Memoryhouse’s debut album sees the duo shave away the fuzzy edges of their EP in favour of a well-produced but curiously inert set. Even its best moments can’t disguise a terminal lack of spark at its centre.
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NZCA/Lines – NZCA/Lines
NZCA/Lines’ debut reinvents timeless soul music to create a sexy modern classic with slick precision and an organic beauty which taps into the essence of contemporary music.
Scuba – Personality
On his third album the Hotflush boss pushes things forward with a satisfying – and stealthily commercial – blend of dubstep, bass and techno.
Palace – Reissues: There is No One What Will Take Care Of You, Palace Brothers a.k.a. Days In The Wake, Hope, Lost Blues And Other Songs, Viva Last Blues
How entrenched can one man be in the last two decades of alternative culture?
Masaki Batoh – Brain Pulse Music
Ghost mainman Masaki Batoh drops a rare solo record with Brain Pulse Music, an album made as a requiem for those affected by 2011′s earthquake and tsunami in Japan and featuring a piece of equipment called the BPM that turns brain waves into music.
Xiu Xiu – Always
The cover says it all. A picture of a fresh tattoo depicts the band name and album title, Xiu Xiu Always. And when it comes to Jamie Stewart’s cult pop project, this is less a throwaway banner and more a statement of intent.
Photos: Real Estate – The Arches, Glasgow 20/02/12
The New Jersey boys caught live by our man in Glasgow, Matthew McAndrew.
Hood – Recollected
Over the course of seven albums and eleven years, Hood’s music was in a state of almost constant evolution — from their early lo-fi years through to the IDM-inspired glitch-pop of their final two albums, via a brief spell as post-rock innovators — but their inspiration remained stable: the desolate and fractured environments of their Yorkshire home.
The James Low Western Front – Whiskey Farmer
Though authentic and sporadically affecting, Whiskey Farmer suffers from its borrowed themes. File under “promising” for now.
Die Hard – Die Hard
This, then, is a record unsteady on its feet, the fucked-up guy at your party who may waffle and even bore you some of the time but can, very occasionally, have a flash of bright inspiration – just enough to make you feel it’s worth inviting him back next time.
Photos: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. + We//Are//Animal – Barfly, London – 12/02/2012
The Detroit duo check into the UK with a riotous Barfly show. Burak Cingi was there to capture the madness.
Photos: GZA – The Arches, Glasgow 13/02/12
The man also known as Gary Grice gets it on for an appreciate Glasgow crowd. Matthew McAndrew shoots.
The Mary Onettes – Love Forever EP
The more that you listen to this heartfelt four-track foray exuding pianos and pains, the better it gets: still unmistakably the same band that was responsible for 2009′s spectacular Islands.
Lindstrøm – Six Cups of Rebel
An interesting demonstration of Lindstrøm’s ability to eschew the “space disco” of the past and create several divergent, disparate electronic tracks on which the influence of his own varied background is marked.
Photos: tUnE-yArDs + Trailer Trash Tracys – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London 15/02/12
Merrill Garbus brings her powerful, lo-fi experimental folk to the capital with a headline show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Support from shoegaze quartet Trailer Trash Tracys. Jason Williamson supplies the shots.
Tindersticks – The Something Rain
The Something Rain finds Tindersticks in fine form, delivering a delicate combination of finely arranged brooding melancholy and redemption, whilst simultaneously allowing themselves the freedom to explore new ideas.
