I Heart The Monster Hero
Rhythm and Pals
[Crocfingers]
At its best recalling the kaleidoscopic indie-psyche of the Elephant 6 collective, Rhythm and Pals is a plenty enjoyable slice of ramshackle pop. Though, at times the band appear too concerned with inserting an earworm riff at the fore of each track. That may seem an unusual complaint but the LP is at its most rewarding when it fully gives itself over to feedback-sodden sonic experimentation. I Heart the Monster Hero really soar when they are striving to please themselves rather than the masses. – Danny Wilson
La Sera
Hour of the Dawn
[Hardly Art]
Katy Goodman has a great set of pipes and it’s her voice alone that stops Hour of the Dawn from being an entirely generic exercise in aping en vogue 1990s alternarock and Pretenders-style power pop. When the record occasionally – all too briefly – draws on Goodman’s background in hardcore it teases the possibility of being a more interesting exercise than it actually is. Overall it just sounds too much like someone trying to “do a Best Coast”. – Danny Wilson
How To Dress Well
“What Is This Heart?”
[Domino Records]
Just as Total Loss tidied Love Remains’ unkempt beard to a neat stubble, What Is This Heart see’s Tom Krell’s metaphorical facial hair reduced to a soul-patch schmig as his How To Dress Well project leaves the digital distortions of the past behind him on what sounds like (but probably isn’t) a play for the mainstream. After wishing previously that HTDW would strip off the gimmicky attire, I know find myself nervous with this naked post-boy band solo album in front of me, not that it’s not as accomplished as before. – Ian Lamont
Alexis Taylor
Await Barbarians
[Domino Records]
Await Barbarians is rather stark offering from a man known primarily as the Buggles of his generation and front man of relentless electro-pop heroes Hot Chip. The record is full of solemn piano compositions, pricked and pulled at by an array of synthesizer embellishments. Taylor’s voice is instantly recognisable but strange to hear it contextualised in such a slow and sad world that at times conjures those weird David Grubbs fragments on Gastr Del Sol records. – Ian Lamont
Eomac
Spectre
[Killekill]
Monochromatic, giving-your-kids-nightmares technoir is Eomac’s game on Spectre, his first full-length under this moniker. The culmination of a series of singles that have garnered high-praise from many sources, in particular Thom Yorke, Spectre is oblique, shifty and always with a faint hint of grisled distortion, sonically mapping the austere, forbidding terra firma of some desolate rock in space. – Ian Lamont
Eno • Hyde
Someday World
[Warp]
With latter-day Eno has a tending to be a little bit of a mixed bag and Underworld most recent noteworthy events being the direction of the music for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, one could be naturally a little apprehensive about this thrown together collaboration. Fortunately it ends up channeling one of Eno’s best recent records Everything That Happens Will Happen Today made with David Byrne on vocals. Someday World is a scattershot electronic pop, immaculately produced and with a real sense of enjoyment burned into it. – Ian Lamont
Watter
This World
[Temporary Residence Ltd.]
Comprised of members of Slint and Grails, Watter veer much more towards the stoner mysticism of the latter than the wonky time signatures and shifting dynamics of the former. Two long electronics-laden jams make up much of the running time, but the band are strongest on the more gentle outlying tracks like Lord I Want More and the title track, which evoke a pleasant sense of backwoods spiritualism. – Ivan Deasy
Godstopper
Children are our Future
[Self-released]
Following their debut long player in 2012, Godstopper return with 20 more wonderful minutes of their weirdly singular take on sludge. Think Torche with noise-rock aesthetics and vocals somewhere between Tom Antona from Alice Donut and the more outré end of the Mike Patton spectrum. There’s even a good old fashioned “na-na-na” refrain in An Old Photo, reaching a disorienting nexus between anthemic rock and downtuned bludgeoning. – Ivan Deasy
Young and in the Way
When Life Comes to Death
[Deathwish]
Far and away their best recording, the new LP from the worst named band in the world continues down the left hand path forged on their previous full length, fully embracing the unrelenting tempos and aggression of black metal. The guitar sound more than ever resembles a solid approximation of Entombed’s buzzsaw tone and the obvious nature of the band’s points of reference prevents any true moments of ingenuity. It’s excellent for what it is but hindered by an undercurrent of pretence. – Ivan Deasy
The Great Sabatini
Dog Years
[Solar Flare Records]
Heavy music with a sense of humour is somewhat of a rarity but The Great Sabatini are a fine example of a band who can maintain the delicate balance between sincerity and levity. It’s a cleaner sounding record than previous outings, but it’s still menacing as all get out, with full on Melvins/Unsane style riffing punctuated by a few softer moments like Akela, the 2 minute slide guitar-led interlude that marks the midpoint of the album. – Ivan Deasy
