, queen of broken hearts.

Zara Larsson’s latest single ‘Love Me Land’ is a sparkling declaration of love. The Swedish singer and songwriter have never shied away from embracing her glamorous, seductive energy, and she does so with aplomb in her latest venture.

Aussie three-piece DMA’s have made a name for themselves as a swaggering indie rock band shaped by the heady heights of the Britpop days. Comprised of Thomas O’Dell (lead vocals), Matthew Mason (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Johnny Took (guitar), their first two albums, 2016’s Hills End and For Now in 2018, both cracked the top ten of the album charts in their homeland, and last year they collected the ultimate lad rock accolade of supporting Liam Gallagher on tour.

Jasmine Rose Wilson, who writes and performs as Baby Rose, has one of those voices that just stops you in your tracks. It’s husky and haunting but with a delicate undertone that has you hanging on her every word; it’s rich enough to fill an arena but intimate enough to feel like she’s singing to you and you alone. And she’s got the songs to go with it.

Fresh-faced and hotly tipped for success, The Academic crashed into the Irish charts when their debut album Tales from the Backseat hit number one back in 2018, propelled in part by smash hit single Bear Claws, and it’s ‘live looper’ music video which went viral and racked up over one million views on YouTube in its first 48 hours.

The three singles that have been released prior to Jacob’s newest offering, He Won’t Hold You, have been absolutely stellar to say the least.

Margo Price is one of the undisputed rising stars of the country scene. Her story – from drug use, a spell in prison and one of homelessness, to the tragic loss of her infant son – means shes endured more than her share of pain, and can walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

There can be few musicians as prolific as Mike Kinsella. In his various guises with bands including Cap’n Jazz, American Football, Joan of Arc, and Owls, the Chicago-born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has released an astonishing 43 albums since 1995.

At the end of June, Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield released two new singles from his upcoming solo album Even In Exile, which is due for release on August 14.

Emily Burns’ newest single, Curse, is truly a gem in disguise. Upon first listening to the track, one might think that this song rides on the sound Finneas and Billie Eilish have built in the last few years: Emily’s voice is meek and vulnerable, backed by a shy piano and dreamy synth-scapes cradling the composition.