Author: Lizz
-
Protest Songs P3 -Songs of War – The 20th Century.
America and WW1 By the time America considered joining the First World War in 1915, the conflict was already in full swing. The idea sparked backlash—most of the public wanted to remain neutral and avoid fighting. That same year, Alfred Bryan and Albert Piantadosi wrote I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier. Performed…
-
Ghost Notes and Quiet Truths: Inside Mac DeMarco’s – Guitar
Canadian singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco cemented his place in indie history with his 2014 release Salad Days. Over a decade later, its popularity still refuses to fade. Now in his 30s, DeMarco remains in a Chamber of Reflection, exploring themes of heartbreak, the meaning of home, and letting go of material possessions in his self-produced album…
-
Protest Songs – P2 Spirituals
Roots in Resistance When enslavers stole African people from their homeland and brought them to America, they forbade them from speaking their native languages or practising their religions. However, this didn’t stop them. They organised secret meetings, where they sometimes performed Ring Shouts. In these gatherings, they formed a circle and moved counterclockwise while singing,…
-
Wolf Alice – The Clearing – How to Blow Your Load Releasing Singles
I was really excited for the release of Wolf Alice’s fourth studio album. When I reviewed the first two singles a few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised by the contrast between the tracks and admittedly turned on by their new ‘70s rock aesthetic. However, after listening to the album in full, I fear they…
-
Protest Songs – P1 The Cutty Wren.
Introduction One of my A-Level English Language coursework assignments was to write about a subject of my choosing and how it had changed over time. It comedised with my discovering Green Day’s cover of Working Class Hero and its music video featuring survivors of Darfur (which I’ll explore in a later instalment). The impact it…
-
He Not Busy Being Born… Is Being Filmed – A Complete Unknown.
Bob Dylan – God, or Judas? Bob Dylan is a notoriously private and cagey character, especially for someone who has garnered such success, a Nobel Prize winner of literature no less. In 2025, James Mangold took on the task of directing A Complete Unknown, giving audiences a backstage pass to the rise of Bob Dylan,…
-
SZA; Ctrl – Audible Growing Pains.
When Ctrl dropped in 2017, I was 19—but I didn’t find it until years later, stuck in a genre rut. It came at the perfect time. I was in my twenties, learning to enjoy my own company and redefine my self-worth outside of relationships. It turned out I wasn’t alone in those feelings. I was…
-
Sticky Fingers – The Rolling Stones Cassette.
Cover Art Andy Warhol created the cover, and Craig Braun designed it. It features a close-up of a man’s groin in tight jeans, with the outline of the penis clearly visible through the fabric. Although no one has confirmed the model’s identity, several men in Warhol’s circle claimed to be the well-endowed figure featured. Early…
-
I Have Been a 13-Year-Old Girl. The Virgin Suicides – A Sound Track.
TRIGGER WARNING – This essay openly discusses suicide. If you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts, please know you’re not alone, call 116 123 for the UK’s suicide helpline, every lost life is a tragedy. The Virgin Suicides is a cautionary tale, the book, written by Jeffery Eugenides in 1993 and later adapted into a film directed by…
-
An Album Passed Through Generations – Revenge, Eurythmics.
In 1975, Dave Stewart met Annie Lennox in the restaurant she was working at, together with other artists, they became Catch, later evolving into The Tourists. They would achieve mild success throughout the ’70s with tracks such as ‘So Good’ and ‘Blind Among’, but this was relatively short-lived. By 1980, Stewart and Lennox would break…
-
Born in The USA – Bruce Springsteen Cassette Tape.
Cover Art Historical Context Track List Side A – Side B – Lyrics are enclosed in the J card which also features black and white images of Springsteen’s other albums with track lists. My Favourite Track ‘I’m on Fire’ it’s repeating beat drives the moody, almost melancholy sound, brimming with poetic desire – ‘sometimes its…
-
Frank Sinatra? No Thank You. – Rolling Stones Unseen Exhibition.
Please allow them to introduce themselves. Hosted at London’s Dockside Vaults Rolling Stones Unseen 63′ will give audiences insight to the early days of the band until 10th September 2025. Immortalised by Gus Coral, the shots have finally found their stage after the documentary they were snapped for went unfinished over 60 years ago. Before…
-
Wolf Alice Teases New Album with Two Dynamic Singles.
Ten years after the release of their debut album ‘My Love is Cool’, Wolf Alice teases us with two singles from The Clearing, produced by Greg Kurstin, which is set to be released 22nd August. We’re confronted by ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’ with a commanding, jazz piano driven, bassy melody supports Rowsell’s erratic vocals, ranging from…
-
Why Placebo’s Debut Album Remains an Angsty Masterpiece.
Placebo came onto the scene with their self-titled album in 1996, a time when Britpop had the UK up against a wall by its Adidas collar and although their lead singer and guitarist Brian Molko has British heritage, their sound didn’t echo the like of Oasis and Blur, regardless of this, the album peaked at…
-
I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got. – Sinéad O’Connor.
‘If we could talk about music, we wouldn’t need music.’ – Sinéad O’Connor. This Saturday (26/06/25) marks the two-year anniversary of musician, producer, activist and one of my personal heroes, Sinéad O’Connor’s passing. In her honour, I’m revisiting her second album – ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’, this release would propel her…
-
Unlocking Empowerment in Deap Vally’s ‘Marriage’ Album – A Review.
2011 LA saw the coming together of what could arguably be one of the best female Punk / Rock groups since Bikini Kill. Lindsey Troy’s growling guitar riffs and Julie Edwards’ Bass driven drum beats, along with their combined Steven Tyler-esc wailing vocals would become Deap Vally. Their debut single ‘Make My Own Money.’ would…
-
Wet Leg Continue to Butter Our Muffins – Moisturizer, A Review.
Call the police, Wet Leg are in love! Oh wait, they already have, never mind! Their 2022 self-titled, Grammy winning album read like a note to shitty men but Moisturizer is a love letter. We’re introduced to some new bandmates, Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chamber are joined by Ellis Durand on bass, Henry Homes on…
-
Taking a Break With Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation – Review.
Many of us have grown up with Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana, later shocking the world with her ‘rebellious’ era as she went through the growing pains so many child actors who embark on the quest for their own identity face. If you look into her discography, she’s been consistently releasing albums releases since as…
-
Blaming Our Ex’s With The Beaches – A Review.
Forming in 2013, The Beaches are an all-girl Rock group from Canada, featuring Jordan Miller, lead vocals and guitar, her sister, Kylie Miller on guitar and backing vocals, Leandra Earl on Keyboard and Eliza Enman keeping everyone in time on drums. The energetic quad released their crashing sixth album ‘Blame My Ex’ in 2024, taking…
-
Jack White – No Name.
Jack White, member of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, the Dead Weather and The Upholsterers, founder of Third Man Records in 2001 and acclaimed solo artist, surprised everyone when unnamed, blank sleeved records started being given out in branches of Third Man Records for free. The record just so happened to be White’s sixth solo…