Demob Happy

Forward Thinking 9/10 While ’13′ had some great tracks, there were two many square pegs being forced into round holes. The sonic experimentation seemed contrived and ill-matched to the album’s emotional thrust. ‘Think Tank’ rectifies this with an easier marriage of Albarn’s experimental tendencies and pop sensibility. It is an albun given levity by his [...]

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Brit Daniel’s Mathematical Mind 8/10 Spoon are a singular American band at once willfully experimental and tightly committed to pop and rock traditions. Their sound is bluesy and angular, but has little in common with the current renaissance of post-punk and new wave. It could be more closely identified with The Beatles, of which there [...]

Spoon - I summon you [ 3:56 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Modest achievement 7/10 Modest Mouse don’t seem to attract the same admiration on this side of the Atlantic as they do in the indie press in the States, where they are mentioned in the same breath as the Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire. It seems they enjoy something of a cult status and a reputation [...]

Modest Mouse - The View [ 4:13 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Superconnected 7/10 Broken Social Scene are a very unusual band. A huge cast of musicians participate on this record in a democratic process that leaves the producers with a lot of work to do, trying to make sense of what can often sound like two or three songs playing at the same time. The result, [...]

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Labour of love 6/10 Die hard SFA fans will be queuing up to award their latest effort five stars, so it seemed necessary to put forward an outsider’s point of view. I am hardly new to the band, but wouldn’t call myself a fan. I enjoy a few tracks on Radiator and liked their last [...]

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Mercury Rev by numbers 6/10 Although not a die-hard fan of ‘The Rev’ – I own nothing before Deserter’s Songs – this album has finished my interest in the band. As with Lambchop’s tedious ‘Aw Come On’ / No You Come On’, there comes a time in many band’s careers when the effect of their [...]

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A cast of thousands? 8/10 Extraordinary album this. A vast cast of musicians and influences seemingly sculpted in the studio by careful, intelligent production. Not just for indie fans, this has a universal appeal with the added lure of subtle shades of electronica (Capture The Flag), jazzy post-rock (Pacific Theme), and borderline psychedelics (Shampoo Suicide). [...]

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