Showing 1 - 10 of 27
Fight The Fear
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 01/09/2019
» In his 1818 poem When I Have Fears, English Romantic poet John Keats talks about death anxiety, touching upon all of the things he wouldn't be able to achieve and/or experience before his demise. This universal fear has continued to resonate today, especially in the age where fear of missing out is constantly triggered by social media and unrelenting hyperconnectivity. The poem, too, has struck a chord with rising Dublin five-piece The Murder Capital and gone on to inspire their eponymous debut studio album rooted firmly in art-rock and post-punk traditions.
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.
Top 25 Singles of 2019 (Part II)
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 29/12/2019
» As tradition dictates, we rummaged through some 200 singles we'd reviewed over the past 12 months and narrowed it down to 25. Here's what we learned in 2019: Thai fusion is still very much a go-to for most up-and-coming bands including Southern Boys and Suthep Entertainment, who both look to their roots for inspiration. This year also had its fair share of blazingly political moments, thanks to Solange, Lana Del Rey and our own rap troupe Rap Against Dictatorship. One final note, even though this list is split into two parts spreading across this and next week, these tracks are not ranked and their order is completely arbitrary in nature.
Footloose and fancy-free
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 17/03/2019
» Over the past decade, Beirut's Zach Condon has been a go-to guy for what I like to refer to as "speciality indie rock". This is just a fancy way of saying that the music is unlike your typical indie sound. Beirut are masters when it comes to injecting world music elements into their repertoire, which has accumulated into a sizeable discography since their 2006 debut Gulag Orkestar. And although the boys may have faltered somewhat with previous effort No No No, they're back stronger than ever with their latest, Gallipoli.
Forever is a long time
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 29/09/2019
» Let's be frank, bands like Metronomy are hard to come by these days. Call us myopic, but we honestly can't think of any up-and-coming groups who would be savvy enough to come up with classic indie jams like A Thing For Me, The Look, The Bay and Everything Goes My Way. A knack for blending eclectic genres seems to come naturally to the UK quartet, a gift that served them especially well from 2008's Nights Out through to 2014's Love Letters.
So long Hawaiian shirt, hello disco ball
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 25/08/2019
» The wait for and the painfully gradual lead-up to the release of Friendly Fires' third studio album, Inflorescent, have been a year-long affair, a process that began early last year with a quiet banger Love Like Waves. The way the album unfolds over the course of 15 months is perhaps not the most ideal in the age of music streaming where artists and labels have to appease elusive algorithms and metadata by constantly pumping out what they hope would be a next big smash.
When life gives you lemons, try Jason Mraz
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 19/08/2018
» Jason Mraz / Know
Just like honey
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 11/11/2018
» In her own curated Spotify playlist "The Music That Inspired Honey", Robyn has put together more than a handful of tracks that helped will her long-anticipated sixth album into existence. Opening with the celebrated Soviet pianist Emil Gilels' rendition of Mozart's Piano Sonata No.14b In C Minor, K457: II Adagio, the playlist encapsulates her wide-ranging taste in music as it flits from the funk/soul/disco of the 70s (Gwen McCrae, George McCrae, Sylvester, Mary Clark) to a full spectrum of electronic music ranging from ambient and IDM to house and techno (Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, DJ Koze, Bicep, Roman Flügel). Listening to the record, one could almost trace all of these influences which are strewn across its nine tracks, precisely making up 40 minutes of thoughtful, unadulterated pop exhilaration.
From Tuesday to Saturday
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 30/06/2019
» Who would have thought that a garden-variety verse like "Got the club goin' up, on a Tuesday/ Got your girl in the cut and she choosey" would blow up and inspire countless Vines endless memes? Well, no one really -- except for Canadian rapper Drake who loved it so much he gave it a remix (Club Goin' Up On A Tuesday) complete with his own additional verse. Lauded as 2014's "summertime sleeper hit", the song single-handedly launched Atlanta artist Makonnen Sheran, aka iLoveMakonnen, into the Atlanta rap scene, not to mention earning him a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. For him, Drake's endorsement was indeed a godsend.
In for the kill
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 28/04/2019
» From debuting on CBS's The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to being the first K-pop group to perform at this year's Coachella, BLACKPINK are unstoppable in their quest for global pop domination, which is the ultimate goal that lies at the heart of South Korea's ongoing cultural export scheme. Like their label mates Big Bang and 2NE1, the Seoul-based quartet is meticulously designed by industry behemoth YG Entertainment. But what really sets BLACKPINK apart from their peers is their collective cosmopolitan edge -- Jisoo representing Korea, Lisa bringing the spicy Thai flavours and New Zealand-born, Australia-raised Rosé and New Zealand-raised Jennie completing the picture with their multicultural upbringing. Singing and rapping in Korean, Japanese and English, they're probably the first all-female idol group to have amassed an army of fans, endearingly known as "blinks", not only from Asia, but also North America and elsewhere, in just a few years.