Underground music & arts magazine with a penchant for the more obscure
Source: album artwork Words by Grey Malkin Derbyshire based Nick Jonah Davis has become increasingly renowned and respected, both for his live work (with the likes of James Blackshaw, Jozef Van Wissem and Alasdair Roberts), as well as appearances on albums by folk artists Sharron Kraus and Jim Ghedi. Most significantly, his previous four albums … Continue reading Album review: Nick Jonah Davis – When the Sun Came
Album artwork Words by Lady Godiva Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Sid Simons drew attention to his promising songwriting abilities in his other band Beechwood whilst subsequently releasing his first EP Lovemore in 2018. Fronting the six piece- evocatively named Girl Skin- 2020 marks the year of his first full length release Shade Is On … Continue reading Album review: Girl Skin – Shade is on the Other Side
Album artwork Words by Grey Malkin Alula Down, Hereford's Mark Waters and Kate Gathercole, have been at the forefront (alongside compatriots Sproatly Smith) of their locale's 'weirdshire' scene and accompanying series of mini festivals that have showcased the likes of Trappist Afterland, David Colohan and In Gowan Ring. Over the last five years they have … Continue reading Album review: Alula Down – Postcards From Godley Moor, Summer 2020
Album artwork by Stephen Titra Words by Grey Malkin Hailing from Chicago, Constantine's debut album, 2015's 'Day of Light', was a welcome reminder that acid and psychedelic folk was still being made with the creativeness, left field ambition and careful craft that first arose in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Indeed, Constantine recommends his music to … Continue reading Album review: Constantine – In Memory Of A Summer Day
Album artwork Words by Alexandra Dominica Following the untimely demise of the colourful country psych band Ultimate Painting, Jack Cooper returns again with Modern Nature, something of a curious but delightful anomaly in the scene whose experimentally abundant sounds reside in both bucolic folk, jazz fusion and indie spaces. Joining Cooper, we have a collaboration … Continue reading Album review: Modern Nature – Annual
Words by Grey Malkin Alex Rex is the vehicle for the restless muse of Alex Neilson, former Trembling Bells band leader and drummer with Josephine Foster, Jandek, Current 93 and myriad others in the psych folk and experimental spheres. With ‘Andromeda’, his third solo release, Neilson charts what he describes as ‘two years spent in … Continue reading Album review: Alex Rex – Andromeda
Words by Lady Godiva Perpetually enlightening us mere mortals with their transatlantic constellation, British troubadours The Hanging Stars are back with a solid third record as intriguing as its sepia artwork, giving the lure of a bygone era whilst being rooted in today's troubled times. Still wearing their influences on their sleeves in the wisest … Continue reading Album review: The Hanging Stars – A New Kind Of Sky
Words by Lady Godiva Automatic hail from the scorching sun of Los Angeles but have no problem portraying the coldness of 1980s Britain. Stepping on this avant-garde three-piece's territory brings instant shivers to the listener from the razor sharp, brooding yet suave atmosphere they create, brimming with sexual tension and cabin fever. Not surprising for … Continue reading Album review: Automatic – Signal
Words by Gareth Thompson A native son of California, it’s arguably his European influences that have shaped Anton Barbeau’s music the most. Steeped in psych-rock and underground club-tronica, his work blends an unerring ear for melody with a zany eye for poetry. Maybe his finest hour came in 2018 on Natural Causes, a record that … Continue reading Album review: Anton Barbeau – Berliner Grotesk
Words by Gareth Thompson Back in 2010, emerging Canterbury psychsters Syd Arthur joined forces one night with hybrid-jazz band Jack Hues And The Quartet. A stone’s throw from Canterbury Cathedral, in the Orange Street Music Club, the two acts played a medley of Soft Machine pieces, rearranged part of a Stravinsky violin concerto, then … Continue reading Album review: Jack Hues & The Quartet ft. Syd Arthur – Nobody’s Fault But My Own