Rock Action Vinyl & CDs

Review: 'I'm Totally Fine With It Don't Give A Fuck Anymore' reads the WhatsApp message on the front cover of the upcoming album of the same name by Scottish duo Arab Strap. Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton have been on a blazing nonstop run ever since they reunited the group in 2019. Confronting conspiracy theories, online addiction, and societal decay, the lead single 'Bliss' is a steady reminder of Arab Strap's multi-generational appeal - "It's about women being terrorized online; it's about cowardice and bigotry. It's about how we expose ourselves on social platforms while hiding alone at home. But you can dance to it too!" Moffat said on the press release. As the haunting melodies intertwine with Moffat's gritty regional vocals on the 15-track album, dimly lit dive bars and sketchy alleyways come to mind and not the cyberspace dystopia that many other musicians would go to. It's a unique take on a subject that needs unique takes, an explicit piece of sang prose in an age of censorship. Just the cover alone lets you know that Arab Strap is not going to be added to your easy-listening playlist. The icing on the cake? The cheeky decision to make the disc a bright emoji yellow.

Review: Hull shoegazers bdrmm scintillating second album I Don't Know is another great showcase of their controlled yet chaotic sound. The four-piece from East Yorkshire had plenty of plaudits following their debut record and so quickly rode a wave to notoriety back in 2020. But then the classic difficult second album fever struck them and so did lots of conversations with labels. Finally, they got to work on this record and it is a thrilling divergence, a new mix of new influences with lyrics rooted in social consciousness and themes including addiction and mental health struggles. A huge tour is to follow, as will many more new fans and plaudits.

Review: Mogwai's Rock Action label welcomes Bdrmm for a superb new 7" that mixes up heavy arrangements and introspective lyrics. It was written during recent album sessions at The Nave Studios in Leeds and finds them expanding on their signature dynamics and expansive sounds with reverb heavy vocals and plenty of atmospheric arrangements. On the flip side is an unlikely remixer in the shape of Fila Brazillia, the cult Hull downtempo and chill out kings that have worked with everyone from Radiohead to Harold Budd, adding their own spin to recent album track 'Be Careful.'

Review: Popular Hull-based shoegaze quartet bdrmm are building up to their latest tour with the release of single 'Standard Tuning, arriving hot on the heels of their critically acclaimed second album, 'I Don't Know'. Written and recorded during those same sessions and very much similarly flavoured, it continues a fine vein of form right now, with high praise coming in from the likes of Rolling Stone and Consequence. This special 10" also comes with a remix of the live favourite 'Alps' by Ninja Tune/Cambria Instruments electronica specialist Nathan Fake.

Review: Kathryn Jospeh has been on a super run of album form that started with her Scottish Album of the Year award winning debut in 2014 and carried on through 2018 follow up From When I Wake The Want Is. She now completes the hattrick with For You Who Are Wronged. It is a record about fighting to keep hold of love and was recorded at The Lengths Studio in Fort William with producer Lomond Campbell. Anyone who enjoys Lana Del Ray, Kate Bush or Erland Cooper is sure to lap this one up, not least for its fantastically long and evocative track titles.

Review: Straight outta shoegaze central, Oxford UK, since 1989, Swervedriver have been providing us with smoothly distorted guitars, vocals of refreshing reverberation and just those hints of angst and melancholia to get you through the decade. Future Ruins, like a lot of post and alt-rock to hit the shelves these days has touches of nihilism abound, although it's no secret Swervedriver have been offering this atmosphere for aeons longer than most. For fans of bands like Dinosaur Jr. yes, Swervedriver's latest effort remains firmly within the grungey and pastel confines of shoegaze, and with the genre's hey day missed so much but so many, it's never a pain to revisit the glory days of motion picture soundtracks.