• Albums of the Year- 2025

    Music is amazing. Music is powerful, beautiful, myriad, a marvel, my favourite thing, and, genuinely, life-saving. And there’s so much of it, so much music to fall in love with, […]

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  • MILDRED- ‘Mildred’

    While a lot of new records arrive on cue, fresh and clean, at the end of an extensive promotional campaign to an expectant and prepared public, others seem to appear […]

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  • EMPTY COUNTRY- ‘Empty Country’

    Joseph D’Agostino has been through hell. And of course that doesn’t just mean the injustice of his former band, the terrific but terribly-named Cymbals Eat Guitars, never getting the credit […]

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Hear the first new ALEXISONFIRE song in a decade

I know i’m not breaking news here but- Alexisonfire are back! The Canadian crew released their first new song in almost ten years, ‘Familiar Drugs’, this February. I’m sure you’ve heard it by now- it’s a really great track that neatly combines their high energy post-hardcore beginnings with the more grown-up, grungy sound found on 2009’s ‘Old Crows/Young Cardinals’ album. […]

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Listen to WILD MOTH

It looks like it might have been a while since Wild Moth were actually, y’know, wild. The Bay Area quartet haven’t officially announced a hiatus or break-up as far as I can see, but they have been awful quiet of late. I really hope they haven’t just faded away because I’ve only just heard their most recent album, 2015’s ‘Inhibitor’, […]

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#MODERATEROCKRECOMMENDS- March 2019

Jesus, what a month. Difficult not to think the world is one big dustball that deserves to get shot into the sun. But then there’s music, there’s always music. I hope you find something to love. Love is important. BARONESS- Borderlines LAGS– Knives and Wounds BRUTUS- Blind IDIOT PILOT- Silver Needle WESTKRUST- Drive NANAMI OZONE- 3 Mile Drive HORSEFLIES- Denial […]

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DEGRAEY- ‘Reveries’

Degraey’s last album was fine– the Barcelona quartet navigating their mostly-instrumental post-metal with a steady if unspectacular hand- but ‘Reveries’ is something else. The track lengths (almost 60 minutes divided almost equally into six tracks) and dynamics (slow-build big-bang) might suggest continued reliance on a formula but the band are working off their own blueprints now. ‘Nurture’ is packed with […]

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LAGS- ‘Soon’

Lags work hard. The Italian outfit have spent the three years since their last album trimming the fat from their already brawny sound. As a result, ‘Soon’ sounds like it was made by men with calloused hands and stiff upper lips and the best intentions. There’s a satisfying focus on power and drive, Antonio Canestri’s clear, strong (of course) yowl, […]

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Listen to SÂVER

SÂVER are fan-fucking-tastic. The Oslo trio (whose name means “to be asleep”, a word which even native Norwegians apparently struggle to pronounce) play scorched-earth metal, roiling doom, and downtuned, downhearted synth-drone that’s designed to destroy eardrums and souls alike but only makes me smile from ear to ear. Their debut full-length, ‘They Came With Sunlight’ is out on Pelagic Records […]

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ALTARAGE- ‘The Approaching Roar’

The statement, “this won’t be for everyone” has rarely, if ever, had a more appropriate use than when talking about the third record from Spanish outfit Altarage. This is acrid, choking smoke made into sound, this is a wall of noise collapsing under its own weight and crushing whatever living thing is closest, this is every dark thought you’ve ever […]

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Listen to HAIR PULLER

A little indulgence is good for the soul. Patience and control have their place, sure, but sometimes it’s good to go hard and cut loose, right? Hair Puller live by this impulse. The Portland trio mix screwface hard rock riffs with raw adrenaline and a ton of fun sludge without ever stopping to think if they should. Their debut album, […]

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ENDON- ‘Boy Meets Girl’

If all you had to go on was that album title and cover art, you might expect some hazy dream pop here or sweet nothings about love, something ‘nice’. Instead there is squealing feedback, feral screaming and punk rock made to make your skin crawl. Endon are going to give some unsuspecting folks whiplash. Of course, those that caught even […]

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