Tag: rock
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personal trainer – big love blanket
Despite its loving title, ‘Big Love Blanket’ will be unlikeable to some: it’s a cocky, liberty-taking piece of indie-rock that covers a little too much ground. It’s also very enjoyable for those same reasons. Personal Trainer sail across the busy seas of post-punk and art pop, with Travis Morrison forming part of the cabin crew […]
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geoffrey oryema – exile (1990)
The cover of Exile poses two possible scenarios: the person is being thrown, or they are raising their head as an expression of openness. The status of ‘exile’ holds the same dualism—free, in theory only, to go anywhere but your home. The record is a story of youthful longing, and we imagine the protagonist walking […]
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drugdealer – hiding in plain sight
Drugdealer makes no secret of his musical influences, jokingly describing his brand as ‘Derivative Rock’. The multi-instrumentalist toes the line between tasteful pastiche and total plagiarism of 70s soft rock, but comes with enough charm to make ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’ a joy. His third record brings a funkier edge to his psychedelic sound and […]
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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 […]
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bill callahan – YTILAER
Bill Callahan has exposed a lot of his soul, but ceaseless in his songwriting lives a perpetually roaming orientation. Each track here sounds as though he has momentarily halted a horseback journey to take in the view of a mountain range. YTILAER is reflective, but its greatest quality is in the rousing intimacy of each […]