inc. / Alt-J / the Walkmen

Review of INC. 'No World'. Originally published in DIY Mag (February). 7/10.

The duo formerly known as Teen Inc. may have shortened their name but they have expanded on their sound. Andrew Aged's delicate vocals have found a whole new galaxy of sensual whispers and cathartic outpourings, while his nuanced guitar lines have begun to veer towards chilled-out Ronny Jordan-style acid jazz. Hiding in the background, meanwhile, Daniel once again brings the animated funk bass, subtle yet inventive beats and closely stitched, voluminous production. This bare, sparse, calm set-up could easily have become cold and mechanical, but here it allows their songs to develop and build. It gives their lyrics a sense of poetry, and the whole album a creepy, angelic, almost extraterrestrial quality.

DIY albums of the year: Alt-J 'An Awesome Wave'. Originally published in DIY Mag (December).

The most talked about album of the year, and with good reason. Four years in the making, AAW sounded pretentious on paper (triangles, anonymity, mumbled lyrics), but the quartet had actually cooked us up ten delectable, perfectly formed pop songs, with delicate moments ('Matilda') as well as ear-splitting ones ('Fitzpleasure'). It was fantastic, and all of a sudden, teens, mums and grandparents had started scrutinising the lyrics for innuendos and worshipping triangles, and the band had become Radio 1 staples, Mercury Prize winners and Brixton Academy headliners. A consummate start.

DIY albums of the year: the Walkmen 'Heaven'. Originally published here. 

After twelve, long years spent at the crit-acclaimed tail-end of that doomed NY Garage Rock Revival, ‘Heaven’ was the sound of the Walkmen budding, blowing up and becoming the next big Obama-band. It was their most extraordinary album yet, and lead singer Hamilton Leitheiser’s stunning, heady croon had evidently found a world of its own. We wallowed amid the subdued restraint of ‘Southern Heart’, and punched the air to the glorious title-track. The versatility had shone through. ‘That band who did The Rat’ had just become one of the best bands on earth.

Pon De Replay: Edition No. 1

I've just started up as the Pop Columnist at the 405. My first features Chloe Howl, Jojo, Goldhouse, Mikky Ekko, Jessie Ware, Katy B and Ashanti.

The History Of Apple Pie interview

I interviewed lead singer Steph about their fab new record. Read it here.

Lord Huron review

Originally published on DIY. 

You either appreciate the loose ideas of Americana, or you don't. You either flaunt Neil Young as a demigod, or brand him a grumpy bastard. You either treasure your Fleet Foxes CDs, or let them fester on your coffee table. These are the primordial facts of life, but why are we talking about them? Lord Huron, the latest project from Ben Schneider, make out-and-out, unblushing, wistful Americana. Fantastic for amants of hair and harmonicas, but not so much everyone else.

It must be said that Lord Huron do sometimes have that incomparable kick, that intangible something which others neglect. They don't merely do the same-old, histrionic, balls-first ballads, and they don't just sing about whiling away summers in fields. There's no banjo. Instead, these fellas' art de vivre sometimes involves embedding the odd hint of subtlety and experimentation. Astonishing title track 'Lonesome Dreams' confirms that this isn't a record that only draws inspiration. It's swaying country-pop at its least smarmy, and its most charming. Making you jump up and kiss the ceiling, and clap along like a child during a game of Pass the Parcel, there's also something redolent of Bon Iver's last LP in its glorious, head-nodding percussive arrangement.

Similarly atmospheric moments can be found in the catchy, Sam Beam-esque number 'I Will Be Back One Day', along with the gentle, bruised delicacy of 'The Ghost On The Shore', which somehow makes use of an accordion in a non-vom-inducing way. But the good news ends there. The rest of the album comes across as rather lacklustre: dreadful opener 'Ends of the Earth' is incomplete, wearisome MOR taken straight from the Mumfords' sick bucket, while 'She Lit A Fire' sounds like an exhausted, downtrodden Cave Singers. And - darn - all the other tracks seem to coalesce in to one, mediocre whole. It seems they tried their hardest, and there were certainly some memorable moments, but these were ultimately outweighed by hackneyed banality and genre-bound cliches. A patchy debut effort.