Anna Prior speaks to the Motel's Simon about their NME touring buddies, the Mercury Prize and Animal from The Muppets...
Death and All His Friends
Mark Lanegan Band – Blues Funeral (4AD)
February 6, 2012
5.0/6.0
Blues Funeral is easily the finest album of the year so far.
Eugene Genie
Eugene McGuinness with Fránçois & the Atlas Mountains and Trailer Trash Tracys
Camden Barfly, London
Friday February 3, 2012
You know you've stumbled across someone with a truly great voice when they make singing look like the easiest thing to do in the world.
Pushing the Borders
Feeder - 'Borders' (Big Teeth Music)
January 30, 2012
4.0/6.0
It's refreshing to hear Feeder push the tempo, after previous dreary releases that had us reaching for the off switch.
Nordic Noise
Casiokids
Trof Grosvenor Street (The Deaf Institute), Manchester
Friday January 21, 2012
As one might expect from a band who once performed in a hot air balloon, Casiokids' otherwise conventional stage layout has two noticeable additions - a newspaper supplement and a pitta bread.
Big Beats, Big Ideas
The Big Pink - Future This (4AD)
January 16, 2012
5.2/6.0
A record bursting with ideas - refreshingly different, yet familiar at the same time
Eyes For Some Noise
Hawk Eyes - Mindhammer EP (Brew Records)
December 12, 2011
5.0/6.0
You can't help but admire the band’s ability to put together watertight studio arrangements that still pack a massive punch.
A Sudden Hissy Fit
Enter Shikari - A Flash Flood of Colour
January 16, 2012
1.5/6.0
Unfortunately, A Flash Flood of Colour is an anaemic blend of bro-step and metal that falls short of its historic forebears.
