Articles
mikehaydock has written the following articles:
The Forms - The Forms
The Forms follow their Icarus debut with 30 minutes of hazy distortion and lush pianos, restraining their message from ever being overblown»
Phosphorescent - Pride
Pride is about getting back to the roots of humanity, transporting you through dreamy, haunting drones into open landscapes where tribes and wild animals roam, calling to each other»
Bombay Bicycle Club at London 93 Feet East, Thu 25 Oct
Were you going to gigs when you were 14? Did you even really know what music was at 14? There are dozens of children in 93 Feet East tonight, and it’s disconcerting – we’re asked our age at the front desk, and the back of the venue is packed with parents»
Hundred Reasons - Quick the Word, Sharp the Action
It’s hard to remember those days when Hundred Reasons first arrived on the scene, sounding so fresh and exhilarating. Listening to their subsequent releases, the memory of what once was begins to blur and become little more than a myth»
Mr Huw - Llond Lle O Hwrs A Lladron
Bemoan it if you will, but singing in Welsh is never going to help you sell lots of albums. But flip that sentiment around, and oh what a joyous feeling of release singing in Welsh can bring! Mr Huw will never have a huge audience to have to pander to, and his countrymen will love him for flying the flag...»
Over The Rhine - The Trumpet Child
The husband and wife duo at the core of Over The Rhine, Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler, were recently ranked at number 74 in Paste Magazine’s list of the world’s 100 greatest songwriters. Now, it’s hard to judge the fairness of this ranking on past performances, having never heard a note of Over The Rhine’s music before, but on the basis of this tenth studio album, we can only presume that the entire world has gone completely insane...»
Indigo Moss - Nature Of This Town
This third single from Indigo Moss is a “re-working” of the final track on their debut, self-titled album, though the differences between the two versions are tough to spot if you’re skipping between them after a long day at work...»
Meet Me In St. Louis - Variations On Swing
First up, here’s an initial, guttural reaction to Variations On Swing: it’s exhausting to listen to. Rarely has a band shunted through time signatures so rapidly and so carelessly, sticking two fingers up to pop formulae and challenging the listener to try and keep up...»
Frog Eyes - Tears Of The Valedictorian
This is an album that is both immediately enjoyable (poppy, if you will) and deeply complex - a frenzied stream-of-consciousness packed with melody, beauty and eccentricity.»
Nancy Elizabeth - I Used To Try
This second single from Nancy Elizabeth’s debut album, Battle And Victory, is deliciously atmospheric, a crescendo of acoustic strums; echoing, minimal drums; and Celtic influences...»
Emanuel - Cottonmouth
The first proper song on Black Earth Tiger, ‘Cottonmouth’ is a vigorous onslaught that hints at the Deftones direction of the album ahead. The production has got smudgier, jettisoning the rough edges of the band’s youthful debut, and pushing into the darker recesses of their post-hardcore sound...»
Bedouin Soundclash - Street Gospels
Having never actually heard a Bedouin Soundclash album before, just the ‘When The Night Feels My Song’ track that was ubiquitous last year, it’s surprising how completely predictable this third album is. It sounds exactly how you’d expect it to... »
Young Knives - ...Are Dead ...And Some
You’d have to be a pretty obsessive fan of Voices Of Animals And Men to want to wade into The Young Knives’ back catalogue. Even that debut full-length had a roughness about the recording quality that detracted substantially from the incredible song writing...»
The Ghost Of A Thousand at London Camden Barfly, Wed 15 Aug
Climbing the Barfly stairs at 8.30pm on a Wednesday night, it’s easy to assume you’re heading for an empty room, just a couple of early arrivers nodding gently along to the first band of the night. Bollocks to that, sir. This is a Kerrang! show, with a rotating line-up on a week-long tour. »
Sparta at London ULU, Tue 14 Aug
There’s a strange mood roaming around ULU tonight. It’s a Tuesday, it’s the university holidays, and the back bar has been barricaded up. Clearly, the organisers are not expecting a huge turnout...»
Simon Bookish - Trainwreck/Raincheck
Simon Bookish’s glitchy avant-garde electronica isn’t for everyone, of course - it’s too off-the-wall for that. In fact, it’s a wonder if anyone can really 'enjoy' the opening track from this second album, ‘Theme (Mercator Projection)’, which comprises a lot of squeaking, squealing hysterics that will perforate your eardrums if you get too close to the speakers...»
Songs Of Green Pheasant - Gyllyng Street
Third album time for Songs Of Green Pheasant, which is mostly the work of Duncan Sumpner, a 32-year-old artist and teacher from Sheffield. His music conjures up an image of a hairy, hippyish type, trancing out in his garden shed, plugging his instruments into a laptop and clicking record...»
Patrick Watson at London Borderline, Tue 07 Aug
It’s hot as hell in The Borderline. Sweat collecting into droplets, dripping down your back. And there’s simply no escape. Patrick Watson’s name has found its way into so many ears and homes, and then back onto people’s lips, that we’re crammed into formation in here, soaking in our own brine. It’s utterly degrading and disgusting; we must be somewhere worthwhile...»
Various - Schmecord Label
If you’re still unfamiliar with the genius of Big Scary Monsters, then you simply don’t visit this site enough...»
Circa Survive - On Letting Go
So much for the 'tricky second album'. Circa Survive laugh in its face, grabbing the gauntlet with eagerness...»
Tulsa Drone - Songs From A Mean Season
There are certain groups of people that confuse me. People who don’t say please or thank you. People who get their current partner’s name tattooed on their body. People who find Jim Davidson funny...»
Smashing Pumpkins - Tarantula
Smashing Pumpkins has now become just a brand name for Corgan to trade off and, he hopes, cash in on. What a dangerous gamble to take with such a rich heritage of music...»
Minus Story - My Ion Truss
Minus Story been listening to plenty of Grandaddy and even more Radiohead, it seems, and their music is suitably carved up, bitty, isolating and ethereal as a result. »
Ash - Twilight of the Innocents
This fifth studio album could be Ash’s last, of course, if their new plan of just recording and releasing singles proves fruitful.»
The Enemy - Had Enough
There isn’t enough bitterness in a song like ‘Had Enough’ to reassure you that it isn’t all a farce, because as much as Tom Clarke pouts into the microphone like Weller, the Warners production squeezes all the vitality out.»
The Horrors - She Is The New Thing
It’s this song’s disposability that renders it enjoyable but useless; the kind of album track that works well in context but doesn’t fully grab you on its own...»
Maximo Park - Books From Boxes
If you’re going through an emotional trauma with a woman right now, then perhaps ‘Books From Boxes’ will strike a chord - it’s certainly one of the soppier, more heart-laid-bare moments on Maximo Park’s latest album, Our Earthly Pleasures...»
Martin Grech - March Of The Lonely
It’s with a huge sigh of relief that we can announce the arrival of a new Martin Grech record. A huge sigh. Because this man represents a beacon of light in an otherwise dark, sales-obsessed industry, and if it ever gets too much for him and he stops fighting, we may as well all give up too...»
California Snow Story - Close To The Ocean
There is a nagging, depressive quality which makes California Snow Story difficult to recommend. You need to tread carefully, or this could really drag you down...»
Tom McRae - King Of Cards
Despite standout moments, this is Tom McRae's most forgettable, disposable album to date. Yes, it’s depressing...»