Mojave 3 - keep it all hid, 1998

"The songs tickle by, softly floating timelessly, tirelessly, and the vocals are like a pillow for your head as you listen, enraptured, on the single "Some Kinda Angel," another first-rate piece of unhurried pop, and the more gripping "Keep It All Hid" and the gurgling "Baby's Coming Home."

Fleet Foxes - for a week or two, 2020

"The hymnal vocals are certainly beautiful. After a lot of densely packed tunes, it is a really nice contrast to have a piece that is so minimal instrumentally, with the piano and what sounds like the sustain pedal release beating here and there. Lovely, and well suited for its purpose on the album"

The Radio Dept - occupied, 2015

"The world can probably never get enough synthy dream-pop, and The Radio Dept. have been fulfilling that need for quite some time. The Swedish duo of Johan Duncanson and Martin Carlberg have been doing their thing since the late-90’s and with their first release, in 2001, of Lesser Matters. In 2016, Sofia Coppola included several of their on her new wave soundtrack for Marie Antoinette, elevating them further by placing them beside their own heroes, 80’s legends like Siouxsie and the Banshees, New Order, Gang of Four and The Cure."

Elbow - magnificent she says, 2017

"If it weren’t for Peter Gabriel and the prog era Genesis, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy artists like Elbow today along my personal journey. Gabriel and Genesis have touched so many creative lives over the years and cultivated a nourishing landscape for new prog artists to grow."

Club 8 - ooo, 2025

"Club 8 are an indie pop duo formed in 1995 in Stockholm, consisting of Karolina Komstedt (from the band Poprace) and Johan Angergård (Acid House Kings, The Legends, Poprace). The pair are back with a new single following up on their recent 11th album, A Year With Club 8. Released on January 10, “ooo” sees Komstedt and Angergård diving into a slightly poppier and more upbeat sound. The new track is a captivating blend of dream pop and indie pop, featuring a breezy, escapist melody and a dancing guitar line."

Editors - a ton of love acoustic, 2013

"adoration is exactly the emotion evoked by such deliciously addictive pop moments as the lead single, "A Ton of Love," which brings to mind the passionate, soulful rock of U2 and Echo & the Bunnymen."

The Moody Blues - have you heard part two live at the royal albert hall in nineteen sixty-nine, 1977

"The Moody Blues recorded a couple of live albums there. Most recently 2000’s Hall of Fame was taped there, which is an album I really love. But more famously, they recorded a concert there on December 12, 1969 which has been released under a number of different titles, first as Caught Live + 5, then as Disc 6 in the 17 disc Timeless Flight box set"

James - surfer's song, 2016

"Highlights like "Attention" and the churning electro-epic "Surfer's Song" rely on massive, intense crescendos that are another James specialty and a sure sign that their collective gears are well-oiled even after several decades playing together."

The Embassy - i-d, 2013

"In the small but massively influential so-called Swedish Balearic scene that emerged at the start of the last decade, Gothenburg duo the Embassy – Fredrik Lindson and Torbjörn Håkansson – were unwittingly cast as pioneers. Similarly minded bands such as Studio, the Tough Alliance and Air France all emerged in the wake of the Embassy's excellent 2002 debut Futile Crimes, with both the Tough Alliance and Studio naming their respective record labels after the Embassy's songs. As befits their sound – lush, laid-back and gorgeously hazy – the duo don't seem to be in any urgent rush to cement their status at the forefront of any sort of scene, having not released an album since 2005's critically acclaimed Tacking."

My Morning Jacket - thin line, 2015

"Literally being surrounded by trees and creatures every time we walked out of the studio doors. Every evening around sunset we would stop what we were doing and walk outside to watch the sun descend, like an enormous egg yolk slowly smashing down in a psychedelic wash of color, much like the colors of the waterfall on the album cover. Those images, the smell of ocean air and the openness of it all, seeped into every aspect of this record."

Editors - nothing live acoustic, 2013

"The album was mostly recorded live. Regarding the sound of the album, lead singer Tom Smith stated that it "[has] a foot in that alt rock/Americana world" and that it feels "untouchable at times". Lyrically, the album focuses on "love songs... that don't adhere to the traditional love song type".[4] Smith explained, "If I ever find myself writing something too straightforward, I try to twist it, so it ends up odd and baffling."

James - how hard the day, 2018

"Living in Extraordinary Times marks a band still working at their full capacity, bringing new ideas and sounds while retaining what inherently makes James James – big choruses, danceable tracks, and timely lyrics. While some tracks are on the long side, how can you blame them getting carried away?"

Purple Mountains - margaritas at the mall, 2019

"The world of commerce is a kind of a purgatory itself. The church created the doctrine of purgatory so people could do business. Purgatory really came up with capitalism and allowed people some religious freedom in a certain kind of way because they weren’t completely held back from money-lending or bankers.”

My Sad Captains - good to go, 2009

"Here And Elsewhere is a delight from start to finish. It’s sublime, placid, delicate. They remind me of a somewhat subdued Fanfarlo, they’re more low-key and a little lighter on the dramatic flourishes, though MSC is definitely in the same league when it comes to gorgeous music. It’s an album of sweeping tranquility, and mercy me it’s sensational. If I had to guess, I’d say MSC was listening to a whole lotta Beach Boys, Teenage Fanclub, and early Belle & Sebastian just before they holed up in the studio."

Jome - cinnamon, 2017

“Set to the backdrop of melodic guitar and piano that effortlessly lap across you, soft claps, and ethereal synths, “Cinnamon” slowly builds into a well-crafted, lush, and cinematic soundscape. Accompanying that backdrop is the hero of the track, which is, of course, JOME’s positively spellbinding voice.”

The Radio Dept - this thing was bound to happen, 2016

"The song reflects the Swedish duo's signature dreamy, synth-driven indie pop sound, with introspective lyrics and a melancholic yet danceable vibe. The album, released on October 21, 2016, marked a shift toward more politically charged themes, though this track leans into their classic emotional introspection."

Paul McCartney - freedom live, 2002

"McCartney performed the song on his 2002 Driving USA Tour and it appeared on the live album Back in the U.S. However, he chose not to perform it on subsequent tours, such as his 2005 The ‘US’ Tour, as he felt the song had acquired a militaristic meaning with the Bush administration’s Operation Iraqi Freedom. In an interview, McCartney stated: “And I thought it was a great sentiment, and immediately post-9/11, I thought it was the right sentiment. But it got hijacked. And it got a bit of a militaristic meaning attached itself to it, and you found Mr. Bush using that kind of idea rather a lot in [a way] I felt altered the meaning of the song.”

Pet Shop Boys - integral live at the mermaid theatre, 2006

"With a generally deadpan singer and another guy behind a bank of synthesizers, the Pet Shop Boys just aren't built for live albums, even if the songs are exquisite, there's an orchestra behind them, and some very special guests appear. While the duo can deliver in a live setting, the experience relies heavily on the visual, check the Performance or Somewhere concert videos for proof."

Editors - come share the view, 2005

"The Back Room lunges at you with a dynamic that's fierce, wiry, and slightly fashionable. Alternative rock hasn't seen anything like this since the release of Turn on the Bright Lights."

Secret Machines - everything starts, 2020

"It acts as a tribute to frontman Brandon Curtis’s brother Benjamin because they built the song around the deceased musician’s guitar work. Drummer Josh Garza has said this about it: “When I close my eyes and listen to ‘Everything Starts’ I see three guys in a room playing music. I see Ben, Brandon and me… we’re all playing our instruments, we’re all smiling and it’s probably a bit too loud.” And as sad and troubling as the lyrical subject matter is, Josh’s image is beautiful and satisfying."

The Moody Blues - a simple game single b-side, 1968

"Given the Four Tops’ history at Motown, I must admit I’d always imagined “A Simple Game” was another monster hit fashioned by Motown’s ace writing and production team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, who wrote and produced many of what we would now regard as the classic Motown tracks. How wrong could I be... ?"

REM - country feedback live from wiesbaden germany, 2003

"R.E.M. began their Warner contract in 1988 as the biggest band to emerge from the college-radio-fueled American underground. Fifteen years later, they released In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003, the first overview of their long stint at Warner Records. During that decade and a half, R.E.M. had a turbulent journey. At the outset, their legend and influence as one of the key - if not the key - bands of the American underground was firmly in place, but their success kept growing, culminating in a breakthrough to international stardom in 1991 thanks to "Losing My Religion" and Out of Time."

Moby - are you lost in the world like me, 2016

"Co-credited to the Void Pacific Choir - a name derived from a D.H. Lawrence quote - These Systems Are Failing is only slightly more collaborative than Moby's solitary ambient work, and its effect is the opposite of that. Fully energized and tightly concentrated, the producer's first studio album in three years is a concise and infrequently relenting set of nine songs that rail against those who have caused emotional and planetary harm. Moby revisits his punk and post-punk roots with a needling attack."

Jome - concrete, 2017

"Concrete" is a track by the Los Angeles-based indie pop duo JOME (consisting of Jesse Marc and Christoph Andersson). It appears as the eighth song on their debut album Tunnels, released on November 3, 2017. The album blends woodland pop, dream pop, and experimental elements, with themes of introspection, emotional distance, and subtle melancholy."

Pet Shop Boys - indefinite leave to remain live at the mermaid theatre, 2006

"The Pet Shop Boys recorded their first live album at a special one-off concert at the Mermaid Theatre in London on May 8, 2006 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of their first big hit, "West End Girls." They were supported by the BBC Concert Orchestra and a slew of renowned guest stars—including Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley, Lol Creme, Steve Lipson, Rufus Wainwright, Frances Barber, and Robbie Williams—on both instruments and vocals. (If you don't count their Battleship Potemkin dates, this was their first full-length live show with orchestral accompaniment.) Trevor Horn also served as musical director for the evening. The recording was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 later that same month."

The Radio Dept - teach me to forget, 2016

"The sublime melody and chord progression evokes potent feelings: defiance, resignation, a sense of the inevitable. Even during its extended instrumental coda, heavy with irresistible house-music piano and a synth filigree that could’ve been lifted off a Toto (!) record, the song’s momentum is sustained and deepened—you almost don’t want it to end, but it abruptly does, and the spooky title track carries these feelings further, all the way through the closing, quietly seething “Teach Me To Forget”.

James - better than that, 2018

"EP opener and first single Better Than That is upbeat and fast-paced, an ode to improvement, urging the universe to do its worst with Tim signing “you can do better than that”, kick starting the four tracks into gear. Busted is more mellow and dreamlike, with gentle guitars building in intensity as drums and brass join the fray. Hank with its buzzing guitars and distorted vocals is the most outspoken lyrically, warning of “white fascists in the white house” encouraging listeners to “bend the knee and stand your ground”.