Features

“I remember people called it mod punk when it came out even ‘tho they don’t sound anything like The Jam. I think it was probably more because of their fashion and graphics style. But what it is, is an absolute banger of a GREAT record. It’s full of super catchy songs, loud as fuck guitar, great pic slides and really great snotty vocals. It’s also got a bit of an early Dischord sound and attitude”

“The steamy image it conjures up sends sends major goosebumps up and down my spine. I can’t put on mascara and listen to this at the same time.”

“This is a stunning record of New Age/Ambient music, that perfectly reflects the personality of the person that made it. Alex has always had a strong and admirable connection to natural world, we remember them talking excitedly about plans to make a documentary about Magpies and their various calls and songs.”

“As a bass player, I love hearing bass combined with different types of instruments, in this case the Irani santur, a 72-string instrument dating from approximately 500 BCE. I love the combination of urgency and melancholy I hear in this song.”

“Even though my own music is strongly influenced by Irish and English folk music I heard while growing up, when I first heard Fats Domino playing “Jambalaya” I was mesmerised. The music sounded so otherworldly. It sounded like a rich swampy terrain, very different from the sometimes bleak and harsh Irish weather. I began digging into the music of New Orleans and Louisiana. I discovered Louis Armstrong and the Blafa Brothers. I was so taken with Armstrong that I named my dog Louis after him!”

“Megira’s surf rock guitar, bittersweet melodies, and hopelessly romantic lyrics [“…no, no, and you should’t/Don’t say maybe/Maybe today, maybe tomorrow/Tomorrow’s gone…”] remind of a scene from a David Lynch film. I love how timeless this song is, and especially the sound of the rockabilly guitar, knowing it was written in the early 2000s, but it could just as well be dated to the 1960s”

“Cooper (Cooper Crain, producer and member of Bitchin Bajas, Cave) passed along this record to me a few years ago, and it became a morning tradition in my old apartment. We’d put it on and do our calisthenics and routines. Now it sparks a memory of my psyche in those days, and the horizon snaps into focus when I put it on.”

“…the music harks back to the early days of sampling: sixties avant garde classical with its dissonant eruptions, drones, reversed sections, human voices pitched beyond their natural range and arranged in sequences…and all endowed with all the shortcomings of the nascent technology… but Cristobal Tapia de Veer has somehow managed to revisit and modernise these traits in a very personal, clever and peculiar way.”

“I worked at a coffeeshop on 2nd Ave, and one of my customers knew I was a violinist and doing this experimental music with a drummer, and they made me a tape of Bittova to check out. My mind was blown. I felt like I had met a soul sister. The way she was so unafraid to be atonal, wild, how she vocalizes with her violin, all of it. She remains a huge influence on me”

“Secrets of the Third planet are a Russian band that write and produce ambient-shoegaze , that push the boundaries of sonic bliss. For me it was a joyous piece of sonic pop rock, in what had been a difficult year.”

THE UNDERCOVER HIPPY - LUCKY 7 Drum n Bass MC turned singer songwriter Billy Rowan aka THE UNDERCOVER HIPPY is on a mission to make people think, laugh and dance simultaneously. Described by Tom Robinson as "beautifully produced agitprop reggae flavoured rap", his...

“The thing I really love about the Durutti Column and this song in particular is the simplicity and space. When you’re making instrumental music it can be tempting to fill in all the gaps, but Vini Reilly can take two or three melodic lines and really make the most of them. I can’t think of anything you could add or take away from this to make it any better.”

“The most prolific gang in town. Impeccable output. Killer production. This album bowled me over when I listened to it. Each track is a thrill and sails unchartered waters.”

It's that time of year when all those best of lists come abounding, pressing you to buy product in time for Christmas, but it's also a way of tipping your hat, cocking your snook etc to albums that you absolutely love, and spreading the love to those people who truly...

BIG IMAGE – LUCKY 7 Staking their claim to be one of the next big things in the UK, Birmingham four-piece BIG IMAGE boast smart, world-weary lyricism and transformative pop for the masses. Having already built a considerable live following, the members of BIG IMAGE...

“Taking emotional responsibility for my actions often feels impossible because of the abuse I have experienced and the mood and personality disorders I have. In a fight, flight, or freeze situation, I will flee every single time.”

CAPTAIN ACCIDENT – LUCKY 7 LUCKY 7 IS THE FEATURE WHERE WE ASK ARTISTS TO NAME THEIR 6 FAVOURITE SONGS BY OTHERS, AND A LUCKY 7TH SONG OF THEIR OWN… CAPTAIN ACCIDENT creates a unique blend of roots reggae, ska and rocksteady. A sound that is transformed to the live...

CASINO ROCKETS – Lucky 7 LUCKY 7 is the feature where we ask artists to name their 6 favourite songs by others, and a lucky 7th song of their own… Halifax four-piece CASINO ROCKETS operate within a world of alt / math / post-rock, utilising intricate guitar patterns...

CLEOPATRICK – Lucky 7 LUCKY 7 is the feature where we ask artists to name their 6 favourite songs by others, and a lucky 7th song of their own… CLEOPATRICK are the most exciting new band to hit the music scene in a decade. Primal distortion colliding with killer...

“Sonically, there’s a lot going on here ; Melodic and traditional licks go hand-in-hand with the more experimental and noise side of T::T. The tribal rhythm section, the psychedelic guitar solo and the trombone one at the end, the break with the quiet flute, the use of the ‘taisho-koto’ (vintage electric mini-koto, kind of like if a type-writer and a slide guitar had a baby), the elements of surprise, the contrasts…”