Stephen Tow's 'London, Reign Over Me' Is a Must-Read Tour of '60s British Rock

Historian Stephen Tow's London, Reign Over Me is an insightful, thorough, and welcoming exploration of '60s-era British rock.

Jordan Blum

                                      
Books
    
        'Sting: From Northern Skies to Fields of Gold' Documents Travel, Evolving Perspectives
    
Andy Jurik

        20 Feb 2018
    
Music
    
        Shopping Checks Out on Third Album 'The Official Body'
    
Claire Greising

        16 Jan 2018
    
Film
    
        Paul Thomas Anderson Tailors a Masterpiece with ‘Phantom Thread’
    
J.R. Kinnard
J.R. Kinnard

        07 Dec 2017

Recent

Music

You Must Do What You Love to Survive: 'Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East'

Rock in a Hard Place is a sober chronicling of music in some of the most conservative countries on the planet.

Music

Pumarosa: The Witch

London quintet craft stunning, entrancing debut by confidently splicing a variety of genres.

Music

Formation: Look at the Powerful People

South London quintet, Formation, release a debut packed album with rich grooves tailor made for the dancefloor, but their socio-political ambitions fall disappointingly short.

Music

New Gen: New Gen

As the mainstream gradually catches up and embraces grime, New Gen delivers an exciting insight into the next wave of artists breaking through.

Reviews

Forcing Connections in '100 Streets'

100 Streets offers four groups of people who have nothing to do with each other than, well, the fact that they have to.

Music

Kelly Lee Owens: Oleic EP

From four tracks alone, it's obvious that London producer Kelly Lee Owens has been an avid studier of what makes great dance music "great".

Music

Swet Shop Boys: Cashmere

Cashmere is a transatlantic hip-hop album that challenges representation of South Asian people in pop culture.

Music

Soccer96: As Above So Below

Soccer96 are excellent at their individual instruments, and this set proves they can link up to make some excellent music, too.

Interviews

Dark Blue-Grey With Neon Pink Flashes: An Interview With Jon Hopkins

Transcendent electronic musician Jon Hopkins reflects on two decades of composition and collaboration and hints at what’s on the horizon.

A. Noah Harrison

Interviews

Wearing the Wrong Clothes: An Interview with Punk-Hippie Alig Fodder

Front man of shape-shifting post-punk act Family Fodder talks about the early days, the songwriting process, and how an unbridled fashion sense may have kept them out of the limelight.

Music

Babyfather: BBF Hosted by DJ Escrow

Dean Blunt: "I think genre terms are really connected … to race and boundaries."

News

London's Denovali Festival Kicks Off April 15th

The fourth edition of the experimental music festival will take place in London in mid-April.

Music

Kano: Made in the Manor

Kano’s fifth LP sees the rapper revisiting his childhood haunts in an attempt to come to terms with his past.

Music

Babyfather: Platinum Tears

In just 25 minutes, the self-styled Babyfather contrasts braggadocious raps with wildly shambolic instrumentation.

Reviews

Violence, Glee, Phantasmagoria: Gaiman's 'Neverwhere'

Readers familiar with Neil Gaiman’s dreamscapes will find new corners of Neverwhere in this new edition of the author’s seminal first novel.

Music

Zero 7: EP 3

Zero 7 and friends create a gentle and compelling EP.

Music

Polar Bear: Same As You

Polar Bear return with a tense but accessible album.

Interviews

Genius. Doesn't. Fade: A Conversation With Steven Wilson

Revered English musical visionary Steven Wilson discusses the inspirations, methods, and reflections that helped create his newest solo opus, Hand. Cannot. Erase.

Music

Jessie J: Sweet Talker

Jessie J fails to reach the glory of high-flying single "Bang Bang" on third album Sweet Talker.

Music

smallgang: San

The main discriminant between a bluff and the worthwhile is quality, and smallgang have plenty of it.

Reviews

Smells and Bells, Halls and Hells: 'The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London'

The mud, rain, smoke, fog, and excrement that abounded meant whatever one's rank, the weather and the smells took their toll on one's health, one's clothing, and one's nerves.

Music

British Summer Time at Hyde Park

Black Sabbath, Faith No More, Soundgarden and more: a tale of music and Independence.

Music

Beyond the Redshift: Is This the End for Cult of Luna?

Swedish post-metallers bid us farewell. Maybe.

Music

Katy B: Little Red

The sound is there, but the energy is missing.

Music

P Jam ft Hannah Rae: Fight the Feeling EP

Original, London grime OG, P Jam kicks off 2014 in fine style with his experimental, breaks laden grime EP Fight The Feeling featuring soulful songstress Hannah Rae.

Music

The Vibrators: Greatest Punk Hits

The Vibrators gave us some of the greatest punk singles in history; unfortunately, this collection of re-recordings and lesser lights does them no favors.

Music

Kitchens of Distinction: Folly

A London trio releases their first album in 19 years, and it's a noisy, beautiful masterpiece.

Music

Kwes: ilp

Kwes's ilp is thoroughly enjoyable listen from start to end, taking in all manner of influences both cogent and disparate.

Music

Tradesman and Parly B ft. Adam Prescott: Dubplate Fashion

Referencing the golden age of digital reggae production, Leeds-based producer Tradesman delivers an extremely crisp and deep revision of the classic "Rumours" riddim, bringing its now slightly dated sounds completely up-to-date.

Music

House of Black Lanterns: You, Me, Metropolis

House of Black Lanterns' latest release, You, Me, Metropolis, his third for the nascent Houndstooth Label, sees the Berlin-based producer/sound designer bringing together his twisted re-interpretations of Chicago juke and footwork with stellar remix work from UK legends _Unsubscribe_ and Breakage.

Music

Various Artists: London's Calling

Muddled attempt to celebrate London, and its multicultural communities, through music.

Reviews

Zadie Smith Prowls London's Towns in 'NW'

Zadie Smith’s forte has always been capacious books enfolding multiple cultures into one galloping, engrossing plot. In NW, she turns an unsparing eye on a grubby, druggy, crime-ridden, mixed-race council-flat in London.

Music

The Vaccines: Come of Age

Only two years after forming, the hotly-tipped London indie rockers release their second album. Can you expect a letdown?

Reviews

Cities on Steriods: 'Megacities'

Urban geographers have coined the vaguely sci-fi term "megacity" to describe these sprawling leviathans.

Music

Tom the Lion: The Adventures of Tom the Lion

This debut goes for big emotion, but delivers vague sentimentality.

Reviews

Collapse Expand Reviews

BROWSE ALL ALBUM REVIEWS

Features

The 50 Best Albums of 2020 So Far

The Top 20 Punk Protest Songs for July 4th

Animated 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' Is a Pop-Art Masterpiece

Collapse Expand Features

PM Picks

Collapse Expand Pm Picks

Historian Stephen Tow's London, Reign Over Me is an insightful, thorough, and welcoming exploration of '60s-era British rock.

Rock in a Hard Place is a sober chronicling of music in some of the most conservative countries on the planet.

London quintet craft stunning, entrancing debut by confidently splicing a variety of genres.

South London quintet, Formation, release a debut packed album with rich grooves tailor made for the dancefloor, but their socio-political ambitions fall disappointingly short.

As the mainstream gradually catches up and embraces grime, New Gen delivers an exciting insight into the next wave of artists breaking through.

100 Streets offers four groups of people who have nothing to do with each other than, well, the fact that they have to.

From four tracks alone, it's obvious that London producer Kelly Lee Owens has been an avid studier of what makes great dance music "great".

Cashmere is a transatlantic hip-hop album that challenges representation of South Asian people in pop culture.

Soccer96 are excellent at their individual instruments, and this set proves they can link up to make some excellent music, too.

Transcendent electronic musician Jon Hopkins reflects on two decades of composition and collaboration and hints at what’s on the horizon.

Front man of shape-shifting post-punk act Family Fodder talks about the early days, the songwriting process, and how an unbridled fashion sense may have kept them out of the limelight.

Dean Blunt: "I think genre terms are really connected … to race and boundaries."

The fourth edition of the experimental music festival will take place in London in mid-April.

Kano’s fifth LP sees the rapper revisiting his childhood haunts in an attempt to come to terms with his past.

In just 25 minutes, the self-styled Babyfather contrasts braggadocious raps with wildly shambolic instrumentation.

Readers familiar with Neil Gaiman’s dreamscapes will find new corners of Neverwhere in this new edition of the author’s seminal first novel.

Zero 7 and friends create a gentle and compelling EP.

Polar Bear return with a tense but accessible album.

Revered English musical visionary Steven Wilson discusses the inspirations, methods, and reflections that helped create his newest solo opus, Hand. Cannot. Erase.

Jessie J fails to reach the glory of high-flying single "Bang Bang" on third album Sweet Talker.

The main discriminant between a bluff and the worthwhile is quality, and smallgang have plenty of it.

The mud, rain, smoke, fog, and excrement that abounded meant whatever one's rank, the weather and the smells took their toll on one's health, one's clothing, and one's nerves.

Black Sabbath, Faith No More, Soundgarden and more: a tale of music and Independence.

Swedish post-metallers bid us farewell. Maybe.

The sound is there, but the energy is missing.

Original, London grime OG, P Jam kicks off 2014 in fine style with his experimental, breaks laden grime EP Fight The Feeling featuring soulful songstress Hannah Rae.

The Vibrators gave us some of the greatest punk singles in history; unfortunately, this collection of re-recordings and lesser lights does them no favors.

A London trio releases their first album in 19 years, and it's a noisy, beautiful masterpiece.

Kwes's ilp is thoroughly enjoyable listen from start to end, taking in all manner of influences both cogent and disparate.

Referencing the golden age of digital reggae production, Leeds-based producer Tradesman delivers an extremely crisp and deep revision of the classic "Rumours" riddim, bringing its now slightly dated sounds completely up-to-date.

House of Black Lanterns' latest release, You, Me, Metropolis, his third for the nascent Houndstooth Label, sees the Berlin-based producer/sound designer bringing together his twisted re-interpretations of Chicago juke and footwork with stellar remix work from UK legends _Unsubscribe_ and Breakage.

Muddled attempt to celebrate London, and its multicultural communities, through music.

Zadie Smith’s forte has always been capacious books enfolding multiple cultures into one galloping, engrossing plot. In NW, she turns an unsparing eye on a grubby, druggy, crime-ridden, mixed-race council-flat in London.

Only two years after forming, the hotly-tipped London indie rockers release their second album. Can you expect a letdown?

Urban geographers have coined the vaguely sci-fi term "megacity" to describe these sprawling leviathans.

This debut goes for big emotion, but delivers vague sentimentality.

When you read about the medieval mania for buggery and the Victorian craze for flagellation, it’s difficult not to feel a blushing fascination for our forebears and their proclivities.