Music24

  Lala Lala - Heaven 2 Lala Lala is the solo vehicle of Chicago native Lily West, and it's hard to pinpoint or define her exact sound. You can certainly say it has roots in indie though - perhaps the more mellow, occasionally synth-driven side of it. My attention was first drawn to Lala Lala's music with her 2018 album The Lamb , on which the gorgeously hypnotic 'Spy' became one of my favourite songs of that year. It's gentle, sweet, and just the right side of twee.  Heaven 2  is a lot more anxious in tone overall, at least lyrically speaking on opening track 'Car Anywhere'. as well as the introspective 'Does This Go Faster?' It reminds us that perhaps we're not in heaven with its repeated mantra that  Hell is the day after the party . It's hard to disagree. It's an album that wants to escape through hazy soundscapes, and in many ways it does that successfully. But in other areas, the tracks just just kind of pass by without anything of n...

It's time for another weekly album round-up, in which I bring you opinions you didn't ask for on albums you haven't (yet) heard. Though I have listened to a mix of albums of old new, the blogs will now focus solely on the latest and greatest/not-so-greatest Cardinals - Masquerade If Dublin has Fontaines D.C., then Cork has the brilliant Cardinals. Having familial roots in Ireland's wonderful second city myself, I was immediately drawn in when I'd heard their brilliantly lovesick waltz, 'Roseland', combining elements of The Pogues with unmistakable post-punk akin to the likes of Iceage, and storytelling that oozes the city of Cork. Their debut album dropped back in mid-February, and was one that I was very much hotly anticipating since hearing the single back in 2024. Masquerade , it transpires, is good, and threatens at times to even be great. The run-time of just over half an hour, however, doesn't allow the songs to be as freewheeling and majestic as t...

As 2026 enters its third month, it dawned on me that I'd already listened to around twenty new albums this year already, where in recent years I'd struggled to keep up to date with new releases. Given that I've regularly written passionately about music in the past alongside my football nonsense, now feels like the right time to bring back some kind of music blog, but to essentially give you the rundown of my week in music.  I may occasionally focus on the classics and various older releases, but the purpose of this weekly blog will be to shine a light on the newer releases from artists you may not have realised were still a thing, or bands that you'd never even heard of in the first place. My aim will be to listen to at least one album each day - possibly even two if time is on my side. At the end of the year, I hope to also create an extensive album of the year list. Over the course of the year, you may also see some classic album blogs. Ultimately I'm hoping to m...