Blog: Tracks from the stack

New year, and the same old delivery schedule. Everyone has already shot their wad with their Ones to watch, and Tips for the Top. My only tip this year is Daughter . Caught them at lounge on the Farm, and they were very good. Think post rock and new folk wrapped into a tight embrace. Records to avoid - The Lemonheads Hotel Sessions. Full review is up on DiS. 3/10 says it all for a band I once loved. Sloppy addition to their catalogue, general poor shew all round. Records to seek - [...]

Hi, This is an interview I wrote for DiS. It was sent to them well before Christmas, but never went live, which is a shame. It's posted here for completeness' sake, and because I have a fond memory of making them laugh with 'the Stephen Malkmus gag'. Photo is by Diana Thompson. Great shot. ------------ "Welcome to Premier Inn. How are you today?" The man is wearing a waistcoast and a well practiced smile. He is excellent at his job, and in moments we are seated in comfortable chairs in [...]

If your list doesn't include either the Destroyer album, or the True Widow album, it is invalid. Also, you are dead to me.

Great little picture on the sleeve, isn't it? Very Zeitgeisty, with the ancient ruin contrasting and lining up against a building of finance gently leaning back, as though it were about to collapse. All cultures fail, and time is absolute. Onwards to the Wall, why that just hints at an uprising of the people doesn't it? At the same time, with the picture in mind, it is onwards towards death. Tracklisting: 1. I Lost You 2. So Far Away 3. Onwards To The Wall 4. Nothing Will Surprise [...]

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Pictures 1 and 5 Amy Cullen, 2 to 4 Mine. All rights reserved, all wrongs reversed.

And here it is . It's a very good album on its own merits. Feel quite guilty for mentioning the band that prefigured this one so much, but what can you say? THERE ARE SOME SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THEM. True Widow at the Macbeth tomorrow night. There will be a few pictures, I imagine.

Once you go mersh, you can't go back... and how swiftly those OMGWGKTA players move to the majors, eh? Still, solid work from Mr Ocean.

The day of reckoning is upon us. True Widow play the tiny Macbeth in Shoreditch in less than a month. My tickets are already in the bag. Yours should be too. Would just like to point out I paid more in fees, per ticket, on a Ryan Adams Union Chapel gig this morning. Is Ryan Adams goin to be five times better than True Widow, including fees? I have my doubts. Their full three date UK jaunt. October 10 th – Glasgow, Captain's [...]

Good progressive choice of single noted. Seem to remember Pitchfork said something nasty about the song, but I think very much the opposite. By the way, Pitchfork have NEVER given The Get Up Kids a positive review. They seem almost grudgy about it, in a too cool for school sort of way. Once more, a critical failure on their part. Anyway, the video.

Both interviews with Mark Wilkinson and Tony Iommi are now available on DrownedInSound, as is my review of the "new" Screaming Trees album . I'm submitting my reviews for the Pure X album, and the most recent Drugstore release (trailed below) soon, and that'll be me for a while in terms of reviews. I'm hoping to concentrate on and improve my live music photography, and am hoping to push that along for the end of the year. In the meantime here are two portfolio sets. The first is a Hevy set [...]

Wild Flag - Album Trailer from Merge Records on Vimeo .

and band of the weekend were for some Touche Amore, but for me, latecomers to the bill, Feed the Rhino impressed greatly. I'm absolutely amazed they're still at club level. They won't be for very long. Catch them at the Camden Barfly for £8.50. You will not be disappointed.

For those who have forgotten (and how could you?), Drugstore were one of the better bands from the 90's, with Isabelle Monteiro's soft, drawling voice mounted upon a dynamic, supple indie rock base. They gained a little extra fame from a Radiohead endorsement, Thom Yorke singing on one of their bigger singles, El Presidente. Their debut album was a nervy mix of lyrical genius and tension and release, but the band disliked the bare bones production, if memory serves. White Magic For Lovers was the sequel, and improved production and continued high quality songs really put them on the map. [...]

and the line up keeps improving. Big adds were Prodigy and Kaiser Chiefs today. Two big bands who love to work a crowd. They won't have to work hard to do that in Budapest. Added both of them and a few others to my now epic Spotify playlist. The 2011 line up eats the lunch of the line up from last year.Tickets from http://www.szigetfest.co.uk Other news... Suede Dog Man Star review did well, shared by 40 people which was a little record for [...]

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Accurate review of sub-par album by well-loved major band = Look Ma, Mo' Trolls. Funnily enough, if you read any other of the more negative reviews listed on Metacritic , they all get trolled to fuck. While it would be slightly disingenious to suggest that the hand of The Man is at play here, there are many riotously strong opinions that don't actually challenge the criticism head on, and just go straight for the jugular of the reviewer. They speak and say 'UR OPINYON ISN'T VALID'. When I see fresh sign ups attempting to negate 'bad' reviews by jumping [...]

Presale is on now at Blue Room. This will sell out.

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