Girls – Talking Father, Son, Holy Ghost (2011)
San Francisco's Girls self-titled debut of 2009 garnered widespread acclaim based on its fancy-free and free-love attitude that offered irresistible pop gems bathed in x-rated video clips ("Lust for Life" anyone?). Sex and pop, what more do you want out of music these days? For their sophomore album Father, Son, Holy Ghost, the Girls duo of Christopher Owen and Chet "JR" White have upped the songwriter stakes to put together an album that's impressive straight out of the blocks. Static's Chris Berkley spoke with Girl's JR over the phone in the midst of a very suspect (if you're to believe what he says) video shoot.
Mansun – Interview with Dominic Chad (1997)
A decade ago, at the tail end of Britpop, art-rockers Mansun were one of the biggest bands in the UK, seemingly ready to take on the rest of the world. Six years later the band imploded in the wake of backlash towards their third record Little Kix. Webcuts chooses to remember them at their peak with this 1997 interview.
Bob Mould – Silver Age
Merge, 2012 Alterna-rock statesman hot from bringing a little 90's Sugar to the 10's masses returns with shit-hot album. If that's all the convincing you need, you might as well stop reading now
The Dandy Warhols – This Machine
Beat The World, 2012 At this stage in their career, The Dandy Warhols stand as an infinitely renewable resource. With the major label shackles thrown and now releasing their own
Adorable – Interview with Piotr, Robert, Kevin and Wil about Footnotes Compilation (2008)
Interview with all four members of Coventry's great lost 1990s indie band Adorable about their compilation album, Footnotes 92-94, released in 2008.
Love of Diagrams – Nowhere Forever
Our love for Love of Diagrams knows no bounds especially for the Melbourne noise merchants freshly minted third album.
Wet Illustrated – 1x1x1
Sizzling psyche-pop debut from San Francisco three-piece Wet Illustrated. A little Feelies, a little Sonic Youth.
The Low Anthem – Smart Flesh
Providence, Rhode Island indie-folksters The Low Anthem fail to im-press the smart flesh on their sophomore release.
Destroyer – Trouble In Dreams
Rough Trade, 2008 [8/10] Daniel Bejar is the Woody Allen of pop music. His idiosyncratic, poetic touch opens up another world, planting himself square in the middle around a revolving cast of characters (mostly women),
The Boxer Rebellion – Union
When the dark forces are everywhere who are you gonna call? England's staunchly independent epic rock band The Boxer Rebellion? Maybe not after this disappointing second effort.
The Boo Radleys – Giant Steps / Wake Up!
One of these albums is pure genius. The other went straight to #1. Bow down to The Boo Radleys, Britpop's forgotten heroes.
British Sea Power – Man of Aran
British Sea Power take to the Irish Coast to provide a fresh soundtrack to this 1934 documentary on the people of Aran.
The Thermals – Now We Can See
Portland's The Thermals return with warm power-pop, tempered by decidedly cooler lyrical themes on Now We Can See.
The National – High Violet
Riding high on the charts, The National have found a resounding voice where "High Violet’s loneliest, weightiest moments feel like shared sorrow."
Warpaint – London – 26 August 2010
It’s shows like this which give birth to the very nature of rock and roll. The hip-swaying sounds of a band as they rock back and forth, eyes closed, mouths pressed against the microphone with their feet marking the beat. It’s an undeniably sexual thing. This isn't news. It’s why they tried to ban Elvis in the 50’s. He turned young girls on, and it wasn’t so much the man, but the music, the stage, the sweat, the motion -- the rock and roll of it all. Wedged together in this barely ventilated Old Street basement, Los Angeles' Warpaint are presiding over something that had this been the 50's, would've gotten them banned too.
Miss Li – Late Night Heartbroken Blues
National, 2006 [8/10] With three albums within a twelve months period and a best of album summarising her first year released, Miss Li may be the most productive artist in Scandinavia today, if not ever.