Chimpomatic

Top 5 albums Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna DJ /rupture - Uproot Kanye West - 808's And Heartbreaks Takka Takka - Migration Films The Assassination of Jesse James Garage In Bruges 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days There Will Be Blood TV shows Wallander Gigs Hercules and Love Affair - Bestival The Dod ....read more

The word "fuck" has become more acceptable throughout the "noughties", leading to bands casually incorporating this once offensive descriptive word. Not too far in the distant past I recall a dreadful funk metal band having to drop the fuck from their name to be replaced with funk; it was fortunate that their songs featured a s ....read more

THEN: Released in the not too distant past of 2004, you could have been forgiven for thinking that Comets On Fire had been banging out this bruising musical onslaught for many moons. With two low-key releases they had gained a credible reputation which perhaps was due to their youthful energy and driving riffs, rather than the lack of tight l ....read more

THEN: Earth's first album, Earth 2 passed over me on its initial release but I do remember its cover. The white background with tasteful typography had a quality that stood out among the other alternative bands. Not that alternative is the best word to describe Earth. There was a certain amount of interest I around Earth 2, what with having su ....read more

Having anticipated and enjoyed every new release from Sung Tongs onwards, I was surprised to find myself a little less than enthusiastic at a brand new EP from the Animal Collective. The possible reason for my slight reservation towards new material from what I deem to be currently one of the most interesting and baffling bands is too much too soo ....read more

Arriving at the ICA to see a live band in a gallery space for the first time, I was struck by a disappointing sound system that seemed to be forcing all four instruments into one distorted dirge. Supporting band Dragons Of Zynth - a wacky looking bunch from New York - seemed to strike the right poses but it would be unfair to pass judgement on ....read more

If you'd never heard the Evangelicals you might make the wrong assumption from their name that they were a reggae band - but after listening to their second album The Evening Descends, that is one musical style that never attempts to surface within the eleven tracks. The four piece are white boys from Oklahoma who produce a sound that could be ....read more

Albums 1. Feist - The Reminder 2. Von Südenfed - Tromatic Reflexxions 4. Burial - Untrue 3. Efterklang - Parades 5. Pole - Steingarten Gigs 1.  Prince - O2 2.  Spank Rock - Bestival 3.  Vetiver - Spitz 4.  Animal Collective - Astoria 2 5.  Bat for Lashes - Bestival Tracks 1.  Yeasayer - Forgivenes ....read more

Due to limited means of transport and living south of the river, it took me an hour and half to reach Cargo in the east end, arriving just in time to catch Phosphorescent coming to the end of his support set. Phosphorescent - the one man band also known as Matthew Houck - came across as another addition to the pained country/folk singer songwriter. ....read more

Having never heard or heard of iLiKETRAiNS, I was instantly appalled at how they chose to present their already wacky name. Making it one word was bad enough but to then have all the i’s lowercase screamed of a desperation to be unique. This pretentious attempt at making a statement is understandable, given that every band needs a name. To co ....read more

Having seen Animal Collective before I hoped they would live up to their reputation of never producing the same performance twice, as I was a little disappointed when I saw them last year.  The suitable qualities of Feels, the album they were promoting at the time was lost in a very bombastic sound.  The impression I was left with was of ....read more

Beirut’s Gulag Orkestar was a critical success that slowly gained popularity by word of mouth. Zach Condon’s first album was, as is often noted, recorded at his parents house when he was all of nineteen. Beirut is no longer a one man band - he has since collected a group of musicians to tour and record, first the Lon Gisland EP and now ....read more

The first time I heard the Akron/Family was on the split album with the Angels of Light.  Apart from them opening that album (which is unusual given that the label they are on is run by Angels of Light's own Michael Gira), what struck me is how they dominated the album with a bruising combination of styles. Love is Simple is their second fu ....read more