20.04.2026-FORETASTE Happy End! (BOREDOMproduct)

 

ELECTROPOP

     Tense. This is the first adjective that is coming to my mind while listening to the latest Foretaste's album "Happy End!". Their sixth album has been deeply influenced by the feelings the pandemic events raised in all of us. Most of the lyrics are dealing with a feeling of uncertainty and self-preservation. 

     My preferred songs are the opening "Welcome", "Pure Madness" (on this one the melody is a bit more catchy), the instrumental "Bored To Death", "Dead Star" (which recalls me a bit Depeche Mode of the 80s) and the closing "Happy End!" (this one is almost a techno tune and I found it really intriguing and I'd like they would have played a bit more in this key just to give to the album a wider palette of sounds). A usual for Foretaste, the album needs more listenings to be fully appreciated

https://www.sendspace.com/file/m6s8tm

18.04.2026-ANDREA SCHROEDER Void (Glitterhouse,2016)

 

POP NOIR

   Her vocals, which oscillate between Marlene Dietrich and Nico, sound sublime, dark, melancholic, contemplative, and poetic on Void . Andrea Schroeder is Nick Cave's younger sister in spirit.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/tu58tm

16.04.2026-FOXES Friends In The Corner (PIAS,2021)

 

POP

   Foxes’ latest EP, Friends in the Corner, allows love, pain and everything in between to sit comfortably side by side. After a 4-year hiatus from releasing music, she returns with 8 tracks that cover seldom-discussed themes such as the vulnerabilities of friendship, the joy of independence resulting from breakups, and the importance of family. This release consists of well-crafted pop that takes its time to dwell upon insecurities, as well as relish in moments of uplifting joy. 

https://www.sendspace.com/file/ke2zfx

13.04.2026-CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA To Believe (Ninja Tune,2019)

 

ELECTRONIC / DOWNTEMPO

   To Believe is heartbreakingly brilliant: a collection of exquisitely assembled songs that appear delicate from a distance before revealing a close-quarters core strength. Band leaders Jason Swinscoe and Dominic Smith have loosely arranged seven lightly jazzy tracks around the themes of belief and what it means to believe. Much as the pair attempt to make movies with their music, the best song has no dialogue: the meandering instrumental Lessons is a glorious balm, nine minutes of murmuring conversation between the players, dominated by Luke Flowers’ gently military drums. It has depth and meaning without context, the ideal soundtrack to a film that doesn’t exist. The sweeping grandeur of A Caged Bird/Imitations of Life is another cinematic collaboration with the always articulate and engaging Roots Manuva, a sort-of sequel to the epic All Things to All Men, and just as good. Every song here could easily be five or 10 minutes longer. 

https://www.sendspace.com/file/b4vfzl

11.04.2026-TWEAK BIRD Any Ol' Way (Let's Pretend,2014)

 

PSYCHEDELIC ROCK

   Any Ol' Way is a record of promise from a band that has clearly found focus. But its overreliance on tight structures nips too many moments for expansion in the bud.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/2qvt15

09.04.2026-STAVES All Now (Communion,2024)

 

INDIE FOLK

   The Staves have shown they’re happy to branch out into more indie-rock territory which sits well alongside their folk roots. It’s an accomplished record that leans into the familiar with flourishes of exciting new textures that make it a constantly engaging listen with plenty to unpack. 

https://www.sendspace.com/file/65zy4d

07.04.2026-OTOBOKE BEAVER Super Champon (Damnably,2022)

 

PUNK ROCK

   Champon is the Japanese noun for a jumble of different things, Super could well be a descriptor for the gloriously vital and anarchic sound emanating from the foremost four-piece punk garage band from Kyoto, Otoboke Beaver.

     Featuring blistering guitars and drums, wildly rampageous lyrics and masterful musicianship that bobs and weaves like a flyweight on speed, Accorinrin, Yoyoyoshie, Hiro-chan and Kahokiss deliver 18 short tracks of total randomness. Songs with obtuse and wacky titles such as Dirty Old Fart Is Waiting For My Reaction, First Class Side Guy & Leave Me Alone! No Stay With Me! all zip ferociously along and before you know it it’s gone, flashing by at just over 21 minutes, Super Champon truly is a masterpiece of chaos music. 

https://www.sendspace.com/file/gn1jlc