EBTG’s themes of desperation and recovery peak in the more dynamic second-half.
Categories
everything but the girl – fuse
Category: 20/30
We never entirely trust the ostensible positivity of Flaming Swords. It’s a disarming album of very smooth jazz, which it then cuts up into unpredictable, coltish motions. The septet have an infectious sense of play that – forgive the middle-class dad analysis – the French do very well. Fievel is Glauque succeed less in producing […]
Categories
arctic monkeys – the car
The earnest voyaging on The Car is redressed by its lounging charm. It is an album of multitudes and conflict, despite the Bacharach-inspired orchestral delivery. Alex Turner’s vocals are a neat illustration of where this record works, and where it dwindles—they undulate and over pronounce, reaching composed falsettos between some pretty inane pitch fiddling. The […]
It’s hard to be mad at something so self-aware; many of my gripes with this album are not only known to the band, but reasons for its existence. Cuts like the boisterous ‘Miami’ and the quietly moving ‘Mona’ showcase a vibrant ear, but the record’s depth is nonetheless limited by overlying mischief and sleazy dispositions. […]
This EP contains four more songs of the expected output from Blood Orange. That would be a better title. While Four Songs is enjoyable, airy, easy to digest, I do have a complaint: it’s inarguable. There are so few edges, it resembles the hand sanitiser that fails to sink into your skin and leaves an […]
Categories
heaven for real – energy bar
It’s hard not to come away from Energy Bar without some questions: what were all those tempo changes about? Was this music made in 2011 or 1984? Has it come from a befuddled artistic state or a charming, peculiar style? The questions are never answered—you have to accept this weirdo-indie-rock for what it is. That’s […]
Categories
why bonnie – 90 in november
On their debut record, this Texas rock quintet find a sun-blushed home nestled between light grunge and late 00s sensibility. Despite a sweeping sound, Why Bonnie trim many of their provocative elements in favour of comfort. Together with the tight confines of the band’s instrumental set up, ‘90 in November’ passes with neither a hitch, […]
T-Rock began deep within the ostentation of the bling era, with album covers like magical sweet wrappers and bars so explicit that Theresa May would have barred his entire family from entering the UK. Having spent a not inconsiderable time on Skate 3 blaring hip-hop in the years 2010-2014, as well as having a brother […]
On DoomCannon’s Brownswood debut, the jazz multi-instrumentalist settles on personal and aesthetic liberties between themes of oppression. While the title track and opener could be a little longer to align with the weight of the subject matter, it nevertheless showcases a dense brood derived from strength. The following track meanwhile exercises an honest vulnerability, mirrored […]
100 words music reviews 