Reviews archive

February 2024

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39 articles

February 29
- "Formidable hard rock confidence, yet would benefit from that fearless unpredictability of their youth": New Years Day don't quite find their way on Half Black Heart
February 28
- “Tony Hill’s experiments in six-string overload go to places even Hendrix feared to tread… Simon House’s sonic attack is equal to anything he did with Hawkwind”: High Tide’s Sea Shanties reissue
February 27
- "No one will ever accuse Al Jourgensen of not being pissed at the state of the world, no matter what state the world might be in": Ministry set the world to rights with Hopiumforthemasses
February 26
- "The Mandrake Project flies by but still feels like an epic journey": Bruce Dickinson's first solo album in almost 20 years is a resounding triumph
- “Instantly recognisable, all detuned guitars and intricately detailed melodies… it feels like we’re waiting for Peter Gabriel’s vocals”: Anthony Phillips and Harry Williamson’s Gypsy Suite
- "One of the last genuine bluesmen out there – he is a legend and should be revered as such": Strong Persuader by Robert Cray - Album Of The Week Club review
February 24
- “Tesseract are pushing for broad appeal while maintaining their intelligence – and it’s working!” Tesseract, Unprocessed and The Callous Daoboys just played the progressive metal concert of 2024
February 23
- "You can’t help but feel captivated by her presence on stage." Poppy wraps up her UK tour with an unforgettable, eccentric show in London
- “A curious figure as a solo artist… he precedes Byrne & Eno and practically invents Underworld”: Synth pioneer Tim Blake shines in 3CD set Crystal Presence – The Albums 1977-1991
- "This is highly evolved, ferociously intelligent brutality." Job For A Cowboy have returned after a decade away with a modern deathcore masterpiece in Moon Healer
- “As boldly baroque as anything The Moody Blues or The Nice had at that point constructed… but perhaps it hasn’t aged gracefully”: Procul Harum’s vinyl reissue of Shine On Brightly is still fascinating
- "A full-scale solo stormer: a 90s grunge record made by a marauding horde of evil mutants": Mick Mars has made a would-be classic with The Other Side Of Mars
February 22
- "A low- wattage washout, as if recorded by an Ace imposter": Ace Frehley fails to spark on 10,000 Volts
- "Wakeman's genius-level playing and careful modernising have given the music legitimate new life": Rick Wakeman reinvents his past on Live At The Palladium 2023
February 20
- "Darkest Hour prove again why those in the know believe they are one of metal’s greatest secrets." Perpetual | Terminal shows why Darkest Hour might just be metal's most underrated band
- "The album’s biggest talking point is its ability to deliver in the face of a major line-up change." Amaranthe's The Catalyst sees one of metal's most unique bands smoothly sail into their next chapter
February 19
- "I wish you could feel what I feel, it's magical": Idles feel the love at joyous homecoming show in Bristol
- “He didn’t think the concerts would work… the fluidity, precision and phrasing is simply dazzling”: Rick Wakeman’s Live At The London Palladium 2023
- "As many recycled Led Zeppelin riffs as Kingdom Come or '80s Whitesnake with an even stronger whiff of cheese": Emotions In Motion by Billy Squier - Album Of The Week Club review
February 18
- “Does it deserve to be measured against the classics? Yes... and no. ‘Warts and all’ is admirable, but some warts could do with a little concealer”: Von Hertzen Brothers’ Live at Tavastia
February 16
- “Musically and emotionally overwhelming … he gives us some of the most flamboyant and dazzling guitar-playing of his career”: Steve Hackett’s The Circus And The Nightwhale
- "His thirtieth studio album outside of Genesis, it's as wide-ranging as the catalogue that precedes it": Steve Hackett voyages to multiple ports on The Circus And The Nightwhale
- "Listen to a tune, and three minutes later you're whistling the damn melody and mangling the lyrics": Blackberry Smoke's songwriting shines on Be Right Here
February 14
- "The most ambitious and extravagant album of his career." Ihsahn's self-titled new album is a triumph for one of metal's greatest visionaries
February 12
- "Much of TANGK lacks the outspoken, no-holds-barred spark of their earlier outings": on album five, Idles argue that love is all we need. You may crave something more
- “Grooves that are musically optimistic, but lyrically pessimistic… touches of nuance, beauty and snarl make their turmoil worth it”: The Pineapple Thief’s It Leads To This
- "Imagine, if you will, a long-lost UFO concept album about a seance gone awry": The Unexpected Guest by Demon - Album Of The Week Club review
February 9
- "The results rock with dynamic, dramatic vigour": The Pineapple Thief turn to concise structures on It Leads To This
- "Like Lee Hazelwood sleepwalking through a guest spot with The Cure circa Faith": The Telescopes' Growing Eyes Becoming String
February 6
- "An enveloping paean to grabbing for one’s own future with both hands." Chelsea Wolfe proves she is one of music's most distinctive forces with She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She
February 5
- "Like a heavier Styx or a lighter Uriah Heep, but dressed like the Bee Gees": Angel by Angel - Album Of The Week Club review
February 3
- “Their run of mid-70s hits were bona fide, pop-literate, soft-prog gold… but warming to their deeper cuts is a far tougher task”: 10cc’s 20 Years Box Set
- “A unique, sometimes unsettling experience… His baritone gives the songs a shade of unorthodoxy which goes beyond typical English hippie eccentricity”: Kevin Ayers’ Joy Of A Toy (Remastered Gatefold Vinyl Edition)
February 2
- "The sonics are out of this world, as deep and resonant as Phil Mogg’s tonsils at the top of their game": The Deluxe Edition of UFO's Lights Out comes with vivacious and vital extras
- "A record full of sprawling guitar solos, textual acoustics and steady drums": J Mascis finds new ways to express himself on What Do We Do Now
- "There's a whiff of 'things were better in the 90s' along with the incense, but infectious tunes save the day": Kula Shaker's Natural Magick
- "Tentative shavings from things we already own": Why the 50th anniversary edition of Band On The Run isn't essential, even if the original album is
- Dense, layered and pulsing with melody, Florence Black's Bed Of Nails is a remarkable album
February 1
- "It’s a rare chance to witness history being made, and it is a sight to behold." Steve Harris brings British Lion to London's Cart & Horses, the birthplace of Iron Maiden, for an emotional homecoming show