Category Archives: Indie Pop
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 1.
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 1. Adam Holmes and The Embers-Better Still. Just two years after releasing his debut Heirs and Graces, Edinburgh based singer-songwriter returned with his much-anticipated sophomore album Better Still. This time around though, his backing band The Embers receive equal billing. They play an important in the sound and success of …
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 2.
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 2. Ches Smith-The Bell. Up until the New York Winter Jazzfest in 2014, Ches Smith had always been a sideman. That night, he led his own trio. Two years later, Ches Smith’s move from sideman to bandleader was complete when he released The Bell on ECM. He assumes the …
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 3.
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 3. Fire!-She Sleeps, She Sleeps. Back in Fenruary, Fire! released their fifth studio album She Sleeps, She Sleeps on Rune Grammofon. Just like previous albums by Fire! and the Fire! Orchestra the music on She Sleeps, She Sleeps was groundbreaking, influential and innovative. It was also captivating, progressive, genre-melting music. …
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 4.
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 4. Jóhann Jóhannsson-Ophee On Orphée, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s turned his attention to the beauty and the process of creation. Orphée features Jóhann Jóhannsson tracing a path from darkness into light. Inspiration for Orphée comes from the opéra bouffe Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld). It was written by Ludovic Halévy, …
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 6.
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 6. Qluster-Echtzei. Forty-seven years after he first co-founded Kluster, Hans-Joachim Roedelius keeps the memory of Kluster and Cluster alive with Qluster. They released their sixth album Echtzeit on Bureau B during 2016. Echtzeit marks a stylistic departure from Qluster. It’s much more ambient sounding album. Qluster combine elements of …
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 7.
BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 7. Sunanna-Triangle. Triangle is Susanna’s eleventh album and first for four years. It was released on Susanna’s own SusannaSonata label, and is no ordinary album. Not by a long chalk. Instead, Triangle is a twenty-two song cerebral epic, where Susanna muses and meditates on mortality and religion. It’s a powerful album, …
BEST SCOTTISH ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 1.
BEST SCOTTISH ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 1. It’s at this time of year I usually say that Scottish music is in rude health. This year, I’m not so sure. There seems to be a dearth of up-and-coming artists and bands making a breakthrough. The only newcomers to this year’s list are Starless, Adam Holmes and The …
BEST SCOTTISH ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 2.
BEST SCOTTISH ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 2. RM Hubbert-Telling The Trees. For Telling The Trees, RM Hubbert joined by a stellar cast of guest artists. This includes Karine Palwart, Kathryn Williams, Martha Ffion and Anneliese Mackintosh. These multitalented songwriters, musicians and vocalists join RM Hubbert in creating another album of collaborations. Hubby’s first album of collaborations, …
JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN AND BENJAMIN LAZUR DAVIS-LET IT BE YOU.
JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN AND BENJAMIN LAZUR DAVIS-LET IT BE YOU. Signing a distribution deal to Reveal Records in December 2005 was the turning point for Joan As Police Woman. Their new label rereleased their eponymous debut E.P. Meanwhile, Joan As Police Woman headed into the studio and recorded their debut album, Real Life. It …
ARISE KING CREOSOTE.
ARISE KING CREOSOTE. Ever since the birth of modern music, Scotland has constant and consistently produced talented and innovative musicians. That’s been the case since the days of Donovan, John Martyn and Maggie Bell in the sixties, through to the Average White Band and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band in the seventies. Then in the eighties, Scotland produced The …
VERONIQUE VINCENT AND ASKAK MABOUL-16 VISIONS OF EX-FUTUR.
VERONIQUE VINCENT AND ASKAK MABOUL-16 VISIONS OF EX-FUTUR. After Marc Hollander and Vincent Kenis left Aksak Maboul, many within Belgian music thought that would mark the end of the band. It didn’t though. The Aksak Maboul story was far from over. Instead, the remaining members of Aksak Maboul decided to continue, and record a new …
FRIGHTENED RABBIT-PAINTING OF A PANIC ATTACK-LIMITED EDITION VINYL VERSION.
FRIGHTENED RABBIT-PAINTING OF A PANIC ATTACK-LIMITED EDITION VINYL VERSION. In a space of thirteen years, Frightened Rabbit have come a long way. Back in 2003, Scott Hutchison dawned the Frightened Rabbit moniker, and started playing small shows in his home town of Selkirk, in Scotland. Thirteen years later, and Frightened Rabbit are now signed to a major label, Atlantic Records. It …
THE PICTISH TRAIL-FUTURE ECHOES-LIMITED EDITION VINYL VERSION.
THE PICTISH TRAIL-FUTURE ECHOES-LIMITED EDITION VINYL VERSION. In 2002, Johnny Lynch was a student at the prestigious University of St. Andrews. He was approaching the end of his degree course. Most students would’ve been thinking about the life after University. Not Johnny Lynch.Instead, Johnny Lynch began performing as The Pictish Trail in 2002. Later that …
TEENAGE FANCLUB-HERE-LIMITED EDITION VINYL EDITION.
TEENAGE FANCLUB-HERE-LIMITED EDITION VINYL EDITION. Recently, Teenage Fanclub returned with their much anticipated tenth album, Here. It was the followup to Shadows, which was released in May 2010. A lot has changed in the last six years. This includes the resurgence in interest in vinyl. Suddenly, a new generation are discovering the delights of vinyl. It’s a hipster’s new best …
THE LLOYD COLE AND THE COMMOTIONS STORY, 1983-1989.
THE LLOYD COLE AND THE COMMOTIONS STORY, 1983-1989. With Lloyd Cole about to hit these shores on the latest leg of his 2016 tour, this seems a perfect time to look back at the band he made his name with, Lloyd Cole and The Commotions. They were one of the finest purveyors of perfect pop during the …
FRIGHTENED RABBIT-PAINTING OF A PANIC ATTACK.
FRIGHTENED RABBIT-PAINTING OF A PANIC ATTACK. Frightened Rabbit’s roots can be traced back to Scott Hutchison’s teenage years in Selkirk, Scotland. Back then, Scott Hutchison was chronically shy. So much so, that his mother christening her son Frightened Rabbit. This moniker Scott would later resurrect, when he began to play some live shows. Before that, …
TEENAGE FANCLUB-HERE.
TEENAGE FANCLUB-HERE. After a six year absence, Glasgow’s very own Kings of jangle pop, Teenage Fanclub have just returned with their much anticipated tenth album, Here. It was released on the PeMa label, and is the long awaited followup to Shadows, which was released in May 2010. Since then, the members of Teenage Fanclub have …
KING CREOSOTE-ASTRONAUT MEETS APPLEMAN-LIMITED EDITION DELUXE VINYL VERSION
KING CREOSOTE-ASTRONAUT MEETS APPLEMAN-LIMITED EDITION DELUXE VINYL VERSION. Since 1995, Kenny Anderson has been a one man music making machine. He has released over forty albums under a number of aliases, including the Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra, Khartoum Heroes, Kwaing Creasite and Jokes. That however, is just part of the Kenny Anderson story. Kenny Anderson is also …
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