Review of 'New Eyes' by Clean Bandit

‘So you think electronic music is boring. You think it’s stupid. You think it’s repetitive. Well … it is repetitive’. Whose idea was it to open the album up with this quote? If people didn’t think electronic music was stupid they will now.

Why are heavy metal music videos recently so obsessed with LARPing?

LARPing (Live Action Role-Playing) is an activity in which a bunch of nerdy adults dress up in fantasy/historical costumes and fight mock battles against one another. I didn’t know it was a thing until sludge metal band, Red Fang, introduced it to me in their 2010 music video for ‘Prehistoric Dog’. Watch it below:

For some inexplicable reason this niche activity seems to have become the focus of several other metal music videos recently, the latest being Mastodon’s ‘High Road’. Is this purely an accidental trend? Are metal bands conspiring together to promote LARPing? Will LARPing become a future component of all heavy metal music videos? 

Protest the Hero pit Trekkies against Jedi Junkies.

Mastodon's brand new single. This one's even got a storyline and jeez it's pretty emotional.

Arthurian LARPing in quite possibly the worst/most hilarious music video I've ever seen. That scream at 2:15 is my favourite part. Do watch this video. It's genuine comedy gold.

Oh, wait this isn't even metal. Looks like LARPing is crossing musical boundaries. Which genre next - trap rap?

Review of 'Esoteric Warfare' by Mayhem

This is pure black metal for black metal purists. Mayhem don’t expect everyone to get this as demonstrated by the album title. ‘Esoteric’ means ‘intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.’ I had to Google that. Black metal expands one’s vocabulary!

Review of 'Reality Testing' by Lone

Matt Cutler AKA Lone is a wizard and a godsend to electronic music. Using every production trick in the book, he specialises in creating the most warm, summery, feelgood instrumental landscapes audially conceivable.

Review of 'Lazaretto' by Jack White

Okay, so there’s a little too much country on this album for my liking. Do all rock musicians have to go through this phase? Is it a rite of passage?

Review of 'N****s on the moon' by Death Grips (Disc 1 of 'the powers that b')

So this isn’t officially an album. Its half an album that has been deliberately leaked - disc 1 of what will be a double album from experimental hip hop group, Death Grips.

Review of 'Animal Ambition' by 50 Cent

I misread the title of this album as ‘animal abortion’ the first time it was announced. I’ve been listening to too much death metal!

Review of 'Clppng' by Clipping

Clipping are bursting with creative ideas on their second album.

Review of "Ghost Stories" by Coldplay

Coldplay have always had a reputation for being wishy-washy and a little depressing. However, like Radiohead, there’s no denying that the band clearly have their own identifiable sound.