As punk rock morphed into post-punk and new wave at the end of the 1970s, disco remained the shaping force of the Top 40. It was to attract some highly…
Reissue: Abba – Voulez-Vous
ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus is not just the co-songwriter of some of the most impeccable, glorious songs in pop history, he’s also always had a very astute sense of how they’ve…
Review: Philip Bailey – Love Will Find A Way
If you heard Billy Jack without knowing it was the first single off Philip Bailey’s comeback, you might think it was a lost Curtis Mayfield recording. Bailey gets his Gentle…
Review: Emeli Sandé – Real Life
“Last night,” Emeli Sandé sings, borne aloft as her third album reaches its finale, “I had a dream that I could fly”. She’s not the first to do so, to…
Review: Two Door Cinema Club – False Alarm
If you struggle to sleep, Google the ‘Two Door Cinema Club – False Alarm album launch into space!’ video. A record of how they sent their album into orbit because…
Review: Pixx – Small Mercies
It takes a while to figure out who Hannah Rodgers sounds like when she sings. At first, it seems like St Vincent, with Small Mercies and its opener, Andean Condor,…
Review: Will Young – Lexicon
Back in 2015, one-time Pop Idol winner Will Young could be found on 85% Proof, winding up Thank You, about his ex, with the simple edict: “Fuck you”. Four years…
Review: Hot Chip – A Bath Full Of Ecstasy
To some, Hot Chip have always been pioneers of sensitive indie club-pop, while, to others, there’s something irksome about their inherent anxiety, as well as a sense they’re trying too…
Review: Aurora – A Different Kind Of Human
Given to eccentric pronouncements about collecting dead insects and watching Avatar every day, Aurora Aksnes has cultivated a cunningly alien, elfin look, ice-blue eyes framed by a sci-fi fringe and,…
Review: The Divine Comedy – Office Politics
If you consider Neil Hannon too clever for his own good, then starting his 12th collection by declaring “I jump the queue/ ‘cause I’m smarter than you” won’t help his…