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
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,
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
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
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
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
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
Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford on Album Two and Army Tanks
My phonebook is paltry. The most famous person in it is one of the Redneck Manifesto and, well, James Ford from Simian Mobile Disco. James’ little black book, on the
HeartsRevolution – C.Y.O.A.
You have to be wary of a band said to have formed to sell neon unicorn jewellery out of a souped-up ice-cream truck in NY. Hearts Revolution are as enigmatic
Noisettes – Don’t Upset The Rhythm
Once billed as the ‘Black Karen O’ for her scrappy, impassioned stage performances and attic-raiding personal style, Noisettes frontwoman Shingai Shoniwa seems to have mellowed of late; their recent album
The Dead Weather – Horehound
An admission from the offset: I hate the term ‘side project’. I find it dismissive and think that it lends any musical undertaking a gimmicky air. With this cleared up,
Jay Reatard – Watch Me Fall
When you’re Jay Reatard, showing your softer side doesn’t mean hiring a string quartet and getting all wistful. It means singing “I’m watching you, and all the things you do”
Beastie Boys – Ill Communication (Expanded)
Aside from the main draws of Sure Shot the all-conquering Sabotage, this remastered edition features unreleased tracks and behind-the-scenes glimpses, and a stoner deconstruction of Heart-Attack Man and a gorgeously
Nouvelle Vague – 3
Didn’t the 80s have lots of rap? Didn’t they virtually invent hair metal? Such questions arise listening to this pretty but terminally impassive offering from Nouvelle Vague, the very existence
Cool Herc – Hercules and Love Affair Interview
Fusing a lifelong passion for classic myths and legends with a teenage taste for disco Andrew Butler created one of 2008’s finest acts in Hercules and Love Affair. A salacious
Bad Seed Solo: Conway Savage
A star among Nick Cave’s formidably bearded retinue, Conway Savage first joined the Bad Seeds on organ and piano duties for the Good Son tour of 1990, going on to
Sophie Ellis Bextor: The Grammatically Correct Interview
Sophie Ellis-Bextor is a pop star in the old-school sense. She’s a genuine old-fashioned star, fierce and glamorous to the hilt in videos and performance, but reticent about life out