Dave Simpson
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - review
Of the early 2000s wave of scuzzy, primal guitar bands, the White Stripes are no more, the Strokes have lost their impetus but the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are packing out big venues.
Shovels and Rope: O' Be Joyful - review
(Decca) A sassy country woman and indie dude playing pop steeped in country and Americana, Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst are inevitably comparable to the Civil Wars , who clocked up the Grammy awards with a similar sound a year ago. However, you wShovels and Rope: O' Be Joyful - review
(Decca) A sassy country woman and indie dude playing pop steeped in country and Americana, Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst are inevitably comparable to the Civil Wars , who clocked up the Grammy awards with a similar sound a year ago. However, you w
Low - review
When Minnesota trio Low first emerged two decades ago, their bleakly beautiful, funereally paced music - including a cover of Joy Division's Transmission , slowed to a crawl - was so unusual that the term "slowcore" was invented to describe it, much to
Treetop Flyers: The Mountain Moves - review
(Loose) The debut album from Treetop Flyers - who named themselves after a Stephen Stills song - effortlessly captures the spirit of late-1960s west coast pop-rock: the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. You'd never guess they were from London; pe
Frank Turner: Tape Deck Heart - review
(Polydor) Frank Turner has followed a unique trajectory, from the playing fields of Eton via hardcore punk with Million Dead to political arena-filling indie-folk. However, while his libertarian worldview has become controversial and his 2006 song Th
Fall Out Boy: Save Rock and Roll - review
(Decaydance/Island) A four-year hiatus and coolly received solo projects behind them, US emo heroes Fall Out Boy previewed their typically outlandishly titled comeback album by revealing that they'd realised they were grownups now, with mortgages and k
Iron and Wine: Ghost on Ghost - review
(4AD) The vehicle of Sam Beam's hushed, honeyed vocals and magnificently preposterous facial hair, Iron and Wine have risen to become one of the great modern American bands as quietly and stealthily as any of their songs. As eerie Americana has given w