The Big Decider justifies The Zutons’ return, and certainly doesn’t sully their legacy.
The return of The Zutons should be quite A Big Deal.
Twenty years ago, their fine debut album Who Killed…The Zutons? made a respectable impact, riding the crest (like many of their contemporaries) of …
Meant to be consumed from beginning to end as a total sum, the result is the least burdened Iron And Wine album, and often a delight.
Anyone would completely be forgiven for manifesting long-term effects of the pandemic, but with Iron And Wine‘s Sam Beam the …
Pet Shop Boys combine lyrical openness with a more eclectic, playful musical backdrop.
When you’ve been around for over more than forty years you can probably consider yourself to have gone through most important career phases; from defining yourself, to finding an audience then, if you’re lucky, …
Take 5 showed that Northside could punch harder than many of their contemporaries.
Winners. Losers. Mondays? Former. Roses? Yeah, at least for a bit. James? Escaped it largely unscathed but had been around for years and just got swept up. The La’s? Never, really. The Charlatans? Obviously.…
In came Manic Street Preachers’ means of temporarily saying goodbye to rock’s ageing constructs.
Over the course of their careers, most bands with true longevity will privately admit to having a favourite album.
Sometimes it’s straightforward, sometimes it’s like choosing their favourite relative, and sometimes their fans …
Johnny Marr at the Manchester Apollo (Gary Mather / Live4ever)
While it’s true Johnny Marr’s older material gets a better reaction, there is much to appreciate in his solo canon.
Well, this was quite the double-header.
An artist of Johnny Marr’s stature would be enticing enough, …
James stare the issues of 2024 directly in the face.
Tim Booth has never been one to shy away from The Big Themes.
Since James‘ reformation, he and his bandmates have taken Donald Trump, populism and the devastating effects of climate change to task, most specifically …
English Teacher are here on merit, at a career junction with branches leading off into everywhere.
When you think about it, isn’t pretty much everything about place? Whether it’s the place you’re physically in, or the one your head is at?
Dislocation between these states causes many …
Jane Weaver’s circumstances have dictated a typically idiosyncratic left turn for her new album.
Sometimes it just makes sense to do things on your own.
Jane Weaver’s early experiences with the music industry whilst the century was still young would’ve tempted many to consider self-reliance, a series …
The Stanford Family Band’s music is steeped in the 1960s.
This is an unexpected treat.
Brighton four-piece The Stanford Family Band unveil their debut EP For Your Listening Pleasure just in time for the changing of the season.
Sounding unlike anything else in alternative music right now, …
The Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard album’s alpha and omega moments are suitably at odds.
The last time Live4ever came across Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard was on a sunny Sunday afternoon in 2022, playing North Yorkshire’s Deer Shed festival.
With lead signer Tom Rees melting in the heat, all seemed …
The Libertines’ fourth album is more of a band effort than ever before.
About time too.
For too long now, The Libertines have been behaving like a nostalgia band. Part of that is understandable given their impact back in the early part of the century, but given …
This is Chastity Belt’s own sense of humour writ large, a sisterhood in all but name.
Live, Laugh, Love is the kind of phrase you see framed on posters, usually right next to something like ‘Nobody Leaves Here Sober’ or ‘Keep Calm and Let Karma Finish It’.…
Audio Vertigo is another good, rather than great Elbow album. It seems churlish to bemoan that.
Even within the broad church of alternative rock, Elbow are a curious, difficult to define band.
They are not a singles band although they have a handful of modern classics to …
While the first three Brits And Pieces volumes were very much band-oriented, Volume IV includes several solo artists.
After a two year-hiatus, the Brits And Pieces compilation series returns.
Inspired by the classic compilation albums of the 1990s, Marc Rossiter (@BritsPieces) took on the challenge of matching the impact of …
Liam Gallagher and John Squire live in Manchester
After the mega-shows, it’s refreshing to see Liam Gallagher take things down to basics.
Those who criticise the Liam Gallagher And John Squire project don’t appear to have been paying attention.
Some questionable lyrics aside, the album is a solid blues/rock/pop effort …