The first 15 seconds of this record give no real clue about what’s in store. Neither do the next, very different 15. In fact, by the end of the 25-odd minutes the album runs you might not even be sure what just happened. Other than you just heard Exhib …

The last time I was in Whelans, it was to see We Were Promised Jetpacks; I remark, once I get settled in for the Simone Felice Group’s show, that the atmosphere couldn’t be any more different now. For one thing, it is an all-seated gig; and for another …

After listening to U.S. Christmas singer/guitarist Nate Hall’s first solo release ‘A Great River’ it is clear Nate needs a hug. Nate said this release ‘helped me to get rid of a lot of bad dreams. Feelings that pulled me down.’ He must have been carryi …

Having been away for 11 years, the anticipation of a new Beachwood Sparks’ album reaches its peak with the brushed symbols that start album opener ‘Forget the Song’. Then Chris Gunst’s soft vocal meanders in, and then the guitars amble into the scene; …

In the second of our occasional series looking back rather than forwards, Martyn Coppack reassess the impact of one of REM’s finest moments. Although the remit of Echoes of the Past may be a chance to bring to the attention albums which may have escape …

Genres are a constantly changing. It seems like every week there’s a new pseudo-math-rock-hipster-beat-poet-dynamic-pop band kicking around throwing yet another adjective into the hyphenated melting pot. It’s gotten to the stage where you aren’t cool u …

  ‘Big Music’ is often used as a derogatory term, used to describe bands who write the sort of songs destined for stadia that have all been done before and mostly done better. In the case of Irish act The Plea, however, it describes their music pe …

Those of you following post-rock/post-metal/progressive rock are probably aware by now of the quality of bands and music coming out of Sydney. Living in the post-metal camp is three-piece Dumbsaint, whose new record, ‘Something That You Feel Will Find …

Launching their debut EP in May 2012 is PAWs, a Glasgow based trio who combined to produce “energy fuelled, Violent Femme-esque, anti-folk sounding music” so they say…and I’d agree with them. Definitely not folky and definitely with a Glasgow sound, …

After reading the quality of the Record Store Day posts we’ve had so far it was a bit daunting putting pen to paper on my own piece, they have all been brilliant and I’d like to thank everyone who contributed, but I wanted to say something that about w …

Over the last few years there has been something of an explosion on Record Store Day ‘special’ releases, and this year there’s seemingly more than ever. Amanda Penlington takes a look at one release that really stood out for her. By their very name aud …

So far most of our Record Store Day pieces have been wonderful reminiscences of how record shops have influenced us; paeans to a golden age of vinyl, youth and beauty. For her contribution, Katy Cousins has delivered a timely reminder of why record sho …

In our RSD posts so far we’ve largely looked at what record shops mean to the punter, the enthusiast and the fanboi. In this piece, Steve ‘Stylusboy’ Jones gives us the view from the inside. While I was at Univeristy I worked in a record shop in Covent …

There is no mistaking that you’ve listened to something so full of piss and vinegar; vitriol and angst once the dying notes of ‘Clubfoot by Kasabian’ finish. Blitzkrieg pop by definition this is. This barnstorming opener is a sign of things to come, ea …

We all have bands we loved who split. This Et Al were one of mine, and the unexpected nature of the announcement of their break-up was made all the more shocking by the fact that they had released their best material to date – the masterful Figure Eigh …

So now we have a view from across the pond for you. San Diego based Jake Gillen has been one of E&D’s most prolific & inspiring contributors over the last few years; here he speaks to a couple of the old friends that made him the musical guru he is tod …

For our second Record Store Day feature, our resident old school rock ‘n’ roller, Martyn Coppack, gives us a very personal, and probably familiar to many, essay and poem on why records & record shops are so important to him. I love music. Simple as tha …

Bands that name themselves with the ‘hard-soft’ naming convention may do so to suggest the diversity of their sound. This concept fits perfectly for French rockers Papier Tigre who describe their music as ‘challenging punk [that] combines elements of e …

Note from the Editor: For this year’s Record Store Day we gave our writers a deliberately vague brief. ‘Just write anything you like about record shops or the event’ we said. In our first feature our man in Oz came back with this wonderfully evocative …

With the imminent launch of their new album ‘Fog Electric’ Edinburgh’s North Atlantic Oscillation are going to be making waves (sorry!) very soon. It is a beautifully sumptuous affair, full of dark melodies and moments of true loveliness. Ahead of the …

Torche have always been quite an anomaly in the rock scene, managing to throw fuzz-laden stoner grooves, off-tempo time changes and soaring melodies into the mix and come out with music that rides the perfect cusp between accessibility and mayhem. Thei …