James Blake – Assume Form

James Blake is an odd product of his time. A songwriter and producer who started his career in the nebulous post-dubstep genre, he has spent...

Monarchy – Mid:Night

Three years since their last record, Monarchy are back with a collection of tunes that all feel like approximations. There’s a general synth-funk vibe throughout...

Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow

‘Hook them in, right from the beginning’. It’s one of the unwritten laws of great art. “It was the best of times, it was the...

You Tell Me – You Tell Me

You Tell Me is the name given to the musical project of Sarah Hayes of Admiral Farrow and Peter Brewis of Field Music. They may...

Lorelle Meets The Obsolete – De Facto

Five albums in, Mexican duo Lorelle Meets The Obsolete are making a fresh start. Shifting their initial recording focus from guitars to keyboards and drums,...

The War On Drugs @ O2 Arena, London

Sometimes a venue can really work against a band, particularly when it is filled with people who would rather chat endlessly about their own hollow...

Aidan Moffat & RM Hubbert – Ghost Stories For Christmas

In spite of his atheist beliefs, Aidan Moffat knows how to make a good Christmas album. His second long playing venture with RM Hubbert, Ghost...

Julia Holter @ EartH, London

The release earlier this year of Aviary, the fifth album by Julia Holter, saw her return to the experimental roots of her debut album. It’s...

Katie Melua @ Westminster Central Hall, London

Despite having sold a shedload of albums to much acclaim over the past 15 years, mentions of Katie Melua in some circles still results in...

Gazelle Twin & NYX @ Oval Space, London

In typically British fashion, the stock response to shambolic calamity is to grin and laugh at the disaster which is unfurling. Particularly if that disaster...

Festival Review: EFG London Jazz Festival 2018

The EFG London Jazz Festival is an event so widespread across the capital that covering it any kind of comprehensive depth is simply impossible. It...

Jóhann Jóhannsson: Last And First Men @ Barbican, London

Last And First Men, the new multimedia work by Jóhann Jóhannsson received its premiere at the Manchester International Festival back in 2017. This follow up...

The Good, The Bad & The Queen @ EartH, London

One of the most pleasant surprises of 2018 has been the return of The Good, The Bad & The Queen with new album Merrie Land,...

Federico Albanese @ Purcell Room, London

The piano may be centuries old but its appeal shows no signs of abating. This year has already seen a wide range of artists demonstrate...

The Twilight Sad @ Mill, Birmingham

The Twilight Sad, here supporting their labelmates (and real mates) Mogwai, performed a mini Greatest Hits set in front of a near-full room in the...

Bryan Ferry And His Orchestra – Bitter-Sweet

Having always felt a kind of affinity with Bryan Ferry, as we share the same birthplace of Washington New Town and even went to the...

The 1975 – A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships

This is the third record by The 1975. You’ve been waiting forever for it. You remember the jump between the tacky youthfulness of their first album, and...

Esben And The Witch – Nowhere

Esben And The Witch are a curious case study of a band: proof that it’s possible to very quietly become really rather heavy. A look...

Ed Harcourt – Beyond The End

There’s nobody else quite like Ed Harcourt. There certainly aren’t many careers that have been as varied as his.  Since his breakthrough with his debut...

Vessel – Queen Of Golden Dogs

In an instance of curious serendipity, this writer went to see a play at Battersea Arts Centre called Vessel in the same week as reviewing Queen...