A Look Back On… U2’s ‘Pop’

30 years ago this year, U2 released their seminal album ‘The Joshua Tree’ to mass critical acclaim, and it has gone on to become perhaps one of the most iconic albums of all time, – its anniversary is being celebrated with a special tour later this year. What U2 almost certainly won’t be celebrating, or perhaps even mentioning, is the anniversary of another album: 1997’s ‘Pop’. 20 years ago, the band released this album to mixed reviews and lacklustre sales, by U2’s standards at least, and the whole thing has been swept under the rug by the band. This is a terrible shame. This article will be looking back over ‘Pop’ and delving into why I believe it to be not only a great album, but quite possibly one of U2’s best.

A Look Back On… Thom Yorke’s ‘The Eraser’

Today marks a decade since Thom Yorke released his first full length solo album, ‘The Eraser’. Being the frontman of a band as highly regarded as Radiohead meant that this album was going to be up against some pretty tough scrutiny – did Thom pull it off, and if so, does it still work today?

A Look Back On… Muse’s ‘Black Holes and Revelations’

In 2006, the world was Muse’s oyster. After their No. 1 album ‘Absolution’ in 2004, they were cemented as one of the biggest rock bands in the UK. The only question was: how are they going to top this? Ten years ago, Muse’s fourth album ‘Black Holes & Revelations’ was released – looking back on it, how does it slot into their career and how does it shape up?

A Look Back… Why I Love Radiohead’s ‘The King Of Limbs’

As the hype for Radiohead’s upcoming ninth album continues to grow and with a tour planned for later in the year, it seems right to look back on Radiohead’s previous album ‘The King of Limbs’, an album that recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. Upon its release, it was a controversial piece among both critics and fans – some found it too short and too artificial but others found it very natural and a summation of the previous two decades of Radiohead’s progression. Here’s my two cents. Here’s why I love The King of Limbs.

A Look Back On… My Morning Jacket’s ‘Z’

I first discovered My Morning Jacket through Nigel Godrich’s fantastic program ‘From the Basement’ and ever since I’ve been somewhat hypnotised by their music. Their critically acclaimed, Rolling Stone Top 500-featuring album ‘Z’ turned a decade old a few days ago, so the question has to be asked: what makes ‘Z’ so special?

A Look Back On… OK Go’s ‘Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky’

After OK Go’s first two albums, no-one would’ve thought they’d take a bizarre, psychedelic-influenced, more experimental turn. But that’s exactly what they did on 2010’s ‘Of the Blue Colour of the Sky’, an album named after a 19^th century pseudoscientific book. How does it hold up 5 years on?

2010-2014: A Song A Year You Have To Hear

As I mentioned in my previous post ‘5 Underrated Tracks of 2015 (so far…)’, it is very easy to miss tracks at the speed they are released these days, so here I present for you ‘A Song A Year You Have To Hear’, where I pick one lesser known track per year that I think deserves appreciation. Let’s dive in…

A Look Back On… Gorillaz’s ‘Demon Days’

Gorillaz are a ‘virtual band’ created by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and Tank Girl artist Jamie Hewlett, whose debut album, featuring hit singles like ‘19/2000’ and ‘Clint Eastwood’ was released back in 2001. The album was incredibly successful, blending hip-hop and rock, along with a slew of other influences, in a very original way. When the time came for a successor to the album, we were given ‘Demon Days’, which was released 10 years ago this year.