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 Caspar Jacobs

10 Things I Learned From an Afternoon with Everett True

10 Things I Learned From an Afternoon with Everett True

Meeting Everett True was kind of a big deal for me. One of the reasons I paid for a masterclass with him was to get one of my reviews published in a real book. But really it was all about meeting your heroes. This is definitely a song you should hear before you die I […]

 Caspar Jacobs

NOTS – Cosmetic (Goner): The Impressionistic Approach

NOTS – Cosmetic (Goner): The Impressionistic Approach

Nots says NO! to everything. We say YES! to Nots. ‘Entertain Me’ is a force of nature. It doesn’t care about you, or me, or any of the other two-thousand people on the beach. It’s right up there with Hookworms’ ‘Away/Towards’. The John Steel Singers’ ‘State of Unrest’. dEUS’ ‘Suds & Soda’, even! It’s a […]

 Caspar Jacobs

Rattle – Rattle (Upset the Rhythm)

Rattle – Rattle (Upset the Rhythm)

There’s the old saying that ‘writing about music is like dancing about architecture’, i.e. pointless. But as Robert Christgau rightly retorts: “One of the many foolish things about the fools who compare writing about music to dancing about architecture is that dancing usually is about architecture. When bodies move in relation to a designed space, be it […]

 Caspar Jacobs

Martha – Blisters In The Pit Of My Heart (Fortuna POP!)

Martha – Blisters In The Pit Of My Heart (Fortuna POP!)

I fell in love with Martha because she had sunburned shoulders, just like my girlfriend. Their downbeat admission that “the autumn forecast’s looking dismal again” somehow proved irresistible. And when ‘Ice Cream and Sunscreen’ suddenly sped up, my heart did the same, singing along to all band members of Martha bursting out in unison: “I […]

 Caspar Jacobs

“This is the indie establishment”: Red Hot’s Day of the Dead

“This is the indie establishment”: Red Hot’s Day of the Dead

Disclaimer: I’ve probably never heard a Grateful Dead song in my life. At least not knowingly. This is an unfortunate position for me to be in, considering I am reviewing an album containing 59 covers of songs by the Grateful Dead. Just so you know. In 2009, the Red Hot Organization, fighting AIDS through pop […]

 Caspar Jacobs

Mothers, From A Distance

Mothers, From A Distance

Rarely have I so desperately wanted to understand a piece of music as with When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired. I once had a nightmare in which my vision was blurry and I could not focus. Listening to Mothers is a bit like that: I know there is something, but I cannot […]

 Caspar Jacobs

“Rock n’ Roll Soldiers”: An interview with Carlotta Cosails of Hinds

“Rock n’ Roll Soldiers”: An interview with Carlotta Cosails of Hinds

It is Wednesday morning and I am in the same country as Hinds. From Oxford I am skyping with Carlotta, who is in a non-specific hotel in Birmingham. A small room with white walls. Carlotta looks tired, but happy nonetheless, ready for the next gig in Bristol. I tell Carlotta I’ve already missed two of […]