domgourlay has written the following articles:
With all this talk of the UK music industry said to be in decline, one wonders what opportunities are available for bands and labels to break through in the foreseeable future. However, one independent label that has continued to thrive against such adversity is London-based imprint Rocket Girl. »
The story of the Gang Of Four reads like a history lesson in what might have been.»
Familiar, yet decidedly unique in their own conservative way. »
If Monotonix were to ever give up this whole music making malarkey, their tombstone would simply be inscribed with "once seen, never forgotten".»
Baltimore trio Thank You have spent the past five years honing and dissecting their sound at regular intervals.»
Leicester based experimentalists Maybeshewill release a new single, 'Critical Distance' on 7th March.»
Thicker Milk provides a welcome slap in the face of complacency, which more than justifies its existence thankyouverymuch. »
Long time DiS favourites Vessels release the long awaited follow-up to 2008's debut White Fields And Open Devices in March...»
For me, 2010 has been one of the most exciting years in music since the turn of the century. As well as being memorable for literally dozens of amazing records being released this year, there have also been just as many, if not more, unforgettable live performances to revel in... »
Seminal Derry outfit and favourites of the late great John Peel The Undertones celebrate their 35th anniversary with a new compilation album and tour.»
Two of Athens, Georgia's finest exports, Dead Confederate and The Whigs have announced a co-headline tour of the UK during the last week of February. »
Notoriously difficult, and often one of the most introverted bands ever likely to be witnessed, Sonic Youth as a live experience tends to stretch from the sublime to the ridiculous and occasionally downright confusing»
Atmospheric guitar band Engineers might not win many awards for being prolific, but as far as quality control goes, they've unquenchably high standards to maintain.»
Currently back in the UK for the second time this year, DiS managed to track down a tired and weary Robert Levon Been prior to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's sold-out show at Nottingham's Rock City. »
Following on from October's first local scene report and gig guide from the city of Nottingham, here's the second instalment from DiS' man in the East Midlands... »
As the founder member and unassuming politically-aware mouthpiece behind groundbreaking electronic noise combo Atari Teenage Riot, Alec Empire can be classed as something of an underground icon. »
Aesthetically as twee as they come, Milky Wimpshake seem to have almost permanently existed between a rock and a hard place, having arrived seven years to late for the C86 boom for which their entire output is indebted to, and in many ways peaking too early for that scene's resurgence in recent years.»
While many of 2010's big hitters didn't exactly set the world alight in terms of producing their strongest recorded works to date, the steady ascendancy of The National has gathered momentum at its most frantic pace yet...»
while not quite the magnificent debut many had hoped it would be, Double Visions clearly paves the way for something unfathomably spectacular in the forseeable future. »
While it's always a pleasure to witness Interpol in the flesh, the fact their newer material almost pales into insignificance when placed shoulder to shoulder with the songs that brought them to people's attention many years ago must leave a cause for concern, not least in determining the next steps of their forseeable future.»
While The Quiet Lamb can be heavy going in places, there's little to criticise about the diligent attention to detail and precision that went into such a complex creative structure...»
As one of the most pivotal outfits to emerge from New York's vibrant underground music scene this past decade, Interpol's legacy is already set in stone. Their 2002 debut Turn On The Bright Lights is highly regarded as one of the most influential post-millennium albums while their almost constant shunning of the media spotlight only adds to the dark mystique that surrounds the band. »
For a band who seem to have been around forever, it will probably come as a surprise to many people that Drown Your Heart Again is in fact The Strange Death Of Liberal England's first actual long player.»
Over the past few years, DiS has used the annual year-end 'listing season' to highlight a few of our writers favourite records that for one reason or another, slipped through the cracks and failed to garner the attention they deserved. In these increasingly fractious times, where amid a deluge of opinion consensus is hard-veering-on-impossible to find, records are increasingly lost but over the course of this week, ahead of next week's 50 albums of the year listageddon, DiS will be highlighting 10 records from 10 of our staff, in the hope that they finally find a place in a record collection or two... Here Dom Gourlay reveals his choice, where Brooklyn's adventurous underground takes a retrospective step back to eighties Bristol via Manchester and Glasgow to create one of the year's most understated albums.»
Zach Saginaw is a name most of you won't be familiar with, yet despite still being in his mid-twenties, he's already amassed an array of forward-thinking musical creations along with several production and remix credits to boot.»
Scott Devendorf should need no introduction. As one-fifth of arguably Brooklyn's finest exponents of alternative rock this past decade The National, he's attained legendary status along with his fellow bandmates the hard way, steadily building both critically and commercially over time to the hefty point they find themselves in today.»
If Mercury gave out prizes for sheer devotion to the cause, Flowers Of Hell mainman Greg Jarvis would win the award every time.»
It's not every day when your band can claim to have created one of the records of the year, but with inaugural long player Gemini Wild Nothing have achieved such a feat...»
The Vaccines are a name that's on the tip of everyone's tongues right now. Having been together for less than a year, the hotly tipped London four-piece seem to be carrying the whole future of UK guitar music on their shoulders thanks to an unprecedented hive of media interest.»
While not quite on the scale of Stonehenge, Lord Lucan or the Lost City of Atlantis, the fact The Walkmen still remain a relatively unknown quantity as far as mainstream success is concerned is something of a mystery.»
