Cancel culture’s taken on a new meaning in the last few weeks, with your social and gig calendar full of blanks right up till the end of summer and beyond. Still, talk of album delays […]
It’s all just a game, I hope: Karel Fialka – Hey Matthew (1987)
In 1987, my Ma bought me the double cassette of Now That’s What I call Music Vol 10 as a Christmas present. I had my favourites – M/A/A/R/S, Billy Idol, ABC, Pet Shop Boys, Jan […]
WTF is going on in the video for Billy Ocean’s Loverboy?
When Michael Jackson released his Thriller video in December 1983 it was a year zero for presenting pop music – a 14-minute short film directed by John Landis, with higher production values than most horror […]
The sound of real isolation on The Razor Wire: Answering Machine (1990 – 2000)
Terms like self-isolation and social distancing crept up on us over the last few weeks, and they’re now drummed into our heads. And even if you’re rolling your eyeballs inside out at the state of […]
All the chances I’ve blown: The KLF – Build a Fire (1991)
The KLF never really had many tender moments. From 1987-92, Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty set their stall out as acid house outsiders, giving the finger to baggy Second Summer of Love hedonism with situationist […]
Top ten TV synth themes of the 80s
One of the biggest communal TV binges of the last few years has been Stranger Things — with the pesky kids in the throwback 80s sci-fi horror series shamelessly pushing all our nostalgia buttons. Strangers […]
All the Right Noises: Moo Kid’s 2020 first quarter
Let’s see if we can get through a few lines without mentioning it. In between ambient playlists, Tiger King, hand-wash lyric memes, Zoom screenshots and a sadly forgotten historic Irish election, there’s also been a […]
Business as (un)usual for Meljoann on Company Retreat
There wasn’t much of an incubation period needed for the millions of think-pieces and social media posts spewing into the pandemic narrative as it unfurls by the minute. One thing’s certain, though — capitalism is […]
The stage is blind: Mart Avi – Spark
Estonian avant-pop artist Mart Avi boots up a hyperreal human-machine interface on his new tech-noir thriller ‘Spark’ — part one of his new double single. On ‘Spark / Soul ReaVer’, Avi veers between vitality and […]
Remote Control: Keep your distance with this eight-hour ambient playlist
Amid the spiralling pandemic anxiety and cabin fever over the last few weeks, there’s been an arms race to see who can adapt quickly to this shapeshifting new way of life in self-isolation. With gigs […]
Gaika’s thrilling take on mechanised dancehall
Gaika’s take on mechanised dancehall and grime and R&B is a thrilling concoction, and on his debut album Basic Volume he explores the outer limits of R&B, creating the kind of music The Weeknd thinks […]
‘Profound moments of stillness’: Jon Hopkins’ Polarity
Producer Jon Hopkins has always hit that sweet spot between the head, the heart and the dancefloor — creating intricate, majestic long-form electronic pieces with a debt to new music composition as much as soulful […]
JPEGMAFIA: Extreme vetting
Modern rap has no shortage of provocateurs, but Baltimore’s JPEGMAFIA seems to enjoy knocking noses out of joint as much as knocking out fearless and confrontational albums. The Afghanistan and Iraq War veteran is no […]
IAMDDB: Turn up the Vol
While many current R&B and hip-hop artists struggle with a phoned-in live show lacking in effort and content, IAMDDB’s longest recording to date is her 2019 album Vol.Xperience Live@Roundhouse London. Over 75 minutes and 24 […]
Sleater-Kinney: We’re still only at our halfway point
After 25 years and nine albums, Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein said recently that they’re in their mid-period. Bold words for a veteran band, but back up by that ninth album The Center Won’t Hold. The LP […]
