I first heard Josh Rouse via his 1972 album – that’s his album called 1972, not his album recorded in 1972. Rouse was, in fact, born in 1972 so it would have been surprising, if not interesting, if he had recorded an album that year. More »
Eleanor McEvoy’s new album The Thomas Moore Project is, at first glance at least, a bit of a niche item. Thomas Moore was a 17th Century Irish songwriter and poet whose work has become somewhat neglected in recent times. Moore occupies a similar place in Irish heritage as Robert Burns does in Scotland but while Burns’ works are regularly revived and reinterpreted the world over, Moore’s have fallen out of fashion. More »
Janine Elliot takes a listen to Mike Valentine’s Chasing the Dragon label’s Reel to Reel Revival “Big Band Spectacular” by the Syd Lawrence Orchestra. Needless to say this is a reel to reel release. More »
If Marvel Comics’ Man-Thing made a record it would sound dangerously close to 20 Years In A Montana Missile Silo. Sci-fi synths swirl and soar over Creedence Clearwater Revival-style swamp rock, topped off with David Thomas’ idiosyncratic warbling yelp. Pere Ubu are one of those rare bands who are – as John Peel put it when referring to The Fall – “always different, always the same.” More »
As a classically trained pianist and multi-instrumentalist, Brett Gleason’s hands are not incapable. However, virtuosity is not synonymous with creativity, and on Manifest Gleason treads water in an ocean of Amos-isms and ivory-tickling. More »
