Kate Nash seems to embody what London is all about. Although she was born in the northwest of the city, her thrift-shop dresses are more East End and Shoreditch, with their small art galleries and open air markets. When she released her first album Foundations, her distinctive cockney accent and[Read More…]
Music
Maston: Shadows
Frank Maston has created a fast-paced, intriguing, and peculiar album with his band Maston’s latest release Shadows, one calling to mind The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and 2012’s breakthrough act Tame Impala. The album is whimsical and dreamy, zipping through to its conclusion before you know it—only one of the[Read More…]
Walk The Moon: Tightrope
Following the release of their self-titled breakout album, pop outlet Walk The Moon (WTM) garnered quite the fan following, and toured around the U.S. festival circuit this past summer. After attracting festival-goers with their playful, sing-along inducing indie-pop, WTM briefly returned to the drawing board to throw together a follow-up[Read More…]
Josh Groban: All that Echoes
Josh Groban has a new album ready to go, and it’s going to hit listeners like the opposite of a freight train. That’s not because All that Echoes is weak, nor because Groban’s voice is weak. Quite the contrary—his is the most majestically gentle voice in music today. Straddling the[Read More…]
Biffy Clyro: Opposites
With the charts dominated by catchy pop stars, and the occasional indie group who has broken through to the mainstream, it is refreshing to listen to actual rock ‘n’ roll. Biffy Clyro, a Scottish band currently touring with Muse made it big in 2007 with the release of their album[Read More…]
Flux Pavillion: Blow the Roof
Today, some listeners are voicing concerns that dubstep is a dying genre—a fad that existed solely as an exciting, contrarian alternative to the growing popularity of catchy electronic pop. Likewise, they argue that with new mainstream acceptance, the genre is floundering—the limelight brings the destruction of a genre that can[Read More…]
Hollerado: White Paint
The 2009 release of Hollerado’s breakthrough debut, Record in a Bag, uprooted the band from small-town beginnings and propelled them into the indie limelight. The band’s sophomore effort, White Paint, is the culmination of the ensuing four years—more than a thousand live shows and several tonnes of confetti later. The[Read More…]
PVT: Homosapien
The title of Australian trio PVT’s fourth effort Homosapien sheds light on the band’s perspective on sound. With its scientific tinge, the title alludes to the electronic infrastructure of the album. The band’s progression from instrumental electronic rock to a more electro synth-pop sound began with their last album, Church[Read More…]
Richard Thompson: Electric
The title of Richard Thompson’s new release, Electric, hints at vitality and novelty from one of the British Isles’ best guitarist/songwriters. Forty-five years into his career, Thompson still succeeds in rendering spirited ballads, oscillating from heartfelt to ornery. Whether you are a longtime admirer, or a newcomer to his funky[Read More…]
Tegan and Sara: Heartthrob
After spending a decade in the music industry, and crafting six albums that have cemented the band as a powerful indie-rock duo, Canadian twins Tegan and Sara decided to take the plunge into the world of pop by recruiting producer Greg Kurstin (Ke$ha; Katy Perry). Replacing guitars with synth-pads, simple[Read More…]
