From the moment Simply Red’s 12th album opens, with staccato horns blaring and “Baby” hollered as if by an overexcited James Brown, it’s clear Mick Hucknall’s not messing around with…
Review: Anna Of The North – Dream Girl
If Anna Lotterud’s 2017 debut lacked distinction, that was partly down to the number of other Scandinavian women operating in similarly frosty fields. Lovers fetishised the 80s effectively, but lacked…
Review: Magne Furuholmen – White Xmas Lies
Given he’s helped write some of the biggest songs by Norway’s biggest band, you’d think A-ha’s Magne Furuholmen would be happy. That his third solo album is a Christmas collection…
Review: The Brand New Heavies – TBNH
SHOP NOW ON AMAZON FROM £9.99 It says a lot that The Brand New Heavies’ co-founder and guitarist Simon Bartholomew describes their 11th album’s cover as “a bit clubby, a…
New Releases & Reissues: 20 December
With Christmas literally five days from our doorstep, we’ve compiled a handy guide for the best new releases and reissues to take the hassle out of that last minute gift…
Review: Bon Iver – i,i
SHOP NOW FOR YOUR COPY OF i,i It’s clear from the start of Justin Vernon’s fourth Bon Iver album it’s not going to be an easy listen. Even when, after…
Review: Chrissie Hynde – Valve Bone Woe
SHOP NOW FOR YOUR COPY OF VALVE BONE WOE The second Chrissie Hynde solo album has been a long time coming. It’s only five years since Stockholm, but Valve Bone Woe…
Review: Kim Wilde – Aliens Live
After nearly four decades, Kim Wilde releases her very first live album – Aliens Live. But is it worth the long wait…? SHOP NOW FOR YOUR COPY OF ALIENS LIVE “They…
Review: Big Country – The Seer (Expanded Edition)
There’s a parallel universe where Big Country rather than Simple Minds became the definitive stadium-sized late-80s Scottish rockers. Stuart Adamson’s band certainly aimed for the biggest venues on their third…
Review: Kim Petras – Clarity
Having gender transitioned aged 12, Germany’s Kim Petras perhaps stands out enough already that genuinely distinctive songs aren’t necessary. Certainly Clarity could be by any number of contemporary chart acts,…