Posts by William Lewis

The desert blues rebellion music of the Tuareg people of Saharan Africa has garnered its fair share of attention in recent times, and deservedly so. It’s fascinating, if tragic, political conflict in its own right; the Tuareg people seeking independence from the French Colonial states of Mali and Niger, and on that takes on an […]

There’s that scene in Batman Begins, where Liam Neeson tells Bruce Wayne, “If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can’t stop you, then you become something else entirely.” “Which is?”, Wayne queries. “Legend, Mr. Wayne.” It’s a thought impossible to repress when thinking […]

‘Cala’ roughly translates to ‘creek’ or ‘inlet’ in Spanish. Despite his Irish roots, it’s not the first time Fionn Regan has shown an affinity for the southern reaches of Europe. Third album 100 Acres of Sycamore was written largely in Majorca, a place Regan described as “laced with magic” and “spliced with walking in the […]

Particle Kid, while for all intents and purposes considered a full band, is largely the solo project of Micah Nelson. If the surname Nelson gets your music royalty sensors tingling – and you’re not put off by the undoubtedly millions of Nelsons in the world – well rest assured they’re functioning as they should. Micah […]

Tycho’s music has always been difficult to classify. Too upbeat to be truly ambient, but nonetheless fulfilling a similar purpose in its undeniable chillness. The characteristic clean guitar motifs have shades of post-rock about them, the samples and beats reminiscent of chillwave electronica, while all awash in a mellow haze of delay and reverb making […]

What is it with indie-rock and the wild animal names? Tame Impala, Fleet Foxes, Mountain Goats, Deerhunter, Grizzly Bear, Panda Bear, Minus the Bear, Bear in Heaven, Message to Bears…a lot of bears, really. Perhaps it’s steeped in the nostalgia the genre in all its breadth often embraces. A longing to return, to reconnect to […]

Psychedelic rock has enjoyed its fair share of resurgences in the last few decades, but few as significant as the steadily growing wave of washed out guitar music that’s dominated the post-2010 indie scene. Perhaps the sense of detachment from reality synonymous with the genre rings particularly true in the current day and age, or […]

Following 2017’s stellar Sleep Well Beast and surrounding world tours, no one would have begrudged the gents of The National a well-earned break. Beyond that, there was something distinctly final about that record that felt like a resolution of some kind. Understated and refined, there was a sense that the haunted and middle-aged weariness always […]

A genre as timeless as folk possesses its icons of every age. From the wandering minstrels of ages past who passed tales on between generations to popular giants of the recording age the likes of Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan, the ability to articulate in a song that which lies within us all seems to […]

In late 2017, Stephen Wilkinson released his ninth Bibio album, Phantom Brickworks. A masterful ambient drone experiment in the vein of Eno and Stars of the Lid, it was a surprising change of direction for Wilkinson – despite the fact no one seemed particularly surprised. He’s consistently proved himself adept at spanning genres, the electronic […]

“It’s a miracle I’m not a drug addict, but it’s a shame I’m still hard at it.” So sings John Vanderslice on ‘I’ll Wait For You’, lead single of his new record The Cedars. It encapsulates his ever candid and gritty approach to writing, and life in general. No stranger to writing music, The Cedars […]

Natalie Mering has spoken at length about Titanic Rising, her fourth release as Weyes Blood. There’s a sense she feels there’s something special in it, that she’s dug deep through the desert and knows she’s found a fountain. “An album is like a Rubik’s Cube,” she says giving weight to such assertions, “sometimes you get […]

Luluc has created a soothing afternoon shower far more than a storm in the 10 years since their quiet emergence. Overshadowed somewhat by the roaring success of fellow Aussie folk duo Angus & Julia Stone, theirs was a sound that borrowed more into stark and stripped back honesty than the more heavy-handed and conspicuous emotional […]

Perth’s, and indeed Australia’s, burgeoning psychedelic scene is virtually synonymous with Kevin Parker and his little project known as Tame Impala. But Pond – of whom Kevin Parker was once a member – are an equally important part of the psych revolution that’s seeing the yearning return of the synths and sounds seemingly extracted from […]

It’s clear William Phillips is a talented songwriter. He may not be the name remembered in association with the song, but his Song of the Year Grammy award for co-writing Sam Smith’s ‘Stay With Me’ will testify to that. Despite that, his work as Tourist has leaned more toward production and sound than the straight-up […]

By all accounts named for his childhood hometown of Phoenix, Arizona; David Bazan’s first album for fifteen years as Pedro the Lion’s reference to the resurrected firebird of the Greek myths can’t be lost on many, least of all Bazan himself. Inspired by an impromptu visit to the town he grew up in, Bazan finally […]

Chaz Bear/Bundick/take your pick has been bobbing along for many a year now, his Toro Y Moi project an ever-present in the decade or so since the rise of chillwave. Ascending the incline from humble home-recorded origins – down-tempo bedroom electronics aren’t an easy set of tools with which to break through the walls of […]

[rating=7.00] Given they’re best known to most people as “that band that did the whistling song”, it’s easy to underestimate the loyal following Peter Bjorn and John have. The Swedish indie-pop trio may have faded from many’s consciousnesses – ‘Young Folks’ was 12 years ago after all – but they’d been busily hoarding fans across […]

[rating=9.00] It’s difficult to know what to say about Double Negative – such is its extraordinary power. Low, a band now 12 albums in, have truly fulfilled their name and ambition in crafting raw and understated songs that hold their immense weight in the spaces between the sounds, yet continue to prove able to evolve. […]

[rating=8.00] The first moments of No Recover are, in many ways, a signpost. A signal of things to come over the course of Eric Bachmann’s fourth solo album. The softly building persistent tap, fingerpicked motif and throaty vocals of ‘Jaded Lover, Shady Drifter’ are incredibly pretty in their distant separation, but crucially are techniques that […]