• Album Review: The Japanese House – Chewing Cotton Wool

    Rhianna Greensmith As the first release since their critically acclaimed debut album Good at Falling, The Japanese House (project of solo artist Amber Bain) wows again. Where Good at Falling was her self-labelled break-up album, this EP masquerades as a stunning portrait of ‘coming out of a relationship and...
  • Album Review: The Japanese House – Good at Falling

    The unabashedly ambitious debut record from The Japanese House is filled with a melancholic heart, but lacking distinctive direction.  In 2015, aged just 19, Amber Bain’s Pools to Bathe In EP as The Japanese House instantly connected with a disjointed generation, confused at the daunting task of navigating modernity’s...
  • Album Review: Novo Amor – Birthplace

    Welsh multi-instrumentalist Ali Lacey delivers a virtuous debut album brimming with ambiance and natural beauty. In a world characterised by conflict and drama, we could all use the cinematic bliss that comes with Ali Lacey, otherwise known as Novo Amor, the Welsh multi-instrumentalist who this week finally releases his...
  • Albums of the Year: 2016

    Often, turbulent times can produce the best art. Needless to say, 2016 has been an excellent year for music… Presenting Impact Music’s favourite albums (and mixtapes) of the past twelve months, as voted for by our writers and editors.  15. Frankie Cosmos – Next Thing “Is it cool when I...
  • Album Review: Bon Iver – 22, A Million

    Without turning this album review into a state-of-the-nation treatise, it feels fitting that 2016, a pretty discombobulating year by anybody’s standards, is one of a similar aesthetic overhaul in the music of some of pop’s biggest names. Innovation is to be expected from artists of the underground, but this...
  • Album Review: James Blake – The Colour In Anything

    Enriched by gorgeous watercolour artwork from veteran illustrator and namesake Quentin, The Colour In Anything is James Blake’s much awaited, seventy-minute, return. Professed favourite of Kanye West, few in electronic pop have had as much impact as Blake upon the sound palate of the output of their peers. In...
  • Album Review: The Staves – If I Was

    After their fantastic debut album in 2012, the trio of multi-instrumentalist sisters return with a wider sonic palette. If I Was, the latest release from the three girls that make up The Staves is truly exceptional. After an extensive tour, The Staves have finally revealed their 12 track LP...