So, Audioscope 06 took place last weekend and I have just about recovered. My state of ruin was possibly not helped by a free bar the night before in Glasgow and a much delayed, sardine packed debacle of a train journey (so bad the staff announced over the system how we should go about making […]

They don’t mince words, the $hit. Listen to this from their press release: “Lock Up Your Ghettoblasters!!! delivers the urgent technicolor pop chaos that your cynical post-modern soul needs… it’s time to forget everything you’ve been told by MTV and let your miserable ears get shafted by the $hit’s rasping pico-pico rock ‘n’ roll”. Their […]

I once had a Wagon Christ EP that had a song called “Pretty Crap” on it. The title was not a joke: the song was lovely with lush pads and beats and what not, but despite the self-awareness, it was rather shit. The same can be said for a lot of ambient electronic music. […]

The University of California in Santa Barbara have an online repository of over 6000 cylinder recordings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries - there’s a a huge variety of stuff including rags, cakewalks, spirituals and a bunch of “home recordings” that are as weird and fascinating as they are difficult to make out. […]

I’m always very suspicious of band name changes. They smack of desperate fame seeking, like some major label suit has told them they could do well if only they’d change that stupid name, get a haircut and ditch that fugly/wacky member. I don’t think that’s the case with Matchsticks (or Flying Matchstick Men, as was) […]

Short and sharp, Dartz! bring in two songs on this single in under five minutes. You’ve got to love those song lengths on yer pop singles. Sharing the jerky, excitable structures of bands like The Futureheads and Smokers Die Younger, Dartz! infuse their sound with some of the circular guitar lines that marked out the […]

You know where you are with Amelia Fletcher. Whether with Heavenly, Marine Research or her new band Tender Trap, you know you’ll be getting sweet, catchy indiepop with sugarsharp lyrics, swooping vocals and plenty ba da bas. Much like Saint Etienne or Stereolab, Amelia’s bands have this specific sound that makes them instantly recogniseable […]

Story here.
“All music sold through iTunes uses the FairPlay system that restricts the use of the downloads. Purchased music can only be moved between five computers and played on an Apple iPod.
Downloads cannot be transferred to players made by other manufacturers, such as Creative or Sony.
The new “workaround” could help companies like these sell iTunes […]

According to various news sources, The Pixies, having played every venue on the planet during their two-years of “comeback” touring, are planning on going into the studio to record a new album.
I am quite excited - they were, in my opinion, the best rock band ever to walk the Earth, and while I don’t much […]

Since no-one reads my nonsense on the homepage I will also post this here:
Believe it or not, the diskant newsletter will soon be resurrected and will be entirely awesome. Turning up once or twice a month, it will let you know about all the new interviews, features and reviews on the site, what’s up on […]