Author: James Robinson

A fistful of belters: The spirit of Sergio Leone hovers over the seventh release from Canadian Country singer Lindi Ortega, and like that director's Spaghetti Westerns, Liberty is quirky, spooky and wildly entertaining. Opening with an Ennio Morricone-style instrumental, the album is awash with Mexican guitar and lyrics about horses, hats and guns. The full… Continue reading Lindi Ortega – Liberty →

Drinking gin in the bargain bin: Hailey Tuck is the latest in the seemingly never-ending stream of modern acts taking tracks from rock and pop’s back catalogue and re-interpreting them in a self-consciously retro style. Although the Texas-born singer has at least headed down the lesser explored of avenue of old-school jazz, and boasts first-class… Continue reading Hailey Tuck – Junk →

Trigger warning: He’s still performing at 84-years old, so when Willie Nelson calls himself the last man standing, he isn’t joking. Nevertheless, there are plenty of laughs to be had on his latest album. That knowing title is reflective of the morbid wit that peppers the lyrics, as is Bad Breath’s refrain that it’s ‘better… Continue reading Willie Nelson – Last Man Standing →

Bombast from the past: Lord Huron have been on the brink of megastardom for a while, but this third outing from singer-songwriter Ben Schneider and cohorts, chock full of anthemic, folk-inflected indie rock, has the potential to see them truly hit the big time. The best tracks have a soulful, faintly retro vibe. Wait By… Continue reading Lord Huron – Vide Noir →

Talking the Lines: Forever Words follows in the footsteps of similar albums dedicated to Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie by taking a handful of Johnny Cash’s unrecorded lyrics and challenging various artists to turn them into completed songs. Although there’s an inevitable slant towards Country and Bluegrass numbers, the most notable tracks take the material… Continue reading Johnny Cash – Forever Words →

Child's Play: There’s a lot of youthful exuberance to Madrid four-piece Hinds’ chaotic second album. Every song is packed with spindly riffs and shouty vocals that recalls the snotty early records of Weezer and the Strokes. Unlike those obvious influences, however, there’s a cheerful innocence to the songs. Although grungy anthem Tester touches on the… Continue reading Hinds – I Don’t Run →

Lacking one good reason: George Ezra’s Budapest, the single that broke the Hertfordshire singer-songwriter in 2014, has already achieved the status of a classic, but perhaps overly worried about becoming a one-hit wonder he seems keen to distance himself from that song’s downbeat charms. Instead, Staying at Tamara's is clearly intended as a party starter,… Continue reading George Ezra – Staying at Tamara’s →

Talking to Frank: Despite being on the fringes of the music scene for several years, Ady Suleiman’s debut album has been a long time coming. Much of the delay was apparently spent getting out of record deal with Simon Cowell's Syco label, and it’s clear within the first few foul-mouthed seconds of opening track I… Continue reading Ady Suleiman – Memories →

Dreams of Dark and Troubling Things: Dead Magic, the fourth album by Swedish experimentalist Anna von Hausswolff, comes in at 47 minutes but comprises only five tracks. It was, according to the press release, recorded mainly on the 20th Century organ at Copenhagen’s Marmorkirken, one of the largest churches in Scandinavia. However, this shouldn’t put you… Continue reading Anna von Hausswolff – Dead Magic →