In Depth by Sam Cleeve
how was everybody's Sunday evening, London folk? Were you one of the disappointed herd furrowed in front of your telly sets; the Jessie J variety hour during the Olympics Closing Bonanza? London's Southbank Centre played host to a different kind of spectacle entirely. The pretty young things of the London Contemporary Orchestra performing orchestrated versions of William Basinski's seminal ambient work, The Disintegration Loops.»
In Depth by Sam Cleeve
A half-year round up of 2012's best, most innovative and entertaining releases and events that tread the complicated line between popular and classical music. »
News
by Sam Cleeve
DiS has a little something for you from the new release by Nico Muhly, but first some words from Sam Cleeve...»
Review
by Sam Cleeve
At times full of nervous vigour, at others letting itself fall blindly backwards into honeyed daydream, A Different Ship has a life and character all of its own.»
Review
by Sam Cleeve
The Clearing is a woody, creaky, but ultimately gorgeous folk record; one that has undoubtedly sprung out of the same coppice from which once grew Upper Air and Hymns for a Dark Horse, but that stands distinct from these all the same.»
In Depth by Sam Cleeve
“Thanks y’all, good night,” are the words that somewhat distressingly fill the Barbican Hall on Monday evening as I fumble through the doors. Having missed a support slot from Minneapolis’s own looping extraordinaire and long-standing Andrew Bird drummer »
In Depth by Sam Cleeve
“See a sea anemone, the enemy, see a sea anemone, and that’ll be the end of me.” So go the oblique opening lines to Andrew Bird’s ‘Anonanimal’. Cryptic, yes, but then nobody ever claimed him to be the most earnest songwriter in the world – not least himse»
In Depth by Sam Cleeve
“I’m an arsehole!” exclaims Tim Minchin, interjecting to round off a thought as I’m a few words into a fresh question. “There’s your headline”. In reality of course, he's far from it...»
Review
by Sam Cleeve
This winter release is a vibrant Pollok splash in the midst of a seasonal lull. »
In Depth by Sam Cleeve
Stillwater, Oklahoma natives Other Lives are all about the slow maturation, the drawn-out gestation period. Having been playing together in one guise or another since 2004, it’s taken until earlier this year to see their first release on our fair shores – sophomore effort Tamer Animals, an alt-rock gem that itself took a total of sixteen months to record. The result is an album of evocative dust bowl portraits, an intimate depiction of the people and landscape of the American Midwest.»
In Depth by Sam Cleeve
I think it's fair to say that I encountered Laura Marling earlier than most. Attending the same secondary school as her at a relatively similar time meant that the first time that I saw her play was actually in a school assembly. Not that that grants me a»
Review
by Sam Cleeve
It’s beautiful music, but is there any longevity to it? »
Review
by Sam Cleeve
This emotive disc balances a hushed intimacy and vast expanse that places it in a unique sonic terrain.»
In Depth by Sam Cleeve
DiS’s journey to La Route Du Rock 2011 begins aboard a ferry out of Portsmouth, where it’s roughly 2am, and I’m trying my absolute best to grab a precious ounce of sleep. Unfortunately, what with the fellow sat opposite me working overtime to see if he can successfully self-inflict a brain hemorrhage by way of snoring alone, and my own brain working overtime to try and discover what sort of karmic retribution had been dealt unto me in my having to witness an hour of seizure inducing ferry cabaret, I’m dragging my feet across St. Malo port the following morning having had next to no shut-eye.»
Review
by Sam Cleeve
There’s a completely unique blend of textures and a desire for musical experimentation running through the bloodstream of The Golden Age of Apocalypse.»
Review
by Sam Cleeve
This unrelenting originality at least is something to be celebrated. »
Review
by Sam Cleeve
If you can get on board with Harvey’s uniquely theatrical songwriting style, then there’s a prismatic world of life, love, indulgence, abandonment, betrayal, and ultimately, death in this record.»
Review
by Sam Cleeve
It’s best not to award too much concentration to Fading Parade, but simply let it unfold at its own pace. »
Review
by Sam Cleeve
White Wilderness feels like a record that could have become a compelling collection of wonky strum-along pop songs with imaginative and colourful instrumentation, but ultimately it's indebted to an over-complication of ideas in a collaboration that struggles to flourish the way it should do on paper. »
Review
by Sam Cleeve
He’s still smiling. You can’t not smile as well.»
Review
by Sam Cleeve
Dust Lane isn’t musically breaking any new ground here – densely layered and orchestrated anthems aren’t anything we’ve not all heard before… but it will make you grin in a way Funeral never could. »
Review
by Sam Cleeve
Warm Weather… really is a hit-and-miss affair.»
