By Elisa Bray, eMusic Contributor[Of all of the records that came out this year, none captured our hearts as much as I Predict a Graceful Expulsion, the stirring, evocative debut from Al Spx, who records as Cold Specks. From… more »
By Philip Sherburne, eMusic ContributorThat the electronic-music producer Kamau Baaqi, aka Darling Farah, is just 20 years old and has an album and three EPs to his name may be unusual, but it's hardly unprecedented. The last couple of… more »
By Christina Lee, eMusic ContributorBefore Michael Kiwanuka topped BBC's Sound of 2012 poll and earned himself a thousand comparisons to Bill Withers, the singer-songwriter wanted to sound like Jimi Hendrix or The Band. He pined for a Fender Stratocaster,… more »
By Joe Muggs, eMusic ContributorWhen the Olympics Committee asked Underworld to put together the official playlist for the London 2012 Games, they were clearly hoping for a soundtrack that manages to be both crowd-pleasing and cool. But while the… more »
By Laura Studarus, eMusic ContributorAfter having spent eight years refining their dance/rock/geek personae (Exhibit A: videos populated with more »
By Ian Gittins, eMusic ContributorThe Temper Trap have been heading toward world domination from the get-go. The Melbourne five-piece relocated to London prior to the release of their 2009 debut Conditions, figuring it would provide a better strategic base… more »
By Laura Studarus, eMusic Contributor"I didn't go to church, I didn't need to," Saint Etienne vocalist Sarah Cracknell murmurs on "Over the Border," the first song on Words and Music by Saint Etienne. A beatific spoken-word recollection of how… more »
By Laura Studarus, eMusic Contributor"Cross your heart and remember me, the good father and the bad seed," London-based songstress Al Spx sings on the opening track of her debut, I Predict A Graceful Expulsion. A sea away from her… more »
By Philip Sherburne, eMusic ContributorFile under: One of the richest (and most diverse) catalogs in independent music Flagship acts: Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Liars, Apparat, Erasure, S.C.U.M. Based in: London, England For an artist who adopted the moniker theNormal, Daniel Miller's life and… more »
By Annie Zaleski, eMusic ContributorThe five members of Dry the River cut their teeth playing in punk bands in the south of England. However, even after vocalist Peter Liddle moved to London to study medicine, he never lost his… more »
By Marissa G. Muller, eMusic ContributorThough his music is a swirl of garish saxophones, slap bass, syrupy synths and the kind of sung-rap samples that last saw radio airplay in '83, Adam Bainbridge, who records as Kindness, isn't being ironic.… more »
By Kameil Sattar, eMusic Contributor It’s Monday morning the stereo is on and the Full Time Hobbyists are a busy lot, working in a large open plan office, near Edgeware Road, London. Forthcoming from these enthusiasts are projects from The… more »
By Ian Cohen, eMusic Contributor"Why are they trying to salvage what we'll be leaving by the side of the road?" Breton vocalist Roman Rappak sings on "Electrician," somewhat ironically. Formerly an art collective producing live soundtracks to their… more »
By Lindsay Zoladz, eMusic ContributorThough they've been saddled with labels like "jangle pop," "C86" and, of course, "twee," singer/guitarist Roxanne Clifford of the London-based quartet Veronica Falls has a more fitting descriptor for her band: "horror rock." The term… more »
By Marc Hogan, eMusic ContributorBrooding dream-pop goes through an East London fog on Trailer Trash Tracys' full-length debut. Equally indebted to the fuzzy girl-group romance of Jesus & Mary Chain and the narcotic sexuality of David Lynch, Ester sounds… more »
By Andrew Harrison, eMusic ContributorThe opening track of Andreya Triana's first album should intrigue anyone who's burnt out on mannered, fifth-generation soul impersonators. "Draw The Stars" is a beautiful, swirling, Marimba-driven thing that owes more to Minnie Riperton, Martina… more »
By Gavin Borchert, eMusic ContributorFew classical performers have had their careers tied as closely to the recording industry as Herbert von Karajan's. He made his first recording in 1938 and worked in the studio right up to his death… more »
By Wayne Robins, eMusic ContributorIt was early 1979. The Police's debut album, Outlandos d'Amour had just been released. The band was on their round of debut performances in the United States, playing such showcase clubs as the Bottom Line… more »
By Joe Muggs, eMusic ContributorNinja Tune is an institution. It seems quite peculiar to think that a label that has always operated like its namesake, making unexpected moves in the shadows, circumventing usual music industry mechanisms, could have become… more »
By Chris Roberts, eMusic ContributorYoung Southeast Londoner Andreya Triana has spent the last year or so draping her understated, smoky vocals over recent tracks by cutting-edge producers Bonobo and Flying Lotus, so it made perfect sense for Ninja Tune… more »
By Lenny Kaye, eMusic ContributorThey were the grandest example of rock become classic, both in the outreach of their many musical wanderings and the exemplary lifestyle they led while zepping the road, dominating the '70s. The amazing thing, listened… more »
By Andrew Mueller, eMusic ContributorBy the end of 2003, it looked all over for Tindersticks — the much-acclaimed Nottingham band had made six albums of exquisite, deadpan torch balladry, but after 2003's Waiting for the Moon, they seemed to… more »
By Douglas Wolk, eMusic ContributorEverything Jason Pierce does has a little bit of legend attached to it, from his late-'80s-era band Spacemen 3's motto "taking drugs to make music to take drugs to" to his long-running group Spiritualized's space-and-medicine… more »