Call Upon The Author

It’s been a while since we last shared our favourite videos with you, but here are some of the finest to have landed in our inbox lately. Check them out and share your thoughts with us. First up on today’s videodrome we’ve got an artist who excites us a lot… and one who doesn’t, if [...]

Sisterworld is an experimental rock album by Liars, a band often interested in the texture of their songs, and I’ve seen other reviews of this album all over, but to be honest, I really don’t see it. There are parts on the album which are absolutely perfect, and I mean the bit where it’s not [...]

‘Wreck Your Wheels’ is the sixth album from Ohio’s Kim Richey, yet prior to being given this album for review I had never heard of her. The accompanying PR information tells me that Kim has been twice nominated for Grammies, has been making music for 15 years, has featured on numerous soundtracks, and had two number ones in America. Given America’s apparent love for the bland, this doesn’t necessarily fill me with hope, but I’m intrigued to give this a listen. So what does she sound like?

Dropkick Murphys St Patrick’s Day shows in Boston have become an annual tradition, as important to a Bostonian punker as wearing green and drinking Guinness. These shows were first documented on their live CD in 2002 and now eight years later, and with three more studio albums under their belt they release Live On Landsdowne, featuring an entirely different set list from their previous release…

The clichéd cop out ‘it’s an acquired taste’ should be used sparingly but Neil Cowley Trio’s third album Radio Silence is indeed a taste that has yet to be acquired…

‘Good As Gold’ is the second album from Scandinavian eclectics Petter & The Pix. The record company blurb makes comparisons to Arcade Fire, and promises a many layered, multi-faceted album that improves with repeated listens. With this assurance, I have listened to this album a great deal more than any others I have reviewed for [...]

Small Town Eyes is a decent enough debut from the Youtube sensation, Justin Sandercoe. Since teaching the nation how to play guitar via Youtube, the Australian born singer/songwriter enjoyed some time touring with Katie Melua then withdrew into a studio to record his debut album…

A charming four track EP that doesn’t travel anywhere adventurous but neither does it creep towards the disastrous. This release is planted firmly in the middle, flourishing on the safe ground.
While Alessi’s voice has a certain charming quality about it, there is something to it that might irritate people. However putting that aside The Soul Proprietor is a good collection of songs…

Approaching your thirties makes it difficult to relate to songs such as Growing Pains and I’m Not Your Toy, with lyrics like “this isn’t another girl meets boy,” but still, La Roux’s self-titled debut album had enough great pop to transcend the generation gap – In For The Kill, for example, a mainstay on commercial [...]

It opens, atmospheric, tense, eerie. It promises something great, something perhaps deranged, something that could be sheer unadulterated rock, something glorious. The guitars are introduced, then the drums. A monstrously delightful mix. The vocalist, Steve Ayres begins to sing…