Reviews

After six albums The Mars Volta never fail to impress with their unique blend of progressive rock and dynamic experimentation. ‘Noctourniquet’ comes packed with the aggressive yet distinctive sound that they produce so elegantly. I’ve been waiting three years for this since their last album ‘Octahedron’ and it’s definitely what you expect from The Mars Volta and so much more.
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Technical Metalcore fans rejoice! Up and coming Brighton quintet Architects have gone back to their tech roots. You can stop complaining now. As I mentioned in a past opinion post about the selling out of bands, when Architects released their last album The Here and Now in 2011 the metal community exploded.
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Here’s something fresh for your ears: Scottish/Iranian beauty queen Yasmin Shahmir has come into the music world with something a little different. You might not have heard of her much as she has only released two solo singles so far which are ‘On My Own’ and ‘Finish Line’ and three collaborations. Read More

One of the forerunners for album of the year has dropped, but does it live up to the hype? Michael Kiwanuka’s, ‘Home Again’, has been one of the most eagerly anticipated LPs for a long time and some were expecting an anti-climactic offering. Thankfully though, on this evidence it should certainly keep the critics happy and cement the North Londoner’s place as a musical heavyweight. Read More

On the average Sunday morning, Arctic Monkeys surprised their fans with a video of their new single ‘R U Mine’. Immediately a sudden guitar wham introduces you, and the song’s first brick is laid with a complex vocal melody backed by toe-tapping guitar. Read More

If you like music that will help you sink into complete relaxation then you’ll love Bon Iver’s second eponymous studio release that it is full of cleverly constructed songs that send you to a special place with it’s soothing guitar riffs and mellowed vocals from Justin Vernon. Bon Iver is a band from Eau Claire, Wisconsin and has been together since it was formed by Justin Vernon in 2006 and release their debut album back in 2008 to commercial and critical success with songs such as ‘Skinny Love’ being covered by other artists such as Birdy and being used in many television commercials. Their second album follows on that success and delves even deeper into their distinctive sound. Read More

Making you feel relaxed, energetic and emotional is what Bruce Springsteen does BEST and this is no exception in his seventeenth studio release ‘Wrecking Ball’ which does everything but disappoint. If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know who Bruce Springsteen is, he is an American singer from Long Branch, New Jersey (also known as ‘The Boss’) who has been releasing music since 1969. Read More

Fake History is Californian post-hardcore quintet Letlive’s third album and I can say before this review officially starts this is one of my all-time favourite albums from one of my all-time favourite bands. Their genuine, heartfelt brand of punk will strike a chord with even the most brutal loving fan.

Letlive exploded on to the music scene last year but what many people didn’t realise at the time is that the band has been around since 2002 and has already released two fairly unremarkable albums. Fake History was released after lead singer Jason Aalon Butler (son of legendary jazz musician Aalon Butler) fired the rest of the band and then hired the current line-up. Read More

‘Oh, Happy days!’ That’s the feeling I got when I left The Theatre Royal in Nottingham tonight. Sister Act: the Musical was absolutely mind-blowing. Now when we think of musicals, people automatically think of things like The Sound of Music, Annie, Oliver, but somehow this was completely different.
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Diva, demigod, idol – These are the words I would use to sum up Madonna. For years she has been an icon and touched the world with her musical talent. Madonna’s newest album MDNA will hit the shelves on March 26 2012 and she has made iTunes history with pre-sales.
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