ALBUM REVIEWS
Maggie Rogers – Don’t Forget Me
Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers trades in her heavier, electronic sound for a more stripped-back and relaxed third release. The album was produced in an unconventional way, in that it was written across just five days in the winter and the songs were written in the order they appear on the album. Unlike the predecessor, there are no grinding guitars or pounding drums this time. Rogers opts for a more organic approach and succeeds in her goal of creating an album that suits a “Sunday afternoon”. The acoustic guitar takes centre stage as the primary instrument. The album is full of dreamy songs, with I Still Do breaking the pattern as a slow piano-led song, Never Going Home giving off country vibes and the titular album track and lead single Don’t Forget Me playing the record out nicely.
Still Corners – Dream Talk Review by Duncan Seaman
Still Corners began their musical journey together 15 years ago when singer Tessa Murray and guitarist Greg Hughes met by chance at a London railway station. Since then they’ve gone on to make two albums for the American record label Sub Pop before setting up their own imprint, Wrecking Light Records, on which they’ve released four more LPs. Atmospheric and wistful, Dream Talk is arguably the Anglo-American duo’s most accomplished record to date, with the mood maintained from its carefully crafted opener Today is the Day to the ethereal closing track, Turquoise Moon. Older listeners might hear distant echoes of Mazzy Star while younger ones could see similarities with the melancholia of Lana Del Ray. Hughes keeps the production slick with synthesiser melodies wrapping around the guitars.
Oisin Leech – Cold Sea Review by Janne Oinonen
Echoes of Nick Drake on October Sun, a drop of late 60s West Coast haziness on Empire ,a slice of John Martyn’s nocturnal drift on Colour of the Rain: the references for this seriously beautiful first solo album from one half of the Lost Brothers are unequivocally classicist. Produced by and featuring Steve Gunn alongside Tony Garnier (long-time musical foil for Bob Dylan) on bass, Cold Sea doesn’t either try to replicate or have any reason to feel inferior next to its legendary singer-songwriter inspirations. Recorded on the coast of County Donegal, Leech’s songs reference rain and poor weather conditions, but the album’s warm ambience and uniformly compelling material (including some richly evocative instrumentals) guarantee that there is nothing drab or drizzly about Cold Sea.
Back To Black – Songs from the Original Motion Picture Review by Yasmin Vince
The soundtrack for the Amy Winehouse biopic, Back To Black, will be released alongside the film. The tracklist makes for an amazing compilation album but, as a soundtrack, features some odd choices and is occasionally wince-inducingly tacky. Each song on the album is incredible. The album is filled with gut-wrenching melodies that should be played for anyone wanting to hear the best of the genre. Yet for an album supposedly highlighting Winehouse and her influences, it often chooses to ignore songs cited as inspiration by the singer herself mentioned for those about heartbreak. A clear example is the absence of The Shangri-Las’ Remember (Walking In The Sand). The hook was integrated into Winehouse’s Back To Black.