Music Reviews

The Joy Formidable The Big Roar

This is first real album by the Welsh three-piece, so was the hype worth it, or do we have another awkward NME moment on our hands as we attempt to play a brutal disappointment off as a 'promising' but entirely undeserved 8/10? Let's find out.

Joe Iliff reviews...

MEN Talk About Body

The two thirds of Le Tigre that aren't Kathleen Hanna return, still tackling the subject of gender politics, but in a newer, slicker package.

Mark Davison reviews...

Braids Native Speaker

Native Speaker is a stunning full-length debut with music that sounds shrouded in much mystery.

Matt Montgomery reviews...

Iron & Wine Kiss Each Other Clean

Vowing to leave his stark simplicity behind, the soft-toned folkster continues to embrace a more broader range of sounds.

Juan Edgardo RodrÃguez reviews...

The Phoenix Foundation Buffalo

A long time ago in a land far, far away (that would be New Zealand in 1997) a band called the The Phoenix Foundation started to make music - and 14 years on Buffalo is the very worthy result.

Joe Iliff enjoys...

The Decemberists The King Is Dead

Less than two years after releasing convoluted concept album, The Hazards of Love, Portland's The Decemberists return with a new record and a change of direction.

Joe Rivers reviews...

John Vanderslice White Wilderness

John Vanderslice teams up with the Magik*Magik Orchestra for his eighth studio album, with mixed results.

Joel Stanier reviews...

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals III & IV

Ryan Adams is back after declaring a musical hiatus and the results are, as you'd expect from him by now, not what you'd expect.

Daniel Dylan Wray reviews...

White Lies Ritual

The White Lies are evolving steadily on from all out pseudo-goth, post-punk bandits, but where has that left them?

Joe Iliff considers what might have been...

Robert Pollard Space City Kicks

Space City Kicks is a genuine return to form for the bombastic Robert Pollard. The man's best albums are always scattershot adventures, and his latest is no exception.