iLiKETRAiNS - Elegies To Lessons Learnt

Allmusic.com describes iLiKETRAiNS as ’sad’, ’somber’, ‘nocturnal’ and ‘weary’, amongst other things. I must be mad because they give me a lift like no other band do. I can’t listen to ‘The Beeching Report’ (from 2006’s Progress Reform EP) without smiling. Read more

Joanna Newsom @ Royal Festival Hall, London

For the consummate gig-goer, there’s nothing as satisfying as going to a show you’ve been ambivalent about and being completely blown away. Some of the best shows I’ve ever been to have come entirely out of the blue - Feist, Martha Wainwright, Battles, Built To Spill - but Friday night’s performance by oddball harpist extraordinaire Joanna Newsom has to rank as the most delightful surprise of them all. Indeed, if it hadn’t been for the slightly underwhelming encore, it might very well have been my show of the year. Read more

Interview: Richard Knox (Gizeh Records)

We interviewed Richard Knox of Gizeh Records in Glasgow King Tut’s dressing room. Read more

Interview: Her Name Is Calla

Helen Newbery interviews Leicester’s Her Name Is Calla. Read more

Shocking Pinks - Shocking Pinks

The silence that greeted DFA upon presenting this album to (it’s parent label) EMI’s marketing department was probably awkward. Very awkward. Read more

Turias - Rasputin

It shouldn’t work. It just shouldn’t. Fortunately, no one told Turisas that. Their cover of Boney M’s classic disco hit, ‘Rasputin’, was released at the end of September, and, once you’ve cleared the thoughts of ‘Eh?’ and actually given it a good listen, you realise quite why they’ve recorded it after a couple of years of including it in their live sets.That the Finnish Viking/power metal six-piece have both violin and accordion in their line-up certainly helps, but the insistent guitar phrase that opens the song, and then repeats throughout, plus the excellent drumming, really drive proceedings. That the original was annoyingly catchy also helps, but this is a metal version of a ’70s disco classic. OK, so as a cover it’s not up there with Johnny Cash’s version of ‘Hurt’, but remind yourself of what it is, and, really, it has no right to be this good. Ra Ra Rasputin indeed.

Foals @ Truck Festival, Steventon, Oxfordshire

Homecomings can be interesting affairs. Sometimes they are languid, dour mishaps, devoid of any meaning even though they should, in some way, be significant. Sometimes they are exciting, frenetic encounters, tales of local kids done good, the sum of all their efforts rolled into one big celebration. Read more

Prince @ O2 Arena, London

When the, “Looking forward to seeing you!” e-mail arrived on 20 September 07 from 02, I could barely contain myself, I was so excited. As a huge Prince fan I was a bit worried that finally getting to see him live after all this time, I might be disappointed. I need not have worried. Read more

Interpol - Our Love To Admire

Which band have Interpol been compared to more than any other band in the world? I’ll give you a clue. They’re a post punk band headed by a man who committed suicide. Their debut album Unknown Pleasures is considered a classic. Read more

Babyshambles - The Delivery

Smug. That[s how I feel. Does the fact that Pete Doherty is a crack-happy toss sandwich mean he[s also not a musical genius? No, of course not. Have Babyshambles ever sounded anything like The Sex Pistols? No they fucking haven[t. Was 2005s Down in Albion one of the greatest albums ever made? Well no, I guess not. But it certainly wasn[t deserving of the poor reviews it got from the tabloid music press. Read more

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