Reviews archive

January 2024

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35 articles

January 30
- "Gothic, brooding poignancy offset by a sense of wonder and grace": why Depeche Mode are at the top of their game in 2024
January 29
- "A unique and limitless artistic vision, totally redefining what a guitar band can do": The Last Dinner Party's dazzling debut Prelude To Ecstasy shows exactly why they're the most exciting new band in Britain
- "The copycat jibes thrown in Kingdom Come's direction by the music press and Gary Moore were certainly not without merit": Kingdom Come by Kingdom Come
January 27
- "Ploughing a uniquely distinctive furrow for over 40 years": New Model Army's Unbroken is timeless, ireful and poetic
- "There's a charming vulnerability to it all, although they still amp up the rock when necessary": Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes' Dark Rainbow
January 26
- “Ginger Baker stamps, thumps and whacks his personality into these numbers… he sounds a bit confused and well-lubricated, much to the evident, if a little strained, amusement of his bandmates”: Baker Gurvitz Army’s Neon Lights: The Broadcasts 1975
- "Considering how people scoffed at the idea of Static-X without their most recognisable member, this line-up continues to prove its worth." Static-X's Project: Regeneration Vol. 2 is worthy of the band's legacy
- “There’s bravery in their willingness to express deep, often dark emotions. The subject matter may be confounding for some… but they sound completely assured of their direction”: Caligula’s Horse return with Charcoal Grace
- "What these boys never had was that one great album or hit single that could lift them into rock's premier league": Mama's Boys' Runaway Dreams is a reminder of early potential
- "Why Lucifer aren't the biggest sensation since Ghost is a mystery": Lucifer's fifth album is a deliciously subversive collection of dark should-be-hits, like Stevie Nicks fronting Black Sabbath
- "The standouts here rank alongside Radiohead's best": The Smile's Wall Of Eyes hops from wonky avant-samba groove to super-nimble math-rock gyration
January 24
- "Bursting with ambition and energy from start to finish, Lucifer’s latest is a reminder that the Devil still has the best tunes." Lucifer's V is another knockout from the Swedish occult rockers
January 23
- Bright & Black's self-titled debut: members of Opeth, Meshuggah, Apocalyptica, Entombed AD and Watain unite to make epic orchestral metal
January 22
- "There is a compelling argument that with Goodnight L.A. Magnum temporarily lost their identity and became something they were not": Goodnight L.A. by Magnum
January 20
- “It’s no wonder the lyrics are maudlin, but despite the difficulty of its creation, it’s still worthy of celebration”: Damnation is the Opeth album that works best on vinyl
January 19
- "Saviors is the sound of reassuring rebellion from the midst of the 21st Century breakdown": Green Day's Saviors is part hurtling punkarama, part political rock drama
- "States of epic rock grace, bubbling and oozing with beauty": Swervedriver's 99th Dream emits clouds of psychedelia at every turn
- "It won’t change the face of music or knock the world off its axis, but Hell, Fire And Damnation is yet another damned fine addition." Saxon's new album emphatically ticks all the heavy metal boxes you're looking for
January 18
- "Rock doesn’t need saving in 2024, but it’s nice to be reminded just how thrilling and relatable three chords and the truth can still be." 'Saviors' is inarguably Green Day's best album in 20 years
January 17
- "The Mandrake Project is possibly the maddest idea in a career full of mad ideas." Bruce Dickinson's new comic book is weird, dark, funny and far more than a rock star vanity project
January 16
- "It's like being forced by Mary Beard, wielding a vicious riding crop, to watch never-ending episodes of The Time Tunnel": Saxon's Hell, Fire And Damnation
- "Little Rope is a defiant message of perseverance from a band who never followed the rules": riot-grrrl legends Sleater-Kinney work through their grief on 11th album
- “Hats off to the duo for bravely naming one of their most affecting ballads after a commuter town in Surrey…delivered with a conviction that’s hard to deny”: Wilson & Wakeman’s Can We Leave The Light On Longer?
January 15
- "Change is good - and bold transformation is exactly what has allowed the metalcore collective to stay relevant over the years." Bring Me The Horizon show Manchester AO Arena why they're this metal generation's top dogs
- "Bella Donna had the formula for success: a singer from huge band, a top-notch producer, and a who's who of musicians": Bella Donna by Stevie Nicks
January 12
- “A triumph of melodic prog which wears its influences on its sleeve, yet still sounds bold and entirely contemporary”: Cyan’s reinvention of Pictures From The Other Side
- "If this is to be the last Magnum album, they're exiting proudly, with a worthy addition to a much-loved catalogue": Magnum's Here Comes The Rain
January 10
- “Is it a strange fusion that manifests and reveals itself with repeated listens? The result is the kind of weirdness that ran through the works of HP Lovecraft”: The Witching Tale’s What Magic Is This?
January 8
- "Neither particularly good or particularly bad. It's just bang average": Freedom At Point Zero by Jefferson Starship
January 7
- “It shows how the founding five’s skills that first bewitched in the early 1970s didn’t fade in the slightest”: Pentangle’s Reunions clamshell box
January 4
- "The whole thing sounds like it was carved out of caramel and boiled in a pot with gunpowder, sunshine and jazz – mad and lovely and addictive": Was The 3 Clubmen EP the best record you missed in 2023?
January 3
- “This is tightrope-walking without a net… it feels a bit like having him play a solo up close and personal, and who – other than certain former members of Yes, perhaps – wouldn’t want that?” Steve Howe’s Motif Volume 2
- "Could we have found the best album of 2024 in the first few days of January?" Sprints' Letter To Self is a faultless debut that embraces the darkness like no other
- “Having suffered something of an identity crisis, minor blemishes don’t stop it being their best album in decades”: Pallas’ The Messenger
January 2
- "It’s just a marginally horny karaoke booth." Lord Of The Lost cover everyone from Judas Priest to Lady Gaga on Weapons Of Mass Seduction - but if you're tackling such legends, you just have to do better