No Frills Reviews

Bill Ryder-Jones Ieychd Da

On his fifth studio album, the depth of Bill Ryder-Jones’ songwriting matches the ambition of his compositions, resulting in his most accomplished work to date. The Wirral veteran is teetering on the brink as he grapples with anxiety, isolation, heartbreak and more. While he sings with raw vulnerability, his vocals don’t have the strength to do justice to what he’s going through, but the real power emerges as the grandeur of the musical arrangements complement and contrast his voice.

There’s the children’s choir on We Don’t Need Them which spurs him on, providing an emphasis of innocent optimism that he’s too cynical to deliver alone. Or on standout This Can’t Go On, he shrinks to a barely intelligible half-mumble as a rousing orchestral epic builds around him, as if he’s drowning under the weight of the world.

That song marks a turning point as glimmers of positivity increasingly emerge in the album’s later stages. It doesn’t end with outright hopefulness, that would be too easy. Instead it’s gratitude, understanding, and maybe an acceptance that hope at least exists. An album that is desperate, haunting and painful, but rescues the beauty out of these struggles.

Best tunes: A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart pt. 3, This Can’t Go On, Thankfully For Anthony

Honourable Mentions

SPRINTS Letter to Self: A blistering debut of heavy garage punk from the Dublin band as soul-bearing vulnerability collides with ferocious indignation.

Sleater-Kinney Little Rope: The riot grrrl legends still display some of that righteous punk fury almost 30 years on from their debut, but this is balanced with catchy new wave hooks, delivering some of their most melodic work.

Gruff Rhys Sadness Sets Me Free: In his inimitable style, Gruff Rhys delivers an album full of quirky psych-pop gems that provide a sneakily subversive backdrop to tackle darker themes.

Courting New Last Name: A strong collection of infectious indie pop tunes, although you can’t quite escape the feeling that you’re listening to 1975-lite.

Liam Gallagher & John Squire Just Another Rainbow

The first single from this modern day dad-rock wet dream of a collaboration as THE iconic rock vocalist of his generation teams up with the creative force behind one of the all-time great debut albums. We may have an answer to what it would sound like if Liam Gallagher fronted The Stone Roses. It’s both exactly like, yet somehow worse, than you imagined.

Full Review

The Smile Wall Of Eyes

This Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood side-project is absolutely fine, in that latter day Radiohead kind of way. Meaning there’s lots of interesting experimentation and some really nice moments, but it’s also fucking boring. It’s really not worth putting in hours getting into this just so you can appreciate how the drums sound slightly different than if it was Phil Selway drumming. If you’re not gonna use the Radiohead name then let’s not pretend this would be getting rated anywhere near as highly without the Radiohead connection.

Future Islands People Who Aren’t There Anymore

Perfectly solid synth-pop, which is at times powerful and heart-wrenching, but kinda sounds just like any other Future Islands album.

glass beach plastic death

The second album from LA-based, glass beach, has been getting some early AOTY hype; a prog-rock epic incorporating elements of jazz, metal, and more…But it’s not good. The vocals alone are off-putting enough; ranging from dreary whines to dorky wails. If you can get past that, then you’re left with lyrical drivel like “Wiretap my head, I’m a chemical well, I’m horrified, nothing to hide this emptiness.” Pretentious teenage angst which a group of adults really should have grown out of.

I’m sure there’ll be talk of it being boundary-pushing or whatever because of the amount of ideas they throw at the wall. But there’s a reason these sounds don’t usually go next to each other. Being bad in a new way isn’t something to celebrate, it’s just experimentally shit.

Brown Horse Reservoir

On their debut album, Alt-country six-piece, Brown Horse, deliver roots rock heartbreakers and foot-stompers reminiscent of Ryan Adams’ best work and even Harvest-era Neil Young. Slow-burning ballads sit alongside the occasional rousing rocker evoking classic imagery of the American West, with tales of heartache and grief delivered in a quivering croon by Patrick Turner. There’s some mesmerising harmonies and the earthy, melancholic, instrumental twangs are just hauntingly beautiful.

The spoiler here is that the band are from Norwich – the one in England – which sets my authenticity radar off slightly. I’m sceptical about that voice coming from someone who might reasonably know who Bryan Gunn is. But I suppose a questionable accent is less problematic than being Ryan Adams, so I’m happy to take tunes as good as this where I can find them.

Best tunes: Stealing Horses, Everlasting, Outtakes

Stuart Pearce Nuclear Football EP

Following the release of their debut album last year, Nottingham’s delightfully named, Stuart Pearce, offer a further taster of their sound with the excellent Nuclear Football single, alongside a selection of live tracks. I was immediately hit by how much this sounds like The Fall, but I’m fine with that as more bands should be ripping off The Fall, quite frankly. And there’s more to it than pure Fall-revivalism; the shrieking synth lines that run through these tunes provide a playful and strangely psychedelic contrast to the hard-hitting punk blasts accompanying their sardonic lyrical onslaught. Stuart Pearce could be your new favourite cult band.