We’re so late to the party with this one, but it’s such a spectacular album we couldn’t resist sharing our views on it. Originally released in June last year via TopShelf Records, ‘Whenever, If Ever’ is the debut record from Connecticut natives The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to…
For as long as we can remember, Oxford has been home to some of the most dynamic, exciting and interesting bands around. After the huge success of Ride in the early 90s, shoegaze still holds a delightful hold over many of the bands formed in OX. And it’s in this genre where we find ArtClassSink,…
A New Year and not only do we already have a new Springsteen album on the way, but now Wild Beasts have made a most-welcome return to the music scene with the announcement of their long-awaited fourth album, ‘Present Tense’ (out 24 February on Domino Records). 2011’s ‘Smother’ saw the band effortlessly seam into the…
With a New Year comes a new batch of albums to work your way through and 2014 is already looking exciting. Below, we look at some of the bands whose albums we believe will be soundtracking our 12 months ahead… Spring Offensive A long time coming, but with their previous releases, Spring Offensive have already…
In our second batch of ‘Top 5s of 2013’, we take a look at the long players that have soundtracked the past twelve months. Again, they’re featured in no particular order. Dutch Uncles – Out of Touch in the Wild It was third album lucky for Dutch Uncles as this release finally got them the…
Today I’ve been listening to ‘Hospice’ by The Antlers and also watched the mid-season finale of the fourth season of The Walking Dead. What better way to keep up this run of miserabilia than by listening to an album by a band who insisted the audience ‘join them in Hell’ at this year’s 2000 Trees…
When the opening line of an album is ‘Misery soaked you’, you know you’re in for a heartfelt, passionate and sombre listen and so it goes on the debut album ‘Comfort Songs’ from New York-via-Boston-via-LA resident Cloud (known to his parents as Tyler Taormina). Gravelly vocals and sparse instrumentation feature on the first track ‘Cars…
We were always big fans of Jumping Ships here at Spectral Nights, so after that band called it a day, it was with some excitement when it was announced three of the band were to carry on making music in the new four-piece Quiet Lions. Playing only their second ever show in the venue where…
Having first come across Rachel Sermanni on the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading Festival over a year ago, we were blown away by her stunning voice, tender melodies and heartfelt lyrics. Even playing to a baked festival crowd and contending with so much background noise, as well as the overflow from the surrounding stages, it…
Having scattered themselves around the country following the release of their debut album, the five-piece (originally from Leeds) Killing Fields of Ontario have made a welcome return with sophomore effort ‘How the World Ends’. Having played with acclaimed folk-pop bands like Sparrow and the Workshop and Broken Records, the record promises a more sprawling sound…
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