The Dodos
June 4, 2008
Finger-pickin’ drumsticks
Somewhere back in the 17th Century, a squat, stocky, relatively useless (even for eating, by some accounts) lump of a bird popped its webbed clogs forever. Dead as. Here’s hoping the lifespan of San Francisco band The Dodos has Read more
SSLYBY
June 2, 2008
From Russia with love
Fill up your Lada with cheap vodka, it’s time to come out of your makeshift nuclear bunker and meet the real Cold War Kids.
Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin are Philip Dickey (singer/drums/guitar), Will Knauer (guitar), John Robert Cardwell (vocals/bass), and Jonathan James (drums/bass). Just where the band’s affection for the 75-year-old Read more
Scarlet Johansen
June 1, 2008
Wherever I Lay My Head
The signs were not good – ‘actress makes a record’ – but this album beautifully wrongfoots all expectations by being almost entirely made up of Tom Waits covers, which is not exactly going for the easy win. In tone and texture it sits somewhere between Mazzy Star and Cocteau Twins and, while not a ‘belter’ of a singer, Johansen’s vocals are breathy enough to carry it all off. Read more
Lykke Li
May 30, 2008
Youth Novels
From Stockholm, this debut album by the worryingly-precocious 22-year-old is a minimalist treat. Unlike countrywoman Robyn, she shrugs off all pop leanings to create something that works more as a series of mood pieces than a radio-friendly run of singles. Read more
Radiohead
May 9, 2008
The Best Of
After last year’s lovely ‘evil bear face’ USB of all their Parlophone albums comes the inevitable post-In Rainbows (or should that be pre-In Rainbows?) compilation. Radiohead went through three periods – 1) The Rubbish Years (i.e. Pablo Honey), 2) The Imperial Years (i.e. The Bends and OK Computer), and 3) The We’ve Discovered Warp Records Years (i.e. Kid A onwards). Here is as good an overview of those three distinct eras as you’re likely to get. Read more
Alphabeat
May 2, 2008
This Is Alphabeat
Unapologetically pop, this Danish six-piece’s debut is joyful on every level. The mood is definitely ‘up’ and, in an age of achingly-dull pale indie boys in vest in Trilbies, this is A Good Thing. The opening song (the self-mythologising ‘Fantastic Six’) sounds like it could be the backing track to learning An Important Life Lesson on Sesame Street (this is a compliment). Interestingly the singles (’Fascination’ and ‘10,000 Nights’) are far from the best things here. The fight for intelligent pop powers ahead.
Portishead
April 25, 2008
Third
As Adam & Joe once said: What is it with Portishead only showing up when a recession is looming? Dummy emerged in 1994 and might have sprung from the same paranoid mindset as Massive Attack and Tricky, but it existed entirely in a world of its own imagining. Read more
Yelle
February 26, 2008
France’s latest upstart upsets the pomme-cart
Yelle, aka Julie Budet, hails from the French Techtonik scene (or brand, depending on how you view it – the term Techtonik has been trademarked). Techtonik, a meld of Belgium and Dutch cultures, started in 2000 Read more
Soko
February 22, 2008
She’s a killer queen
Soko – as well as being a helicopter factory in Bosnia (apparently, thanks to Wikipedia) – is also the shortened name of singer/songwriter Stéphanie Sokolinski. Imagine if Kate Nash had been born in Bordeux, hadn’t had the backing of the Brit School, and owned a ukulele Read more
Gabriella Cilmi
February 6, 2008
Sweet About Me
Of course if you really want a proper Amy Winehouse clone, then look no further than Xenomania’s latest offspring. This is Winehouse with heavy leanings towards pop rather than the paparazzi. This Italian/Australian singer recently sung the Martha & The Muffins classic ‘Echo Beach’ (for the ITV series of the same name) and is set to be the face of Boots No.17 cosmetics range. Teasingly soulful and laden in radio-friendly Xenomania production, this is one to watch.
