Linval Thompson is a seminal figure in the creation, spread and influence of dancehall reggae. He’s also a sweet singer and a prominent producer with a string of roots albums and dub versions.

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Do You Believe In The Westworld is an epic with its thunderous tribal drums, the mighty clang of that guitar riff, the slightly sinister sax and the dubwise echo that matches the cinematic sweep of Kirk Brandon’s mini-Western in words, carried by his stentorian vocals.

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Mattiel come from the Deep South and have roots in vintage soul and blues – but love to play cover versions of English bands.

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I discovered this rockabilly classic 20 years late when it was re-released on the dependably punk-adjacent Chiswick label in 1978. And it has quite the story behind it.

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Family Band: The Dog Box EP – New Kiwi Noise Band Will Make Your Ears Bleed

Family Band might sound like a folk group singing around a forest campfire but New Zealand’s noise trio make enough of a full metal racket to make your ears bleed. (more…)

Twenty years ago I went to see a gig by Moby despite some reservations about what I expected to be a night of coffee-table ambient electro.

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Kevin Fowley: Ne Pleure Pas, Jeanette – Single & Video

There’s something hypnotic and calming about this dark French lullaby and video by half-French half-Irish “word mumbler and string plucker” Kevin Fowley.

I could not be prouder of my football team than I’ve been this season. In 50-odd years of supporting the Arsenal I’ve seen them win five league titles, 10 FA Cups, two League Cups and a European Cup Winners Cup – and I was there on every occasion.

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Half a century ago CMAT could have been knocking ’em dead at the Grand Ol’ Opry with her big ballads – if only she’d been born in Nashville rather than Dublin. 

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The laid-back desert twang of instrumentalists Hermanos Gutiérrez sounds like something from a Mexican movie – but the brothers come from Switzerland.

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