REVIEWS
Album reviews
So irresistible a prospect back in 2008 that The BRIT Awards committee simply made up a category in order to include her in their annual shindig, ...
Considering the weight of expectation that naturally comes with pairing up two such immensely melodic songwriters as Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake and...
Moving further and further away from his home-recorded, lo-fi beginnings with each release, Samuel Beam continues to refine his sound on Kiss Each Other Clean. As a result, Beam's fourth...
While Nocturne Of Exploded Crystal Chandelier is the first full-length offering from Philadelphia bliss pop duo Sun Airway, the pair of Jon Barthmus and Patrick...
You don’t have to delve too far into MINKS’ debut album to recognise that New Yorker Sean Kilfoyle fits right in on his local label...
In this age of firework careers, where media and blog-hype can see bands’ fortunes fluctuate before any product even hits the shelves, The National’s slow and steady rise to fame has...
The rough-edged greatness of 2007's Weirdo Rippers announced the arrival of a new name on the L.A. noise rock scene, following the demise of hardcore trio...
Conventional wisdom dictates that releasing an album during the final month of the year is a bad idea: the music press are usually in full-on retrospective mode before November's out, with all...
C86 revivalism may have been done to death at this stage, but I Will Be is undeniably at the top end of the scale in the ongoing wave of copyism. Much like Vivian Girls’ debut, it...
Since coming together only last year, Vermont trio Mountain Man have forged a reputation for delivering live...
Caught live
Sky Larkin have rolled into town with local boys Dutch Uncles in tow, meaning a good chu...
It’s hard to believe that the man sitting in front of us is now in his seventies. Armed with just an acoustic guitar and a voice that fills this wonderful venue with ease, Roy Harper tells us...
One of the best things about fan shows – apart from being able to boast about having been there to anyone who’ll listen the next day – is that the bothersome dru...
Bear In Heaven may be coming to town sporting a Stereo-Fork seal of approval, but tonight the New Yorkers are given a serious run for their money by Dublin-based support band Halves. The latter...
Having released one of the finest albums of the year so far, great things are now expected from former Czars...
Ambling onstage with a bath towel wrapped around his head for no particular reason, Will Oldham looks every bit the anti-rock star. With his beard trimmed back to a handlebar moustache that wouldn'...
A bizarrely brief set from one of our favourite upbeat, antipodean electro acts left the crowd decidedly nonplussed in Dublin’s Tripod on Tuesday. While some welcomed the shorter set, allowin...
When news broke that Arcade Fire were set to play a ‘secret’ London show as a warm-up for their sprint across this summer’s festival circuit, blogs and message boards duly lit up...
November 30th, 2002: The Notting Hill Arts Club is filled with the usual music loving, workshy folk who seemingly always have the good fortune to attend such late afternoon musical showcases, albei...
"It's just me this year… It's the austerity tour!" Neil Hannon tells Ragged Words with a giggle a few hours before taking the stage at Dublin's Sugar Club. Tonight is one of a hand...