Review: Alabama Shakes – ‘Boys & Girls’ (Rough Trade) on April 28, 2012
Words: Catherine Elliott Make way for Alabama Shakes, with their harem of famous fans including Adele and Bon Iver and Russell Crowe. This album is pure neo soul with classicist influences. There are moments of Jack White, Al Green and Tina Turner. This album is a spectacle, and in my books –an instant classic. They [...]
Review: Lostprophets – Weapons (Epic) on April 27, 2012
Words: Emily Anstee Lostprophets are back, with a fifth studio album that will surely continue on the success of their previous outings. Weapons sees a return to the beloved Lostprophets sound, all chanting and screaming, and lots of sing-along moments (think 2006 hit Rooftops). Weapons feels as though it could be their second coming… a [...]
Review: Ceremony – Zoo (Matador Records) on April 27, 2012
Words: Laura Nicholls As punk goes, it the genre of music that gets straight to the point – it doesn’t mess about. As Ceremony’s new album Zoo goes, it doesn’t mess about either. The album itself collectively (perhaps a bit too stereotypically) deals with today’s environment and its ever increasing flaws through the eyes of [...]
Get Your Weapons! on April 3, 2012
Words: Emily Anstee On the eve of the release of their 5th studio album, Lostprophets drummer Luke Johnson took time out to speak to Sonar Magazine about Weapons, anthems and the upcoming tour. How do you feel knowing the world is listening to the new record, Weapons? “We’re very excited about it; we really tried [...]
Review: Marcus Collins – Marcus Collins (RCA) on April 2, 2012
Words: Katrina Roy Marcus Collins may be inexperienced in the music industry but he’s so confident in his first album that he’s named it after himself. Marcus Collins was released on the 12th March. Marcus Collin’s lead single is a cover of White Stripe’s 2009 hit, ‘Seven Nation Army’. They’ve altered the song to an [...]
Review: Miike Snow – Happy To You (ColumbiaUK) on April 2, 2012
Words: Catherine Elliott Miike Snow are back in our peripheral view with their greatly anticipated second album. Andrew, Christian and Pontus are the part American, part Swedish makeup that creates the trio. This album has been treated as more of a concept than their debut, which was just a bunch of songs that weren’t [...]
Review: Speech Debelle – ‘Freedom of Speech’ (Big Dada) on March 10, 2012
Words: Catherine Elliott It’s been three years since her debut, Speech Therapy, won the 29-year-old rapper the highly acclaimed Mercury Prize, beating off strong contenders like Florence + the Machine and Kasabian. Her new album is inspired by Tupac and has been produced by the same producer as Ghostpoet, Kwes. The happy go lucky tracks [...]
Live Review: The Big Pink – Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth on March 10, 2012
The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth 09/02/12 Words: Catherine Elliott I have very mixed feelings on The Big Pink as I struggle to work out what they’re meant to be about. The fact that they have added elements of dubstep to their new album, if I’m honest is rather comical. It’s as if they’re chasing after [...]
Southampton gets musical for 2012 on March 7, 2012
Words: Victoria Purcell It’s not often as a Southampton shopper that you wander into West Quay on a Saturday afternoon and find yourself confronted with forty orchestral musicians playing “Boom Shake The Room” – I say “often”, but let’s be honest, last Saturday must have been a first. Casting new light on classics past and [...]
‘God bless Twitter’: one student & London Fashion Week. on March 6, 2012
Words: Yasmin Hennessy I know my lecturers always say ‘use twitter, it’ll help you’ and for a year, I ignored them but god bless Twitter – it got me a day dressing models backstage at A/W 2012 Jasper Garvida show at London Fashion Week. I spontaneously replied to a tweet I saw asking for dressers [...]
