Some albums reflect the times; others are a welcome escape. Pearl Charles’s new album ‘Magic Mirror’ is the latter – a disco ball swirling a little light through the darkness and gloom of the new year. Continue reading “Album Review: Pearl Charles – Magic Mirror”
In a recent conversation with Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, Jess Williamson discussed how she was inspired by Kacey Musgraves’s ‘Golden Hour’ to fully embrace all her musical influences – from indie, to country, to pop, psychedelia and beyond. The musical results she conjures up on this new album Sorceress are shimmering and glorious. Continue reading “Album Review: Jess Williamson – Sorceress”
Last year Brittany Howard stepped away from her band Alabama Shakes and went out on her own, releasing the album Jaime to widespread critical acclaim. After a triumphant performance as part of the BBC 6 music festival in London she stopped off in Glasgow to play a stunning sold out show at the Old Fruitmarket. Continue reading “Live Review: Brittany Howard @ The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow”
Everyone does their thing a little bit differently, ALA.NI sings on the seductive opening track of her new album ACCA. We last heard from her on the wonderful You and I album (which I reviewed a couple of years ago) and since then she has been experimenting further with the boundaries of her unique sound. This new album has been written and recorded almost entirely a cappella, with the vocal tracks then being layered to sound like instruments. The result is a dizzying mix of innovation that sounds spontaneous and utterly sparkling throughout. Continue reading “Album Review: ALA.NI – ACCA”
Canadian singer songwriter Sarah Jane Scouten’s new album Confessions, takes us on a journey into the dark side of her heart, with some beautifully bewitching results. Continue reading “Album Review: Sarah Jane Scouten – Confessions”
The autumn leaves are starting to fall and the nights are drawing in, so what better to soundtrack the change of season than a lovely little introspective indie folk record. Black Sea Dahu are led by Swiss singer songwriter Janine Cathrein who wrote these songs after a breakup in an attempt to make sense of the ever shifting world around her. Continue reading “E.P. Review: Black Sea Dahu – No Fire in the Sand”
Brittany Howard has always had ambition to be known as more than just a vintage soul singer, as proven by the second Alabama Shakes album and her alter ego Thunderbitch. Her new solo album, Jaime, is named after her sister who died in childhood and takes musical inspiration from wildly diverse genres and styles. Jaime is a personal odyssey of discovery where in an attempt to deconstruct her past, musically and personally, she has created something thrillingly present. Continue reading “Album Review: Brittany Howard – Jaime”
I hadn’t listened much to Lana Del Rey before I began writing this blog. Sure I knew Summertime Sadness and Video Games but they didn’t encourage me to listen further. There was something about her sad-girl-loves-bad-boys image that made me think she was a construct, a record label fantasy surely created by a man. Her dead eye stare was as cold as the beats of her over produced music.
And, to be honest, I still don’t know if I’m entirely wrong about those initial assumptions. What I do know is that with Norman Fucking Rockwell! Lana Del Rey just released one of the best albums of 2019. Her quiet evolution into one of the most vital voices of this year has been quite stunning to witness. Continue reading “Album Review: Lana Del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell!”
On Rosanne Cash’s first album in five years, She Remembers Everything, the Grammy winning songwriter explores themes of time, death and suffering. Her world-weary wisdom is channeled into songs of unflinching realism and stark truths. Continue reading “Album Review: Rosanne Cash – She Remembers Everything”
