Album Review

Keo have spent the last year or so making themselves difficult to ignore. 'Put a smile on for me' is the point where all that noise finally has somewhere to land. This is a debut album built on big guitars, bigger feelings and uncomfortable business of looking directly at yourself. It isn't particularly interested in being perfectly polished- and that's exactly why it works. There is something slightly ridiculous about the fact we're still referring to Keo as 'up and coming'.

Words by Milly Nicholson I've listened to Westside Cowboy's 'It Goes On' constantly since getting this brief, which is either a mark of an incredible album or a particularly effective piece of editorial coercion- thankfully, its the former. The debut from the Manchester four-piece arrives with the kind of momentum most bands would spend years trying to manufacture: being Glastonbury Emerging Talent winners, tours with Geese and Black Country, New Road, released two very well

Opus Kink have never sounded particularly interested in behaving themselves, and 'The Sweet Goodbye' is all the better for it. Their latest album is theatrical and unruly, bringing together a post-punk attitude, caberet drama, eccentricity and glimpses of something genuinely tender. There's a sense throughout the album that Opus Kink are continuosly pushing at the edges of their sound. One moment the album feels confrontational and abrasive- the next, it opens into something

On April 8, 1996, Britpop legends Ocean Colour Scene released their second album ‘Moseley Shoals’. This album is the playground for iconic tracks such as ‘The Riverboat Song’ and ‘The Day We Caught the Train’, alongside the more underrated ‘40 Past Midnight’ and ‘One For The Road’. The album was produced by Brendan Lynch (who has also produced for Paul Weller, Primal Scream, and Cast), at the band’s studio in Birmingham. The title is a nod to the town Muscle Shoals in Alab