Album of the Month(s)
The Dream Machine Small Time Monsters
The second album from Merseyside psych-pop eccentrics, The Dream Machine, continues to perfect the sound of last year’s excellent debut (no.9 on No Frills best of 2023). Produced by James Skelly, there’s undoubted echoes of The Coral in the balance of freaky psych-rock tendencies with classic pop sensibilities.
Small Time Monsters is filled with dark Gothic imagery, but like the ragtag ghouls adorning the cover, the mask never quite convinces as beneath the darkness lies yearning tales of heartache and desire. There’s gems to be found throughout in the lyrics of Zak McDonnell as he elevates lovesick ballads to grandiose epics with a mix of the classical and the modern; where references to the poetry of T.S Eliot can sit alongside a WWE rivalry. And vocally, with his youthful baritone, he’s like a missing link somewhere between Lee Mavers and Scott Walker. Indeed, the ominous baroque pop of Tonight, I’ve Got Heaven In My Arms wouldn’t feel out of place on Scott 4.
There’s detours into fun genre experimentation, like the country-tinged jaunt of The Horse or the Western-Disco of Holding On. But what’s really apparent is that these boys know how to write a good pop song. The synth-rock banger, Frankenstein, and the dreamy jangle-pop throwback, Posters Of You, would surely be indie radio hits in any other era. This is a band still finding their feet, yet they already feel like old masters. They’ve expertly walked the fine line so far, but there’s plenty of room for them to get sweeter or weirder yet.
Best Tunes: Frankenstein, Holding On, Posters Of You
Honourable Mentions
Fontaines D.C. Romance – Believe the hype. A real levelling up moment for the Dublin post-punks. As solid as they were, I felt their last two albums lacked the spark of their debut. But the excitement returns here; a leap forward with unexpected left-fields turns along the way. There’s still a grounding in post-punk gloom; but it’s all bigger and bolder. And there’s three of the year’s best songs in the hip-hop influenced, Starburster, the string-assisted epic, In The Modern World, and a new indie-kid’s wedding song of choice, Favourite.
Johnny Blue Skies Passage Du Desir – The debut from the alter-ego of Kentucky country star Sturgill Simpson. From the swamps to the stars; he expertly blends rootsy soulful blues and touches of light psychedelia on an album that’s emotional depth is balanced by its gentle, easy-going charm.
Wunderhorse Midas – The second album from the Cornwall band, and their first as an official four-piece line-up. A dark grungy affair, bolstered by frontman, Jacob Slater’s flair for rugged, snappy melodies, and moments of real vulnerability.
Jack White No Name – The former White Stripes man delivers his strongest solo outing with a classic back-to-basics album. For all his attempted experimentation over the years, he’s ultimately an all-timer guitar shredder and he’s at his best here with 40 minutes of hard, twisted blues.
On the Radar
On the Radar looks at a couple of (overly) well received releases from the indie rock world.
SOFT PLAY HEAVY JELLY
The duo formerly known as Slaves returned last summer with the blistering, Punk’s Dead, addressing the controversy of their name change head-on and poking fun at the irony of the anti-woke mob being so easily offended. But they fail to live up to that single’s promise on HEAVY JELLY.
The riffs are big, it’s loud, it’s angry; it certainly sounds like punk, yet manages to feel lifeless and formulaic. Punk by the numbers. Rage without a machine. The social commentary of tracks like Mirror Muscles are lacking in any substance (albeit the “Mike Tyson meets Rylan” line is an amusingly accurate descriptor of the modern-day gym fuck boi). Bin Juice Disaster is the kind of throwaway you might get away with as a b-side, but on your first album in six years, it’s just half-arsed. And the harsh growl of the vocals sounds doubly ridiculous being deployed on tracks this empty.
The folksy closer, Everything and Nothing, shows they’re capable of more outside of the performative punk routine, but it’s too little too late. Despite the ostensible re-invention, this largely sounds like a band without any new ideas.
Best Tunes: Punk’s Dead, Everything and Nothing
Los Campesinos! All Hell
Cult indie favourites, Los Campesinos!, released their seventh album in July to much acclaim; lauded as their most complete work and the ultimate Los Campesinos! album. So, as a long-time fan, why have I been left underwhelmed by it?
The answer is terrible vocals. Despite being a band that always had kind of terrible vocals. On All Hell, the vocals have become a kind of terrible that undermines Los Camp’s whole essence of being.
Under the Radar
Under the Radar picks some up and coming highlights.
Photocomfort Patron Saint
The debut album from Photocomfort aka Boston-based artist Justine Bowe acts as a subtly stripped-back showcase for her talents. A series of gentle piano ballads lay the album’s foundation, providing the backdrop which allows her voice to take centre stage. It’s intimately atmospheric; you can hear piano and vocal notes hang in the air and gradually absorb the room around them, evoking images of a 50’s jazz chanteuse.
There’s an accompaniment of playfully experimental touches; like glitchy electronic loops or a De La-esque psych-rap feature. These flourishes add a contemporary feel to the classic foundation. But the real standout moments come when Bowe breaks from her primary formula, like the euphoric indie-pop of Roll, or the country-tinged electro-pop of Let It Ride.
Patron Saint carries an air of grandeur, yet is deceptively minimalistic; a testament to how Bowe has constructed these songs to feel much bigger than the sum of their parts. An accomplished album which places one foot in the past, while the other steps towards the future.
Font Strange Burden
On Strange Burden, Austin five-piece, Font, sounds like a band teetering on the brink. Opener, The Golden Calf, sets the tone as glitchy electronics, bleed into pounding beats, which somewhat settle into a loud-quiet alt-rock structure, before culminating in a chaotic squall of noise. There’s moments that feel conventional and familiar, like flashes of Phoenix-esque indie pop on Looking at Engines or the angular post-punk of Sentence I. But what seems to holds things together is the sense that it could all fall apart.
Whether it’s in the quavering vocals of Thom Waddill or the ever-evolving approach to genre. Dance Rock might be the simplest description, but it doesn’t do justice to an album that ranges from noisy funk to art-rock with echoes of Talking Heads. There’s a sort of disorderly tension carrying them on this debut album. You never quite know what’s coming next. Surprising, experimental, and exciting.
Best Tunes: Hey Kekulé, Looking at Engines, It
Living in Shadows Neon Burning
Neon Burning is the second album from the Gateshead duo of Zoe Gilby and Andy Champion. Bringing to mind the work of other northeast luminaries, it kind of sounds like Nadine Shah fronting Field Music. Known for their work in the jazz world – Gilby as a lauded vocalist, and Champion a seasoned multi-instrumentalist – they obviously bring those influences here, merged into slowly unfolding proggy epics.
Amongst Champion’s freeform, wandering arrangements, Gilby’s vocals anchor the album with their controlled power, given an edge by her unmistakeable Geordie twang (or Geordie-adjacent for those pedantic enough to care about the difference). There’s also an edge brought by nods to 90’s alt-rock, like Who Are You? with its hints of Skunk Anansie. That edge is contrasted by spacey, cosmic odes to the universe. An album’s that’s challenging but provides rewards in its contrasts and contradictions.
Best Tunes: Who Are You?, Satellites, Page By Page
The Bedside Morale Still Life EP
The debut EP from Bristol’s The Bedside Morale is an introduction and somewhat of a reinvention, having played together under different guises for a decade. On Still Life they emerge sounding like seasoned arena rockers. Bold, big chorused, heart-on-sleeve singalongs, with hints of The Gaslight Anthem’s punk-infused brand of heartland rock.
While you’ll initially get lost in the rousing hooks, the layers of Tim Kazer’s lyrics slowly reveal themselves like the characters inhabiting the songs; from the manipulative charmer of Bitter Things to Kazer’s own turn as a flawed romantic on Yours Sincerely. There is a risk of stepping over into melodramatic cheese with this style and they do display a slight tendency to squeeze out a little too much from these songs in a bid for grand finales. But across a short four-song EP that doesn’t become overwhelming.
The Bedside Morale announce their arrival with an ambitious shot at glory, that’s hopefully a sign of bigger things to come.
For more of the year’s best in indie and beyond, give a save to the Indie-ish playlist, which is regularly updated with a selection of the best new releases.
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