Category Archives: Reviews
The Hold Steady – Stay Positive (Vagrant)
PopMatters, July 2008 If there’s a nagging conviction behind Stay Positive, it’s a constant refusal to be pinned down on E Street, revealing a toxic indulgence to revel in the spit and swagger of the punk side of town. And … Continue reading
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Indietracks 2009, Midland Valley Railway, Ripley, Derbyshire
Indietracks feels like Isambard Kingdom Brunel putting on All Tomorrow’s Parties, where the only downside is choosing between the gorgeous music and the unlimited steam train rides. Virtual Festivals, July 2009 Now in its third year, Indietracks has sprung up … Continue reading
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I Found #4 Dream Bitches – Coke-and-Spiriters (Recommended If You Like)
If you can excuse the corny title (possibly chosen after one too many rum and cokes) there’s much to love in the second album from New York’s Dream Bitches. The jangling, gnarly guitars and infectious, intertwining, harmonies will no doubt … Continue reading
I Found #3: Cineplexx – Picnic
That Argentinean born and current Barcelona resident Sebastian Litmanovich is joined on Picnic by Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub, Jad Fair of Half Japanese and Duglas Stewart of BMX Bandits, is really all you need to know about Cineplexx. But … Continue reading
I Found #2: The Terrordactyls – Mike Bowers (Don’t Stop Believin’)
Juno didn’t just make us all wake up and see the talents of an awesome Ellen Page. It made us remember how crushingly good the pairing of Kimya Dawson and Adam Green was. True, Juno’s success might have resulted in … Continue reading
Black Lips, Cardiff Coal Exchange 01/05/08
“Someone that young really shouldn’t be able to grow a moustache that wild!” The curious facial hair that is perplexing certain members of the crowd tonight belongs to Black Lips bassist Jared Swilley. A full-on Eugene Hutz-style lip jacket it … Continue reading
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Monotonix – Cardiff Arts Institute, 30 Nov / Body Language (Drag City) Review
Monotonix – Cardiff Arts Institute, 30 Nov, with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs / Body Language (Drag City) Review Blames the cops. Three garage punks from Tel Aviv, Monotonix were once contained safely within the boundaries of Israel. Until they started … Continue reading
The Teenagers – Reality Check (Beggers)
The Teenagers. Has there ever been a more evocative name for a pop band? Pop music owes its success to the obsessions of teenage fanatics who after its emergence in the 1950s dragged it through a thousand splintering sub-genres and … Continue reading
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The Teenagers, Bristol Thekla 05/04/08
Gigwise, May 2008 Irony, oh you are such a tease. The Teenagers, three grubby Parisian hipsters with a fondness for infectious electro-pop and filthy lyrical fantasies, are playing the Thekla, Bristol’s floating rock club and a ship once known as … Continue reading
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