In League With Paton

Sian Alice Group – 59.59 (Social Registry, 2008) There seems to be an obsession with time going on here. Sian Alice Group (their vocalist is...

On a rare non-musical tip, the news that Britain's only brewing museum is to close in June strikes me as rather sad. I've never been...

The Dodos - Visiter (Frenchkiss, 2008) Naming your group after a famously extinct bird might be inviting trouble, but luckily The Dodos have...

Pivot/Three Trapped Tigers, The Luminaire 2/04/08 At the end of last year, I described Three Trapped Tigers as ‘the most ambitious new band ...

Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple (Warner, 2008) A couple of years ago, I had a chat with Joe Goddard from Hot Chip in which he expressed his ...

The Orphanage (Juan Antonio Bayona, 2008) NB: This review contains significant plot spoilers. I am at something of a loss as to why this fil...

Neil Cowley Trio – Loud…Louder…Stop! (Cake Music, 2008) Talented pianist Neil Cowley has had an unpredictable and versatile career trajector...

Neon Neon - Stainless Style (Lex, 2008) A concept album based on the rise and fall of playboy engineer John DeLorean relying heavily on recy...

Chris T-T – Capital (Xtra Mile, 2008) I came to this new album from Chris T-T, his first with a full band since 2003’s ‘London is Sinking’,...

This is really one of my public 'notes to self', as I have quite a lot of catching up to do here...The list includes: Chris T-T - Ca...

R.E.M. - Accelerate (Warner Bros, 2008) Here we go, then, the argument goes something like this…. We’ve all lost faith in R.E.M. They lost t...

Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid I have a strange relationship with Elbow. Initially, I dismissed them far too rashly as a blandly anthemic band ...

Clearly it takes the exploitation of the lucrative Tweenie market to mobilise people power in the US, but this report from New York makes fo...

The Edge of Heaven (Fatih Akin, 2007) The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007) The Turkish German director Fatih Akin’s thi...

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjagwar/4AD, 2007/2008) Reclusively isolated in a North Wisconsin hunting cabin, Justin Vernon has, with...

Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash (Domino, 2008) I’ve struggled a little with Stephen Malkmus’ solo material. This may sa...

Hercules and Love Affair – Hercules and Love Affair (DFA, 2008) This Hercules and Love Affair album seems to have divided opinion somewhat, ...

Dirty Projectors @ The Forum 29/2/08 Yeasayer @ The ICA 6/3/08 I hate writing pretentiously about ‘scenes’ or ‘risings’ (and it is pretentio...

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Dig! Lazarus! Dig! (Mute, 2008) This latest instalment in the increasingly prolific saga of Nick Cave, so far ...

Toumani Diabate – The Mande Variations (World Circuit, 2008) A true master of his craft, Toumani Diabate is capable of adapting the Kora to ...