Call Upon The Author

In this new series our writers will share their personal classic albums with you. We start with Ben Grubb, who reminds us of a time when the only important question was ‘Oasis or Blur?’

Ben Grubb and Ben Sales get the lowdown on hotly tipped rockers Intraverse in this exclusive video!

It seems that Elliot Minor fans are the most tone deaf collection of banshees I’ve ever encountered….

It’s been a while since I’ve been invited to a 10th birthday party; and I’m pretty sure that even when I was 10, I never attended on in a venue quite like this. But, here I am at the Relentless Garage (a name that makes me cringe every time) in Islington for the 10th birthday of indie record label Wichita Records. The place is pretty packed out and is much bigger than I had always assumed it was. Tonight’s entertainment are a folky/country duo from Sweden going by the name of First Aid Kit.

According to the blurb at the top of this page, you’re here, on this website, for “the one thing lacking in so many places these days: an honest opinion.” I applaud you for your choice, and for the vast majority of the time, this site delivers just that; an unbiased, honest opinion. What follows, however, is my review of Wintersleep’s show at The Lexington in London on May 17th, 2010. It is honest; it will not be unbiased. It will be the ramblings of a 27 year old man, reduced to the level of squealing teenage girl by five guys from Canada, and an hours worth of music. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

I turn 27 in a week or so; and recently it has become increasingly apparent that I’d getting old(er). I was beginning to come to terms with the slow, creeping onset of my thirties as the inevitability that it is, and I was beginning to make peace with the whole messy ordeal. That was until last Friday when I went to see California based band A Skylit Drive at Islington Academy. All of a sudden, I felt old. Awkwardly, uncomfortably old. I arrived at the Academy as the doors were opening, and I joined the back of the queue of hooded, tattooed, skinning jeans sporting tweens who were to make up the bulk of the crowd. I couldn’t help thinking that had this show been taking place on a school night, it would have been a lot emptier…

I have a slightly weird relationship with Idlewild. They’ve been part of my musical consciousness from as far back as I can remember, but always slightly outside; just on the fringes. I knew who they were but couldn’t name you any of their songs. They were that person in your office who you nod hello to every day, but have no idea who they really are or what they do. They are the sort of band which, by rights, I should like but never got the chance to. What’s stranger still is that, at the time of writing, I’ve seen them live more times than I have some of my favourite bands; and across the broadest of venue spectrums…

Did you know that there’s a gig venue in South Wimbledon? I didn’t. Until last Friday when I ventured to the deepest, darkest depths of the Northern Line to see Sparrow and the Workshop at The Watershed. A tiny club on the corner of Merton Road and The Broadway, flanked by a seemingly endless, and [...]

Do you like Iron and Wine? Do you like Wintersleep? You do! Marvellous. I always knew you had great taste. Well, you’d probably enjoy the debut album from Wintersleep front man Paul Murphy. Under the monica of ‘Postdata’, Murphy’s songs are stripped down to the barest of instruments, and the rawest of lyrics. This album [...]