Former Monkey Swallows The Universe singer/songwriter Nat Johnson returns with her new record (ably backed by her band The Figureheads), and rather good it is too. Whether your taste is for fuzzed-up indie pop or Americana-tinged acoustic tunes, I’m Across, I’m Ashore has a wealth of beautifully-crafted songs for your listening pleasure. The delicate...
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Retro 80s fetishisation is everywhere, and though it may be a fad for many, you imagine that for Hooray For Earth it’s more like an unavoidable compulsion. The ten tracks on ‘True Loves’ suggest a youth misspent listening to Violator-era Depeche Mode and The Cure (no bad thing, I assure you) and fans of...
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Another month, another whimsical, kooky female singer/songwriter. That was the initial thought upon receiving this album by Newcastle folkster Beth Jeans Houghton. We needn’t have worried, though – the 21 year old performer’s style does tend to rest on the side of the quirky, but she does it with such conviction and verve that...
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The Cure’s near-mythical status as icons of goth-tinged rock continues to grow as the years pass, and this album (recorded at their headline show at Rob Da Bank’s annual Isle of Wight fest) is a testament to their enduring popularity. This double album contains a career-spanning set of 32 songs, concentrating heavily on the...
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The debut solo effort from The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn arrives with significant expectation in the Toast office. Clear Heart Full Eyes finds Finn in an altogether quieter and more introspective mood compared to The Hold Steady’s tales of druggy nostalgia. Written in early 2011 during a self-imposed period of writing a song a...
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Despite openly stating that they will never tour their classic albums like many bands are now doing, Billy Corgan is quite content to package-up said albums to flog to fans. Sideswipes aside, these two remastered and repackaged albums are a suitably lavish introduction (if one was needed) to one of the best alternative rock...
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Sheffield’s Sieben (aka Matt Howden) has been around for a few years, carving out a niche of experimental soundscapes and songs centred around the violin, loops and vocals, and with this, his tenth album, the scope and intensity of the songwriting and production is as expansive as ever. Once again, Howden handles all of...
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