By Jon Milton

I've been looking forward to hearing this debut album from Moreish Idols. From the moment they released their first EP 'Float' in 2023 I always felt their music would be suited the long player format, and thankfully their debut album 'All In The Game' lives up to that promise. 

It's their style of songwriting that does it for me. Each track is beautifully crafted and multi-faceted, carrying a wonderful amount of depth that offers more on each new listen. They weave in their influences subtly, encouraging the mind to wander to consider where their inspiration may have come from. 

The shimmering guitars on album opener 'Ambergrin' for example, remind me of something off the first House of Love album. Railway feels very Steve Reich. The rolling saxophone of the title track I can't quite pinpoint, but the vocal weirdly feels like it's come from an episode of the Mighty Boosh. Pale Blue Dot has a vocal that could well be on a track by Sorry. 

It's all rather wonderful though, an excellent debut indeed. I can't help but think that there's more to come too. They feel like the sort of band that will continue to mature and develop their songwriting in the search for perfection. And while 'All In The Game' isn't quite perfect, it's not a million miles off.  

By Jon Milton

This album will be up there as one of the best, if not the best of 2025. 

It's taken me a while to write this review, but let's face it, it's taken Avalanche Party a while to get this record out, so my tardiness is very much in keeping.

The band released their wonderful debut album '24 Carat Diamond Trephine' at the end of 2019 and seemed to have all the momentum in the world behind them. Then lockdown hit, the music press moved onto their next flavour of the month, seemingly leaving this lot well behind.

2021 saw them release the excellent 'Dream Johnny Dream' single and then they went quiet again. 'Serious Dance Music snuck out pretty much unannounced in early 2023, but took 15 months before 'Collateral Damage' followed it, and only then did they start the drip feed process of tracks every couple of months or so.

Lucky then that the album is worth the wait. The album starts at a canter with the incendiary 'John Coltrane's Moscow Skyscraper' and doesn't really slow down over the next three crackers until the anthemic 'Ecstasy' kicks in. 'Serious Dance Music' and 'The Noise Between Us' pick up the pace again before the glammy stomp of 'Slinky' and the dramatic tones of 'Chainz' kick in, sandwiched between the equally pacy album closers 'Target' and 'Collateral Damage'. 

'Der Traum Uber Alles' is an energetic and exciting album throughout, propelled by its spongy drums, driving basslines, shimmering guitars and charismatic vocals, the latter veering into Radiohead and Muse territory at times. It's best enjoyed in a single sitting and turned up loud, when you're looking for some music to wake you up and get you going. They may have taken their time, but 'Der Traum Uber Alles' is all the better for it. Class.    

By Jon Milton

Lawns ‘Be a Better Man’ is a great debut album. Rarely do you hear an album that sounds so good from the off with such a bunch of varied styles and approaches combined. It has energy and ambition that reminds me of other notable debuts from the post punk seventies and eighties: Gang of Four’s ‘Entertainment’, Joy Division’s ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and That Petrol Emotion’s ‘Manic Pop Thrill’ to name but a few. 

Be a Better Man gets off to a belting start with ‘I Remember’ and the ferocious ‘Misinterpretations’. ‘Bottled Up’ and ‘Best’ settle things down, followed by the abrasive 'Interlude', before ‘Surf’ picks up the pace again. Although billed as ‘German Punks’ the songwriting here is far more cultured than the punk element suggests. Songs like ‘Eggshells’, ‘Surf’, ‘16’ and ‘Friends’ are extremely well crafted, although the band stop themselves from getting overtly technical through the all-out assault of ‘The Worrier’ and ‘You’. 

Overall, the ingenuity and blending of styles works a treat, with influences like early Velvet Underground and label mates TRAAMS coming in loud and clear alongside those already mentioned.

There’s more music on the horizon too, with the band half-way through recording their debut album. No news of any gigs as yet, but they have set up an Instagram account so give them a follow. Still no interviews though…       

ESZ is released on 16th August on Docklands Speed Shop records.

By Jon Milton

And just like that, half the year went by. Is it just me, or is everyone still feeling a bit lethargic post pandemic? 

Moving swiftly on, lets concentrate on 2024's musical highlights so far. Newcomer of the year has to be Funhaus, who released their debut single 'Scene Vulture' in April. I'd seen a lot about them online, so decided to go and see them play Paper Dress Vintage in January and was mightily impressed. Scene Vulture is a great single, but they are something else live. Get along to one of their gigs and find out yourself.

Another band to get excited about are Mancunians Martial Arts. Debut single Warsaw emerged in February, followed by Defector in May. Both are sharp post punk tunes that show a lot of promise from the band. I am getting bored of all these bands shouting and there's a bit of that with this lot, but there's a strong vocal in there too, flanked by some excellent songwriting.  

House Arrest tickled my eardrums last year with their single M.Monroe, and have just released another fine tune in SWANS. They remind me of Warmduscher in their deranged and frankly quite filthy early days. Something about them says they are not taking this band thing too seriously and are mostly out to have fun for now, which is obviously no bad thing.   

If shoe gaze is your bag, you may want to check out Tulpa and Laughter. The spirit of MBV is highly noticeable in both bands, although Tulpa seem closer to MBV's Ecstasy album and Laughter more aligned to Isn't Anything. Each band add something new and fresh to the mix though, and both have released some very good music this year.

The Osees appear to provide the inspiration for two more rather promising emerging bands, Dreamwave and Dactyl Terra. Think 'Mutilator Defeated at Last' through to 'Face Stabber' era Osees / Thee Oh Sees rather than the pretty hit and miss stuff that's followed since. Dreamwave's 'Dreamwave and the Mindcave' six track EP came out in May with a richly eclectic selection of tracks with Mindcave a stand-out. Dactyl Terra released their debut album 'FEE FI FO FUM in June with a fine selection of garage/space rock tunes.