Category: Album Reviews

It Bites’ third studio album, Eat Me in St. Louis (1989), stands as a defiant pivot for the British prog-pop quartet, trading their earlier whimsical complexities for a raw, riff-driven hard rock edge. Fronted by the enigmatic Francis Dunnery on vocals and guitar, with Bob Dalton on drums, John Beck on keys, and Dick Nolan on bass, this was the original lineup’s final bow before Dunnery‘s departure. Produced by Mack (of Queen fame), the record crackles with urgency, clocking in at 11 tracks that blend blistering guitars, soaring melodies, and a darker lyrical undercurrent—far from the playful prog of The Big Lad in the Windmill (1986) or Once Around the World (1988).

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Lola Young‘s third studio album, I’m Only F**king Myself, set for release on September 19, 2025, via Island Records, is a 13-track collection that shifts focus from romantic entanglements to internal battles, as Young herself described it as centering on “personal struggle” with “real bangers” throughout.

The album blends gritty alt-pop with soulful R&B edges, production that amplifies her raspy, emotive vocals against punchy beats and sparse instrumentals. Opening with the introspective interlude “how long will it take to walk a mile? (interlude)”, it sets a contemplative tone before exploding into “F**K EVERYONE,” an anthem laced with defiant lyrics about embracing fluidity.

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Faetooth‘s sophomore album, Labyrinthine, released on September 5, 2025, via The Flenser, marks a mesmerizing evolution for the Los Angeles-based trio—Ari May on vocals and guitar, Jenna Garcia on bass, and Rah Kanan on drums. Formed in 2019, the band self-describes their sound as “fairy doom,” a haunting fusion of doomgaze, atmospheric sludge metal, and shoegaze-tinged heaviness that conjures ethereal forests and supernatural gloom.

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In a musical landscape often dominated by fleeting trends, The Bolshoi Brothers‘ self-titled debut album emerges as a refreshing anomaly. Released on March 21, 2025, via Electronic Music Records, this project reunites Trevor Tanner (vocals and guitar) and Paul Clark (keyboards), former members of the 1980s new wave band The Bolshoi. Conceived during the COVID lockdown with Tanner in Florida and Clark in Seattle, the album’s remote creation infuses it with an intimate, almost spectral quality.

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After the Snow (original cover)[/caption]Released in May 1982 on 4AD Records, After the Snow marked a pivotal evolution for Modern English, the Colchester-based post-punk outfit. Following their abrasive debut Mesh & Lace (1981), this sophomore effort softened the edges, embracing melodic new wave sensibilities while retaining a shadowy, introspective core.

Produced by Hugh Jones, the album’s eight tracks clock in at just over 30 minutes, blending driving rhythms, atmospheric keyboards, and Robbie Grey‘s haunting vocals into a cohesive, if occasionally eccentric, soundscape.

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