Album review of LUMP Laura Marling Mike Lindsay Tunng album Animal

LUMP – ‘Animal’ album review


Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay’s (Tunng) side-project LUMP has returned with new album ‘Animal’ – a record unlike the previous output of either of these most talented artists. While Laura’s lyrics and observations draw on psychoanalysis and are playful and spontaneous, Mike explores a vast array of electronic soundscapes that sometimes drift towards deep psychedelia.…

review of Villagers album Fever Dreams on Domino Records

Villagers – ‘Fever Dreams’ album review


Conor O’Brien’s Villagers return with sixth album ‘Fever Dreams’. Written over the past couple of years and recorded during those longer lockdown days at the start of the pandemic, the record has a central theme of escapism and finds Conor ruminating on events ranging from night swimming on a Dutch island to the inescapable power…

Slash Fiction – ‘Gender, Trauma & Friendship’ album review


Sheffield band Slash Fiction’s debut album ‘Gender, Trauma & Friendship’ tackles all three subjects in its title with aplomb as the band’s three songwriters openly discuss transformation, loss and queerness. ‘Pick My Stitches’ opens the album in melodic Hotelier-style fashion as chanted group vocals discuss how there’s ‘an earthquake in my chest’ and how this…

Bleach Lab – ‘Real Thing’


Bleach Lab have shared the video for new Stephen Street-produced single ‘Real Thing’ and announced a bunch of tour dates over the next few months (sounds good to be able to say that again, doesn’t it?). Another heart-wrenching and poignant four minutes that reminded us of both Longpigs and Japanese Breakfast, you can feel the…

Motorists – ‘Vainglorious’


Toronto jangle-poppers Motorists follow up ‘Through to You’ by sharing the video for ‘Vainglorious’ ahead of the release of debut alun ‘Surrounded’ via We Are Time, Bobo Integral and Debt Offensive on 3 September. Although it has a breezy and melodic feel, the song finds the band confronting how the people in charge are always…

Brutalligators – ‘Coffee & Codeine’


Hertfordshire-based quartet Brutalligators have shared ‘Coffee & Codeine’ – their first ‘proper’ single (none of us want to count out Christmas songs, do we?) in almost two years. Released through Beth Shalom Records, the single was produced by Tom Hill and finds the band examining the effect of the end of a cherished relationship, with…