IAN SINCLAIR draws attention to the powerful role that literature plays in foreseeing the way humanity will deal with climate crisis
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Album Reviews with KEVIN BRYAN: March 4, 2024
Reviews of Simon Stanley Ward & The Shadows of Doubt, The Long Ryders, and Status Quo
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High quality pulp, rollicking online murders, Abnorman Britain, and high skates drama: reviews of The Get Off, Everyone In The Group Chat Dies, Pagans and First To Fall
DENNIS BROE notes what happens to content when the streaming giants incorporate AI and deregulation into their economic models
New releases from The Tenementals, Nik Bartsch’s Ronin, and Kuunatic
SCOTT ALSWORTH hears the call to burn down and rebuild the video game industry from the bottom up
The Chinese language only introduced a feminine pronoun in the 1920s. Now, it might adopt a gender-inclusive one, suggests JANET DAVEY
ALEX HALL is intrigued by a detailed history of Gaza that demonstrates its historic resilience and changing economy
Simon Stanley Ward & The Shadows of Doubt,
Rocket in the Desert (Self Released)
★★★★
A FEAST of literate and expertly executed English Americana from one of the country’s most richly rewarding songwriters, adding to the excellent body of work that he’s assembled during the past decade or so.
Ward’s fine band The Shadows of Doubt also deserve a mention in dispatches for their eloquent contribution to one of the most impressive albums that you’ll be likely to hear in this or any other year, with stand-out tracks such as When September Comes, Terpsichorean Footwear and Rocket in the Desert itself supplying an ideal introduction to the supremely gifted Ward’s engaging brand of music-making.
The album also marked the final appearance on record of talented bass player Geoff Easeman, whose contributions were captured for posterity in an NHS hospice shortly before his untimely death last year.
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