Uniform Motion - ‘Life’

Album name: Life Artist name: Uniform Motion Genre: Folk-pop-cartoons Released: 9 February 2010 Label: Aahhh Records ZME Rating: 5/10 Website: uniformmotion.net I’m something of a deliberate philistine when it comes to fine art. Despite spending six years or so studying the subject in one form or another, I never really saw the appeal. I mean, sure I can appreciate it up to [...]

Amber Rubarth - ‘Good Mystery’

Album name: Good Mystery Artist name: Amber Rubarth Genre: Sweetness Released: 12 January 2010 Label: Unsigned, which is criminal ZME Rating: 8/10 Website: amberrubarth.com Much of this world passes me by with alarming speed and frequency. Trends, fads, fashions and vehicles alike all skim dangerously close to my face, while I remain the proverbial Captain Oblivious, wrapped up in a cocoon [...]

Libby Johnson - ‘Perfect View’

Album name: Perfect View Artist name: Libby Johnson Genre: Folk Released: 23 February 2010 Label: Wrong Records ZME Rating: 8/10 Website: libbyjohnsonmusic.com/ I want to preface this review with a plea, and a thank you. You see, this Libby Johnson album - quite a good album, as you’ve yet to find out - is, following Nite Nite and Phantom Family Halo, the [...]

Drive? Buy Truckers.

Because the Drive-By Truckers make great music to drive to. (I presume. Being a half-blind halfwit, I’m stuck with public transport for now. [But mostly because, pun.]) I’ll come clean immediately, because I may have misled you slightly: you can’t actually buy the Drive-By Truckers. But, wonderfully, you will be able to buy their new album, [...]

EmPeeThree: Satellite Crush

Hello! If you’re anything like me, you probably hate most things. You might even have publically announced yourself to be opposed to the concept of “people”, and declared emotions to be for the weak. But somewhere deep inside that decrepit old husk of a heart, you’re probably asking yourself if there’s any sweet, sincere, impressively [...]

Nite Nite: “How To Touch The Moon”

Album name: How To Touch The Moon Artist name: Nite Nite Genre: Gothy Stuff Released: 12 January 2010 Label: Crash Avenue ZME Rating: 6/10 Website: myspace.com/niteniteband As a beret-wearing, beard-stroking music cricket, there are certain aspects of my job I consider to be pretty vital. First among these is blagging as much free stuff as possible: if there’s a gig I can [...]

Phantom Family Halo: “Monoliths & These Flowers Never Die”

Album name: Monoliths & These Flowers Never Die Artist name: Phantom Family Halo Genre: Rock Released: October 2009 Label: Crash Avenue ZME Rating: 5/10 Website: myspace.com/thephantomfamilyhalo Um. Phwwwr. Chhhhk. Ahem. It’s not that there are no words to describe the Phantom Family Halo’s recent offering: it’s just hard to string whatever words come to mind into a working sentence. Let us be quite clear: [...]

Al Byrne’s Radio Bile

I suppose congratulations are in order to some of you readers. Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name” has been named the UK’s Christmas number one single, beating out X Factor winner Joe Mcthingy’s Miley Cyrus cover “The Climb” by some number of downloads. Or something. Well, woo bloody hoo. Have a metaphorical biscuit. It’s [...]

Al Byrne’s Radio Bile

Oooh, apologies for my completely unexplained absence from this organ last week. A variety of continuous, unlikely emergencies conspired to keep me away from my precious keyboard and monitor on Sunday, eventually culminating in an exciting race through Dublin to find a kind of precious anklet. Either that, or I was pathetically tired from working [...]

Al Byrne’s Radio Bile

They say “familiarity breeds contempt”, but the more I hear that phrase, the more I dislike it. And not just because I’m a pathetic, desperate contrarian idiot - the phrase is wrong. Wrong. Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt. It breeds comfort, warmth, and eventually nostalgia. New things are awful, and potentially dangerous, and sometimes have questionable odours. Shun [...]

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