Reviews by richardwiggins

So many indie bands that I grew up with in the 2000s owe tonnes to The Jam. They know how to write a slightly dangerous sounding pop rock hit, writing with an edge but that’s also whistleable - not an easy balance to strike.

The War on Drugs is a good natured, meandering, slowly unfurling, vaguely uplifting, updated take on Bruce Springsteen, smudged with plenty of reverb. It's a solid album but I’m not hearing the classic that others treasure, quite possibly because I have less reverence for the reference points at play here. It does however have a great flow, and a real sense of journey across the LP.

Exodus has an incredible flow, you feel looked after as Bob Marley carries you from one smooth jam to another. His songs are so unignorably well written, that what would otherwise be an obscure genre is known the world over. He is one of the great levelers whose music works for pretty much everyone.

The tone of Blue vacillates between soulful, solemn, spirited and sometimes even sexy. I didn't realise so many of the songs were covers, so am relieved that Respect is his own, a song which looms larger than Otis Redding himself.

When music critics review a new Bob Dylan album they often describe it as “his best work since Time Out of Mind” distinguishing 1997 LP as his late, last fit of genius. I think describing it as “one of his great works” might be taking things a bit far, but it’s true that it’s a very beautiful record and a proud accomplishment for any artist over 30 years into their career. The songs here are very chilled out, very touching, very soulful. Being familiar with his records from the last 15 years has inoculated me from any craggliness in his voice, it all sounds very natural to me. He sounds like an old master.

Trash is the kind of metal which you just have to give yourself up to while it stampedes over you. I’d find it too overwhelming to try and keep up with Sepultura, instead the best I can manage is to tentatively approach them like a mortal in the presence of a vengeful demon. I am in awe of the mania they can summon, seemingly from the pits of hell.

It’s quintessential post-punk with a moody gothic bent and alarming alarm-bell style melodic hooks sprinkled throughout. Several of the songs in the first half have the immediate impact of Heaven Up Here and Ocean Rain, others don’t quite succeed in going for the jugular in the same way. They still sound solid but wander around a bit more. Although it’s a pleasure to wander through their atmosphere.

This is what I like to see from the Kinks. Plenty of big singles and bright melodies with performances and production that rough them up a bit for extra dimension. In terms of sheer hit-rate this may be the best LP.

It’s a very silly but surprisingly multifaceted LP. Funky pop rock with plenty of off kilter, eccentric flare, hooks aplenty, aimed squarely at a young audience. The whole thing has a mid-2000s chill, smooth pop sound, The Neptunes production perhaps being the best element. The songwriting is mixed but with definite highs.

It’s a weird week for this album (w/c 27 April 2026). I had to buy it on iTunes for £6.99 (which was nostalgic in and of itself!) as (according to Reddit) it was removed from streamers 7 days ago. Ahead of being taken offline the explicit version had been replaced with a clean version. And that was the only version available for purchase - it’s heavily redacted with the vocals regularly dropping out for any offensive lyrics. The drops don’t impact too badly but it’s a bit lame.

If this album has done anything it’s inspired me to attempt to migrate all of the iTunes purchases I made as a child to my modern day account. Wish me luck!

Even before the overt reference in The 6th Sense I was hearing a modern take on Gil Scott Heron in Common’s performance. It’s an intelligent and grounded take on hip hop with a snappy, crisp, jazz-y production. I like the way he projects his voice and how he mixes serious points with humour. I also admire his love of his family and him inviting his dad onto rap.

In pop music more often than not, the tendency is to inject songs with an abundance of noise and energy, using this to create momentum, drama and a pulse. On their debut The xx achieved the same effect through making every effort to keep each song as small as possible. Each passage has the fewest number of layers they can get away with which creates a fragility and tension. It’s a cool point of difference that they whisper hooky melodies across the entire length of the tracklist.

In 2009, at 16, I did find it a bit more profound than I do now. There is the odd sentimental lyric which doesn’t quite land for me. But largely it holds up in my estimation.

This is a wide-ranging album with a strong grasp on obscure, elusive melodies. It is a series of multi-layered and sophisticated takes on synthpop, never quite settling on one style. My favourite moments are standout singles Personal Jesus Enjoy the Silence. The only song which took me out of it was Waiting for the Night which lacks the strong pulse and forward momentum of the rest of the LP.

There’s some interesting and quite strange elements to Alex Harvey’s performance. I like it when singers see themselves as entertainers and want to do what they can to surprise. My favourite songs are the highly energetic and more reckless ones like Swampsnake. I’m less excited hearing him put surreal and subversive lyrics to more traditional and inoffensive music but it still adds to the admirable element of fun which is threaded throughout the album.

Perhaps not sensational but pretty entertaining.

The instrumentation is beautiful, the production sublime, but the songwriting is drab and boring. At its best, a rare song like Blinded by t!he Hour reminds me positively of Echo & the Bunnymen, but most of it was uninspiring.

Lust for Life has a highly distinct and effortlessly cool sound. Iggy Pop has channeled his carefree punk spirit into a smarter and more sophisticated approach. It is interesting hearing him contain his bundles of energy. My favourite post-punk bands from the decade that followed were definitely taking notes on his vocal performance.

When you get to the halfway point some of it owes a little too much debt to David Bowie, who by no coincidence is on production duties. In this mode Iggy sounds less innovative and less like he is playing to his personal strengths.

Suicide are the definition of uncompromising. They made music that sounded completely divorced not just the time it came from, but from reality itself. It blew my teenage mind to hear Vega and Rev go places that no one else cared to (there are points on this album that I found genuinely frightening). It's not just its inventive use of synths and beats, but a whole approach to writing music which feels uniquely theirs.

There is an aspect of avant garde performance art to the debut, which sounds in line with the descriptions of their elaborate and sometimes violent live shows. Unlike a group like Throbbing Gristle I feel they take the extra steps necessary to explicitly turn a sometimes abstract approach into what is unquestionably a new and highly artistic form of music. It doesn’t surprise me that an unexpectedly high proportion of the listeners of which have gone on to be household names, or how often I hear Suicide samples turn up in much more famous songs.

A joyous and carefree listening experience that would work for pretty much any social gathering (maybe not a funeral?) It feels like music put together with express purpose of spreading joy and being shared with live audiences. I do not dance but this album really makes me wish I could!

Straight out the gates Talking Heads have a perfectly defined, unmistakable sound dense with detail, curious melodies and eccentric vocals. While setting some of the template for what came to be post-punk and new wave, aspects of the performance, particularly, David Byrne's uniquely strained, high in the register vocal style has never been effectively copied.

Its a very exciting debut. Every Talking Heads record that follows is a variation on this theme!

There is a creeping and sinister darkness to The Doors’ debut which elevates a record which already has an incredible hit rate and some of the highest quality jamming ever captured. This era of The Doors is my favourite, where crystal clear ideas arrive like a bullet, but are then dramatically fleshed out with some gently psychedelic sensibilities.

In 1967 The Velvet Underground were writing music that wasn't a million miles away from this, but the darkness in Jim Morrison's voice, and tendency to draw everything out makes for an entirely different listening experience. No song benefits from their patient approach to songwriting than the iconic The End, which left an indelible impression on me when I watched Apocalypse Now as a teenager.

In 1986 another new romantic synthpop record from Talk Talk would have been gratefully received by fans. Examples of genre shifts this extreme are rare, and were even rarer at this point in time. Pleasingly on this occasion it was not just unexpected but gave the band a newfound purpose and a life outside of a sphere that nowadays gets other bands branded (perhaps unfairly) as nostalgia acts. Its My Life might be their big hit, but this is where Mark Hollis’ most significant cultural impact begins, kicking off a series of records with phenomenal texture and depth; patience and reward. Each record after this betters the last. Even now, when a rock or pop group is particularly progressive or leans into chamber instrumentation, I can usually hear the influence of Talk Talk.