A couple of reviews today - one is of Beirut’s Gulag Orkestar which is one of my favourite releases of the year, full of mystery and wonder.

When you hear a piece of music for the first time that just haunts you, that sends shivers down your spine, you realise that this is why you listen to music in the first place. The first time I heard Beirut’s Gulag Orkestar was one of these times. An amazingly beautiful piece of music that, in equal measures, conjured up echoes of the past and images of the future… In my occasional “Across The Atlantic” articles, I wrote about Beirut back in June as a record that just blew me away, something truly original that I’d not been able to stop playing. Now it’s received an official UK release, we’ve even been blessed with the inclusion of The Lon Gisland EP as a bonus disc. Full review.

The Magic Numbers - Those The Brokes
So they’ve returned. The bunch of slightly related, easily offended, Fleetwood Mac influenced The Magic Numbers. The twee goodness of their debut never quite caught my imagination, but I caught them live at the V Festival back in 2005 and was impressed with their energy and genuine love for their audience - the songs had a sparkle that could do nothing but draw those thousands of people in a field together in unison. Full review.