Michael Sumsion casts his beady eye over the finest albums to grace this most precarious of years. 2020 has been a challenging and gruelling year, no doubt about it. For some, keeping up to date with new releases has been eschewed in favour of retreating to the tried and tested, the nostalgic and the already known. The comforting certainties of yesteryear have consoled … [Read more...] about Twenty-Five Albums Of 2020 You Must Check Out
1991: The Year Rock Diversified and Shone
As the curtains slowly close on 2020 and our staff writers look forward to 2021, Matthew Wand takes a retrospective look back thirty years to 1991, the year 90s music truly broke and the rock scene flourished. To some, the 80s was a true shining light in music, to others it was a decade to forget. Music in the nineties is still long revered by the globe Populus, but this … [Read more...] about 1991: The Year Rock Diversified and Shone
Madlib and Four Tet: Road of the Lonely Ones – Single Review
Beatmasters Madlib and Four Tet drop their enticing first taster from forthcoming opus, Sound Ancestors. Veteran sound sculptor and crate-digger extraordinaire Madlib has shared the first fruits of his eagerly anticipated forthcoming album with the English producer and electronica lynchpin Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet. The infectious Road of the Lonely Ones pivots around a … [Read more...] about Madlib and Four Tet: Road of the Lonely Ones – Single Review
Best Reissues and Compilations of 2020
Michael Sumsion examines the reissue LPs and compilations that shaped a tumultuous 2020. A discerning, pristine and well-chosen reissue can invite erudite discussion, shine fresh light on hitherto unexplored or discarded areas, scenes and artists of musical history and elicit overdue recognition for musicians who were unlucky or just out of shape with their times. The most … [Read more...] about Best Reissues and Compilations of 2020
Middle Part – I Wish I Was Alive: EP Review
As the year winds down, Middle Part releases EP, I Wish I Wash Alive, which very aptly reflects how we’re all feeling right now: lost, unstructured and looking forward to the possibility of something a bit more concrete to come. The release discusses a plethora of issues across the 6 tracks, including personal experiences of mental illness, disassociation and grasping one’s … [Read more...] about Middle Part – I Wish I Was Alive: EP Review
Karen Elson: Radio Redhead, Vol. 1 – EP Review
Karen Elson treats us to a selection of covers from ABBA to Robyn in her new EP, Radio Redhead, Vol. 1. As 2020 draws to a close, a wind-down on albums can be expected. However, that doesn’t mean having to sacrifice new music, as Karen Elson’s EP Radio Redhead, Vol. 1 demonstrates. This intimate collection of song covers is short but sweet – the perfect antidote to what has … [Read more...] about Karen Elson: Radio Redhead, Vol. 1 – EP Review