Rock Action Vinilo y CD

Review: Hull shoegazers bdrmm scintillating second album I Don't Know is another great showcase of their controlled yet chaotic sound. The four-piece from East Yorkshire had plenty of plaudits following their debut record and so quickly rode a wave to notoriety back in 2020. But then the classic difficult second album fever struck them and so did lots of conversations with labels. Finally, they got to work on this record and it is a thrilling divergence, a new mix of new influences with lyrics rooted in social consciousness and themes including addiction and mental health struggles. A huge tour is to follow, as will many more new fans and plaudits.

Review: Mogwai's Rock Action label welcomes Bdrmm for a superb new 7" that mixes up heavy arrangements and introspective lyrics. It was written during recent album sessions at The Nave Studios in Leeds and finds them expanding on their signature dynamics and expansive sounds with reverb heavy vocals and plenty of atmospheric arrangements. On the flip side is an unlikely remixer in the shape of Fila Brazillia, the cult Hull downtempo and chill out kings that have worked with everyone from Radiohead to Harold Budd, adding their own spin to recent album track 'Be Careful.'

Review: Kathryn Jospeh has been on a super run of album form that started with her Scottish Album of the Year award winning debut in 2014 and carried on through 2018 follow up From When I Wake The Want Is. She now completes the hattrick with For You Who Are Wronged. It is a record about fighting to keep hold of love and was recorded at The Lengths Studio in Fort William with producer Lomond Campbell. Anyone who enjoys Lana Del Ray, Kate Bush or Erland Cooper is sure to lap this one up, not least for its fantastically long and evocative track titles.

Review: It's hard not to feel you're misusing words like 'auteurs' when talking about art. Nevertheless, for some artists and acts the term applies perfectly. And many people would likely agree that Mogwai are one for that list. After 25 years in the game, putting out ten studio albums including As the Love Continues, not to mention scores of EPs and more than a few movie scores, you can spot their signature a mile away, with just a hint of their sound.

As the Love does nothing to disprove that point, and all the better for it. It's a woozy mixture of sorrowful epics and life-affirming crescendos built from post-rock foundations, but divergent enough to send us into a hundred directions without really veering from that course. A sound bigger than most mountains, we hope they never get exhausted from the climb.

Review: Revered psyche rock man Dave Fridmann, produced this one from Scottish guitar heroes Mogwai, just as he did their previous albums Come On Die Young and Rock Action. As always it is a structured soundscape built from the bottom up with an array of contrasting sounds, drones, textures, timbres and moods. The 56 minute record manages to be grateful and impactful with its hymnal tracks, trance-rock overtones and subtle but ever rising sense of euphoria always keeping you locked in. This is an album that will keep old fans happy and likely win over plenty of new ones.

Review: Straight outta shoegaze central, Oxford UK, since 1989, Swervedriver have been providing us with smoothly distorted guitars, vocals of refreshing reverberation and just those hints of angst and melancholia to get you through the decade. Future Ruins, like a lot of post and alt-rock to hit the shelves these days has touches of nihilism abound, although it's no secret Swervedriver have been offering this atmosphere for aeons longer than most. For fans of bands like Dinosaur Jr. yes, Swervedriver's latest effort remains firmly within the grungey and pastel confines of shoegaze, and with the genre's hey day missed so much but so many, it's never a pain to revisit the glory days of motion picture soundtracks.