“It is clear that Slaves have found a way to connect with the audience – they sing about everyday things in a sharply observational way. It brings a smile to the face of the mundane, a laugh to the drab and colour to the bland,” by Alan Ewart

‘Hawkdope’ makes you want to throw your arms in a crucifix pose and sell your soul to the spirit of Easy Rider…and let’s face it, anything that makes you want to do that surely must be the essence of rock and roll. – By Martyn Coppack

“I’d never quite grasped how theatrical the band were from listening to their records, but seeing them live gives them that new dimension,” by Rob Batchelor.

The arrangements are meticulous, but not overworked; the lyrics are strange, but not overfussed; and the instrumentation is unconventional, but not overthought. It all coalesces into a slow burning, satisfying listen. By Josh Cuevas

Guess what kids, my generation invented this kind of music, I was there first time around, I might not have the energy to mosh to the same extent you do and I am certainly past crowd surfing but I still love good music. by Alan Ewart

Moon Duo have set the bar that little higher and with the slight change in sound ensured that their future is wide open. An absolute triumph and one that is going to feature on many end of year lists when the time comes. By Martyn Coppack

Echodrone’s latest effort sees the shoegazing specialists play more with electronics, and the results may just be the San Francisco band’s best work to date. By Kevin Scott

It’s an utter delight to hear an album like this come along and for all the storm in the teacup noises that so pervade music in general, here is a band who take things at their own pace and the joy in what they do shows through. By Martyn Coppack

Monster Magnet, Bombus, Metal Tech The Garage, Glasgow, 14.02.2015 Photos by Alan Swan

There’s that scene in Friends where Rachel accidentally combines the recipes for trifle and shepherd’s pie. Joey comments, “Custard: good! Jam: good! Beef: goooood!” And that’s what this is; some very decent set pieces that don’t quite combine into anything meaningful. By Phil Makepeace

“Perfect soundtracks to your own imaginary movie.” by Daniel Lombard

The Dodos seem to have found their feet with this release and, as a duo, have created an album which is delicate, detailed and full. By Michael Hills

r u person or not is a strange record. It is oddly short for an experimental rock LP, it has a bewildering number of equal contributors, and it surges, rudderless, through a soup of genres. It has excellent highs and disappointing lows, but all of this makes for an undeniably interesting listen. By Sam Birkett

In 1926 Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd supposedly navigated the first ever flight over the North Pole. However, investigations undertaken since suggest that his plane actually turned back about 150 miles early. Fly On Byrd, Fly On, who take their name from this mysterious explorer, appear to have taken a leaf out of his book. By Phil Makepeace

This is a beautifully produced, lyrically interesting and enjoyable piece of guitar driven rock music. There is a sense of freedom in the delivery and it all fits together superbly as a coherent piece of music. Every track brings its own reward and I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending that you buy it. By Alan Ewart

You can tell Lovett is getting more comfortable experimenting with atmospheric and instrumental electronic music and it’s nice to see, as he does it well in my opinion. By Michael Hills

With ‘Murder Came Before the Word’, Weikie’s made an ambitious work that, when it meets its lofty aims, can be truly transporting. Despite occasionally falling short of that, it is a polished and beautiful record, thought-provoking and artistic, and easily deserves the minutes of your hours. By Sam Birkett

Prude have made a damn fine noisy album full of damn fine noisy songs. Get it on. By Chris Robertson

Protest The Hero, The Safety Fire, The Contortionist, Palm ReaderStudio 2, Edinburgh, 1.12.2014 Photos by Alan Swan (((O))) ON THE WEB Facebook Twitter Instagram (((O))) SUPPORT THE SITE! Regular visitor? Please consider a small subscription to help us …

The sheer intensity that six men can create, when powered by an audience that wants to tear at each other, which in turn feeds that audience further, becomes some unholy perpetual motion machine. by Rob Batchelor

Whilst they may not appeal to everybody’s taste in music, the entertainment factor was through the roof. by Shelby Loasby