NTTR - No Time to Review

A powerful and energetic post-punk album, with abrasive guitars, driving bass lines and a few genuinely engaging moments, but ultimately too repetitive and conventional to leave a lasting impression. With Nobody's Coming to Save You , Gurriers continue to develop their aggressive post-punk sound, combining distorted guitars, heavy bass lines and confrontational vocals with occasional influences from noise rock, alternative rock and grunge. The production is powerful and the performances are convincing, but the songwriting doesn't always manage to match the intensity of the instrumentation. What I appreciate most is the band's energy. The guitars create an impressive wall of sound, while the bass and drums provide a strong rhythmic foundation. There's a genuine sense of urgency throughout the album, and the musicians clearly work well together. The production gives the songs considerable impact, even if the constant saturation sometimes becomes exhausting. “Nothing Happe...

An energetic and enjoyable garage rock album, with powerful fuzzy guitars, solid musicianship and a few interesting psychedelic passages, but ultimately too conventional and repetitive to leave a particularly strong impression. With Chrome , Ty Segall returns to the raw, guitar-driven rock that characterized much of his earlier work. The album combines garage rock, psychedelia, proto-punk and hard rock, with nine relatively short compositions built around distorted riffs, energetic rhythms and occasional melodic surprises. What I appreciate most is the interaction between the musicians. The guitars are powerful, the rhythm section is tight, and the keyboards add some welcome colour to the arrangements. The production has a spontaneous, almost live quality that gives the music plenty of energy. However, that rawness also becomes one of the album's limitations, as the constant distortion makes several songs sound rather similar. “Glass” is my favourite track. I particularly apprecia...

A pleasant and intimate indie folk-rock album, with sincere songwriting, warm production and a few genuinely beautiful moments, but ultimately too restrained and musically unremarkable to leave a particularly strong impression. On The Gem , Julia Jacklin explores relationships, personal change and the tension between wanting to love someone and maintaining her independence. The album has a warm, organic atmosphere, with simple acoustic and electric guitar arrangements, understated rhythms and a production that places her distinctive voice at the centre of the music. I appreciate the sincerity of her songwriting. Jacklin has a talent for describing complicated emotions through relatively ordinary situations, and her lyrics often feel personal without becoming excessively dramatic. Her vocal delivery is another strength, particularly when she allows the melodies to remain simple and natural. “Walk On Me” is my favourite track. At just over six minutes, it offers the kind of instrumental...

An extraordinarily inventive progressive black metal album, combining Japanese traditional influences, psychedelic rock, orchestral arrangements and aggressive riffs into a fascinating, if occasionally overwhelming, musical experience. Goh-Ka sees Sigh continuing their exploration of everything that can possibly coexist within extreme metal. The album combines black metal, progressive rock, traditional Japanese instrumentation, horror-inspired keyboards and orchestral textures, with almost constant changes in atmosphere and intensity. It's an ambitious and highly distinctive record, built around a fascinating concept involving Buddhist representations of death and impermanence. “Kuso-shi 8 and 9 / Mettaijakujo” is my favourite track. This eleven-minute closing piece is where I find the band's ambitious approach most rewarding. I particularly appreciate the way it brings together aggressive metal passages, psychedelic keyboards and more atmospheric sections. The gradual develo...

A solid and atmospheric progressive rock album, with excellent musicianship and some enjoyable instrumental passages, but one that feels a little too predictable and lacks enough memorable melodies. Far and Wide sees The Pineapple Thief continuing their familiar combination of melancholic vocals, atmospheric guitars and progressive arrangements, with a slightly heavier and more direct approach. The production is clear and detailed, and Gavin Harrison's drumming remains one of the band's strongest assets, bringing interesting rhythmic variations to otherwise fairly straightforward compositions. “Scattering Like Flies” is my favourite track. I particularly enjoy its gradual development, the contrast between the quieter passages and the heavier sections, and the way the instruments interact throughout the composition. The atmosphere works well, and the arrangement has enough variation to remain interesting without becoming unnecessarily complicated. “God Knows” is another good t...

An ambitious and atmospheric electronic concept album, with beautiful orchestral arrangements and some genuinely moving moments, although the spoken narration occasionally takes too much space away from the music. A Man from the Future is a musical biography of Alan Turing, originally composed for the BBC Proms in 2014 and now reworked with a stronger electronic approach. The combination of synthesizers, strings, choir and Juliet Stevenson's narration creates something quite different from a conventional Pet Shop Boys album. It's closer to a modern oratorio, with eight compositions following the different stages of Turing's life. “The Enigma” is my favourite track. I particularly enjoy its electronic rhythms, the gradual development of the arrangement and the sense of tension created by the synthesizers and orchestral elements. It's one of the moments where the music takes a more prominent role, combining the duo's familiar electronic sound with a more cinematic a...