HEART TO GOLD – Blow up the spot
Heart to Gold are a three piece band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They belt out two and half minute punk/pop songs like the bastard offspring of Husker Du and Weezer. That makes them pretty good, right? You better believe it. There’s five tracks here for you to get the taste and jump on board with the avalanche that’s fast approaching your front door that ranges from power pop to full on punk rock frenzy. They’re refreshing like a mango sorbet after a vindaloo.They’re charm, elegance and deadly danger rolled into the faces of three spotty childhood friends raised on a healthy diet of The Germs, Nirvana and the Ramones. They kick ass. You should check them out. Like, now!
5/5
BEN WILKINSON – Story that lasts beyond time
The evolution of Ben Wilkinson has been intriguing. From trance floor filler, his production techniques continue to enhance and grow. There’s a confidence here that few producers aspire to in modern dance music. He’s not afraid to experiment; there’s some twisted rhythms at play here, but all inter-twined with some steadily pulsating, hypnotic beats that keep us forever driving forward on this wonderfully fantastic voyage into a near galaxy full of mutated sprites, unearthly demons and psychedelic sauce spiders. Think Tangerine Dream at an acid convention on Lake Lucerne in 1986 whilst trying to write the score for the never to be released, Barbarella 2. This is transcendental, magnificent space age EDM of the finest calibre. I’m already reaching for my trusty giant bong made from the ingested spinal fluid of eco forms from nearby planets that are only seen during electro magnetic storms on the fringes of our universe every 37,000 years. Glorious!
5/5
STEVE SIMS – Subversion
Steve Sims (aka White Bird) has been making pumping techno for quite some time now and carving a dignified and credible path amongst the dance floor elite. These four bangers do nothing to tarnish his growing reputation. ‘12:33‘ kicks things off with the influences of Nine Inch Nails creeping into its thrusting vibrant beats. This is dark, dark stuff indeed. ‘Associationz‘ follows hard on its heels with a more familiar vibe that pushes your ass towards the dance floor and drops you there ensnared in its captivating rhythms. ‘Fucking illegal rave‘ does what it says on the tin and drags you kicking and screaming back in time for a 90’s influenced heavy techno workout. Magnificent stuff. ‘I love you‘ leaves us breathless and we collapse in a sweaty post coital heap. Pass me a tissue!
5/5
UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH – Roadside
RAICHYL SINVERSA – Becoming Unable
The girl with the golden lungs continues to move forward at a pace with her latest release. The undisputed queen of Florida cool belts out a disco stomper with a thrusting, gyrating backbeat under-pinning her best vocal performance to date. Raichyl has always threatened greatness, and with this, she finally delivers on all fronts! This has been spinning on repeat around the office and melting walls, stopping clocks and infusing spontaneous pelvic thrusts from everyone who has listened to it! Boom-tastic! Big up girl!
5/5
INHALER – Your House
Being the son of one of the biggest set of lungs that rock has produced in 50 years was always going to be equal parts nepotism, optimism for acceptance and drenched in unnecessary Bono comparisons. Poor bloke! This, hopefully, once and for all, strips away all the bullshit as we observe a band in full flight, finding their feet, sprouting their wings and heading for their own sun. ‘Your house‘ is pure 90’s stomp-a-long-pomp-a-long glory kicking off like Muse with a pulsating bass before Elijah’s vocals kick in and raise the game considerably. It’s everything you’d wish from a modern pop song – vulnerable, majestic and memorable. Start to believe the hype!
4/5
FRAZER LAMBERT – Renaissance
Written about his mothers decline with Alzheimers, this is one of the most passionate and heartfelt tracks of the year. Opening line (stolen from his dad’s observation) ‘nothings a lie, if you know it’s not true.’ beautifully captures the futility of the human condition when faced with over-whelming sadness, loss and impending grief. Renaissance is a tribute to Frazer’s mother which, he hopes, she will be able to enjoy whilst she’s still around. It’s production is straight from the Marvin Gaye soul vibe of the early seventies with emotional brass, tender drums and a driving vocals that takes you on the roller-coaster of emotions felt by our protagonist. This is beautiful, tender and graceful and will leave you with a lump in your throat.
Released 8th November.
3/5
CIRCLE RED – Bad Habit
Circle Red emerged during the lockdown on the Full Send label. At the time there was speculation who he/they were and rumours abounded. Still shrouded in secrecy, they continue to produce a broad spectrum of electronic dance music, from reese-filled pounding neuro drum and bass to the gentler and more sophisticated sounds of By Your Side, There’s No Going Back and now, Bad Habit. This is more Massive Attack than massive weapons with its piano led refrain and sultry vocals and showcases a more mature, respective production that could have been spawned on a New York dance floor in the sweaty late 80’s. Nice.
4/5
HACIENDA GARDENERS – Seashells
Hacienda Gardeners are an American rock band formed by producer Nate Pizano in 2022. Incorporating the indie sounds of the last 80’s with a contemporary alternative energy they are carving out a distinct sound on the musical highways around Los Angeles. They owe as much to The Killers and Imagine Dragons as they do to New Order’s disco frenzy and are pushing for your attention in 2025. Opening track ‘Seashells‘ is a gentle spoken word lament about being ‘stuck in the sand’ and ‘all alone’ in the world before genial rising into a guitar led riff that pulls us onto the sun blistered highway and propels us to the coast. ‘Waiting and waiting‘ is straight outta 80’s Manchester (UK) and beautifully showcases their very human introspection. “Dream’ is more retro sounds from an age gone by that still manages to sound oh so relevant as we move towards a post-Trump netherworld of mutant zombie and rampaging rednecks intent on world destruction. ‘Separate‘ and ‘Heartbroken and forsaken‘ keep up the mood before ‘Fate‘ hits like an upbeat John Foxx track with swirling synths and basslines fighting for supremacy in the mix that take us all the way to the underpass and leaves us with a peck on the cheek with the ‘Seashells’ instrumental outro
3.5/5
SAINT SENARA – There’s a storm coming
Hot on the heels of their ‘Under My Skin’ EP, ‘There’s a storm coming‘ drifts in slowly like the mildest zephyr tickling the lower Spanish plains before building into the formidably haunting gothica crescendo of a hurricane Milton. There’s a touch of the Fleetwoods Mac’s about this, back when little Stevie Nicks was at the peak of her powers and the band laid down the devils backbone over her fiendishly magnificent vocals. Chloe Victoria (who’s much nearer to the edge of 17 than Stevie these days) pushes for that grandioseness here and pulls it off with aplomb. This is storm dark blues served with a severed head on a silver platter as the crow cries at the myriad of ghouls busy infiltrating the oncoming night. The floorboards creak, the lights blink out and we wait for our impending doom shivering in the darkness. You bet ‘there’s nowhere left to hide!‘ Magnificent!
5/5
DR. MEAKER – Distorted Sun
Dr. Meaker, the DJ, has been around for a while now, gently cutting his own path through the drum and bass landscape, but it’s with the ‘live’ band that Clive really comes to life. The path of a producer can be a trite and solitary existence, so best to choose your bedfellows wisely to raise your game and raise a smile in the process. Enter Fizzy Gillespie, Celestine, Laurent, Lefortsi, Blaze and Xrusade to drag our combat clad street boi into the light. Remember what happened to Voltage when he went for that gentler, crafted sound on Balance Over Symmetry? Well, same here. There are some simply some beautiful tracks at play here, from the enigmatic ‘Drift Away’ through tho the magnificent piano led ‘The Flame‘ featuring Lefortsi showing that you don’t need pulsating 175 pulsating breakbeats to produce hard hitting drum and bass. There’s a gentleness to some of the tracks here that is unexpected yet poignant and helps to push dnb in the right direction fort the 21st Century. Celestine shines on ‘Simple Complications‘ with the sultry ‘real life, feels like shelter from the rain. Your touch brightens up my day’ vocal lead in before dropping us gently into a blissful arrangement with subtle brass and pulsing bass that doesn’t try to throw any curveballs (none are needed here). So very simple, right?
The magnificent pop groove is kept alive with ‘Don’t give up‘ which wouldn’t loo out of place jostling for supremacy in the UK charts. When Clive and Co get it right, boy do they get it RIGHT! More established acts like High Contrast would gladly drop this into his roster with its sheen of sheer power and glory. ‘Kenya Speaks‘ the jazzy ‘Distant City‘ with its Burt Bacharach intro keep this collection of 15 beautiful cuts moving along nicely and gives a glimmer of the Meaker Bristol heritage with it’s Roni Size and Goldie inspirations worn shining brightly on its sleeves.
This is a natural progression from 2016’s ‘Dirt and Soul‘, with Clive pushing the production envelope harder, applying more polish and, frankly writing better, soulful tunes. The shackles are off and our boi is flying to that wonderful shining distorted sun just on the horizon. Beautiful! Buy it, don’t stream it!
5/5
WEATHERSHIP – Splendid Beast
So, Stockton alt-rock five-piece Weatherships’ debut album ‘Splendid Beast’ finally lands on an unsuspecting public littered with references to the sea and an exploration of life’s greatest duality, fear and love. Over the last ten years or so, the band have become known for their hook-laden atmospherics and smouldering melodic storytelling. ‘The Golden Age‘ kicks things off beautifully with a Black Keys-esque tale of dreaming laced with flowing atmospheric guitars and layers of wonderfully crafted synth noise. ‘The Blue‘ and ‘Through the Fog‘ continue the saga of sea faring references magnificent in their understated splendour. ‘New Occupation‘ has an urgent vocal that draws you to the ocean and submerges you in its five plus minutes of pure sea-fuelled whimsy. Beautiful! Latest single ‘Just a ghost‘ comes across all Gimme Shelter era Rolling Stones and is simply one of the best releases of the year. Lead vocalist Jim has never sounded so passionate and vulnerable here. ‘Electrolung‘ sweeps in with its synth laden refrain with another tale of love and yearning. ‘Lost at sea‘ one the bands early tracks punches in next with a tale of being ‘a long way from home’ (lost at sea?) and carries once again off into the myriad depths of the waves not knowing if we’re going to survive the journey. Its beautifully crafted indie pop fare, the likes of which Two Door Cinema Club used to make back in the day. The melancholy of ‘The Swimmer‘ greets us head on, just nudging above the waves as tender hands attempt to pull us down into he dark depths. A metaphor for life itself perhaps with its uplifting emotional chorus will live long in the memory. ‘For the dark is beautiful’ completes a wonderful nine tracks of pure indie pop heaven like the Stone Roses jamming at three o’clock in the morning with sombre, but reflective musings on the night before. If you buy one album this year, make sure it’s this one! Dropping on the 15th November on download, vinyl and CD.
5/5
THE PIXIES – The night the zombies came
Back from beyond the dead? The Pixies new album marks their tenth and comes a mere 35 years after their debut, Doolittle exploded on an unsuspecting rock world and cemented them as the blue print for the loud-quiet-loud template that millions have followed since. Old Frankie describes it as ‘a series of fragmented narratives that come together to form a kind of movie’. Like the Day of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead kinda vibe. You get the drift. There’s references to druids, medieval themed restaurants and, of course, apocalyptic shopping malls drenched in blood. Emma Richardson (formerly of Band of Skulls) joins as bassist after Paz Lenchantin’s departure and adds that layer of sheen particularly around the backing vocals that she did so well with BOS. The band continue to evolve with these (unlucky) 13 tracks and each lends themselves to the cinematic landscapes that they yearn to be.
‘Primrose‘ which could have been written anytime in the bands history opens up proceedings in its B 52’s quirkiness. ‘You’re so impatient‘ drops inti familiar territory with its layered harmonies and familiar quiet and loud bits. It’s a stomper and finds the boys (and girl) back at the reins of the bucking bronco, only taking a firm hold on proceedings this time since the Doggerel episode. A sigh of relief is heard around the globe. ‘Jane’ is Beachboy’s meets Sydneys Barrett and none the worse for it. Echoes of Caribou drift from the vinyl grooves during the intro to ‘Chicken‘. Sometimes I feel like a chicken sighs Francis with his tongue firmly in someone else’s cheek.
‘Hypnotised‘ and ‘Johnny Good Man‘ flat on b with a reassuring arm around us to protect us form the world just like good ol’ uncle Frank intended. Grand slices of garage rock straight out of their 90’s back catalogue. ‘Motoroller‘ almost sounds like its from a different studio session and a different master, but it still propels us forward and see some intricate guitar noodling along the way. ‘I hear you Mary‘ comes and goes easily before they unleash the mighty and muscular ‘Oyster beds‘ upon us. A paen to the vagina maybe? Who knows? ‘Mercy me‘ is a gentle introspective passage amongst the jingly jangly guitars before retuning to the out right rock ‘n’ roll of ‘Ernest Evans’. ‘Kings of the prairie‘ and ‘The Vegas Suite‘ wind out this bakers dozen beautifully as Frank asks for our forgiveness before heading off to Vegas for a debauched night amongst the strippers and roulette wheels. Definitely worth a spin and also available on beautiful red vinyl.
3/5