Written by Richard Giles



If you're an Alt-J fan, you might be surprised that I find their new album "This is all yours" to be their best album yet. In fact, i'd go as far to say that it was my top album pick for 2014, if not one of my favourites of all time. Maybe this is because it is not conventional Alt-J, but something completely different, a huge step up from their first album "An awesome wave" whilst maintaining elements of their traditional, quirky style.

It may take a few listens to get to grasps with the album, but once you do it is one that will be on repeat throughout the house. The intro alone is perfection, combining elements from Indian, Japanese and British music cultures to create a flawless track with inspiring drumming, harmonies and riffs before any lyrics have even been sung.

To be honest, upon first listening I thought the album to be a bit of a dud. The first 10 minutes of the album passes without so much of a pulse; There's the introduction and then "Arrival at Nara", which is essentially a secondary introduction and a very deflating post-hype entree. But how wrong could I have been? Each listening offers another dimension to the album and you begin to pick up on minor subtleties, such as emotions, lyrics and images that weren't originally triggered. Indeed, you realise that it is not at all a load of 'nothing' tracks, but rather Alt-J successfully taking the listener on an emotional journey with them through the landscape of Japan and the personal struggles the band have faced over their 2014 hiatus.

Read more » |

Sounds of the 80s (2CDs, Rhino)

Sara Cox. Does that name ring any bells?

Well, Sara is the crowning queen of all things 80s in the UK. She presents a weekly Saturday night show-off on BBC2, twisting the corroded cap off a fun and fizzy selection of forever unforgotten mid-eighties floor fillers.

Every week, leg warmers are dropped to reveal stone washed songs, bedazzled beats, alongside a good grab bag of guilty pleasure. To celebrate the endless cash cow that is the good ship ‘80s’, Warner Music has brought together a modern mash-up of the decades worst and wonderful, re-visited by today’s biggest pop performers.

At first, this double dose of eighties excess sparked curiosity and sentimental condemnation, I mean, how dare anyone alter my images or play wicked games with my high school hits? However, there are some very cool cuts in amongst the questionable re-jigs, with many making it onto my elusive and exclusive playlists.

Sultry songstress Lisa Stansfield dims the ever changing mood with a sleepy version of Style Council’s sizzling “You’re the best thing”, whilst Sam Smith’s broody boyish bash on Whitney’s “How will I Know” sniffs a soulful line towards cabaret coolness. My choice cut would have to be the Manic Street Preachers re-launching of the Stones “Start me up”, with Birdy’s quaint take on Madonna’s “Lucky Star”, a cute close second.

Even as an alcohol charged pre-pub quiz squabble, this crafty compilation is sure to feature highly on the lacquered lips of gleeful game players at the next open mike office party. Relax, just do it, you know you want to.

Available here

Dave T

I sorta swore off going to any music festivals this year. The reasons for that went: too expensive (everything), the beer lines are too long (Laneway), no beer lines/very little interesting bands (Parachute), asking myself 'do I even really like live music/do I really like being in the midst of 20,000 people?' (Big Day Out), intense social anxiety (Camp A Low Hum). I know that most of these reasons can be overcome by the right combination of bands and good company, but I'm generally OK with my summer of (not) music watching. Whenever someone would ask me about what music things I was going to this summer, I'd just say I was too broke and vaguely speculate about trying to find a spare comp ticket floating around without any real plan to do that.

Funnily, while a lot of festivals these days increasingly feature folk revival artists, I'd completely forgotten about the Auckland Folk Festival itself. I'd never been before and wasn't familiar with more than a few names on the lineup, but I had an opportunity to go for free. I was curious, but had no idea what to really expect.

Read more » |