The first spin of a new black watch album always feels like coming home. Those first few guitar strums of Saint Fair Isle Sweater are the crunch of your feet on that familiar drive way and then the door opens and you are warmly greeted by shimmering guitars, the lushness of which beckons you inside and by the... Continue Reading →
Electronicy, Loopy, Eastern Blocy and experimental are what initially come to mind when this recording is played. But its much much more than that. It feels like it is coming from a transitory place where the musical world has been stopped in order to regroup and re-evaluate. This feels very current. Very pandemic. It seems... Continue Reading →
You can tell that an artist really understands the power of music when they are able to deliver tracks which are about mood rather than melody, anticipation and atmosphere rather than anything as unimaginative as lyrical hooks and the usual pop and rock gimmicks. Brittleness is just such a track, a drifting collage of textures... Continue Reading →
Imagine if Ennio Morricone had taken a different approach to Leone’s iconic Spaghetti Western soundtracks and decided to invent dream-pop whilst scoring them. You can’t imagine such a scenario? Well, give The Roogs debut album a spin and you’ll get some idea what that might have sounded like. Courtney Davies and Steve Gerdes are perhaps better known as... Continue Reading →
Paul McClure, the "Rutland Troubadour," has been making gorgeous, charming, delicate, witty and all round ace folk music for as long as I, and perhaps he, would care to remember. But great music, and great musicians for that matter, never goes out of fashion and his lovely lilting lullabies and fully-formed folkery remain popular no... Continue Reading →
There is much talk at the moment about the challenges facing musicians cut off from their place of work, much moaning about lack of support for the arts and those who make a living within. There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth on social media about the state of the world and the future... Continue Reading →
Considering the melancholic and almost baroque nature of previous single Gone By Noon, Acid Rain is the perfect follow up track. In may ways it is the perfect contrast to the mood of that previous outing, opting for a more confident and vibrant beat, a more energetic and obvious groove. Although these are enough touches of... Continue Reading →
It would be only natural to assume that having released himself from the complexities of the sonic world of Karda Estra, that Richard Wileman’s current musical vehicle, essentially a duo with Amy Fry, would result in some much more simply drawn music. And to some extent it does, but of course everything is relative. If Karda Estra was... Continue Reading →
Once you hear the term “dreamweaver” used to describe Josh Werner, it is difficult to think of him needing any other name. Musician seems to undersell the minimalist majesty and ambient grace of his music. Bassist also seems to give the wrong impression, even though it is the predominant instrument in this composition, in the same... Continue Reading →
As the world moves ever onwards, every advantageous advance is perhaps balanced by an irrevocable loss. Technology constantly replaces tradition and although things might get more logical, easier to access, more conformist, in doing so the world often loses some of its weird charm and its brilliant quirkiness. Nostalgia is indeed not what it used... Continue Reading →
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