Author results: Josh Gardiner
Beat Pyramid, These New Puritans
This record is a jigsaw. A Rubick's cube. As soon as you enter this musical labyrinth you're lost in the shadows. Caught up in a running stream of repeating refrains and echoing hooks as the record circles in on itself like a snake eating its own tail (Dear, infinity symbol).
But really, who wants to keep tabs on the real world when such an escape is on offer.
Damn Arms
The irrepressible convention stranglers Damn Arms have long been rubbing shoulders with the highest echelon of post-punk-new-wave glitterati like Test Icicles (RIP), Klaxons and Forward Russia. And so they should. Ever since the Melbourne foursome rose from the ashes of the defunct act Snap! Crakk! their dedication to an upwards slanting musical trajectory has been relentless.
The Books of Albion: The Collected Writings of Peter Doherty
"I desire you would use all your skill to paint your picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughness, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me." – Oliver Cromwell 1599-1658
It seems rather fitting to quote from antiquity when introducing Doherty’s famous ALBION diaries, given he embodies the romantic age so in poetic spirit, talent and in his splendid failings.
Strange House
As live bands go, The Horrors are just about the most exciting and entertaining act around at the minute. Their shows are riotous, mesmerising and, truth-be-told, darn scary to boot. Add to this a series of now-collectable EPs and it’s plain to see why these kohl-smattered lads have gathered such a gaggle of resolute fans beneath their charcoal cloaks.
A Weekend in the City
Bloc Party may just have touched the dizzy heights of something rare and special here, making the ‘difficult second album’ syndrome seem like a complete misnomer.
In bettering their debut (no mean feat considering ‘Silent Alarm’ was possibly the finest product of 2005's post-punk glut) the Londoners have shown a remarkable ability to not only retain the sensibility that made them so popular the first time round, but to evolve as songwriters and musicians.
The Shape of Punk to Come
Legendary Welshman Dylan Thomas wrote in the poem ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night’ that one must “rage, rage against the dying of the light”.
If the definition of ‘rage’ is shaking your skinny fists in the face of this impending darkness and screaming your lungs out over searing riffs and pummeling drum beats, then Refused’s 1998 release THE SHAPE OF PUNK TO COME did just that.
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