Vivian Girls – Interview on Valentine’s Day in London town (2009)
Flowers and chocolates? We brought neither but Brooklyn three-piece the Vivian Girls graciously didn't hold that against us.
Deerhunter – London – 18 May 2009
Deerhunter Scala, London 18th May 2009 Palpable expectation, a sold out crowd, a critically received album, a loud northerner standing beside me naively exclaiming “I hope they play something off Turn It Up, Faggot" and
Weezer – Death To False Metal
Just how many albums are Weezer going to release (or re-release) this year? What's one more for Christmas?
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.
Steven Heath – The Airport Fire
Peak Plasma Conc., 2008 [6/10] "A soundtrack for driving around the city at night" is how Australia's Steven Heath depicts his latest release and it's not a far fetched description; the overall feeling that it
The Loves – …Love You
The final bow from London’s The Loves balances its buoyant pop against a knowing end and comes up smelling of roses.
Projekt A-KO – Yoyodyne
From the ashes of the almighty Urusei Yatsura come Projekt A-KO, and the great guitar-led fuzzpop revolution begins anew.
Who The Hell Are… The Beggar Folk?
Folk bands are slowly going the way of the emo bands -- cookie-cutter, predictable, uninspired, and inevitably becoming a parody of themselves because music is a business and the market dictates that consumers will always want more of what's popular. The Beggar Folk fall nicely into the afore-mentioned folk music genre, however their music doesn't seem to follow suit with the folk status quo. These are ballads and hymns, carved from trees and molded from soil. This music demands your attention and effortlessly passes any authenticity tests. It conjures up what real Americana and country music should conjure.
of Montreal – Brisbane – 4 March 2009
But it was the harmony rich blend of disco, psychedelia and pop that made Hissing Fauna... and The Sunlandic Twins surprise alternative pop classics that had The Zoo crowd dancing into the groove.
Die! Die! Die! – Form
New Zealand's Die! Die! Die! make their third incision into the heart of rock n' roll but fall short of delivering the expected death blow.
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
How much can a grizzly bear? We're not sure but this Brooklyn four piece's third album gets a perfect 10/10.
Yvonne – Gothenburg – 6 June 2009
Last year the band reformed and did a one-off gig at Debaser in Stockholm. This year was Gothenburg's turn. For one night we all got to be teenagers again
Eleanor Friedberger – Last Summer
One half of the hyper-productive quirk-pop outfit Fiery Furnaces takes her first solo steps on Last Summer.
MGMT – Congratulations
One of the hotly anticipated releases for 2010, MGMT shake things up with their follow-up to Oracular Spectacular but the title is anything but ironic.
The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever
Heaven is here, and if the album is half as great as this review, then The Hold Steady should be counting their lucky stars.
Austra – Feel It Break
Electro-dance-goth-opera by way of Canada, Austra's debut album Feel It Break is akin to a good night out in loud, dark room. Kinda fun, but where's the door?