INTERNATIONAL MUSIC REVIEWS & NEWS
Far from being the soggy offspring of an aging seafarer, U.K. seven-piece The Mariner’s Children presents a deliciously and decidedly earth-bound proposal to its listeners. Banjos, guitars, violins and creaking, guttural harmonies converge in a great maelstrom of building, driving songs, which careen from moments of delicate beauty to those of furious abandon. The Brighton [...]
There’s an assumed sigh when the term “drone” comes into play. As a sub-genre, it’s cryptic, off-putting, and faceless. There’s no flash. In fact, drone stands out solely on an aesthetic island for being as anti-flash as humanly expressible. But the passive disinterest misses nuance. Excavation, the newest album from London producer Bobby Krlic, a [...]
It marks a pleasant time in any Londoner’s life when they can unwind, cup of tea in hand, to the lulling, polished tones of BBC 6 Music. More often than not an excuse to listen to David Bowie at work rather than a way to discover underground acts, I was surprised to hear Fear of [...]
Since Britpop’s highs in the 90s, British bands haven’t had quite the same overwhelming effect on the world. So when there’s a bright and shining new talent hailing from the United Kingdom, it is hard to not get excited. But what happens when the talent is comprised of a handful of 18-year-old boys? It feels [...]
It’s February in London. Kraftwerk, whose influence has cast a looming shadow over electronic music since the early 1970s, are in town, bringing their note perfect renditions of their discography to the London’s Tate Modern art gallery. But for those more interested in the future of electronic music than its past, sound artist Holly Herndon’s [...]
Little-known, ambitious British boards master, The Purist, has been an avid workaholic lately, never resting, steadily collaborating with an eclectic group of MC’s—from newbies like Danny Brown to veterans like Havoc—in a rising and promising effort to get his sound heard. He comes from the U.K., yet offers an estranged style with a boom bass [...]
Chantel McGregor is a young British blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter from Bradford, West Yorkshire, in Northern England. At seven years of age she started taking guitar lessons. At the grand old age of eight she became the youngest person in the U.K. to pass a “Rock school” grade exam. In her teens, McGregor was told by [...]
Prior to the advent of the Internet and its influence on music consumption, there were few more effective ways for listeners and musicians to connect than through detailed liner notes. Listeners could pore over the notes included with their newly purchased album, following along with the lyrics as they’re sung. But from a business perspective, [...]
The U.K. is a weird scene to break for any freshly-sprouted indie band. On the one hand, the way is illuminated by plenty of “next big things” who were featured on the soundtrack to a spunky sitcom for the young ‘uns, whose second album sits just about on prominent display in HMV’s bargain racks. The [...]
London singer/guitarist Tom Dougall (younger brother of Rose Elinor Dougall of The Pipettes) formed the band TOY in 2010 with Dominic O’Dair (guitar), Maxim “Panda” Barron (bass), Charlie Salvidge (drums), and Spanish keyboard player Alejandra Diez. Dougall, Barron and O’Dair had previously played together in Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong. The band’s first live [...]
