The Seagull
Written over one hundred years ago, Chekhov’s The Seagull is a story about hopes and dreams, youth and love: all themes that are still as alive today in Dublin than
Mika – Blue Eyes
The achy-breaky vocals and naive spanish-ish guitar at the start of this song might lead you to think Mika has downgraded the glitter and gone all Born Ruffians on us.
The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love
The latest buzz band to come with black leather jackets surgically attached, The Big Pink’s Converse-gazing relies heavily on distortion and nasal Britpop vocals. Only the title track touches on
Amanda Blank – I Love You
Hey Amanda. I know you’re probably pretty cut up everybody’s hating on your album. Don’t worry though. A Pitchfork 2.0 rating doesn’t condemn you to a maligned, dead-end career as
Calvin Harris – Ready For The Weekend
Calvin Harris, creator of disco, getter of all the girls, lover of 80s babies, and possesor of a very special power – utter gormlessness. Whether deadpanning his way around Dumfries
Sunset Rubdown’s Spencer Krug on Dragonslaying
He’s not the hardest working man in indie rock. In fact, he claims not to work that hard at all. But the fact remains that as one-fifth of Wolf Parade,
Nico Muhly – Fingers in Ears
It’s the journalistic requisite to list off the Talmud-length CV of Nico Muhly when introducing him to friends, readers, and innocent bystanders. Take your pick: his eclectic, venerable albums Speaks
Foo Fighters – Wheels
Just when Rickrolling went away, comes a soft-rock non-entity that just never gives up but consistently lets you down. It’s frankly hilarious to think of Dave Grohl and his cohorts
The Sound of Arrows – Into The Clouds
The name employed by duo Oskar Gullstradand and Stefan Storm seems to prefigure darts of criticism, but second single ‘Into the Clouds’ is an engrossing and dreamy affair. The former
Lethal Bizzle – Going Out Tonight
Oh Bizzle, you’re the shizzle. This wild-eyed spasm of a grime track was lovingly thrown together from the finest MC-ing, samples and robotic beats, with Armand van Helden no-where in
Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
It seems that no matter how much the Arctic Monkeys have matured as a band (and they have, considerably) their song’s lyrics are still celebrated, condemned and misinterpreted in equal
Chris Cunningham, Condensed
There are certain events boys my age will always remember, stepping-stones that paved the yellow brick road to manhood. You remember where you were when Ireland got knocked out of
Florence and the Machine – Lungs
Florence Welch is nothing like Bjork, though she’s a little like Tori Amos (they’re but shades apart on the Loreal ‘Manic Redheads’ spectrum) with her full-volume vocals, breathtaking but stuck
HEALTH – Get Colour
LA noisefuckers Health’s sophomore release mirrors The Horrors’ recent collection, Primary Colours, in more than name. As with those Shoreditch gothabees, Health’s debut underwhelmed as a regurgitation of influences (Liars,
Antony and the Johnsons – Aeon/Crazy in Love
Anthony trades his quavering soul for crunk with an impassioned reworking of the Bootylicious pop anthem. Meanwhile the bewildering but reliably gorgeous ‘Aeon’ sounds like a transvestite Joanna Newsom accompanied
Passion Pit – To Kingdom Come
Passion Pit’s hand-holding optimism takes a psychedelic turn with this tune, a trippy take on the cornucopia of sounds which won ‘Manners’ such acclaim. Perfect for summer, this is the
Flo Rida feat. Wynter – Sugar
Flo Rida spits out that he has a ‘mouth full of cavities’, in perhaps the closest rap music comes to an explanation for diamond tooth grills. For all its author’s
Bloc Party – One More Chance
Like Franz Ferdinand and the rest of their 2004 ilk , Bloc Party have always come up with tracks for girls to dance to. Shuffly, stilted dancing with your hair