Album: Teenage Fanclub - Nothing Lasts Forever

The indie immortals generate optimism from melancholy

Nothing Lasts Forever opens with a drone, a weightless prologue of guitar feedback evoking the initial moments of the Buffalo Springfield’s “Everydays,” written by Stephen Stills and heard on his band’s 1967 second album Again. Teenage Fanclub’s 11th album ends with “I Will Love you,” a similarly gossamer reflection fusing the atmosphere of The Beatles’ “Across the Universe” and the cyclic rhythms of motorik.

Music Reissues Weekly: In the Light of Time - UK Post-Rock and Leftfield Pop 1992-1998

Important collection documenting an innovative groundswell which still resonates

“In the Light of Time” was the second track on Side One of April 1995’s Further, the third album by Bristol’s Flying Saucer Attack. At the time, Further felt like a hyper-vaporous take on shoegazing infused with touches of British folk. Attitudinally and temporally, Slowdive’s February 1995 third album Pygmalion wasn’t too far.

Album: Ash - Race the Night

Northern Irish power pop perennials dig down into the heavy rock side

Northern Irish rockers Ash appeared in the mid-Nineties, channelling The Ramones when the UK was in thrall to either bangin’ club music or Britpop. They had a good commercial run, longer than almost all their contemporaries, mustering 18 Top 40 UK hits, their last in 2007 (although their albums still usually make the grade).

Music Reissues Weekly: David Westlake - D87

DAVID WESTLAKE - D87 Welcome return of 1987’s Creation Records mini-album ‘Westlake’

Welcome return of 1987’s Creation Records mini-album ‘Westlake’

Becoming reacquainted with what was originally titled Westlake in 1987 is a pleasure. Yes, at his own measured pace, David Westlake has issued great albums since then and his Eighties and Nineties band The Servants have been the subject of various archive releases. It is not as though he has vanished. But any reminder of his flair as a songwriter is welcome.

Album: Slowdive - Everything is Alive

★★★ SLOWDIVE - EVERYTHING IS ALIVE The shoegazing titans continue

The shoegazing titans continue doing what they’ve always done

Everything is Alive opens with all that could be wanted from a Slowdive album. “Shanty” is just-under six minutes of out-of-focus, shimmering aural fog in which guitars throb and drums are a distant pulse. An acid-house-type heartbeat is offset against a harpsichord-like refrain recalling Broadcast. Lines drift in about a burning candle and the arrival of night. It all seems to be about the passing of time.

The Walkmen, SWG3, Glasgow review - a classy return for New York's finest

★★★★ THE WALKMEN, SWG3, GLASGOW A classy return for New York's finest

There was still a tremendous power to the reunited quintet's material

As the relentless, hammering beat of “The Rat” faded away, the Walkmen’s singer Hamilton Leithauser was evidently in buoyant mood. “Like riding a bike,” he declared to the Glasgow crowd, and this was a statement that proved consistently accurate throughout the 75-minute set, as the reunited quintet played in a manner that felt like they’d never been away.

Music Reissues Weekly: The Boo Radleys - Giant Steps

THE BOO RADLEYS - GIANT STEPS The landmark Creation Records double album reissued

Thirtieth-anniversary reappearance of the landmark Creation Records double album

The final track of Giant Steps is titled “The White Noise Revisited.” Its lyrics recount the crushing impact of a job where you “kill yourself at work for what seems nothing at all.” After coming home, “you listen to the Beatles and relax and close your eyes.”

Mega Bog, The Lexington review - a synth-pop makeover is tempered with dashes of new wave

★★★★ MEGA BOG, THE LEXINGTON Synth-pop makeover tempered with dashes of new wave

Confirmation that the American experimental popster Erin Birgy won’t stand still

Introducing the fifth number in this evening’s set, Erin Birgy speaks to the audience for the first time. “This is our last song, thank you,” she says. Thoughts of early Jesus and Mary Chain shows instantly surface. Is this going to be a 20-minute wonder? A five-song digest of where Birgy – who records and writes as Mega Bog – is now, playing her first UK dates since the release of her seventh album The End of Everything? Is it the end of the show?

Album: Genesis Owusu - Struggler

Ghanaian-Australian continues his exuberant alt-pop mission with a unique swagger

There’s been a sense of anticipation around Ghanaian-Australian Genesis Owusu ever since his ebullient 2021 debut album Smiling with No Teeth. He won a bunch of Arias, Australia’s Grammys, but could he break internationally? He’s toured the US with Paramore and is due to hit Europe in the Autumn, including a stop at Berghain.