Music Reviews

Arriving on the summer solstice, 'Les Chants De L’Aurore' unmistakably captures the essence of late summer - blending warmth with a touch of melancholy, as we bask in the final brilliant sunlight before darkness encroaches. This is Alcest's most luminous album yet, both in sound and spirit.

Where previous effort, 'Proper Dose', saw the band experimenting with a number of different sounds, 'I Want to Disappear' could be viewed as a hard-reboot. Six years ago, the band were experimenting with indie-rock, and borrowing from Brit-pop. It seems that lead singer Parker Canon has-at least for now-shelved his inner Liam Gallagher, in order to return to the band’s roots.

'Keep Me Fed' continues the upward trend that The Warning has been on these past 10 years, with 12 tracks that cement one increasingly obvious fact: these sisters are here to stay.

'Afraid Of Tomorrows', the much anticipated second album from Liverpool rockers The Mysterines, was released earlier this month - and believe us it was well worth the wait! The follow-up to their 2022 debut 'Reeling', we can hear how much their music has matured since then even on a first listen.

Much like The Early November's 2012 album 'In Currents', this self-titled record is very much a grower. There’s undoubtedly excellent songwriting here, but it lacks the immediacy of some of their earlier work. However, as an exercise in establishing the band among the scene’s elder statesmen, this is definitely a success.

No singles, no advance copies, no tour dates – unapologetically real, the new Shellac record serves as an untimely epitaph to one of the last remaining punk outfits that helped shape the term and all that it entails.

Drawing influences from rock heavyweights Foo Fighters, The 1975 and Wolf Alice, Dundee based quartet, Red Vanilla release their debut EP, 'Days of Grey'.

Canadian band Softcult released their new EP 'Heaven' last month via Easy Life Records, and what a great collection of tracks we have here from twins Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn. Although the Toronto-based duo have been releasing music since 2021, 'Heaven' takes their writing to the next level in their development as musicians.

Modern problems demand for modern solutions, and The Plot in You successfully tiptoe between producing high-quality material on a constant basis whilst maintaining urgency around their name.

Manchester indie-rockers Corella self-released their debut album 'Once Upon A Weekend' earlier this month, just in time for summer arriving. Having made music together since their university days and built a good fanbase throughout the UK, you best catch this band soon before they take on the bigger arenas.