The Sigla Blog

JAPE
Ritual
Co-Op
****
If the title of Richie Egan’s hugely anticipated third album suggests order and routine, his last couple of years have been anything but. Having had many interested labels snapping at his heels, he finally plumped for V2, only for it to be bought by Universal. In stepped Co-op, V2’s independent wing and after what seems […]

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT
I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too
Drowned in Sound ****
The Wainwright clan have always poured their heart and soul into their work. Martha’s cathartic tales are no different, offering unblinking accounts of failed love and personal trauma. Perhaps marriage to her producer Brad Albetta has changed her tune, given the amount of […]

R.E.M. - Accelerate - Warner ****
R.E.M. fans have a lot in common with Catholics - there are lots of lapsed followers out there. Born with the cheap, tinny brilliance of ‘Radio Free Europe’, their finest work (songs) belong to the 80s, culminating with Green in 1989. Many fans´ interest dwindled after Automatic for the People […]

THE RUBY SUNS - Sealion - Memphis Industries ****
A song praising your home country´s oldest tree is, let´s face it, unusual, especially when it´s in Maori. But ‘Tane Mahuta’ does just that and crams in big brass, tribal beats, flamenco guitars and makes you think of hip-jiggling grass-skirts. This is just one offbeat cog in […]

CITY AND COLOUR
Bring Me Your Love
Hassle
***
It seems that Devonte “Lightspeed Champion” Hynes isn’t the only musician to kick his way out of noisy chrysalis and metamorphose into a folksy butterfly. Also changing course and flapping his acoustic wings is Dallas Green, former member of post-rockers Alexisonfire. Under the City and Colour moniker (a pun on […]

VARIOUS
Disco Not Disco - Post Punk, Electro & Leftfield Disco Classics 1974-1986
Strut
****
Volume 3 in the Disco Not Disco series is a mouth-watering prospect, almost eclipsed by the fact that this bag of classics is released on Strut Records. The label, which closed in 2003 and has now risen from the ashes, had a canny ear […]

LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION
Falling Off The Lavender Bridge
Domino
***
Two years ago, Devonte Hynes was making big noises with Test Icicles. When the band finally disbanded he made a confession: that he never wanted to be an art rocker, and that his heart belonged to folk and country. With his new project Lightspeed Champion (named for a comic strip […]

PETER VON POEHL
Going to Where the Tea Trees Are
Bella Union
***
The title of Peter Von Poehl’s debut album hints at many things - is this the manifesto of a musical nomad? The aural scribblings of someone influenced by landscape? It’s both, thanks recording stints in rural Sweden and urban Berlin, creating quiet corners and busy thoroughfares […]

If you’ve ever taken place in team debating, you’ll know there are plenty of duff sides to be on in an argument. No one wants to defend “Bertie Ahern is an honest man”, “Twenty Major’s swearing should be banned” or “Tom Cruise is not sinister and creepy”. Another one I’d struggle with is “Pan Pipe […]

In the venue formerly known as The Temple Bar Music Centre, a thundery backdrop slowly builds as four women pick their way onto a packed stage. There is barely room to move for musical instruments, (we’re later informed 136 strings have to be tuned for each gig) and two begin to slowly drag violin bows […]

PJ HARVEY
White Chalk
Island
****
Polly Jean Harvey knows a thing or two about reinvention. This is, after all, a woman who went from no make-up and underarm hair to drag-glam make-up and a sequinned Stars and Stripes bra. The cover of White Chalk is yet another incarnation, but this time it’s all virginal restraint and angelic […]

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE PRESENTS KEVIN DREW
Spirit If.
Arts and Crafts
****
You could be forgiven for thinking that Canada’s many-legged musical collective is taking a well earned rest, thanks to an ongoing new project showcasing individuals within the band. Not so. On paper, it’s 14 shimmery solo offerings from Kevin Drew, but BSS are not on complete sabbatical, […]