A review of the album 'Perch Patchwork' by Maps & Atlases Review Snapshot: New to the indie scene, Chicago band Maps & Atlases mash a folk rock sound with the math rock genre to produce a well-thought out and emotional debut album. A recurring theme of bitterness around break-ups is often disguised by a cheery nature in what could be one of the must-have indie albums.  The Cluas Verdict? 7 out of 10 Full Review: Folk rock has been an increasingly popular genre for the past two years. Whether you consider it from a mainstream point of view (Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling) or if you are more inclined to take an Indie perspective (Frank Turner) it has no doubt been growing in influence. This year sees a new American band combining the ever-growing folk rock style with a less appreciated genre that originated in the 1980s, known as “Math Rock” (others tagged with this genre include Ghosts and Vodka, Dilute). Although Maps & Atlase... [Read on]

A review of the album 'Come Around Sundown' by Kings of Leon Review Snapshot: Come Around Sundown is the 5th studio album from Tennessee Rock band  Kings of Leon. After a previous release that was less than impressive, anticipation was high. And Come Around Sundown does not disappoint. It feels like a super-album, taking all the best bits from their previous releases and combining them to give fans something they have never heard before. The Cluas Verdict? 7 out of 10 Full Review:The single from the album is “Radioactive.” It was a weak release considering the standard of the rest of the album. It also doesn’t entirely fit in with the album’s sound and though it’s a great song on it’s own, it shouldn’t be used as the benchmark for the rest of the album.   A much stronger single would have been “Pyro”. This chorus-rich song tells the story of man who decides to leave his family, for fear th... [Read on]

A review of the album 'Surfing the Void' by The Klaxons Review Snapshot:  'Surfing the Void' is perhaps on the most eagerly anticipated releases of the year, with the band's debut earning themselves the much coveted Mercury Prize. However the past three years have seen an insurgence in the world of indie music, begging the question Is there even any room for the Klaxons any more? The answer is not too positive, based on this release. The Cluas Verdict? 3 out of 10 Full Review: Three years of anticipation have been building around this album, the follow on from the Mercury Prize winning 'Myths of the Near Future'. With tales of drug binges and hallucination conversations with god, the hype surrounding 'Surfing The Void' had built to fever pitch.  In many ways 'Myths…' was so highly rated that whatever followed it never really stood a chance and unfortunately, as with many bands, Klaxons have fall... [Read on]

A review of the album 'Science and Faith' by The Script Review Snapshot: On Science and Faith, The Script have continued where they left off with their debut album. Catchy melodies, lyrics that you won’t need a dictionary to explain, and songs that won’t change the world. But I mean all this in the best possible way. The Cluas Verdict? 6 out of 10 Full Review: While the world waited for the “difficult second album”, the Script have played it safe and repeated what made them successful in the first place. Opening with a very long intro ‘You Won’t Feel A Thing’ sees the rockier side to The Script, with them sounding not unlike No Sweat did two decades earlier, while Danny sings “I’ll stand in front / I’ll take the blow for you”. The single ‘For The First Time’ (a recent Irish chart-topper) is typical Script, while the title track has an intro to match Bryan Adams &lsq... [Read on]

Hailing from Tempe, Arizona, Sister Cities have just released their excellent debut single ‘White Dress’ on this side of the Atlantic with UK label 100% Music. Consisting of Brett (guitar and vocals), Courtney (drums and vocals), Spike (bass and vocals) and Ana (keys, guitar and vocals), they took some time out recently to tell Ken Fallon about how it all came together… Tell us a little about how you got together as a band? Were you friends beforehand? We all went to high school together and always had music as a common interest, we played as a two piece (drums/guitar/vocals) before adding bass and keys. We met Ana while on vacation in Mexico and somehow convinced her to move to Arizona and join the band!    How has your music evolved since you first got together as a band? The evolution of our sound has been sort of a natural progression. We started out in Courtney's garage just trying to play anything that ... [Read on]