Magic Kids – Memphis
Named after the town they're from, Memphis has "some great songs, some brilliant moments", but not quite all adding up to Magic, Kids.
They Might Be Giants – Join Us
Join Us finds They Might Be Giants at their "quirkiest, catchiest and most clever", which is simply music to our old-school fan ears.
Lisa Mitchell – Wonder
Avoiding the solo artist's temptation of self-indulgence, Lisa Mitchell imparts some wide-eyed optimism on Wonder.
The Long Blondes – Couples
Rough Trade, 2008 [8/10] "Couples" by name and couples by nature, Sheffield's indie darlings, The Long Blondes, were once discreetly paired up (drummer with bassist, obviously, and guitarist with keyboardist) leaving them looking like the
The Wedding Present – London – 13 December 2010
These are confusing times we live in. The past and the present have merged into one. Bands come back from the dead, sounding better than ever (The Primitives), artists who are clearly dead keep on making dreadful albums from beyond the grave (do we need name names?), and bands will play their best album in full and it becomes ‘an event’ (The Wedding Present). There are few albums in the history of music that deserve to be played in full (though tell that to Echo & The Bunnymen...), there's always at least one track (or more) of filler, or one completely misjudged stinker, but nostalgia has a price and it pays handsomely, so hey, on with the show!
Why? – Eskimo Snow
The unlikely paring of hip-hop and indie rock actual make for compatible bedfellows with Californian band Why?'s fourth full length album.