London was where James Taylor got his big break when, after a rocky, drug-strewn apprenticeship in New York City, he reinvented himself as a solo performer and managed to get a demo tape to Peter Asher, who played it to his pal Paul McCartney. “Something in the Way She Moves” in particular caught the Beatle’s ear: "I just heard his voice and his guitar, and I thought he was great ... and he came and played live, so it was just like, 'Wow, he's great.” Taylor was the first non-UK act signed to Apple, and he recorded his eponymous debut at Trident Studios while The Beatles were working on Read more ...

If there is only one artist who you could say is in their moment, then it would be hard to look past Charli XCX. Having set in motion a whole cultural zeitgeist with previous album Brat, the pop and dance extraordinaire has forayed into fashion and film, lending to the score of Emerald Fennel’s take on Wuthering Heights last year.  With seemingly the world at her beck and call, Charli could have gone in any direction for album seven. Having conquered the mainstream with Brat, marrying electropop with dance and rave to wide acclaim, the easy choice could have been to return to that well Read more ...

Fans have been waiting for a new Strokes album for six years, and after a few listens, Reality Awaits left me feeling more disappointed than excited. There are moments where the band remind you why they've been one of the most influential rock bands of the last 25 years. The guitars still lock together effortlessly, the rhythm section is as tight as ever, and there are flashes of melodies that stick around long after the album ends. I can hear what they were aiming for, and I respect that they didn't just make The New Abnormal again. Some reviews have praised that willingness to push Read more ...

It’s always a pleasure to meet again with Charles Lloyd, whose sweet and expressive tone first enchanted me as a teenager in 1963, when he graced the Chico Hamilton Quartet, along with the guitarist Gabor Szabo – notably on the classic album Passin’ Thru Lloyd’s – affinity with Eastern spirituality which he demonstrates in his latest release, a homage to the sadly missed Indian percussion master Zakir Hussain, was always evident, long before his first visit to India in 2009, when most of the tracks on this album were recorded.Lloyd had first heard Indian music in 1957 – Ravi Shankar and Read more ...

The key track gives the album its title. “Where the Fades Meet” opens with swelling strings, which are swiftly underpinned by groovy, shuffling, percussion. The lyrics are carried by a chorale singing of a “fading signal”, “stillness” and “shadows.” It seems to about what lies in the gaps between the perceivable. The melody has a vaguely eastern Mediterranean lilt. Overall, it leans into evoking an exotica-inclined Rotary Connection – the late-Sixties/early Seventies outfit that was a core influence on acid jazz.“Where the Fades Meet” is the sixth track on the seventh album – there has also Read more ...

I didn’t want to review Shania Twain. My sense of her is of ancient mega-selling hits I can’t stand. I didn’t even go to her Sunday afternoon set at Glastonbury 2024. But it’s difficult to get most music writers to cover the biggest pop stars of our era. So here we are. And, you know what? It's a much better album than I was anticipating.I wasn’t looking forward to slating a smorgasbord of nursery rhyme, line-dance cheese. Given her remit, it felt unfair and pointless. But I’m off the hook. Even the songs that head that way, such as the breakbeat-rolling “That’s the Money”, boast acceptable Read more ...

The title “Tone Phase 1 for 2 Guitars & 4 Oscillators” is a giveaway, clearly indicating what’s going to be heard once the LP has landed on the record player. And, indeed, the first track on the second side of Eleh’s newly reissued Floating Frequencies / Intuitive Synthesis 1 seamlessly fuses single tones generated by electric guitars and analogue oscillators. However, what’s less apparent from taking in the title is the magnetic power exerted by the track during its translucent progress over ten minutes. Hypnotic.The same applies to what follows: the also-ten-minute “Tone Phase 2 for Read more ...

What an extraordinary band are The Punch Brothers, a bunch of conspicuously talented musicians whose six albums never fail to delight and stimulate as they push the boundaries of acoustic music to what you think would be beyond breaking point. It’s been said that they’ve taken “bluegrass to its next evolutionary stage, drawing equal inspiration from the brain and the heart”.Virtuosos all, The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers marks the debut of fiddler Brittany Haas with the band which, in addition to Chris Thiele, includes Chris Eldridge on guitar, Paul Kowert on bass, and Noam Pikelny on Read more ...

There’s a long and rich tradition of scabrous indie rock lyricism from Yorkshire. Sheffield’s Jarvis Cocker and Alex Turner tend to get the plaudits, but the particular kind of gimlet-eyed social observation and pub philosopher’s knack for a toothsome phrase can be found from Hull (Paul Heaton) to Rotherham (Rebecca Lucy Taylor), and Todmorden (Sydney Minsky-Sargeant of Working Men’s Club). And Leeds has its whole own strain, starting with the screeds of The Mekons and Gang of Four, running through David Gedge and Ricky Wilson in his spikier moments to Lily Fontaine of English Teacher and, Read more ...

In a similar vein to 2024’s Mercury-nominated album Silence is Loud, Nia Archives' latest offering is an appealing blend of jungle and pop. It’s a strange concoction but a successful one. In case you don’t know, Dehaney Nia Lishahn Hunt is Yorkshire born DJ and singer-songwriter known for melding genres.Opening track “Feelingz Go Numb” sets the tone – that rousing jungle beat is something of a call to arms. One thing Nia Archives doesn’t struggle with is writing memorable tunes – she makes it seem a breeze. “Around the Bend” has a fantastic guitar hook and overall sound reminiscent of Read more ...

It is never a great sign when a local authority is forced to comment on a music festival. The opening night of the In The Park series of shows at Newcastle's Exhibition Park forced such a reaction from the city council, after claims of overcrowding to see headliner Lewis Capaldi perform, on a day of sweltering heat. Nothing amiss was found according to the council, and by this night, the final one in the series of shows, there were thankfully no issues to cause concern. Instead the sunshine was accompanied by a light breeze to create an atmosphere more suitable for picnics than rock Read more ...

Everything I Ever Saw continues The Menzingers’ tradition of heartfelt storytelling through their signature Americana punk rock style. It's an album built on consistency rather than reinvention, leaning heavily into the formula of impassioned vocals and steady rock riffs that has made the band so beloved. The use of Shin Noguchi’s street photography for the artwork immediately stamps the album with a recognisable personality, the same intriguing, sombre vulnerability that is present across most of their album covers is undeniable here. In fact, it is one of their strongest artwork Read more ...