Florence + the Machine - How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful Review

It's been nearly four years since Florence + the Machine wowed me with their superb second album Ceremonials and I was looking forward to what the future would bring. Sure, I missed all of the singles for How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful because of life, the universe and everything, but I had hopes that the band could deliver another stellar entry in a congested quarter of other big releases.

Never did I expect something like this.

The Vaccines - English Graffiti Review

Three years ago, I was more than pleased for The Vaccines. I was a massive fan of their debut album and Come of Age was seen as a step in the right direction, delivering a superb follow-up album with a subtle, but needed change in style that proved the band could do more than their then stereotypical short and sweet rock songs.

If Come of Age was, at the time, The Vaccines biggest evolution, then new album English Graffiti is the equivalent of man sprouting wings. Fuzzy, noisy wings.

Brandon Flowers - The Desired Effect Review

Slap bang in the middle of the first Killers hiatus, frontman Brandon Flowers released his debut solo album Flamingo. A decent record with far more in common than Sam's Town than Day & Age, the album was a tad too long and the second half of the record was no where near as impressive as the first making it a decent if forgettable debut.

Blur - The Magic Whip Review

Despite Blur's beloved back catalogue, the band has never stuck to a distinct sound. Starting off as plastic Madchester before offering a critique of the influx of American grunge with Modern Life is Rubbish before creating the southern England dose of Britpop but then embracing the American Indie scene and letting Graham Coxon take near full control and finally, for twelve years, settling for what has become the standard of Damon Albarn; world music.

It raises the question of why Blur became one of the biggest bands of the nineties? Was it the fact that in the midsts of Britpop that Blur was the thinking man's contender as opposed to the lumbering but reassuring oaf called Oasis? 

Was it Damon Albarn who was capable of telling stories with his lyrics instead of trying to simply finding words that rhymed? Was it Graham Coxon, one of the most underated guitarists trying to break out? Was it the sum of all parts for that magic period of a year with Modern Life... and Parklife?

Or maybe they were simply consistently good and the decade long absence has made the heart grow even more nostalgic for the whatif? What could Blur do next and can it top everything they've done before it?

Sure, we've had some sprinklings of new music in the gap between the band's 2009 reunion and The Magic Whip's release, all rekindling what made Blur so enjoyable in the first place but the question remained, how well can an entire album twelve years after a split possibly be? 

Doubly so because one of the more influential members was absent for then final album Think Tank? How does this change the dynamic and what kind of album could be crafted in this new world of music?

A Few Words on... Villagers - Darling Arithmetic

The third album for Villagers, Darling Arithmetic was not only on my radar as a potential album of the year. Don’t get me wrong, I was looking forward to it, {Awayland} grew on me far more than my original 7/10 ranking would indicate so I was looking forward to what direction the band would take and bits and pieces in my life made Conor O’Brien’s dark introspection seem oddly comforting.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) Review

With recent life events, I've been thinking about my childhood and the events and programming that moulded me into the guy I am today. Ask my four year old self what I wanted to be and, apart from telling you I don't talk to strangers unless bribed, I'd likely tell you I wanted to be a Ghostbuster when I grow up.

Needless to say, this didn't inspire me to get into the pest control business, much like that no matter how much I loved the eighties cartoon adaptation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or Hero Turtles in the UK because the word 'Ninja' was deemed too violent) I didn't turn out to be a ninja (although I do eat far, far too much pizza).

Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase. Review

I hate to bring up the subject of Porcupine Tree within a review like this, considering they've been gone for years now, but the band made such an impact to me, that every time founder and frontman Steven Wilson releases or produces an album, I find myself wishing for a grand reunion before returning to normality and the grim reality that it probably never will happen.