Antiquarian book dealer, illustrator, singer, taxidermist.
READ MOREYour worst fears about ‘Nothing’ are probably right. The late-year, post-album extended-play sounds like the runoff of a few constructions that didn’t make the cut for ‘Dedication’.
It’s hard to fathom that British Sea Power now have five albums under their belts.
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Lightspeed Champion
Life is Sweet, Nice To Meet You
[Domino]6/10
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Devonte Hynes might have been one of the celebrated catalysts for the loud, brash day-glo stain that characterised the vacuous Klaxons generation, but he’s done much since then to escape his colourful past. A galaxy away from the trashy dance punk of Test Icicles, Lightspeed Champion still carries some of the scenester hallmarks of those halcyon days but they’ve been tempered by some surprisingly agreeable tendencies. Following on from his middling debut, this sophomore effort has slightly grander aspirations. Laced with drawing room piano and sweeping string embellishments, there’s a healthy sense of diversity to ‘Life is Sweet…’ as wholly pleasant balladry sits alongside the jerkier sass of tracks like ‘Marlene’. But this, along with Hynes’ occasionally lax lyrics (“Dalston lane seems grey/I’ve spent all my coins, I’m down to my loins”), presents the jumbled contrast that dogged his debut. Still perfectly satisfying but muddled all the same.
By Reef Younis
Your worst fears about ‘Nothing’ are probably right. The late-year, post-album extended-play sounds like the runoff of a few constructions that didn’t make the cut for ‘Dedication’.
Milagres are a Brooklyn-based quintet fronted by a certain Kyle Wilson, whose soaring vocal style sits somewhere between Thom Yorke and Chris Keating of Yeasayer.
On first encounter, ‘Bad Dream Hotline’ is your standard emo-goth release – black on black cover art, tracks called things like ‘A Handsome Stranger Called Death’ and ‘Dance & Weep’.
‘Out of Sight, Out of Town’ is an album that concerns itself, in the main, with casual sex.
When LA Vampires first released ‘So Unreal’ on a limited vinyl run in 2010 it sold out in a flash, perhaps because of its superbly kitsch artwork by Spencer Longo.
Dan Mangan is a husky-voiced, melancholic Canadian singer-songwriter who does all the things you expect husky-voiced, melancholic Canadian singer-songwriters to do.
Favourite Sons is the most recent project of Ken Griffin, formerly of nineties outfits Rollerskate Skinny and Kid Silver.
Synth enthusiasts must have been veritably jumping with joy of late (would a synth enthusiast do that sort of thing?).
A long lasting member of the American garage rock scene since the late Eighties, Mark Sultan has cooked up a hotpot of a new album.
Some very big noises are being made in the mainstream press over this Swedish duo, and their calculated pop sensibilities go a long way to explaining that.
This week we’ve been listening to new music from The Proper Ornaments, The Weeknd, Electricity In Our Homes, Sunless ’97 and Ceremony [pictured].
LISTEN HEREDropping his iPhone was the best thing that ever happened to Reef Younis.
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