The very nature of a break-up album is that of catharsis, that journey the artist takes you on from the first note to the last second with the whole gamut of emotions in-between. The music becomes your guide through some intense feelings. Some of the greatest, most critically acclaimed albums ever recorded have been inspired… Continue reading Resolver by Veruca Salt
I always knew where to find new music. Sometimes, that new music came from old bands long since gone. As a teenager in search of a perspective grander than what I saw outside the window of a council house in Cumbernauld, I'd find myself turning to music and books to give me something that wasn't… Continue reading Tinderbox by Siouxsie And The Banshees
Some bands are too fun to be denied. Fundamentally, for me, there's something really exciting about a cool-as-fuck garage rock band. Their music is a loud racket, the sound of my emotions. These bands look cool with their music playing, just as cool when they stand for photographs. The Donnas. The Cramps. The Kills. Black… Continue reading Your New Favourite Band by The Hives
King Adora arrived before quickly vanishing completely, a standout cameo in a really shit film. Though they're gone, Vibrate You is still here, always somewhere close to me. Hands up if you form emotional connections with albums? 2001 was a strange time which demanded strange music made by odd people. I knew I wanted to… Continue reading Vibrate You by King Adora
Most writers arrive fully-formed, their debut novel hailed as something special and original. That or they're just ignored and left to fend for themselves. The word ‘debut’ carries a special cache around the publishing industry. I started off performing live shows, writing my own stories, hoping to be published one day. Twilight was a huge… Continue reading The Path to Happiness
Vampira exists in a few clips and the hearts of her fans, who have kept her memory alive for decades. When I think of Vampira, usually around the end of October every year, I wonder if she knew her work was pioneering. Everything about her perfectly summed up the time, yet sent it up as… Continue reading Vampira, a love story
Let's have it right: no other band sound, or made sounds like Romeo Void. It isn't just the saxophone or the synths. Romeo Void had something else that set it apart from other songwriters and musicians - her name is Debora Iyall and her writing was fundamentally rooted in poetry, while her appearance was striking… Continue reading Benefactor by Romeo Void
The Sunday Mail seemed to live at the side of the couch until the next edition appeared. At this point in my life, when I was heading to college, the Sunday newspapers felt like a mandatory part of working class life. Everyone read the News of the World and (here in Scotland) the Sunday Mail.… Continue reading Ping Pong Bitches by Ping Ping Bitches
Juvenilia is an EP by Liz Phair released in 1995 by Matador Records. Ostensibly a single for Jealousy, a track taken from her second album Whip-Smart (which I still listen to quite often), it also shows a more playful side to a singer/songwriter often written off by male journalists because she never quite became what… Continue reading Juvenilia by Liz Phair
Last week while cleaning out my Cupboard of Crap, where all the junk and clutter fits even when there's no space left, I suddenly remembered something I'd forgot about for years. There I stood with a pair of gloves and a mask, trying not to breathe in years of dormant dust, when a box marked… Continue reading Nemesisters by Babes In Toyland
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