So… more apologies for the silence of this blog, I’ve been ill yet again. Grrr… this sudden change in temperature obviously causing a few problems for my immune system. This has meant me missing Calexico on Sunday night at The Roundhouse in London, which I’m pretty gutted about as Beirut and A Hawk and a Hacksaw were supporting. Bugger.

However, before the illness struck I’d written a couple of reviews that may be of interest…

Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist
So it begins with a hush of feedback, lulling you into some kind of security before the wall of guitars thrash through the haze followed by a yell of excitement. This is how Saturday Night Wrist, the fifth album by the Deftones, begins with Hole In The Earth. A rapturous mix of heavy riffs, wistful guitars and ambient feedback. Those listeners expecting the rest of the album to continue like this, however, will be sorely disappointed. This is the Deftones most ambitious and cohesive work to date and matches White Pony in its vision and execution. Full review

Brakes - The Beatific Visions
The debut album from Brakes was one of the highlights of last year - rip roaring tails of drunken drug taking, dancing with gypsies and those annoying people at gigs who’ve seen every band… ever. Drenched in garage-punk edginess and recorded in five days completely live, it was full of energy, drive and plain good laughs that you could do nothing but enjoy. And this was all with a band just seen as a bit of something on the side for Eamon Hamilton, keyboardist in one of the south coasts finest, British Sea Power. However the success of Give Blood made Hamilton quit BSP and give Brakes a full shot, culminating in their second album The Beatific Visions, recorded in Nashville with a little more care and attention. Full review.

And CD Times have also started a weekly column reviewing singles. In an attempt to trawl through the vast amount of stuff out there, we’re here to help you, dear reader, and advise you on how to spend your hard earned readies. Full article.