Spotlighting the impact of cultural landmarks
Because of the death of Ian Curtis and the nature of the band's last recordings, Joy Division's Closer is an album around which a stillness has settled. In truth, says Jonathan Wright as he talks to Peter Hook and Paul Morley, no band evolved so rapidly. This feature was originally published on 13/07/2020
Nobody wanted what The Soft Boys were selling in 1980, but as David Bennun recounts, their superb swan song, Underwater Moonlight, made them a Velvet Underground for new generations of jangle and psych bands. This feature was first published on 29/06/20
This relatively obscure, nihilistic and resigned second album by a near forgotten Mancunian post punk group was released decades before the birth of writer Lina Adams in the early 00s; so why does it speak so clearly to her life today?
40 years on from its release, Wayne Gooderham revisits the second album Richard Thompson recorded in the wake of his split from wife Linda, and finds a subtle, off-kilter – and unfairly overlooked – mid-career masterpiece (and an utterly essential live sister album)
Four decades since its release, Toby Manning revisits how Prince's oft-overlooked seventh album dared to draw on 60s psychedelia at the height of 80s hippyphobia – producing the most countercultural sounding work of his career
Lesley Chow dissects the (semi-) serious intent behind Stephen Malkmus' nonsensical rhymes on Pavement's 3rd album which was positioned as the "logical end-point of rock". This feature was originally published in 2020 to mark the album's 25th anniversary
Cian Traynor celebrates the 30th birthday of a unique and brilliant album and re-appraises a hip hop anomaly by speaking to some of those who knew its creator, Ol' Dirty Bastard, the best. This feature was originally published on 30 March 2015
Though The Bends has since been overshadowed by what followed, its release 30 years ago found Radiohead on the cusp of stardom. Wyndham Wallace joins them on a journey from their early days to their inevitable worldwide breakthrough. This article was first published on 3 March 2015
David Bennun interviewed Tricky several times for Melody Maker in the 1990s and reviewed Maxinquaye on its release. He assesses how his relationship to this landmark album has changed over the intervening decades. This article was first published on 20 February 2015
Ridiculed and written off, Slowdive produced a meditative post rock masterpiece before quietly splitting up. Joe Banks reflects on why no one was listening at the time, and why we all need to listen now. This article was originally published in 2020
This month, Anna Cafolla reflects on the long and vital influence of Madonna’s Ray Of Light, and celebrates some of her spiritual descendants and pop sistren, including Asbjørn, Rae Morris, Chrystal and Janelle Monáe.
Neither north nor south, the English Midlands are a confusing place bisected by railways and the M1 and A1. Some would say the Midlands are hard to love. Today, local boys House Of Lords and Henry Dartnall of Young Knives give us a guide. Pic by Cat Stevens.