Kneecap’s Remarkable Sound of Righteous Fury
That Kneecap can move between righteous fury and profound tenderness without losing coherence is a measure of how much they have grown.
John Lennon
John Lennon is a professor and lover of dogs. His most recent book is ‘Conflict Graffiti: From Revolution to Gentrification’ (University of Chicago Press, 2022).
Ratboys Find New Clarity in Old Ghosts on New LP
Singin’ to an Open Chair is a wonderful album that shows Ratboys revving their engine once again, ready to take another long, curious lap around the block.
M(h)aol’s ‘Something Soft’ Is a Post-#MeToo Gut-Punch
M(h)aol’s Something Soft is a powerful feminist punk album. It highlights the stakes of inhabiting the female body in a world where safety is conditional and fleeting.
SPRINTS’ New LP ‘Swimming’ Reaches for the Stars
SPRINTS remain emotive but more polished and reflective, questioning rather than acting—though often admitting defeat as the songs grow louder.
Benjamin Booker Shows How Being Non-white in the US Is Dangerous
Benjamin Booker’s new album LOWER asks how to live in an awful world. His only answer is to keep stepping forward into the darkness.
Lambrini Girls’ “God’s Country” Rejects PJ Harvey’s Melancholic England
Unlike PJ Harvey’s sad voice singing about the polluted Thames and England, for the Lambrini Girls, there is no mythic past when these symbols were great.
Meryl Streek Is Still Angry in ‘Songs for the Deceased’
In Songs for the Deceased Irish avant-garde punk’s Meryl Streek rages against the landlord class, which perpetuates the violent system of precarity.