Matador Vinilo y CD

Review: Scottish indie-pop darlings Belle and Sebastian are back with a second album in a year. Late Developers is their 10th overall and came as rather a surprise out of the leftfield when it was first announced at short notice. The first single 'I Don't Know What You See In Me' is a big, rousing, infectious pop tune that reminded us that this band is far from done yet. It is a creative powerhouse that comes some 25 years after their first release and is full of the magical hooks this band is so well known and loved for. From big and energetic cut to dance-ready jams via a co-write with young pop composer Pete Ferguson, this is a real doozy.

Review: Talk about starting the year on a positive note. We're barely a fortnight in and this iconic outfit are already bestowing a startlingly good new record on us - startling not least because it arrives hot on the heels of 2022's Top 10 LP, A Bit of Previous. Also startling just because it's plain brilliant, easily rubbing shoulders with its predecessor in terms of quality.

On their latest adventure we don't sit still for long, with a number of styles both familiar and bold fused together. There's high energy rough and readiness on 'Juliet Naked', psyche pop reigns when 'So in the Moment' drops, and jangling guitars do the business throughout 'When We Were Very Young'. Back with a bang, instant return delivered with aplomb, by this point you have to wonder how they keep doing it.

Review: Will Toledo has quickly made his presence felt as a witty, playful yet poignant chronicler of the disenfranchised, and this first full-lengther for Matador - following the earlier re-released 'Teens Of Style' - displays a rare ability to combine indelible songwriting chops with ornery attitude and a pleasing sense of the ridiculousness of one's youth. This is a fitting label for him to be on, given the influence that the gentle melancholia of Yo La Tengo and the salty guitar-rock sarcasm of Pavement have clearly had on this oeuvre, yet 'Teens Of Denial' remains evidence of a brand new and engaging talent in full flight.

Review: Interpol's seventh album sees the long-standing NYC indie rock giants teaming up with the legendary production team of Flood and Alan Moulder for a trip into sadness, darkness and introspection. For devoted fans of the band, those themes should ring true and spell out another record to be cherished for those downcast days. Daniel Kessler's serpentine guitar work cuts an imposing, but ultimately graceful figure on 'Into The Night', while Samuel Fograino's propulsive drumming continues to explore meters beyond linear motorik drive and Paul Bank once more speaks from the deepest reaches of his soul.

Review: Savages set a formidable precedent for themselves with their 2013 debut, yet 'Adore Life' wastes very little time in upping the ante with style and passion to spare. Where 'Silence Yourself' was an icy blast of angst and invective, this new opus attacks on all quarters - as raw and righteous as ever yet with a newfound widescreen sweep and beatific power that's intimidating to behold. These luminous and charismatic ditties are confident yet intimate, stark yet seductive, and can make the listener feel ten foot tall even whilst whispering intimately in their ear.

Review: Adorning his long hair on the cover, Kurt Vile returns with his seventh solo album Bottle It In which has the charm of a rare, golden find inside of a dusty Seattle record store. At 13 tracks long, interestingly enough three clock in at an epic 10 minutes long. It's an album that graces various themes of dark psyche within dreamy soundscapes of crackles and feedback underneath an ensemble of roomy drums, finger-picking guitars and other folky sentimentalities. There's mellifluous flow to the record, with the hip lyrical content of "Cold Was The Wind" a highlight and stand out alongside the washed out beach blues of "Skinny Mini" and unique album closer "(Bottle Back)".

Review: This Stupid World is an album from Yo La Tenga that sounds more live than anything the band has done for a decade. It's their first new record in five years and was created top to bottom by the band itself, building on their strong foundations yet bringing plenty of fresh new ideas. All three band members are going for it throughout almost every moment of every track, so it has an urgent, of-the-moment feel that is immediately impactful. It comes on limited transparent blue vinyl - a great record for indie fans whether or not they are familiar with this band.