The bleakness can be oppressive but as Wolfe sings of "wings on our lungs" on the hymnal Place In The Sun, her voice takes flight with commanding power. [Feb 2024, p.103]

Out In The Storm bares out the wound-baring pitch. The injuries remain, but its crunchy riffs, sharp melodies and forthright vocals comprise Crutchfield’s deepest, most direct emotional diagnoses yet.

As it stands, Reflektor is Arcade Fire’s most diverse and sonically interesting work to date.

Thankfully, despite all this period charm, Air’s music more than holds up today.

Aided and abetted by some magnificent backing by the Helios, using the requisite analog set up, the album has the verve and feel of a classic West African long-player, but with enough subtle updates to prevent a slide into reverent pastiche.

Further may not take Hawley anywhere new, but it succeeds in drawing you back into his world. Not a bad place to be.

Here is a warm, kind album that may sag a little on the second side but has songs up there with Beam’s best. Think Teenage Fanclub’s recent Here for a similar bittersweet reunion. Mellow doubt indeed.

Looking beyond the harsh aesthetic, Walker has created a score that is rich in texture and highly innovative.

The problems start with the songwriting. There isn’t a song that would have made it onto Howling Wind or Stick To Me, and it takes until track 10, Fast Crowd, to locate a decent hook.

For while it’s hard to begrudge any quality new release by a band of Beach House’s eminence, for a fan base still attuning itself to the subtle charms of Depression Cherry, this flawed follow-up might have been better served up refined and polished at a later date.

The likes of Mark Lanegan and Nick Cave have a new rival in the practising of dark musical arts.

This particular release has all the textures, tinkles and poise the listener craves from Moss, while often arming them with some pretty hefty, distorted kicks and bass.

If 2021's Vertigo Days was impressive but remote, News... is more approachable and tactile in its tunes and textures, reflecting a decision to record live in the studio. [Apr 2026, p.108]

Though recorded cheaply, The JPSE’s early material remains especially sublime.

On the whole, Fresh Blood is an often difficult journey that’s still worth taking.

A Dream Is All We Know flows seamlessly, with no snags disrupting its mellow mood-tapestry, right up until final track Rock On (Over And Over) throws us a curveball by actually glamming out, Bolan-style, as if to say, “Here’s what you thought we were about”. Superb.

"Time's wasting out," she sings, but Below The Waste, cultivates a bracingly resourceful mindset. [Jul 2024, p.105]

Those more straightahead tunes hint a sonically-reduced winter could be coming, but right now bask in i,i’s deep autumnal glow.

The results exceed expectations. A feeling of spontaneity, bonhomie and effortless musicality informs every groove. [Dec 2024, p.107]

While you can’t draw a direct line from PT to Anathema, Steven Wilson’s hand is in some of the mixes, but, by standing on the shoulders of giants, bands such as this one have themselves become gargantuan.

That voice is wisely placed front and centre, where it bristles with energy, elevating the superior indie-rock of Fist Of Flowers and Knockin' Heart into heart-in-mouth anthems. [Apr 2025, p.102]

Longtime fans will be pleased to hear that not all of Exai is a mature, intellectual exploration of the possibilities of electronic music.

Parker’s rarely been in better voice, buoyed by the presence of old friends intuitive to his innermost thoughts and intentions.

Though You Can’t Live In The Past beautifully sums up his attitude and ethos, Fingers Crossed will be a worthy cherry to top the colossal, career-encompassing Stranded In Reality set when it lands soon.

It isn't always the easiest of listens, but persistence pays off: XAM Duo is ultimately very rewarding.

He’s on top notch form; sparking, soaring and grinding through five spirited new instrumentals and three from his back catalogue.

Another minor issue is the non-appearance of key outfits The Danse Society, Sex Gang Children and X-Mal Deutschland, though the welcome inclusion of hard-to-source rarities from underrated, short-lived acts Rema Rema, Modern Eon and Dublin experimentalists The Threat ensures that Silhouettes And Statues ultimately makes for a surprisingly joyous celebration of all things dark and deathly.

Almanack was captured in a week on analogue tape by studio vets Ken Scott and Matt Andrews. It shows on the result, a sprightly blast of rootsy playfulness carried with Rawlings’ effortless control of mood and musicianship.