new-music

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Virgin by Lorde (July 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: Hammer; What Was That?; Shapeshifter; Man Of The Year; Favourite Daughter; Current Affairs; Clearblue; GRWM; Broken Glass; If She Could See Me …; David

Lorde debuted this new album in its entirety – in tracklist order – on the Woodsies stage as a surprise opening to this year’s Glastonbury Festival and that confidence is reflected in the material.

  • Read on for reasons including why Virgin represents a right turn towards a welcome songwriting maturity and honesty
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Mayhem by Lady Gaga (March 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

Tracklist: Disease; Abracadabra; Garden Of Eden; Perfect Celebrity; Vanish Into You; Killah; Zombieboy; Love Drug; How Bad Do U Want Me; Don’t Call Tonight; Shadow Of A Man; The Beast; Blade Of Grass; Die With A Smile

Lady Gaga’s 7th studio album pulls the magician’s trick of reminding fans of Mother Monster at her most successful while also pushing her boundaries musically into more credible territory before, we anticipate, a greatest hits album, world tour and then a career break.

  • Read on for reasons including Mayhem can lay claim to being the best album of 2025 so far
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: The Human Fear by Franz Ferdinand (January 2025)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

TRACKLIST: Audacious; Everydaydreamer; The Doctor; Hooked; Build It Up; Night Or Day; Tell Me I Should Stay; Cats; Black Eyelashes; Bar Lonely; The Birds

Franz Ferdinand only include 2 of its original line-up in the now quintet which may give a clue why this 6th album is a dramatic return to form.

  • Read on for reasons including how Hooked could be Yello and Kraftwerk go Eurovision
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SONG OF THE MONTH: Warning Signs by Loreen (November 2024)

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

The artist known in full as Lorine Zeineb Nora Talhaoui is the only woman to have won Eurovision twice and here releases an uptempo 3rd follow up to 2023 winner Tattoo and we hope there’s an album coming soon.

  • Read on for reasons including how to see Loreen on tour in 2025
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GIG REVIEW: The The at the Alexandra Palace

Posted on by mrmonstagigz

By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

WHEN?: Friday 27 September, tour runs until 27 November 2024

Having never seen The The, nor been to the Ally Pally, this was a night of many a first, including attending a gig with a shoulder that had been broken the day before.

  • Read on for reasons including how Johnson knows exactly how to work an audience
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