Why is it, after a good 50 years of ‘popular music’ and the concept of the ‘gig’, do modern bands; no matter how diverse or anti-conformist their music claims to be – STILL peddle the sad masquerade of the ‘encore’. Why do they bother? They thank the audience, they say goodnight and they walk off stage, knowing all too well that in less than 5 minutes they’ll be back on the stage doing the exact same thing. Do they really [...]

Playing a handful of British dates to support their latest heart-stoppingly beautiful oeuvre (that’s album to me and you), ‘Takk…’ Sigur Rós are a thing of unearthly magnificence. Surely, if there is a heaven, Sigur Rós would be the in-house band, and ol’ J.C. would be down the front row, throwing the sandals of approval at them. Those familiar to with Sigur Rós’ previous albums will already understand the incredible emotional connection the music has with the listener, you can [...]

Pop stars are like sharks. They look slimy, they’re attracted to the smell of blood, and if they stop moving, they’ll die. It’s all about re-invention. The Beatles went from ‘clean-cut youngsters’ to bearded, acid-scorched hippies; Bowie became an alien, Madonna went from hairy-pop starlet, to S&M-endorsing nymphomaniac, and then cockney. Even Blur’s Damon Albarn became a 2-dimentional representation of himself, and then became a cartoon… Alison Goldfrapp, originally a shadowy purveyor of soprano-seeped ambience as with debut album Felt [...]

“Time is running out”, “We’re accidents waiting to happen”, “I can see death’s beady eyes”, “This is fucked up, fucked up…” For almost 15 years now, Thom Yorke has been the siren singing in the shipwreck… he is not, it seems, a happy chappy. But wait, what’s that? You already knew? Of course you did, but still, for those who weren’t entirely convinced, we have a nine-tracked collection of dark, unsettling electronica, malevolent synths, cryptic, hopeless and beautiful songs; otherwise [...]

It seems that somewhere between DJ Shadow’s excellent sophomore effort The Private Press and the recording of his latest (mostly) electronic opus… Josh Davis (that’s his real name, see) had something of an epiphany. Shocked by a near-death experience involving a London taxi journey, and the news of potentially life-threatening complications during his wife’s pregnancy of his two (as then unborn) twin-daughters, the Sampler / Turntablist / Navel Gazer decided things would have to change. And nothing brings out the [...]