Robin Guthrie and Mark Gardener – “Dice”

On paper, this should have been a huge deal – a collaborative album between the musical mastermind behind alternative godheads Cocteau Twins and frontman for shoegaze legends Ride – but Universal Road, the 2015 release from Robin Guthrie and Mark Gardener, didn’t seem to make much of an impression on anyone. Part of it was […]

Ride – “Monaco”

We’re two weeks out from the release of Ride’s new album Interplay, which means it’s time for another sneak peak. This time, it’s “Monaco”, which further affirms the new record will be upbeat and synthy and I am here for it. Mark Gardener recently gave an expansive interview to Under The Radar about the coming […]

The Making of Luna’s Penthouse

Here’s one to put on in the background while you do other things – an interview Dean Wareham gave to the Life Of The Record podcast back in 2021 about the making of Luna’s majestic 1995 album Penthouse on the occasion of the album’s 25th anniversary. Well it’s not an interview, really, but 45 minutes […]

The Chameleons / Tony Fletcher Walked On Water

With the confirmation that the current lineup of The Chameleons is in the studio recording new music, let’s take a quick look back at the release that was supposed to be their fourth album following 1986’s Strange Times. But as is typical in the stories of bands who are doomed to be under-appreciated, fate intervened. […]

Della Zyr – “봄: 별은 노​래​한​다 (Constellation​’​s Song)”

There’s anti-marketing, and then there’s what Seoul’s Della Zyr is doing. If you were to stumble across her YouTube channel, you’d find a handful of videos of a young woman playing shoegaze cover songs in her bedroom; excellently done, certainly, but not unusual in 2024. Her Instagram offers somewhat more; it’s only four posts deep, […]

Ride – “Peace Sign”

That Ride have been sitting on a finished new album for some time isn’t a secret; it’s been in the can since at least early Fall. But perhaps they wanted to wait until the attention around Slowdive’s new record had crested – at least initially – before raising their hand. In any case, they’re welcoming […]

Knifeplay – “A Long December”

Our final post for the year comes from Philadelphia, courtesy of Knifeplay and their For The Holidays EP. They’ve been putting out seasonal songs the last few years and have, for 2023, compiled them together along with a haunting Counting Crows cover, selling it digitally and directing all proceeds to the Broad Street Ministry, dedicated […]