Kyle Gordon Is Great… is he? Well, I have no idea about the guy himself, but if we’re going by his debut comedy album, Kyle Gordon Is… a mixed bag. The clear highlight is ‘Planet Of The Bass’- an excellent and genuinely catchy send-up to 90s Eurodance, but other than that there’s really not much else on this album that stands out. In fact, its most memorable moments are probably its worst- the meek, baffling adult contemporary parody ‘I Love My ... read more

Everything Everything can do no wrong. Even when I think they’re finally about to go and do some wrong, they still end up doing no wrong- as evidenced by Mountainhead! t’s a really simple, fun and well-produced pop album, and while perhaps there are moments on the album where I think they retread ground (‘The End Of The Contender’ feels a bit like something from the Get To Heaven era but less impactful or interesting) even when this does happen it still doesn’t ... read more

I genuinely loved Yard Act’s debut The Overload for its dry, witty take on the state of the UK- but if I had one qualm with it, it’s that after a while, it got repetitive instrumentally, very much sticking to a specific post-punk blueprint. Where’s My Utopia tries its best to change that- and does a great job! The record sounds so much more alive and colourful than The Overload- most notably when they lean into dance punk on ‘We Make Hits’ or ‘Dream ... read more

I think Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here is a pretty decent show of potential for Friko. The indie duo’s lush, wistful sound is really pleasant and surprisingly versatile, going from songs like ‘For Ellla’ or ‘Cardinal’ to much louder, anthemic cuts like ‘Get Numb To It!’. However it’s not that unique of a sound either. Friko seem like they could use more development over time to separate themselves from other acts who also ... read more

While not a particularly bad album, the bulk of GLOOM DIVISON is pedestrian pop-rock with flat, watered-down production that retains very few of the interesting elements of IDKHOW’s previous work.

Automatic brings back a lot of recession era pop tends in a really fun and interesting way. Unfortunately the mixing is off and it sounds like a mess especially in the chorus. I hope we see more of this style come back into music soon though.

The Colourful Life is the only album to the name of London indie pop act Cajun Dance Party- who are at this point probably best known for being where Daniel Blumberg and Max Bloom got their start before leaving in 2009 to form the cult favourite indie/nu-gaze act Yuck. I haven’t really heard much Yuck before but the stuff I have heard sounds wildly different to the decidedly chipper indie poptimism of TCL. This is definitely on the upbeat side, with Blumberg’s spirited, bright, ... read more

oh shut the fuck up already

When it comes to indie sleaze, Keep On Your Mean Side definitely fits the bill. It’s a disaffected and burnt-out record with some very grimy, very moody guitars. Not bad, in theory- and decent in practice too. I don’t have much to say about this one, I’m afraid. It’s not really my thing but I respect what it does.

Wow I am not feeling this. I loved their album, but GT. just sounds really off-kilter and clunky. I don’t know what went wrong here…

Call is a confusing, ill-advised, repetitive track that just so happens to go hard.

This keeps getting better the more I listen to it. Probably my favourite thing Kasabian have released since Serge became the frontman tbh. It’s just so fun!

Catfish are back, which is something I was not expecting to see. I had kinda assumed they were over and done with. Showtime is OK as a song- nothing bad about it... but it’s also standard fare for the group at this point. They seem incapable of evolving their sound in a meaningful way to me.

Central Cee has really cornered the ‘otherwise dull rap songs with memorably awful lyrics’ market, hasn’t he? Because I Will is that. It’s just that but, like, again.

I’m mostly familiar with the Australian duo Royel Otis because their song Going Kokomo appeared on the EA FC 24 soundtrack. For me, that was easily the best song in the game- it just fit it so well. Regardless, PRATTS & PAIN is the duo”s first full-length album and… yep, it’s pretty much what I expected from them. 41 minutes worth of fun, blue-skies indie rock, akin to the Chappaqua Wrestling, Sundara Karma or GROUPLOVE albums from last year. I do think it’s a ... read more

MGMT’s 5th album, Loss Of Life, is yet another top-notch release from the duo. They really know how to harness the sound they want and make it their own creative, psychedelic thing. This one in particular definitely harkens back to their early 2010s output- it reminds me of the title track on ‘Congratulations’, as well as ‘Alien Days’ on their self titled album- but this one feels a lot warmer, more composed and arguably more matured. The 10 tracks flow into each ... read more

After Flexorcist’s fascinating but failed experiment of ‘putting too much autotune on the vocals and having it sound bad’, The Voidz go for a bold new strategy on All The Same: a strategy known as ‘putting too much autotune on the vocals and having it sound bad again’.

Eyes Wide Shut takes the crown for most FIFA-soundtrack song I’ve heard all year. If this isn’t playing in the FC25 menus in October something will have gone horribly wrong.

Your Town was middling enough without that cringworthy ‘this song is so good’ snippet at the end.

2093 delivers a refreshingly conceptual and almost cinematic rage album, with one of the best, most dystopian sound palettes I’ve heard in a long time. There are less features than you’d perhaps expect given the runup to the release however Future delivers decently and Lil Wayne is excellent on the standout track ‘Lyfestylë’, which is one of the best rap songs I have heard this year. My only big issue goes not only for 2093 but many of its mainstream hip-hop ... read more

So This Is Goodbye is a gorgeous album that crafts a cold, distant atmosphere with a sentimental edge that gets even more immersive the further you get in, using breathy, lovesick vocals and nervous rhythms. It’s partial to a level of ambiance and is easy to get lost in- a slow burner too, but a lovely slow burner nonetheless.