Showing 1 - 10 of 30
A pop renaissance
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 14/06/2020
» If Madonna's long, illustrious career has taught us mortals anything, it's that a pop chameleon makes the best kind of pop music.
Dictated by night
Life, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 08/03/2020
» NYC's Elliot Moss, although not without a few missteps, translates nocturnal musings into his most personal record so far
Death Becomes Us
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 03/11/2019
» Well, what do you know -- Foals have managed to pull it off after all. The English indie-rock mainstay finally follows up their Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1, released back in March, with the second and final instalment. In Part 1, frontman Yannis Philippakis and co got political with tracks like Exits and Sunday while dutifully filling the quota for danceable indie bangers with On The Luna and In Degrees. On the production side, it swung from indie rock and new-wave to funk and disco -- a classic Foals album through and through.
Off the leash
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 20/10/2019
» "Dogs whine to communicate their physical, mental and emotional states..." At first glance, Dogwhine's artist bio reads like the opening to a freshman's college essay. Then, out of the blue, what initially appears to be a direct quote from the dictionary turns into a sly jab at the absurd prohibition on political gatherings of five or more people imposed by the junta: "Not all whines are created equally. Sometimes dogs gather to whine in group. When they come together more than five, they often get chased or taken away." Like hip-hop firebrands Rap Against Dictatorship who brought us the brilliant anti-junta Prathet Ku Mee (What's My Country Got), this Bangkok five-piece are unapologetically political from the outset.
A glow of satisfaction
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 18/08/2019
» In 2017, the world got to know singer-songwriter Mattiel Brown and her band (guitarist Jonah Swilley, bassist Travis Murphy and drummer Jordan Manley) for the first time. Collectively called Mattiel, the up-and-coming quartet made quite an impression with their self-titled debut -- so much so that they garnered an endorsement from Jack White. Since then, the hype surrounding the band has been nothing short of palpable. People are genuinely excited by Mattiel's sound, which takes cues from rock'n'roll legends like The Ramones, The Rolling Stones and The Velvet Underground, and garage/punk icons like Patti Smith and The Clash.
On her own terms
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 28/07/2019
» Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Yunalis Zara'ai, aka Yuna, has come a long way since her MySpace days and her 2012 Pharrell Williams-produced self-titled debut. While her early materials exist mostly in the dreamy realm of folk-infused indie-pop, her subsequent output has crossed over into the R&B/hip-hop territory in a way that not many pop upstarts could pull off (her third international studio album, Chapters, welcomes guest appearances from some of the biggest names in R&B like Usher and Jhené Aiko).
Dreaming awake
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 21/07/2019
» "What's that? (I may be paranoid, but no android)/ What's that? (I may be paranoid, but no android)," Thom Yorke sings on the lead single off Radiohead's third studio album, 1997's OK Computer.
Giddy up, boy
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 14/04/2019
» On Mitski's latest album Be The Cowboy, the cowboy image that's classically reserved for American white males is, even though for a fleeting moment, suspended and transferred to the Japanese-American singer-songwriter. According to Mitski, this is part of her mantra, "be the cowboy you wish to see in the world", a joke with herself that she uses to combat feelings of imposter syndrome. Though meant as a joke, it's a kind of joke that digs deep into the firmly rooted notions of masculinity, race and femininity.
Let England shake
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 02/12/2018
» "And especially, from every shire's end of England/ The holy blissful martyr for to seek/ That them had helpened when that they were weak." So begins Merrie Land, the second LP by The Good, The Bad & The Queen, a supergroup made up of Blur frontman Damon Albarn, guitarist Simon Tong from The Verve, bassist Paul Simonon from The Clash and Nigerian drummer Tony Allen. Titled Introduction, the album's brief opener is based on an excerpt from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales -- the perfect premise for a record concerned with the uncertain future of a post-Brexit UK.
Low's Highest Highs
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 30/09/2018
» Over the past two decades, not only have Minnesota's indie rockers Low carved out their own signature soundscape, they've also thrived in it. Their sound, largely existing in the slowcore territory, has a quiet way of sneaking up on the listener despite its surface minimalism. Now, after 11 fantastic albums under the collective belt, the threesome of Alan Sparhawk, Mimi Parker and Steve Garrington return with Double Negative, the band's 12th studio effort that also marks their 25th year in the business.