Showing 1 - 10 of 15
Anthems for the end of the world
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 24/03/2019
» If you happen to recall the indie explosion that came and went during the mid-noughties, you're most likely to recall how UK math-rockers Foals were perched right on the forefront alongside the now-nowhere-to-be-found groups like Kasabian, Hard-Fi and Maxïmo Park. Although not the first band to come up with it, they're largely responsible for spreading the gospel of that intricate, tightly-wound guitar work that's gone on to more or less define the genre. Over time, the Foals' signature hectic romp that was the backbone of their 2008 landmark debut, Antidotes, has transformed into something a little more polished and more mature. Subtle sonic shifts can already be detected on their second LP, Total Life Forever (how much of a revelation is Spanish Sahara?), and even more so on the subsequent records, the unabashedly potent Holy Fire and What Went Down.
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.
Aching For Colours
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 10/05/2020
» Having grown up in an artistic household, it was only a matter of time before Brooklyn native Zsela Thompson would unleash her own creativity and morph into an artist in her own right.
James Blake's Changing Form
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 10/03/2019
» "Now I'm confiding, know I may have/ Gone through the motions my whole life/ I hope this is the first day/ That I connect motion to feeling," James Blake wears his heart on his sleeve on the piano-driven opener/title track of his fourth studio album, Assume Form. The candid openness with which Blake addresses depression and anxiety, the struggles he's confessed of having since his 2011 debut album took off, is stunning to witness especially for an artist whose career is mostly built on nuances, abstraction and negative spaces.
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.
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.
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.
Call it therapy
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 03/03/2019
» While most people may not be familiar with Julia Michaels, chances are they have more than one occasion heard (and even sung along to) the songs she wrote. The 25-year-old American songwriter, if you must know, is the force behind some of the biggest pop hits from over the past few years including Justin Bieber's Sorry, Selena Gomez's Bad Liar and Hands To Myself, and Gwen Stefani's Used To Love You. But after realising that some of the songs she penned spoke to her more than it would any of the industry's A-listers, she decided to carve her path as a solo artist -- the move marked by the release of her 2017's debut single, Issues, followed by the seven-track EP, Nervous System.
The bottle half full
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 28/10/2018
» There's always an underlying sense of deadpan humour and laid-back nihilism to the way Kurt Vile approaches his music. This is especially true on his previous two records (2015's b'lieve i'm goin down and last year's collaborative effort with Courtney Barnett Lotta Sea Lice) as well as his latest, Bottle It In, which marks his first new solo work in three years. Recorded in several locations around the US while on tour, the 78-minute album is helmed with assistance from indie rock's upper echelon of producers including Rob Schnapf (Elliot Smith) and Peter Katis (The National, Japandroids), plus fellow artists ranging from Kim Gordon to Warpaint's drummer Stella Mozgawa.
The Power of Here And Now
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 27/11/2016
» Alicia Keys returns with her first album in four years, sounding refreshed, empowered and more politically aware than ever.