Showing 1 - 10 of 11
The Pleasure's All Hers
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 19/07/2020
» It might be nearly a decade ago, but the year 2012 would still go down in history as one of the most vital years for pop music.
Closer to home
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 29/03/2020
» "Sister, I promise you I'm changing/ You've heard broken promises I know," Dan Snaith wastes no time wearing his heart on his sleeve on Sister, the opening track to his latest album as Caribou, Suddenly.
Indie rock done right
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 09/02/2020
» "When I was 18/ Someone got stabbed in a church/ But I got used to it/ And forgave all the ways and the names/ It was so long ago, anyways," vocalist Jeremy Gaudet recounts on Murder In The Cathedral, the opening track to Kiwi Jr.'s debut album, Football Money. The vivid songwriting, buoyed by his bandmates' jangly instrumentation, is delivered with the kind of drawl that would have you thinking fondly of Pavement's Stephen Malkmus and The Strokes as well as the Modern Lovers' Jonathan Richman and Parquet Courts' Andrew Savage.
Portrait Of An Artist
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 06/10/2019
» "I just don't wanna be back in this place again/ I mean, I done cried a little/ Tried a little, failed a little/ I don't wanna do it again," Brittany Howard confesses on History Repeats, a funky opener to her solo debut Jaime. Built on acid jazz and neo-soul groove, the song bustles with the genre-blurring spirit of her former band Alabama Shakes and her own irreverent energy. Singing those words, Howard sounds empowered and energised like a weight has been lifted. "History repeats and we defeat ourselves/ Come on everybody, one more time again," before you know it, the song turns into an infectious anthem, leaving in its wake a glimpse into her self-discovery that would go on to define the rest of the album.
The S.L.P. Experience
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 15/09/2019
» When Sergio Lorenzo Pizzorno came out with his first solo single, Favourites, back in June, we were pleasantly surprised. The song, an unlikely collaboration with UK rapper Little Simz, gave us an early glimpse into what could be expected from Pizzorno's solo project -- a whole lot of wacky swagger coated with a good amount of sonic experimentation. Listening to it closely, you can easily detect that indie impishness of his band Kasabian as well as the genre-hopping tendencies of Gorillaz. It's an impressive balancing act of breakbeat backdrop and funky basslines that sounds entirely new and familiar all at once.
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.
Small things considered
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 23/06/2019
» In much the same way that eyes are said to be the window to the soul, band names give us a glimpse into the collective personality lurking behind each group. And as far as Thai band names are concerned, they can range from prosaic (Solitude Is Bliss, My Life As Ali Thomas) and whimsical (Apartment Khunpa, Charblues, Gym and Swim) to absolutely outlandish (Big Ass, Calories Blah Blah). For Sakon Nakhon-based trio Junlaholaan, names represent a curious juxtaposition where two incongruous concepts (jun, micro, and holaan, enormous) coexist to convey a deeply philosophical message. Yes, we are but a tiny speck in the universe -- the band seems to be saying -- but at the same time, a butterfly in Brazil could also cause a tornado in Texas, couldn't it?
From Belize with love
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 26/05/2019
» Ariel Zetina may be best known as one of Chicago's fiercest DJs (the Mother of the Windy City Club Scene, as some have suitably appointed her), but she's more than meets the eye. Having come from a theatre and poetry background, the American-Belizean artist is well-versed in cutting-edge performance art. In fact, her first foray into music-making was born out of necessity, simply because she couldn't find a piece of music that would fit a show she was working on as part of collaborative performance art group Witch Hazel. After relocating to Chicago some years later, she finally found her place and essentially herself in the city's thriving queer/trans club scene, which provided her with the impetus to fuse house and techno sounds with her own multicultural flavours.
Musgraves' Finest Hour
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 15/04/2018
» Kacey Musgraves/ Golden Hour