Music Stories Festivals are a drain—not just physically, but mentally too. As if wading through a sea of tweens in feathered headdresses for four days wasn’t exhausting enough, the performance schedule of ... More

Music Stories Formed: In the loo of a pub in Conventry, England, in 1986.  Sounds like: An armada of Space Marines overtaking a battle cruiser full of Chaos Warriors. For fans of: Carcass, Napalm Death, Godf ... More

Album Reviews [MOOD PIECES] There’s no way around it: Swim, the fourth album by local jazz institution Blue Cranes, is as heady and dark as anything the group has done in its six years together. The big cha ... More

Album Reviews [HEARTBROKEN ROCK] Don’t be fooled by the picture on the cover of Scout Niblett’s new album, a photo-booth shot of a couple in full make-out mode. The heart of It’s Up to Emma is not a rom ... More

Album Reviews [POP OPERA] Concept albums demand some suspension of disbelief and a little imagination from the listener. When the story being related is in the realm of epic fantasy, as is the case with Morni ... More

Album Reviews [INSTRUMENTAL MINIMALISM] Ambient music is a dangerous proposition for even the most studied of musicians. The combination of elongated drones, stillness and washes of synth has to be measured p ... More