reviews
albums
BEANS ON TOAST *
Giving Everything (Xtra Mile)
Another hackneyed waste of time appealing
to morons who probably think capitalism is
wrong while living in a flat their rich parents
pay for from their shares in a multinational
corporation. This guy plays guitar and sings
songs about how the monarchy is bad, being
sad about Glastonbury festival changing and
other inconsequential crud. I can almost smell
the stink of patchouli and entitlement coming
through my speakers listening to this album that
simplifies every topic to appeal to the lowest
common denominator. GM
BEEDEEGEE ***
SUM / ONE (4AD)
4AD strengthen their
foothold in dark synth
with this solo offering
from Gang Gang Dance
founder bEEdEEgEE,
or Brian DeGraw. Much
like frost in December,
this may grow on you overnight, as there are
some pretty synthscapes on many of the tracks;
samples or vocals sometimes jar with the
mix, with Douglas of GGD putting some dead
flowers in Empty Vases. Hot Chip’s Alexis is the
pick of the guests, making Time of Waste the
one to stimulate your emotional and dancing
implements. CS
BEASTMILK ***
Climax (Svart)
I’d be telling big, whopping porky pies if I
professed to know anything about the music
scene in Finland, but I do know that I like this
album. If a more gothic and dark interpretation
of The Cult or The Cure is something you
could get down with, this is worth your time.
It’s received a spacious and stadium sized
production job from Kurt Ballou, guitarist from
Converge and heavy music producer du jour,
which sounds huge even coming through laptop
speakers. GM
BURNING FERNS ****
See Saw Seen (Country Mile)
A mature-sounding debut album oozing with
musical knowledge, south Wales’ Burning Ferns
have decided very carefully what niche to fill.
They describe their music as “classic psychtinged pop melodies,” but if you demand names,
just think mid-period Beatles with a modern
vibe. Very on trend, this style, having recently
returned to the mainstream courtesy of artists
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