The Fall – London – 7 May 2010
I’m a band purist at heart. You can cut off all your fingers, but you’ve still got a hand. If you cut off all your band members and keep cutting and cutting and cutting, you can't expect your audience to comply with your decision or to even recognise the music you make. What was it John Peel said about The Fall? "always different, always the same". Well, yes, but... no. Mark E. Smith is The Fall, but The Fall isn't just Mark E. Smith.
Deerhunter – London – 31 March 2011
With each successive show played in London growing in size from venue to venue, it’s a clear indication of the steady rise of this beloved Atlanta four-piece, and with Shepherd’s Bush Empire being sold out, it's their largest capacity UK headline show to date. For the ardent, precious fan, Deerhunter aren't your band anymore. The era of slipping into town for a small club tour is over, but from the staid, somewhat bemused crowd, Deerhunter's roaming psychedelic-shoegaze and mutant folk-pop are still an acquired taste, one that’s seemingly unlikely to assail the upper reaches of the charts like label-mates, The National.
Jay Reatard – Watch Me Fall
The ever-prolific Jay Reatard is back with his most potent pop record to date. Watch Me Fall trades sharp licks with cheap tricks.
The Charlatans – Who We Touch
Touched by the somewhat friendly eclectic hand of The Charlatans for their tenth album in twenty years.
Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks – Mirror Traffic
Pavement reunion done and dusted, Stephen Malkmus and Co. get back to making adult indie rock on album number five.
Sloan – B Sides Win (1992-2008)
In Sloan's case, it was definitely the A Sides that won, but there's some forgotten treats amongst this rarities collection.