Camilla Pia

Nikita Lalwani - The Village

A tense social drama about trust and betrayal, set in an Indian prison

22 May 2012

When Ray Bhullar travels to an Indian ‘open prison’ village to film a behind-the-scenes BBC documentary, she gets more than she bargained for. ‘Everyone here has killed someone,’ she’s told, as she slowly adapts to the sights and smells of her alien new…

Hot Chip - In Our Heads

The elctro-pop masters' fifth album is their most smartly accessible effort to date

21 May 2012

Every self-appointed creative with a WTF haircut and a MacBook thinks they’re an ‘electronic artist’ these days. But there’s more to it than bedroom-recording cry wank vocals over presets and dropping them to Tuesday night cheek-chewers. Hot Chip’s…

Zulu Winter - Language

The indie rockers' debut is disappointingly unadventurous

23 Apr 2012

(Play It Again Sam) With their unabashed love of Czech new wave cinema, Steve Reich, TS Eliot, Ayn Rand and modern dance troupes The List won’t even pretend to have heard of, we expected something a little more adventurous from Zulu Winter’s debut…

PAWS - Misled Youth

A pacey, frantic and melancholy EP from the Glasgow garage pop-rock trio

23 Apr 2012

(Fat Cat) Grrr, Paws are good. Be it gigging in weird places (the Glasgow trio have played in bathrooms, skate shops and on top of double decker buses) or the bedroom recordings released on painstakingly put-together, hand-numbered limited edition…

Interview: Grimes - Electronica artist

The Canadian musician shares the intense creative process that spawned new album Visions

16 Apr 2012

The stunning future pop masterpiece Visions by Claire Boucher aka Grimes is inspired by Enya, Japanese anime, TLC and Aphex Twin and samples Renaissance composer Palestrina. Her dream? To be Timbaland and Lydia Lunch simultaneously and leave a mark on…

Peter Carey - The Chemistry of Tears

Moving portrait of grief and genius from the twice Booker-winning author

16 Mar 2012

(Faber) Grief haunts the pages of Peter Carey’s new novel, the twice Booker-winning author painting a compelling picture of all-consuming love in the 19th and 21st centuries. Catherine Gehrig is an horologist turned museum conservator who, following…

Kindness - World, You Need A Change Of Mind

Superb spellbinding pop which pulls of a mulititude of hipsterism sins

28 Feb 2012

(Female Energy/Polydor) You could be forgiven for thinking Kindness is little more than hipster ‘lolz’. Tracks have trickled out sporadically accompanied by cryptic soundbites and moody black and white shots of a recording studio in Paris and New…

Grimes - Visions

Jaw-dropping record of carefully crafted and cleverly created songs

22 Feb 2012

(4AD) Visions is Claire Boucher’s fourth release in less than two years, and shows the Vancouver-born music-maker feverishly developing her sound at a rate of knots. Since she moved to Montreal in 2006 and birthed performance art, video and audio…

The Shins - Port Of Morrow

Timely reminder of value of solid indie rock built on smart storytelling and melodies

22 Feb 2012

(Aural Apothecary/Columbia Records) Oh, James Mercer, we’ve missed you. Port Of Morrow is The Shins’ first new material in four years and in a world where the young’uns are dabbling in skew-whiff electronica and art funk ‘jams’ with varying results…

Real Estate set for UK tour

New Jersey trio take one of the best albums of 2011 on the road

27 Jan 2012

Let England Shake may have topped most of the critics’ lists, but for many it was word-of-mouth, you have to hear this, slow-burner Days by Real Estate that became their hands down musical highlight of 2011. This much-lauded record was an Ariel Pink…

Emeli Sande - Our Version Of Events

Powerful, sophisticated and smart mix of stripped down, acoustic songs

24 Jan 2012

(Virgin) Just imagine it, Adele and Emeli Sandé down the pub, putting the world to rights over copious pints. Men? Screw ’em. Hype? Whatever. But the main reason they’d make great gal pals is because they’ve both worked out ways to channel their…

Die Hard - Die Hard

Glasgow outfit's eponymous debut of magnificently off-kilter, avant pop tales

23 Jan 2012

(Halleluwah Hits) If this Glasgow outfit had named themselves after any other Bruce Willis film we’d have issues, but as it is we’re rather partial to a bit of John McClane action so we’re giving Die Hard a go. Stick their eponymous debut on and…

Errors - Have Some Faith In Magic

Superb third album that should push the foursome out of Mogwai's shadow

6 Jan 2012

(Rock Action) Lazily regarded as Mogwai-lite for most of their seven year existence, Errors’ third offering finally sees the Glasgow foursome shrug off the shackles of their legendary label founders’ early patronage. Anyone with half a brain could…

Single of the month: Trailer Trash Tracys ‘Candy Girl / Strangling Good Guys’

Florence and the Machine, Arctic Monkeys and more also reviewed

5 Jan 2012

Music snobs love to flame Florence and the Machine these days. But as ‘No Light No Light’ (Island) ●●●● proves, Welch does epic, pagan pop pretty much perfectly. Her only crime is that lots of people now like it. They’d no doubt sneer at the recent…

Ali Shaw - The Man Who Rained

Fantastical modern fable from the author of The Girl With Glass Feet

19 Dec 2011

(Atlantic) After the success of The Girl With Glass Feet, Ali Shaw sticks to his penchant for penning fables with a folklore-filled romance set in a small, superstitious American town. But Thunderstown is not as it first appears when Elsa Beletti…

Interview: Stuart Braithwaite deconstructs Mogwai

An examination of what makes them great, ahead of their 2011 UK tour

9 Dec 2011

40% Quiet/Loud ‘For our first few years this was our raison d’être’ says Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite of a technique that came to define the band’s early, and much revered, nerve-shredding sound. That jolt as the volume soared and dipped without warning…

Seafieldroad - Seafieldroad

Thoroughly beguiling second effort showcases a spine-tingling delivery

10 Nov 2011

(Biphonic) It’s a shock to find Swimmer One and Seafieldroad’s Andrew Eaton-Lewis stripped of all his usual sonic accoutrements. But this second solo effort of piano-backed ballads is thoroughly beguiling. Rich, sonorous vocals are the focal point…

White Denim - Last Day Of Summer

A stripped down snapshot of a band in transition and showcasing awe-inspiring musicianship

10 Nov 2011

(Downtown) Last Day Of Summer is a fascinating insight into what White Denim were knocking out for fun before the release of this year’s breakthrough; deservedly lauded fourth offering D. Recorded in a month and initially available only online, this…

Summer Camp - Welcome To Condale

Seeped in nostalgia and one of the smartest synth pop romp of the year

19 Oct 2011

(Apricot Recording Company/Moshi Moshi) Summer Camp’s music is seeped in nostalgia, but the London duo pay homage to the past cleverly; their 1980s’ teen flicks-inspired debut thankfully free of the usual pitfalls of cynical pastiche and straight…

Robert Harris - The Fear Index

An unexpectedly thrilling mix of science, computers and global economics

16 Sep 2011

(Hutchinson) With its ominous title and opening ‘Frankenstein’ quote, it’s no great surprise to find that The Fear Index is a freaky read. And if you’re a fan of being spooked, then Robert Harris’ eighth novel is a must, as he guides us through a…

Twin Sister - In Heaven

Insanely infectious pop melodies and playful, off-kilter lyrics from Long Island quintet’s debut

14 Sep 2011

(Domino) Twin Sister’s biog tells us they want to make music you could feel comfortable cheating on someone to. And while The List can’t speak from experience on this one, honest, we can certainly imagine In Heaven blissing listeners out so much they…

Veronica Falls - Veronica Falls

Gorgeously gritty indie pop referencing C86, Pastels and Vaselines

14 Sep 2011

(Bella Union) You may recognise this boy/girl foursome from their various past musical projects The Royal We, Sexy Kids, Your Twenties and Correcto. But The List hopes they stick with this one, because with Veronica Falls they’re really on to…

Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

New-found soulfulness with assured second album

14 Sep 2011

(Fantasy Trashcan/Turnstile) At times Christopher Owens’ religious cult upbringing and drug dabbling has threatened to overshadow the music he makes as the driving force behind San Francisco’s Girls. No such problems with this assured follow-up to…

Jane Harris

The author of The Observations and Gillespie and I on making Glasgow an evocative character

24 Aug 2011

‘The secret was what I began with,’ says Jane Harris about her most recent work, Gillespie and I. And what a mystery we unravel, as narrator Harriet Baxter reflects on her time in 1880s Glasgow and the consequences of a chance meeting with ‘soulmate…

Amy Waldman - The Submission

Admirably tackling the political impacts of 9/11

24 Aug 2011

(Heinemann) Tackling the devastating emotional and political impact of 9/11 is no light undertaking but Amy Waldman grapples with it admirably in her debut The Submission. The novel centres around a panel charged with choosing the memorial to be…

Butcher Boy - Helping Hands

From strength to strength, without fanfare or fuss

24 Aug 2011

(Damaged Goods) Butcher Boy’s John Blain Hunt has a habit of taking your breath away with words. Three albums into the band’s career, he’s still that brilliant; Helping Hands filled to the brim with the beautifully crafted, poetic storytelling the…

Hari Kunzru - Gods Without Men

A centuries-spanning, multi-character masterpiece from Kunzru

3 Aug 2011

(Hamish Hamilton) Not many books start with a coyote smoking pot. But then Hari Kunzru is not your average novelist. His latest endeavour is a dazzling collection of snapshots taken at various points in time between 1775 and 2009, as we dip in and…

Interview - Battles' Ian Williams on the story behind Gloss Drop

Ian Williams on life and making music after four members became three

24 May 2011

While deeply ensconced in the making of their second album, Battles singer/guitarist Tyondai Braxton announced his departure from the band last year. The news hit fans keenly anticipating the follow-up to 2007’s math rock masterpiece Mirrored hard; as…

Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Finally we’ve got the freaky music to match the monsters

24 May 2011

(Polydor) However much we snigger at the egg shell antics and purposely deranged interview technique, people gobble up everything Gaga does right now. So Gaga wins. But sticking firm to her Warhol and Bowie-inspired artistic roots and achieving…

Dananananaykroyd - There Is A Way

An incredibly smart rock record driven by their trademark tireless energy and joy

20 May 2011

(Pizza College) Award five stars or have them sectioned? It’s often a fine line, but a world without Dananananaykroyd’s glorious lunacy would be a sad place indeed. The Glasgow six-some have excelled themselves with There Is A Way; an incredibly…

'Feel It Break' by Austra is a stunning introduction to the Canadian electro-poppers

14 Apr 2011

(Domino) While Katie Stelmanis is very much the beating heart of Austra, her vocals are the icing on an already rather tasty cake. Feel It Break introduces us to this Toronto trio and their dark blend of electronics, keys and minimalist beats with…

Jane Harris – Gillespie and I

Fictional memoir combining warm late Victorian detail with well-crafted storytelling technique

13 Apr 2011

(Faber) We first meet Harriet Baxter in 1933 Bloomsbury, as our elderly narrator embarks on her memoir. The focus from the off is on her magical encounter with ‘soulmate’ Ned Gillespie, Baxter soon becoming deeply embroiled in the lives of this…

Singles of the month: Gyratory System and Something Beginning with L

'New Harmony' and 'Angel Sized' best tracks of March/April 2011

24 Mar 2011

You join The List in a proper strop. Blame Aaron Wright’s ‘Trampoline’ (Dset) ● and ‘Interrupt’ (Albino) ● by Toy Horses; the latter all timid boy vocals and Turin Brakes-isms; the former reminding us that we hate the bloody Kooks. We also hate the…

The Kills: Blood Pressures

Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince deliver a stirring slice of art-rock

24 Mar 2011

(Domino) More well known these days for their dalliances with Jack White (musical) and Kate Moss (marital), Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince make a long-awaited return to The Kills after a three-year break. Throughout Blood Pressures there are…

Edinburgh art-poppers Found release album Factorycraft

Third album is trio's first on Chemikal Underground

3 Mar 2011

‘We were all a bit jealous of Cybraphon,’ laughs Tommy Perman. FOUND’s bassist and synth player is talking about their ‘autonomous emotional robot band’ project that went on to win them a BAFTA in 2009. And the more it spread like wildfire on the…

The Strokes - Angles

Easily the most brilliant The Strokes have been since their debut

1 Mar 2011

(Rough Trade) ‘Under Cover Of Darkness’ is undeniably sparky, but for The Strokes to follow it with a whole album of classic Is This It?-isms would have been a mistake. And that’s not to say this long-awaited fourth release doesn’t have flashes of…

The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?

Incredibly infectious melodies marred by shockingly dodgy lyrics

1 Mar 2011

(Columbia Records) The Vaccines’ name may already be synonymous with over-inflated hype, but to be fair to them, the London quartet have mastered the art of penning incredibly infectious melodies ridiculously quickly – claiming to have completed this…

Single of the fortnight: Austra - Beat and Pulse

Single reviews February 2011

18 Feb 2011

Alexis Jordan, Arthur's Landing, Austra, Cults, Jacques Greene, Lupe Fiasco, Lykke Li, Martin Creed, Music, Naum Gabo, Neon Trees, Penguins Kill Polar Bears, and Verse Metrics all reviewed.

Luxury Car - When I Was Good

Unique and inventive brilliance of second album is striking from the off

11 Feb 2011

Biphonic Records is known predominantly for introducing us to some of the most inventive Scottish pop around – namely works by Swimmer One and Seafieldroad over the years. Makes sense then that John Robertson, aka Luxury Car, should join forces with the…

Frankie & The Heartstrings - Hunger

Edwyn Collins-produced debut of fizzing indie pop with infectious energy

11 Feb 2011

(Popsex/Wichita Recordings) This Sunderland quintet are a phenomenal live force; seemingly not content to let their crowds get away with anything less than sweat-soaked, arms-aloft, screech your heart out singing. This infectious energy is captured…

Bright Eyes - The People’s Key

Conor Oberst makes a (possibly) final return to his most famous project

26 Jan 2011

(Polydor) Following musical dalliances with the Mystic Valley Band and Monsters Of Folk, Conor Oberst returns to the Bright Eyes fold with a fresh new take on the big life questions, from ‘who am I?’ and ‘do I really love you?’ to, ‘umm, are those…

MEN - Talk About Body

14 Jan 2011

(IAMSOUND) With electro punk pioneers Le Tigre currently on hiatus, two of the trio, JD Samson and Johanna Fateman, created MEN with the intention of making ‘radical’ dance music. Talk About Body certainly ticks those boxes, lines like ‘I’m going to…

Girls - Broken Dreams Club

Lushly produced six-track mini-album sounds new era for San Francisco five-piece

30 Nov 2010

(Fantasy Trashcan/Turnstile Music) Tales of notorious unpredictability, druggy meltdowns, a background in religious cults and a penchant for inappropriate nudity have followed Girls around since they first impressed with 2009 debut Album. And…

Take That - Progress

Electronics-tinged man pop is one of fastest selling records of the century

23 Nov 2010

(Polydor) By the time you read this, the now fully reunited Take That’s sixth offering will have been bought by stratospheric amounts of people. Progress is one of the fastest selling records of the century so far – a huge achievement for a once…

Idlewild - 100 Broken Windows: 10th Anniversary Edition

15 Nov 2010

(EMI) Despite making The List feel hideously old, this 10th anniversary re-release of a bona fide classic is a hugely welcome one. Devotees will pour over the wealth of live and exclusive goodies featured here (including tracks recorded by Shellac’s…

Wild Palms' emotional and energy-fuelled 'To The Lighthouse' is single of the fortnight

Singles and Downloads - 3 Nov 2010

1 Nov 2010

Nadine Coyle first shot to fame with Girls Aloud, Steve Mason is ex-Beta Band and Kele used to be in (yes, yes we get it now) Bloc Party. So it’s a ‘solo project’ party to kick things off in The List’s singles swag bag this issue. Sadly ‘Insatiable…

Belle and Sebastian - Write About Love

29 Sep 2010

(Rough Trade) Belle and Sebastian return, following a four-and-a-half year break. And having re-grouped in February this year, they recorded this eighth studio offering with Tony Hoffer in LA – which perhaps explains the collaborations with Hollywood…

Tinie Tempah - Disc-Overy

15 Sep 2010

(Parlophone) South London has just coughed up another gifted young MC in the form of Patrick Ogwugu aka 'Talk of 2010' Tinie Tempah. And Rascal needs to watch his back, Disc-Overy is a fiery first effort from the 21-year-old, packed full of…

Five reasons to see: Dum Dum Girls

10 Sep 2010

1. They’re bringing badass back to rock ‘n’ roll. Just take a peep at these LA-based lasses. What else could they do apart from be in a brilliant band? With their poster-worthy girl gang image, icon-in-waiting names (Dee Dee, Jules, Bambi and Sandy…

Robert Alan Jamieson - Da Happie Laand

1 Sep 2010

(Luath) We imagine Robert Alan Jamieson spent a lot of noggin-aching days and nights trying to work out how to match what he accomplished with A Day at the Office, the 1991 novel regarded by many as one of the greatest Scottish works of all time.

Crystal Fighters - Star Of Love

1 Sep 2010

(Zirkulo Records) Think Gaga’s a tad eccentric? Then try Crystal Fighters for size. This East London quintet named themselves after an unfinished opera written by singer Laure’s grandfather during his descent into insanity, and now pride themselves…

Alice Thompson

The Edinburgh novelist gets used to the spotlight

12 Aug 2010

‘It’s a great honour to be asked to appear at the Edinburgh Book Festival,’ says Alice Thompson. ‘It’s like being knighted.’ And no one deserves it more than this Edinburgh-based author. Her fifth and most recent work, The Existential Detective, finds…

Allan Brown will discuss Inside the Wickerman

His batty book analyses the cult classic

12 Aug 2010

Inside the Wicker Man is a cinema lover’s dream. The book is packed with fascinating trivia from the horror classic it explores, along with in-depth analysis and humour; and it’s a pleasure to find its author Allan Brown just as funny in everyday…

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

Masterful characters discover a world of crime and corruption

12 Aug 2010

Popular private investigator Jackson Brodie makes a dramatic return in Kate Atkinson’s latest offering; as he delves into the past and discovers a world of corruption, killings and cover-ups. Set in Leeds, Started Early, Took My Dog marks another…

David McKee

Discussing the inner monster

12 Aug 2010

‘They’re like my children,’ smiles David McKee, the creator of such long-adored characters as Mr Benn, King Rollo and Elmer the Patchwork Elephant. ‘You love them equally and they all demand attention at different times.’ The legendary storyteller and…

Inspector Tapehead - Duress Code

Cleverly made and head-scratchingly catchy debut

5 Aug 2010

(Song, By Toad Records) Inspector Tapehead are folkies; but not in the strictly traditional or rather cynical ‘I’m a Mumford, me’ sense. Yes, Duress Code boasts clattering rhythms, acoustic strumming and the raw delivery and lyrical romance you might…

Broad Comedy

American sketch sextet with high aims

3 Aug 2010

If Broad Comedy could achieve one thing with their work, what would it be? ‘Orgasm. Wait, we’ve done that.’ So says the charmingly cheeky Katie Goodman, an actress/writer/director who, along with her husband, playwright and actor Soren Kisiel, came up…

Howard Jacobson - The Finkler Question

29 Jul 2010

(Bloomsbury) Fans of Howard Jacobson’s skilfully constructed storytelling will not be surprised to hear that his latest work seems to centre around male-female relationships, a theme the London-based writer has explored often. But as The Finkler…

Drunken and semi-psychotic singer Loretta Maine set for Edinburgh

Dark musical comedy with sick bags not included

27 Jul 2010

You certainly wouldn’t invite Loretta Maine round to dinner with the folks. The hilariously drunken and semi-psychotic singer/songwriter left school in Portland, Oregon, at the age of 15, and now tours a repertoire which includes such colourful…

Broad Comedy bring raunchy-but-smart female comedy to Edinburgh Fringe

American sketch sextet with high aims

27 Jul 2010

If Broad Comedy could achieve one thing with their work, what would it be? ‘Orgasm. Wait, we’ve done that.’ So says the charmingly cheeky Katie Goodman, an actress/writer/director who, along with her husband, playwright and actor Soren Kisiel, came up…

Ned Beauman - Boxer Beetle

23 Jul 2010

(Sceptre) Not one for the easily shocked, young scribe Ned Beauman subjects the reader to a parade of ghoulish events and ghastly theories throughout his dazzling first novel Boxer Beetle. Admittedly it’s hard work at first, as we’re introduced to a…

Jon Fratelli returns to his roots and lines up Edge Festival show

Former Fratelli's frontman is solo and ready for the next chapter

15 Jul 2010

For many it came as a bolt from the blue when much-loved Glasgow trio The Fratellis announced in April that they were to split. It was a break ‘for now’, they claimed, but following their frontman’s ventures into markedly different territory with…

Rhys Thomas - On the Third Day

5 Jul 2010

(Doubleday) Rampaging humans infected with a mysterious, incurable disease, society’s structures crumbling, whole countries vanquished and just one family on the run from it all. We can see what Rhys Thomas is trying to do with his second novel and…

Alice Thompson - The Existential Detective

24 Jun 2010

(Two Ravens Press) When a work opens, as The Existential Detective does, with the lyrics to Pat Ballard’s ‘Mister Sandman’, followed by an extract from ‘The Sandman’ by ETA Hoffmann, you just know it’s going to be spine-chilling. And this is Alice…

Yann Martel's Shoah business

3 Jun 2010

Yann Martel is using more fable and allegory in the follow-up to his Man Booker winner. Camilla Pia hears from an author at his artistic peak and in domestic bliss

Swimmer One - Dead Orchestras

19 May 2010

(Biphonic Records) There’s a Manchester-based twosome called Hurts currently making a humungous splash in modern pop with their emotional blend of smart electronic epics. And while we love them, The List can’t help but smile about it. After all, we…

Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles

6 May 2010

(Fiction) Things are never straightforward when you’re dealing with this Toronto twosome. For a start, the follow-up to their 2008 debut has exactly the same title (causing a whole heap of iTunes bother), and they claim to have recorded the album in…

Kirsten Reed - The Ice Age

28 Apr 2010

(Picador) In case you hadn’t noticed, vampires are all the rage right now. So the subject matter of Kirsten Reed’s debut novel couldn’t be more apt. A disillusioned teen, desperate for a bit of adventure, meets an older bohemian bloke she reckons…

Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts

21 Apr 2010

(Sub Pop) Sometimes nothing but a ferocious, flail-inducing racket will do. And in those darkest, riff-craving moments, Male Bonding are everything you need and more. Nothing Hurts is the debut effort from the London trio and it speeds along…

Super Adventure Club - Avoid Zombies

21 Apr 2010

(Armellodie Records) Avoid Zombies, eh? Good advice indeed from this Glasgow trio’s latest release, but that’s the only sensible thing about it. The opening track is called ‘Hip Hop Hot Pot Pot Noodle’ forchrissakes, and from there on in the Super…

The Futureheads - The Chaos

14 Apr 2010

(Nul Recordings) When your average indie band reaches record number four, you can usually expect a slowing down of sorts (blame the sex and drugs) as they bloatedly lose the hunger for hot riffage and instead explore experimental noodling, epic…

Why Lady Gaga is the future of pop

17 Feb 2010

We tried to resist, honestly we did, but Lady Gaga got to The List in the end. It wasn’t the relentless, vom-inducing marketing campaign that did it either. No, no, we survived all that initial fluff; we battled triumphantly against the moneyed barrage…

Errors - Come Down With Me

3 Feb 2010

(Rock Action) It’s been a while since a bunch of arty boys from Glasgow made one of the records of the year. But with their second offering Come Down With Me (a title in homage to the Channel 4 dining bitchfest), Errors have done exactly that.

Singles & downloads - Mon 18 Jan 2009

20 Jan 2010

It’s a new year and The List is feeling all aquiver. You see, our appetite has already been whetted by a whole host of new acts filling our ears with futuristic pioneering pop, so be warned: for this issue’s track reviews, derivative idiotmusic will NOT…

Before the Gods - KS Turner interview

19 Jan 2010

From the moment you pick up Before the Gods, with its tantalising mix of fantasy, science fiction, psychology, mythology, existential questioning and spirituality, it’s clear that we’re dealing with no ordinary fictional debut. But with its lofty title…

FM Belfast - How To Make Friends

15 Jan 2010

(World Champion) When it comes to influences, there’s a huge difference between funk music and ‘funky’ music. Retro funk is generally pretty cool, whereas funky is just, well, a bit gross. FM Belfast seem to have caught onto this pretty quick: an…

William Styron - The Suicide Run

7 Jan 2010

(Jonathan Cape) On first glance at the cover image depicting a uniformed soldier speeding across a field, The Suicide Run looks like your average war story. But this is no ordinary tale; we should have guessed really, as William Styron is no…

CJ Box - Three Weeks to Say Goodbye

4 Dec 2009

(Corvus) He’s a rising star of crime writing in the States, but it’s only a matter of time before CJ Box explodes onto the UK’s radar, thanks in no small part to this storming British debut. Three Weeks to Say Goodbye is a smart place to start for…

Metronomy - Pip Paine (Pay The £5000 You Owe)

4 Dec 2009

Because Music Re-releases are a little pointless, aren’t they? If we didn’t give a monkeys about your album the first time around, why should we now? Well, quite frankly when it comes to Joseph Mount aka Metronomy, you should always give a monkeys.

Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport

13 Nov 2009

(ATP) If Mogwai had listened to more techno (eek! What a thought) they might have ended up producing something a bit like Tarot Sport. Instead this sonic masterpiece was conjured up by two geeks from Bristol, who cater in the kind of intense and arty…

Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young

29 Oct 2009

(Rough Trade) The List is quite frankly gagging for a new Strokes record … it’s been three years ferchrissakes. But until we get one, Julian Casablancas’ debut (easily the Strokes-iest sounding of each member’s solo projects so far) will do nicely.

The Brute Chorus - The Brute Chorus

29 Oct 2009

(Bumpman) Turning up to the indie party in an eye-catching array of ye olde dapper attire, monster quiffs and (possibly) ironic moustaches, The Brute Chorus certainly know how to make an impact. You see, they recorded this debut in one…

Biffy Clyro

Once again, 'mon the Biffy!

15 Oct 2009

The List has had a long documented love affair with Biffy Clyro. You see, from the moment we first heard stunning debut Blackened Sky in 2002 we knew the trio were onto something very special. So, forgive us for sounding like proud gushing parents when…

The Big Pink interview

Getting dreamy with the indie fuzz debutantes

1 Oct 2009

We’re told The Big Pink’s Robbie Furze is something of a charmer. Quite apt, then, that his band’s debut is all about love, as we imagine, the singer has had a hell of a lot of experience. Furze is on rare downtime and in the middle of dog walking on a…

Ocean Size - Twin Atlantic interview

10 Sep 2009

The popular Glasgow rockers Twin Atlantic pack an onstage punch, and have more than enough ambition to follow it up, finds Camilla Pia

Monsters of Folk - Monsters Of Folk

3 Sep 2009

With a band made up of such indie big guns as Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes), Jim James of My Morning Jacket and singer-songwriter M Ward, you’d imagine there would be an almighty scrap over who took frontman duties. Not with Monsters Of…

Twin Atlantic - Vivarium

3 Sep 2009

Not since the sacred Biffy Clyro has The List been this excited about a bunch of young Scottish rockers. Twin Atlantic conjure up images of early Idlewild and Foo Fighters with a post-rock twist, and one listen to mini debut offering Vivarium proves why…

Jim O’Rourke - The Visitor

Eight years in the making

21 Aug 2009

(Drag City) It’s been eight years in the making but this indie legend makes his long-awaited return with a sublime solo effort in the form of The Visitor. All-instrumental and played solely by his own masterful hand, the record is a series of musical…

Yacht - See Mystery Lights

Playful beats

21 Aug 2009

(DFA) He left The Blow to go it alone, but it seems that Jona Bechtolt just can’t keep away from coupledom. The Portland, Oregon-based lo-fi quirkpop pioneer has invited Claire L Evans to turn Yacht into a duo, and the outfit sounds all the better…

Iain Banks - Transition

18 Aug 2009

Iain Banks’ words have a habit of getting inside your head with certain phrases, ideas and characters left tunnelling their way into the consciousness long after you’ve put his books down. Latest offering Transition is no different. While his writing…

Arctic Monkeys - Humbug

14 Aug 2009

(Domino) Hanging out with Josh Homme in the Mojave Desert is bound to have strange effects on a band, but by golly it’s done the Arctic Monkeys good. When the four scamps first bounded into our lives with their gritty northern charm and infectious…

John Aberdein - Strip the Willow

12 Aug 2009

Think you can handle pressure? Try following an award-winning debut. John Aberdein kept a cool head when it came to writing Strip the Willow however, despite the huge anticipation for the novel as a result of excellent first offering Amande’s Bed. ‘Some…

Geoff Dyer

Merrily spinning a Thomas Mann-inflected yarn

12 Aug 2009

The main man in Geoff Dyer’s smartly-penned fourth novel Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi has a pretty devilish sense of humour. And it would seem that the same can be said for the character’s creator. So what does he have in store for us with his…

Aleksandar Hemon: Love and Obstacles

10 Aug 2009

Too tightly weaved together for your average collection of short stories, but containing sections too complete to be mere chapters in a standard novel, Love and Obstacles is a staggering achievement for this Bosnian American writer. His fourth literary…

Miike Snow - Miike Snow

10 Aug 2009

Represented visually by the mythical jackalope and scarce pics of three masked figures floating around on the internet, anyone would think Miike Snow didn’t want people to know who they are. Weird, considering this brilliant debut effort that is packed…

Pissed Jeans - King of Jeans

10 Aug 2009

Being a grown-up sucks, right? Well Pissed Jeans certainly think so. Third long-player King of Jeans is the sound of the Pennsylvanian foursome formally attempting to accept adulthood, and by the sounds of it they’re none too happy at the prospect.

Jay Reatard- Watch Me Fall

10 Aug 2009

On the cover of his second studio album, Jay Reatard (née Lindsey) looks a bit like a druggy and bedraggled serial killer. But you can come out from behind the sofa now because he’s really not that scary. In fact one listen to Watch Me Fall proves he’s…

George Dawes Green - Ravens

30 Jul 2009

It has been 14 long years since we were gripped by George Dawes Green’s best-selling novel The Juror, so this follow-up has plenty to live up to. Thankfully, Ravens delivers – and then some. Set in the deathly quiet US town of Brunswick, it tells the…

Ariel Leve - The Cassandra Chronicles

23 Jul 2009

‘There are two things in life I enjoy. Talking on the phone and drinking coffee. Better yet, talking on the phone while drinking coffee. That’s about it.’ Welcome to the wonderfully dark and witty world of Ariel Leve. This collection of her much-loved…

Germaine Greer at the Festival of Politics

The writer joins the Future Scotland Debate on Sustainable Places

13 Jul 2009

If anyone can get punters fired up about politics it’s Germaine Greer. Relations between MPs and the electorate are at an all-time low; kids can’t be bothered to get off the computer to vote; and our PM’s position is looking decidedly precarious. So…