Showing 1 - 10 of 16
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.
Behold the gentle giants
B Magazine, Story by Melalin Mahavongtrakul, Published on 15/03/2020
» A short ride on a jeep brought us along the dirt road. It was just after 5pm in Chiang Rai. The weather was cool, with sunlight seeping between the haze and clouds. We arrived at our destination soon enough. Hiding behind walls of bamboo was lush greenery of the paddy field. We walked through, stepping on stones that led further inside to the big bubblelike structure perched on a raised platform. Right next to it is an enclosure where three elephants roamed.
Go further west
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 23/02/2020
» Throughout their decades-spanning career in the music biz, Pet Shop Boys have always operated within the realm of sophisticated synth-pop that advocates varying degrees of dancefloor abandon. For lyricist Neil Tennant and composer Chris Lowe, however, it's not just about the allure of club culture or pure hedonism. From day one, social consciousness gets woven into the sonic fabric of their music. "In a West End town, a dead-end world/ The East End boys and West End girls," Tennant sings about the class and wealth gap on their 1984 debut single West End Girls.
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.
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.
Pegged For Greatness
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 11/08/2019
» Not too long ago, a conversation we had surrounding rising South Korean DJ Peggy Gou led to the general consensus that she was "a fashion DJ". While necessarily not an overt affront, "fashion DJ" seems to connote inferiority -- a lesser kind of DJ who banks on his/her looks rather than musical skills. Given Gou's meteoric rise and her inevitable involvement in the fashion world (she went to fashion school, after all), it's easy to dismiss her musicianship altogether and forget that she's accomplished so much more than just landing luxury ad campaigns.
The hills are alive
B Magazine, Gary Boyle, Published on 16/06/2019
» Lisbon's hills are no joke. The city is built on seven of them, and a vigorous uphill stroll often sees you rounding a corner only to be faced with another, steeper climb. Your walk from one neighbourhood to the next can be a 20-minute hike. Your boutique room could be on the top floor of a charming, lift-free guest house. If you're not fit, forget it.
A world in horror
B Magazine, Andrew Biggs, Published on 28/04/2019
» There is a new series that popped up on Netflix that is absolutely terrifying.
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.
Tomorrow Starts Today
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 24/02/2019
» From returning to college, starring in the Netflix series The OA and getting pregnant, New York-based singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten has had a busy few years prior to the arrival of her fifth studio outing, Remind Me Tomorrow. The record, helmed by indie rock's go-to producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Future Islands, Unknown Mortal Orchestra), reflects those changes in her life via a stylistic shift that emphasises less on the guitars, but more on other instruments like synths, pianos and even occasional drones.