Reviews

Fuzzy • 1st March 2021

Maisie Peters - 'John Hughes Movie' Review | FUZZY

“With this tune, Peters has declared that she won’t shy away from her pop sensibilities when it feels right. If her empire is going to take on the pop world, ‘Movie’ was the right time, and it is extremely well-executed.”

Maisie Peters, the self-proclaimed queen of emo-girl pop is back with ‘John Hughes Movie’, a song believed to be the lead single from Peters’ highly anticipated debut album.

It’s slick, it’s well-crafted, and oh boy is it an earworm.

Written with Miranda Cooper and Henrik Mi

Fuzzy • 7th October 2020

Future Islands - ‘Moonlight’ Review | FUZZY

"The subdued production and slow metre cleverly set the atmosphere for intimate and in some ways, heart-wrenching lyrics."

American synthpop band Future Islands, comprised of Samuel T. Herring, Gerrit Welmers, William Cashion, and Michael Lowry, have released their new track ‘Moonlight’, ahead of their upcoming studio album As Long as You Are.

Following the lead single ‘For Sure’, which is upbeat and driving, and slower, synthy second release, ‘Thrill’, ‘Moonlight’ maintains the more mellow pr

Fuzzy • 24th July 2020

The Aces - 'Under My Influence' Album Review | FUZZY

"Songs like ‘Kelly’ on this album, talking about how the narrator “Spent the night between her thighs”, are the representation of female sexuality, and of specifically female homosexuality, that pop music needs more of."

Four-piece alt-pop group from Utah, The Aces, consisting of Cristal Ramirez (lead vocals and guitar), Katie Henderson (guitar and vocals), McKenna Petty (bass and vocals), and Alisa Ramirez (drums and vocals), released their first single ‘Stuck’ in 2016. Their debut album, When

Fuzzy • 15th July 2020

The Midnight - Monsters Album Review | FUZZY

"I would not expect fifteen tracks to leave me wishing that someone had just given me a highlight reel."

Composed of Jamison Tyler Lyle and Tim Daniel McEwan, The Midnight is a synth-wave duo based in Los Angeles, California. With the band’s motto as “Mono no aware”, loosely translating to nostalgic wistfulness from the Japanese phrase, many of their past releases have encapsulated this sentiment sonically and through lyrics. Here, with their third album Monsters, the duo has continued the tren

Fuzzy • 29th June 2020

Haim – Women In Music Pt. III Album Review | FUZZY

"Not only has this third album confirmed Haim are here to stay: Women In Music Pt. III cements the Haim sisters’ titles of queens of California dreaming."

The build-up to pop-rock trio Haim’s new album Women in Music Pt. III has spanned ten months, from the release of ‘Summer Girl’ last August to the subsequent releases of ‘Now I’m In It’, ‘Hallelujah’, ‘The Steps’, ‘I Know Alone’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna’. These tracks promised us an album which was a continuation of the band’s confident, rhythm-dri

Fuzzy • 25th June 2020

Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways Album Review | FUZZY

"'Murder Most Foul' is more of an experience rather than a singular song; almost as if it is a seventeen-minute educational podcast."

It’s safe to say that 2020 has been a year of weird surprises and plot twists beyond the realms of common imagination. That’s why when folk-rock legend Bob Dylan spontaneously released seventeen-minute ‘Murder Most Foul’ in March, detailing the assassination of JFK, it seemed like the most apt release. I was personally concerned that this was going to be Dylan’s

The Gryphon • 9th March 2020

Oh Wonder, No One Else Can Wear Your Crown – The Gryphon

Alt-pop duo Oh Wonder began working together in early 2011 but made a name for themselves when they released their self-titled debut album in 2015, following an unorthodox approach of releasing a song every month beginning in September 2014. From there they released their sophomore album Ultralife in summer 2017 and most recently, No One Else Can Wear Your Crown in February 2020.

This third album is not a departure from their established sound whatsoever, with their well-established DIY synths

The Gryphon • 10th February 2020

Hibou @ Hyde Park Book Club – The Gryphon

He may be a few thousand miles from his base in Seattle, but the audience could tell dream-pop band Hibou seemed very much at home in our very own Hyde Park Book Club.

The band first formed in 2013, and consists solely of Peter Michel, but he brought a drummer, a bassist and a keyboardist along for this tour. Since his debut self-titled record was released in 2015, Hibou has released two subsequent albums, currently promoting the most recent release, Halve (2019). This album feels very nostalgi

The Gryphon • 24th January 2020

The Big Moon Stand Up Taller In Their Boots on New Album ‘Walking Like We Do’ – The Gryphon

Two months on from TRNSMT Festival’s director Geoff Evans’ foolish claim that women needed to “pick up guitars”, London indie rock female four-piece The Big Moon have effectively hit back with their second album Walking Like We Do. Just as with their 2017 debut Love in the 4th Dimension, they proved something few of us needed persuading of: women rock.

Walking Like We Do is a change from their debut. It feels softer, still fun but has more vulnerable moments that were not necessarily present ba

The Gryphon • 2nd December 2019

Sigrid Stuns @ The O2 Academy 23/11/19 – The Gryphon

The Norwegian pop scene is rife with budding talent. Whilst not all of it makes it into the pop mainstream in the UK, young singer-songwriter Sigrid is definitely a success story. Following on from being named BBC’s Sound of 2018, 2019 was set to be an even bigger year for Sigrid as she released her debut album Sucker Punch in March. On Saturday, she brought her headline tour to a sold-out Leeds O2 Academy, a year and a half after her sold-out show at Stylus, and it was a true pop treat.

Enteri

The Gryphon • 1st November 2019

Tessa Violet Returns with New Album ‘Bad Ideas’ – The Gryphon

Tessa Violet’s second LP Bad Ideas is finally here. Five years on from the YouTube filmmaker turned musician’s last LP, Maybe Trapped, Mostly Troubled, and three years on from her EP Halloway, this new album is a further transition into slick pop beats, rather than the acoustic-driven confessionals on her first LP. Whilst the first song, ‘Prelude’ heavily features an acoustic guitar, it transitions into ‘Crush’, which is a highly relatable bubblegum-esc pop track. It was first released way back