Noah and the Whale - Heart of Nowhere Review

Folk pop is either entering another renaissance or entering it's first now that Mumford & Sons are one of the best selling bands of the past five years. Whereas years ago, the idea of making millions with simplistic arrangements, string instruments aplenty and timeless themes were so far removed from the clean-cut, electronic heavy and hyper-sexualised cartoon exploits of early 21st century popstars; Mumford & Sons simplistic take on one of music's older genres was a much needed antithesis.

Unfortunately; Mumford & Sons are one of the most criminally overrated acts of recent memory and like all somewhat undeserving bands; there's always more that should receive the critical and public adulation.

A Few Words on... Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito

Yeah Yeah Yeahs return from a hiatus that saw Karen-O turn into a credible composer and the other two wait for Karen-O to return to the band after becoming a credible composer.

After creating what many called the album of 2009; Yeah Yeah Yeahs follow-up with a return to normality with album number four Mosquito; with one of the most eye-catching yet awful album covers in recent times.

The Strokes - Comedown Machine Review

I knew that if I stuck by long enough; I'd end up doing follow-ups and, whilst Sigur Rós will have to wait until summer; The Strokes return with album five after the dull and uninspiring Angles. They've returned to the routes of recording music and vocals together, it's lead single is eerily similar to their first two albums (the ones everyone seems to like) and the world holds it's breath in anticipation; hoping for a drastic return to form a decade after said two albums.

Well; not so much holding their breath, but more "Can it get worse?"

A Few Words on... Frightened Rabbit - Pedestrian Verse

Frightened Rabbit's major label debut isn't a sell-out nor a radical departure of sound that's made them one of the most enduring, underrated and consistent acts out there.

A Few Words on... Atoms for Peace - AMOK

Whilst Radiohead continue to tour with hints of new material arriving sooner rather than later, frontman Thom Yorke has been exceptionally busy elsewhere with newer friends.

David Bowie - The Next Day Review

I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably not the best person to review this. My first experience of Bowie came when my Dad asked me to scour the interwebs in search of the Spiders on Mars' album (the actual band, not Ziggy Stardust...) and my friends raving about Life on Mars (the TV show) and having the song of the same name played repeatedly for driving.

Naturally; I was suckered into the hype of David Bowie's first album in a decade. How years of trawling through his back catalogue showcased some of the best albums I'd ever heard. How the media was left stunned that his comeback wasn't on their radar and how the album would see Bowie reinvent himself again as a veteran rock and roller as opposed to the otherworldly persona's seen from his early days up until...2003?

It's a guaranteed number one and might possibly be the best selling album of the year but, at the end of it all, if you move past the hype, the ongoing adulation from other publications; is The Next Day, not only a good album but the comeback that Bowie needed?

A Few Words on... Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories)

With Porcupine Tree on a indefinite hiatus; all eyes are on Steven Wilson's third solo outing and whether it can top the surprisingly great double album Grace for Drowning.