FREDerick O’Brien 08.09.02019 For reasons known not even to himself, Fred decides to disparage the memory of George Orwell’s essay ‘Confessions of a Book Reviewer‘. Scathing reviews of this piece are welcome and deserved. In an expensive yet strangely characterless flat in some important city or other a man sits unblinking before a computer screen…. Read more »
Charlie Clissitt 12.07.02019 I started listening to Bob Dylan about four years ago, having put a few of his albums (pilfered from my Dad’s collection) onto my iPod Classic before a trip through Eastern Europe. It didn’t feel pretentious at the time, I swear. I think Blonde On Blonde was the first album I tried,… Read more »
Fred 15.04.02019 Streaming services like Spotify have revolutionised listening habits. Anyone, anywhere, can listen to just about anything. There’s plenty to celebrate about that, but it is not without its own dangers. In 2012, David Bryne wrote that music risked becoming a soma-like drug. In 2019, his concerns are closer to reality than we would like… Read more »
Rüya 11.02.02019 Spotify has revolutionised how we consume music. From mood playlists to machine learning algorithms, the streaming service has become the definitive tastemaker. From vinyls to cassettes to mp3 players, the way we access music is constantly changing. Today, instant music streaming services like Spotify are making it easier to find and… Read more »
2015 // 2016 // 2017 // 2018 10. American Utopia // David Byrne Andrew When David Byrne released his latest album in early 2018, it took a while to click with me, citing a shaky start and a lot of risks, I remained conflicted. Returning to it since its release, however, American Utopia has shown itself… Read more »
10. “EveryBody’s Coming to My House” // David Byrne Fred Let’s not pretend otherwise — a lot of artists put out dreadful stuff in their autumn years. And that’s to say nothing of those who put out dross at the peak of their powers. David Byrne picks and chooses his moments, and it showed… Read more »
Reviews make a lot more sense when they can be put into context. After passing 150 albums reviewed we thought it was high time to look at some statistics.
FRED 16.04.02018 The most miserable man in comedy has five favourite albums from everyone’s least favourite decade. Who could turn down a trip through ’80s music in a Stewart Lee devotee vehicle? Don’t answer that. Stewart Lee is a fat British comedian known for his unfunny routines and holding audiences in contempt. As… Read more »
2015 // 2016 // 2017 10. Last Place // Grandaddy Michael You’d be forgiven for forgetting that Grandaddy even released a record this year, given that seemingly everybody in the music press has. Indeed, though the band returned from an eleven-year hiatus to largely positive reviews, nominative determinism’s Last Place hasn’t been the subject of much… Read more »
10. “Humble.” // Kendrick Lamar Marcus “HUMBLE.”’s pre-album release worked as a simultaneous bookend to the themes and musical direction of To Pimp a Butterfly, and a spectacular act of misdirection. Following “The Heart Part IV”, The Young Pope comes back into the ring in a fighting mood, looking to throw weight behind his perfectly… Read more »