Pop Levi - Pop Levi - Motorcycle 666

After what can only be described as a massive kiss of death, Pop Levi is bouncing back from being tipped by Lauren Laverne four years ago. Since then, he's kept himself busy by making more obscure films than most people would admit to, and having a nice line in accessible indie.

"Motorcycle 666" is like a male-fronted version of the Gossip, all driving guitars, insistent bass and rhyming couplets while the drums keep time. It's indie disco fodder and should live long enough in the memory of drunken revellers to go and download the morning after. It's a bit pointlessly long,...

M83 - M83

"Midnight City"from the album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming2011iTunesIt's been a long and fruitful journey for M83's Anthony Gonzalez. Started in the early '00s, the once-duo-but-now-solo project has been pumping out albums of top-tier electronic shoegaze for the better part of a decade. That said, M83's been kind of quiet since the release of 2008's excellent Saturdays=Youth, but it seems that the time off was a necessary evil: Gonzalez recently announced the imminent arrival of Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, an epic double LP due out October 18. With that release date slowly approaching,...

The Chemical Brothers - The Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole

If their debut, 1995’s Exit Planet Dust, set the Chemical Brothers stall out as purveyors of large beats and chunkin’ funk, then Dig Your Own Hole shot them right into the stratosphere. With its number one singles, Grammy award and multi-platinum status, Dig Your Own Hole took Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons from the backrooms to the stadiums.

In a year that saw some incredible albums such as OK Computer, Ladies & Gentleman..., and Homework, Dig Your Own Hole sits easily in such company, a joyous melange of psychedelia, acid house, hip hop, funk and colossal beats...

Gomez - Gomez - Whatever's on Your Mind

It’s a long time since Gomez won the Mercury Music Prize. Thirteen years, to be precise, since they beat The Verve, Massive Attack and Pulp to the award back in 1998. And after one spin of this, their seventh studio album, you’ll think it was even longer ago. Perhaps in another life altogether.

To be fair, Gomez have been sliding towards middle-of-the-road mediocrity for a while now. Those first three albums - Bring it On, Liquid Skin, and In Our Gun - were rife with a sense of raw, youthful experimentation, blending British and American folk...

Jeff Buckley - Jeff Buckley - Grace

While Jeff Buckley’s sole complete studio document has achieved two million sales worldwide since its mid-90s release, its impact at the time was far from impressive. And that’s from both critical and commercial perspectives, as although today it’s regularly held in high regard come top-albums lists, a mixed reception greeted it on its initial emergence.

Listening today, almost 17 years to the day after that first release, it’s easy to hear why reviewers weren’t universally moved by Grace. Its best-known track isn’t even one penned by Buckley, Hallelujah being a cover of Leonard Cohen’s haunting masterpiece. Nor is Corpus...

Darius Rucker - Darius Rucker - Charleston, SC 1966

Before he became the first African American to top the US country charts since Charlie Pride in 1983, Darius Rucker was best known as the voice of Hootie & The Blowfish, the bizarrely-named rockers whose 1994 debut album sold a staggering 16 million copies. Rucker’s decision to launch a full-time solo career in 2008 has meant a hiatus for them, but continued success for Rucker, who as a child of South Carolina, says he’d always felt frustrated with not being able to pursue a more country sound.

Charleston, SC 1966, a reference to his place and date of birth,...

Fruit Bats - Fruit Bats

"Tangie and Ray"from the album Tripper2010iTunesYou may or may not know this, but the Fruit Bats have been around for a pretty long time. I say you may not know them not to affront your breadth of knowledge of the musical scope, but to forgive the fact that they are one of those groups on the Sub Pop label that haven't quite attained the popularity of bands like, dare I say, Fleet Foxes or The Shins. However, popular doesn't always mean that one band makes better music than the other, as "indie"...

St. Vincent - St. Vincent

"Surgeon"from the album Strange Mercy2010iTunesA couple of Annie Clark's recent live performances under her St. Vincent moniker included covers of Big Black's "Kerosene" and "Big Black Mariah" by Tom Waits. There's a neat thematic link there, not just in the leap from one Big Black to the other, but also in her decision to remodel the work of artists who construct alluringly grotesque worlds out of basic "rock" tools. The best St. Vincent material does that, too. Here on "Surgeon," our first taste of the forthcoming Strange Mercy (Sept. 13), everything feels...

Dawes - Dawes: Nothing Is Wrong

In two short years, Dawes has emerged as one of the finest bands in the burgeoning neo-folk-rock sceneâ€"the four group even scored a gig backing none other than Robbie Robertson has at some upcoming live dates. In fact, there is no act that Dawes is more closely related to than The Band. Building off 2009’s surprise debut hit North Hills, Nothing Is Wrong is a nearly perfect combination of incredible songwriting, brotherly harmonies and loose grooves that dip from Neil Young crunch to CSN grace. There’s a growing confidence and earthly honesty in these songs, but it’s the brilliant lyrical...

Eels - Eels (Latitude 2011)

Having seen Eels a fortnight prior to Latitude at Main Square Festival, I was appropriately excited for the sublime set I knew was in store. It was a performance that converted me from a casual fan to a full on screaming teenage girl.

Mark Oliver Everett's life has been blighted by tragedy, much of which has been the influence behind his 13 albums. His lyrical black humour, gruff vocals and rock n' roll style instrumentation translates well on stage but what makes E's performance really special is the emphasis on entertainment. The band is visually fantastic, with each member looking identical...