A Better Entertainment Is Possible.
The man responsible for some of the biggest R&B smashes of the last decade (‘Umbrella’;’Single Ladies’) keeps on adding singularity to the formulaic waters of the maligned genre. Maybe because of that he’s found bigger support among the blog intelligentsia that from established urban circles, even when as an artist he is yet to become … Read more
Another protegée of Grizzly Bear´s Chris Taylor, Dominican Born and Brooklyn based George Lewis Jr. shows a keen eye for everything eighties in his debut, from the aesthetics of his videos (‘Slow’ reprised the iconic Calvin Klein commercials of the era) to a wealth of keyboard riffs and hooks, not to forget the notable influence … Read more
1-PAVEMENT-QUARANTINE THE PAST (City Slang)
1-PAVEMENT-QUARANTINE THE PAST (City Slang)
Londoner DJ and producer Darren Cunningham has made an impact in the world of electronica. Coming from the orbit of dubstep in a moment where the trendy subgenre is being swallowed by the mainstream, Cunningham has managed to escape its shortcomings and expand his music into an original collage of influences. He likes to describe … Read more
One of the most anticipated debuts of the year belongs to this mysterious act from Brooklyn. During the past years they have developed a minor cult status thanks to a series of limited releases in different small labels around the world, showcasing a trademark sleazy, dark sound that encapsulates the perfect soundtrack for modern urban … Read more
Hot Chip had earned their reputation as a singles band. While some of the most impressive electropop anthems of the noughties have their signature, their albums have always lacked some cohesion and been fairly irregular. ‘One Night Stand’ was a successful attempt to break that spell and arguably their more coherent long play to date. … Read more
Manchester producer Matthew Barnes submerged himself in hypnagogig –one of the subgenre tags of the year- waters for his accomplished first mini album, formed by six evocative vignettes closer at times to the desolate sonic passages of Mogwai than to any of his electronica peers. Another of the many excellent records released by the Olde … Read more
One of the few truly challenging acts among the flawed batch chosen by the BBC for its influential Sound Of 2010; this guy from Essex, fascinated by Oriental culture, has crafted one of the most pleasant bedroom electronica works of recent times. In a moment were competence was at a remarkably high level, his emotion-inducing … Read more
Few comebacks have been as celebrated as the return of African-American protest poet Gil Scott-Heron. A decade after he succumbed to the drug and alcohol abuse some of his lyrics so profusely warned against (‘The Bottle’), he was rescued from oblivion by the owner of XL recordings. Half of it pure poetry, the second half … Read more
A London trio that has wisely collected effective hooks from the best noise-pop, punk, hardcore and grunge of the last two decades and cooked up with them a fierce debut, Male Bonding soon fell in the roster of Sub Pop –In the nineties, the sanctuary for abrasive guitar sounds. They haven’t quite conquered the world … Read more
Since we heard the first notes of their single ‘What’s in it for’ we were converted. Sub Pop signed them shortly afterwards and what follows was one of the most notable debuts of the year. Avi Zahner-Isenberg and his mates, fresh from leaving their school days in California, have developed an unexpectedly mature taste for … Read more
Jack Tatum’s one man-band project became an instant favourite in indie circles thanks to his fine revision of the C86 sounds. It came when the market was already saturated with American artists sharing the same love for everything British; shoegazey or remininiscent of New Order, but Wild Nothing managed to add an intimate touch that … Read more
Released by the trendiest and most challenging label of the year, Daniel Lopatin’s Olde English Spelling Bee, Julian Mare’s new album is a work of rare beauty. Coming from the latest wave of New Jersey’s lo-fi artists, where Ducktails or Real State are also gaining recognition; Lynch combines that musical aesthetic with elements of world … Read more