Recently, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan — following in the footsteps of fellow alternative rocker Bob Mould — started his new job. At a professional wrestling company. Corgan is the newly appointed “senior producer of creative and talent development” for TNA Wrestling, the second largest wrestling organization — after WWE — in North America. In…
Record Of The Week: Blur – ‘The Magic Whip’
Things went quiet with Blur after their hugely successful 2009 reunion tour and it seemed that band members were resigned to new material not being released. Then there was a shock announcement earlier this year that the band would be back with their first album in 12 years –- and first album with guitarist Graham…
Record Of The Week: Alabama Shakes – ‘Sound & Color’
Alabama Shakes were one of the music success stories of 2012, with their debut album Boys & Girls getting a host of rave reviews and their retro combination of blues and soul topped off by Brittany Howard’s insanely powerful voice sending audiences wild and selling one million copies. Now comes the difficult second album, which…
Record Of The Week: Speedy Ortiz – ‘Foil Deer’
In the past, Bostonian indie rock band Speedy Ortiz have been constantly compared to Pavement, partly due to the band’s angular and off-kilter playing style. Singer/guitarist Sadie Dupuis’ unique phrasing and lyrics (she has a degree in poetry) have been likened to Stephen Malkmus (who Speedy Ortiz recently toured with). But with the release of…
Record Of The Week: Waxahatchee – ‘Ivy Tripp’
Katie Crutchfield has been gathering plaudits galore in her guise as Waxahatchee, often teaming with her twin sister Allison and her (now former) boyfriend Keith Spencer among others to create some very beguiling music. This appears to continue with her new album Ivy Tripp, which adds some intriguing tweaks on the formula established in 2013’s…
Record Of The Week – Mountain Goats – ‘Beat The Champ’
Mountain Goats leader John Darnielle has recently became more known for his writing than his music, with his debut novel, Wolf In White Van, gaining a host of accolades and rave reviews. But it’s back to the day job as the Mountain Goats return with Beat the Champ, an album of songs all about professional…
Sleater-Kinney: Two Shows In Two Countries In Two Days
Anyone who has read my previous articles for this site knows of my admiration for the recently reunited Portland-based punk rock three-piece Sleater-Kinney. So when Sleater-Kinney announced a UK tour in support of their first album in ten years, No Cities to Love, I managed to get tickets for both the Manchester and Glasgow shows.…
Record Of The Week: Courtney Barnett – ‘Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit’
The reputation of acerbic Australian singer/guitarist Courtney Barnett has steadily grown since the release of her Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas in 2003. The trend appears poised to continue, as the release of her debut album proper Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit is comprised of all the traits…
Record Of The Week: Madonna’s ‘Rebel Heart’
As someone who hadn’t listened to a Madonna album since 1998’s Ray of Light, I approached her new record, Rebel Heart, cautiously. After listening to it I’m still not sure what to make of it. It at least finds Madonna playing to her strengths, but it still contains some truly appalling misfires. On the plus…
Kim Gordon’s ‘Girl In A Band’ Is A Revealing Memoir
Music fans everywhere were surprised at the 2011 announcement of the separation of Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore, mainstays of legendary New York punk/noise/alternative outfit Sonic Youth. The pair had seemed inseparable, and the split of their 30-year relationship also signified the break-up of the band. But as Gordon reveals in her intriguing and at…