Reviews
Syrr
It’s been more than eight years since Maryam Saleh’s last album. A stalwart of the Egyptian alternative scene, many believed...
Reviewed by Olivia Cheves in issue: May/2026
OUTTANATIONAL
Margate-based five-piece Pigeon have been building a reputation – 6Music playlists, Glastonbury slots and a string of well-received EPs –...
Reviewed by Alexandra Petropoulos in issue: May/2026
Far From Home
This Pacific Northwest Irish and Scottish trad band centres around the beguiling flute and whistle playing of Hanz Araki, a...
Reviewed by Devon Léger in issue: May/2026
Antoine Dougbe et L’Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou
Antoine Dougbé et L’Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou
Something of a mystery man in Beninese music – you won’t find him mentioned in the Rough Guide to World...
Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: July/2026
Spiritually Unemployed
Ak’chamel, The Giver of Illness
The mysterious Texan duo Ak’chamel’s Bandcamp page describes their sound as “fictional folk music from the post-apocalyptic age”, and that’s...
Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: July/2026
Time
Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band
Remember when R&B meant the joyful music that emerges when blues and soul are stirred together? Taj Mahal does. In...
Reviewed by Paul Slade in issue: July/2026
Dick Spottswood & Tompkins Square Present 1925 Songs
VARIOUS ARTISTS | Various Artists
1925 was a landmark year for US recording studios, marking the introduction of electronic microphones to replace the huge gramophone...
Reviewed by Paul Slade in issue: July/2026
Camerock
Organetto luminary Riccardo Tesi teams up with his Tuscan hometown pal, classical flautist Paolo Zampini (who worked with Ennio Morricone),...
Reviewed by Ciro De Rosa in issue: July/2026
Enchufada: A Lisbon Club Story
VARIOUS ARTISTS | Various Artists
The global reputation of Lisbon as a crucial hub of progressive Afro-diasporic club music wouldn’t be so strong without the...
Reviewed by Justin Turford in issue: July/2026
