W/e 05/09/25 - Balu Brigada, Jehnny Beth, The Hives, Pearly Drops, Moby

Congrats to The Hives who land at #4 this year, and just outside our overall top 40. They also have TOTW.

Moby makes an impressive showing and is at #40 in the classics, alongside Hard Fi and Tom Petty. He’s the 2nd best placed classic of 2025, after Joy Division.

Sam keeps the 😀, that’s 3 of the last 4. Andy has the ☹️.

Andy

Balu Brigada - i thought these were a bit dull when I saw a bit of them at the festival and their album hasn’t changed my mind. I can see what they’re trying to do becoming a Strokes tribute act but they end up sounding more like Orson 4.5

Jehnny Beth - Nice bit of aggressive angsty girl stuff. 6

The Hives - On first listen I thought this was just OK but it was better second time around although I can’t help feeling id always rather listen to their early stuff. They’re one trick ponies but tbf it’s a fun trick 7

Pearly Drops - Some of this is quite pleasant dream pop and some of it is much less appealing computer generated sounding pish and sometimes she manages to achieve both extremes in a single song. I don’t know if that’s an achievement to be cherished 5.5

TotW- Path of Most Resistance from off of The Hives

Moby - Not sure I’ve ever listened to this whole album but obviously most of it is extremely recognisable and firmly in the banger category, although it does tail off ever so slightly. Doesn’t have my favourite which, thanks to Bourne, is Extreme Ways but happily Spotify played that for me afterwards, which was nice 8

Justin

Balu Brigada - Obviously it sounds very much like a Strokes carbon copy, but very enjoyable album. 7.5

Jehnny Beth - Too angsty for me 4

The Hives - All very energetic rock. I don't listen to them day to day, but this is a very likeable album. 7

Pearly Drops - Not 100% consistent but some nice electronica/pop/ Some possible TOTW like Ratgirl 6.8

TOTW Balu Brigada - Backseat

Moby - The first half of the album is full of electronica classics. The mix with Blues music works really well. I must admit I don't particularly recall the second half of the album from when I used to listen to this album, but it has some pretty good ambient. 8

Phil

Balu Brigada 6

Vaguely Strokes-y but without anything approaching their zip. That said, I can imagine their inoffensive music finding its way onto a Netflix soundtrack but if that happened you wouldn’t even bother to Shazam it.

Jehnny Beth 6.25

Beth’s previous band Savages were so dour they made Interpol sound like the Scissor Sisters and this album suggests that she hasn’t cheered up at all in the time since. If anything, she’s more miserable than ever and while individual tracks, such as I still believe, are enjoyable enough in isolation, listening to the whole album is a bit like being repeatedly biffed on the head with a rubber mallet.

The Hives 7.25

If you want fast, frantic rock’n’roll with no frills, the Hives are here for you. I haven’t listened to an album of theirs before but I’ve heard plenty of tracks by them. This is pretty much what I expected, the sort of music that puts a daft grin on your face.

Pearly Drops 5.5

Starts well with a track that reminded me of Nilufer Yanya but then it degenerates into dull electro-pop.

TOTW – The Hives – Bad call

Classic

Moby 7

Even though I’ve never sat down and listened to this album all the way through the ubiquity of its constituent tracks means that it sounded very familiar. The bluesy ones are the best and the catchiness quotient of the first half is high. Then it goes off piste and my interest level drops.

Guy

Balu Brigada – Top indie album. Very Strokes-like but with hints of Phoenix in places. Lovely riffs running throughout. Every song is decent with tunes like Politix and What do we really ever know the standout tracks – 8.2

The Hives – No surprises (in a positive way). You know what you’re getting from The Hives – namely high energy rock tunes. This blasts the cobwebs away. Only real negative is that the tunes sound quite similar but that’s not such a bad thing when you’ve got a good formula – 7.5

Jehnny Beth – Too loud and screechy for my delicate ears. I’d suggest she sticks to acting – 5.5

The Pearly Drops – Nice indie / synth crossover album. The tunes are great, but I did find her voice annoying. Sounds like she’s inhaled a helium balloon. Shame as this would have got a higher score otherwise – 7

Moby – There are some absolute crackers on here but per others comments it does go off the boil in the second half and contravenes the rule (not a rule) about being over 1 hour in duration – 8

TOTW – Politix by Balu Brigada

Simon

Balu Brigada: pleasant enough Strokes-lite fare, with shades of their fellow Antipodeans Tame Impala - no real bangers or anything to get that excited about, though. 6.3

Jehnny Beth: album of the week for me - it's visceral and intense but I found it compelling - reminded me of early P J Harvey which is never a bad thing. 7.5

The Hives: raucous, no nonsense rock n' roll - not the most sophisticated of albums but has some appeal, even though it probably won't be troubling my playlist much in the future. 6.5

Pearly Drops: musically I quite like this, even if it's not particularly original, but couldn't get on with the high-pitched autotuned vocals which I just found annoying. Presumably our first Finnish band? 5.6

Moby: this album and the tracks off it ended up being so ubiquitous at the time that I grew a bit tired of hearing it, but listening again reminded me that it really is a great record - there are no weak tracks, the second half only struggles to match the first half because the latter is absolutely stellar. Good choice, Matt. 9

TotW: Jehnny Beth: Broken Rib

Sam

Balu Brigada : only detected a bit of the Strokes but it was decent indie album. 7.1

Jehnny Beth : me like the angsty French woman . 7.5

The Hives : everything I love in music ; blistering rock and roll with the best front man in the business . It’s a 9 from me .

Pearly Drops : couple of dance bangers in here amongst the average pop . So 7

TOTW and the year .. Paint a Picture by The Hives

Moby : more varied than I remember. You can see how much it influenced Fatboy Slim . Very well made and a pleasure to listen to . 8

Jim

Balu Brigada 7.5

A few Strokes covers - but I’m ok with that and they do it well - and I thought there was plenty more to it, some Phoenix, and the terrific Backseat had CSH depth.

Jehnny Beth 7

Dark rock that sounded fresh, had plenty of horsepower mixed with some style

The Hives 7.5

Bosh. Nothing really stood out and at the same time there was no filler. They have plenty of credit in the bank with me thanks to the live shows and I can imagine most of this slotting in nicely

Pearly Drops 6.5

A mixed bag , some oddballs but the Crystal Castle inspired tracks are decent, Ratgirl the pick of the bunch

TOTW: Balu Brigada - Backseat

Moby 9.5

Great choice Matt!

It’s almost perfect, an album of 2 halves. Simon, you pretty much wrote my review - it had hit saturation point with all the movies and adverts, but with a decade+ apart I remember how much I loved it on release. Porcelain and Natural Blues are works of art. Took me back to a cracking new year hols in Koh Phangan, lying in a hammock with Baileys and a 🇲🇦 for brunch

Mark

Balu Brigada - I didn't catch them at the festival so maybe these tunes would sound a bit tougher live. As it is, they're decent enough indie pop with an obvious nod to The Strokes (wonder if we'll ever see them back again....) - 6

Jenny Beth - angsty and confrontational in a sort of Siouxsie / YYYs kind of vein, this was better than I expected from some of the other reviews, the vocal's a bit of an acquired taste but she's clearly not taking any nonsense - 6.5

The Hives - half an hour of ripsnorting jump up and down guitar and drums madness from one of the best live bands around. As the old adage goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it - 8.5

Pearly Drops - fiddly ambient shoegazetronica, quite liked it without it ever really taking off - 6

TOTW - The Hives Forever Forever The Hives, by The Hives

Adam

Balu brigada

Solid upbeat indie rocking from the Antipodeans. Gutted I didn’t catch these at Reading. 7

Jehnny beth

Chaotic, but not in the right way. Just feels like an unvarnished outpouring of angst. 4

The Hives

Big energetic and raucous rocking from The Hives, which is great to still see them not letting up. Need to see them live (👀 Mark). 8

Pearly Drops

Enjoyed this ethereal electronic offering. But certainly excelled on the more uptempo Ratgirl. 7

TOTW - Hives - Enough is Enough

Classic

A true classic. Some of these songs are woven into our collective musical memory. And some beautifully overlaid onto the classic film - The Beach. 8

Matt

Balu Brigada - 7.2

Jehnny Beth - 6

The Hives - 7.5

Pearly Drops - 6.8

TOTW - Enough is Enough, The Hives

Moby - 9.2

Erol

Balu Brigada - likewise, sad to have missed them at the Fest. Really enjoyed this funky, rhythmic Strokes-esque offering. 7.8

Jenny Beth - far too angsty for me. Music is often therapy but this made me want to seek professional help. 5.5

The Hives - absolutely bang-on raucous rock music. The best album I’ve heard in a few months. Unlike many of you, I have never seen these guys live. I need to correct that soon. 8.9

Pearly Drop - the whispery, faux-baby doll vocal got on my wick. Apart from that, I didn’t mind this dose of soft electronica but I won’t be rushing back. 6

TOTW - Path of Most Resistance by The Hives

Moby - the first half holds many memories. Astonishing that he managed to compose so many memorable tunes. The second half fades but it’s still a great choice. 8.5

Annette

Balu Brigada: 7.5

The Hives: 8

Jehney Beth: 6.5

The Pearly Drops: 7.5

TOTW: Enough is enough by Hives

Classic: Moby - 8

Paul

Balu Brigida - Portal (7)

Yes quite an enjoyable indie album. Fell away a bit towards the end.

Jenny Beth - You Heartbreaker, You (6)

Not really my thing. Quite liked the first two tracks (Broken Rib & No Good People). After that was really samey.

The Hives - The Hives Forever Forever the Hives (8.5)

Really good fun fast paced rock album, 13 tracks in 32 mins and not a lot of messing around.

Pearly Drops- The voices are coming back (5)

Quite like the music, didn’t like the vocals or the talking bits

Moby - Play (8.5)

Love it, used to listen to it loads back in the day but not heard it for years. Still holds up well.

TOTW - The Hives - Hooray Hooray Hooray