W/e 24/10/25 - bar italia, The Last Dinner Party, Soulwax, Tame Impala, Gomez

A middling week and a tightly bunched set. Soulwax just nick it from Bar Italia, inc. the TOTW.

Sam and Andy keep hold of their 😀 and ☹️.

Gomez land next to Def Leppard and Felix Da Housecat on the classics.

Andy

bar italia - Pretty decent indie sounds although the bloke’s voice grates at times 6

The Last Dinner Party - Liked but didn’t love, can’t get past this just being some poshos doing Kate Bush madrigals 6

Soulwax - There you go dance people, write songs and it works 7

Tame Impala - All a bit dull and I don’t like his voice. Very Temu Born Slippy 4

TotW - Gimme A Reason by Soulwax

Gomez - All pleasant enough with Whipping Piccadilly standing out 6.5

Guy

bar italia – I gave their previous album a 4.5 and slated the vocals. This is much better. Good solid indie rock with driving guitars and I felt his voice was distinctive rather than annoying this time for some reason. Much better. – 7.1

The Last Dinner Party – Remains an interesting sound they make. I don’t think this is of the same calibre as the debut though – 6.5

Soulwax – Some decent dance tunes here some of which drift into the Chemical Brothers style but without the panache – 7.4

Tame Impala – Pootled along quite nicely but felt a little lightweight in parts – 6.8

Gomez – I can’t say I knew this that well. It’s an interesting album and has the feeling of a Mercury Prize winner in that’s it’s quite different and varied with a bluesy-feel. That said, I might not be rushing back though as I didn’t feel any track really grabbed me - 7

TOTW – Gimme a Reason by Soulwax

Phil

bar Italia 7.6

Ramshackle shoegazey indie. Cowbella is the first track that has anything about it. After that it improves significantly and even the shaky vocals start to sound OK.

Last Dinner Party 7.5

There’s no getting away from the fact that LDP have a very strong Queen vibe. But I’ll let them off because this album is full of strong tunes and the singer is nowhere near as over-the-top as Freddie, dahhling. That solo on The Scythe though, now who does that remind me of?

Soulwax 5

I probably need to have a standard review ready for albums like this but until I do – thanks but no thanks.

Tame Impala 6

Tame Impala’s debut album Innerspeaker is brilliant, one of the very few recent albums that managed to capture the sonic weirdness of the late 60s. Since then, they’ve gone more mainstream and more dancey. I gave up on them after Currents and it’s not a major surprise to find that this sounds a lot the same. Piece of heaven is about the best thing here. Disappointing but not surprising.

TOTW – bar Italia - Cowbella

Classic

Gomez 7.5

I well remember this album when it came out, and definitely the singles. But this is the first time I’ve listened to the whole thing and it’s pretty good. It’s a proper roots album, unusual at the time, and yet I don’t recall it sparking off much of an interest in the style over here – which is a shame. Good stuff!

Sam

Bar Italia , chaotic indie that I mostly like a lot . 7.7

Last Dinner Party : easy to ridicule but I found this upbeat and lots of fun . 7.5

Soul wax: some decent stuff here but needs more coherence : 7

Tame Impala : they’ve ditched the guitars ! Pretty decent dancey stuff . 7

Gomez : I own this album. I’d forgotten how 60’s tinged and American it sounds . Parts are good but it’s not all my bag . 6.5

TOTW : Cowbella by Bar Italia

Justin

Bar Italia - This got loads of plays this week. I think this is a great dark indie album. I like male/femal vocals on most tracks. Some of it reminded me of early Cure albums. 7.3

Last Dinner Party - This was a lot better than the last album and I liked it more than expected. A good Kate Bush/Fleetwood mix. It's good listening to a full band rather than today's more common one bloke and his laptop 'producer'. 7.3

Soulwax - It was not as good as I would have hoped. I prefer it when they go full in nu-rave like All systems are lying. 7

Tame Impala - Overlong. Not sure it works as something to sit and listen to in one go but the individual songs are good. Whenever I hear a single Tame Impala song on the radio I always like it. I think the electronica guitar mix works well. 7.1

TOTW Bar Italia - Plastered

Gomez - One of those bands where you have seen the name for years but I have never listened to. Definitely different. A bit over long and a strange mix of indie/country but worth a listen. 6.9

Simon

bar italia: thought their last album was a bit uneven (although Nurse! was a banger) but this is much more consistent - spiky indie with plenty of verve and appeal, and the dual vocals work really well together. 8

The Last Dinner Party: the problem with TLDP is that their albums are so flamboyant and over the top (operatic vocals, French lyrics, etc) you wonder if it's all some kind of elaborate joke - that said, you can't fault the performance and despite its ludicrousness I did quite enjoy it. 7

Soulwax: was initially pretty underwhelmed but warmed to it more after a couple more spins - the first half is strong but The False Economy and Engineered Fantasy are filler at best. Was hoping for more, tbh. 7

Tame Impala: on the large part sounds exactly like how you would expect a new Tame Impala album to sound, and not particularly exciting as a result, although didn't anticipate the foray into hard house in the second half - that did at least shake things up a bit. 6.8

Gomez: new album on me, although recognised Whippin' Piccadilly - have to say I was quite impressed, it's quirky in a good way that reminded me of Beck, assumed they were from the US rather than Southport. 8

TotW: bar italia - Cowbella

Paul

Bar Italia (7.5)

Yes enjoyed that rattled along nicely. Quite liked his voice, again like the male/female combo. Fundraiser & Cowbella were highlights.

Last Dinner Party (6.5)

Not bad in small doses Just all a bit too much for my tastes.

Soulwax (8)

Not what I was expecting but enjoyed it built up really nicely especially on tracks like Gimmie a Reason which was a belter.

Tame Impala (7)

Quite enjoyed the tunes and dance beats but can’t really get on with his wispy voice after a few tracks.

Gomez (8.75)

Funky, bluesy and laid back with a couple of crackers in Get Myself Arrested and Wipping Piccadilly. Takes me right back to the late 90’s.

TOTW - Bar Italia - Fundraiser

Erol

Bar Italia - space cadet indie. The vocals are a bit rough and ready but this was definitely an improvement on their last album. I can hear the Cure in there too. 6

The Last Dinner Party - I’m quite partial to a bit of dram-rock opera but there are others out there who do it better. This was passable but by no means exceptional. 6

Soulwax - squelchy electronica that has its moments but not enough for me to play this again. Gimme a Reason had a good 80s feel but it was a bit monotonous. 6.5

Tame Impala - hands down, my album of the week. Soulful indie synth rock with some top notch tracks including Loser and Not My World, topped off by the hard house offering, Ethereal Connection. 8.3

TOTW - Ethereal Connection, Tame Impala

Gomez - never listened to this before but it was an engaging mix of indie and blues rock. Very 60s stoner, very cool, with a great voice too. 7.9

Jim

Bar Italia 7.5

Lots to like in here - still rough around the edges but in a good way compared to previous offerings which were at times a hard listen. Had some Libertines about it and the mixed vocals work really well.

Last Dinner Party 7

Decent, slightly quirky rock and pop. Not sure why there’s often a ‘but’ with them – they are doing something a bit different and seem pretty talented. The first half was really good, drops off in the second. Second Best and Killer Speaking are cracking tracks.

Soulwax 8

Bosh. Some of the best electronica of the year from the remix kings, with nods to Chemical Bros and Justice. Hot Like Sahara, Gimme a Reason and Run Free were particularly good. Could have dropped a couple of the 2 min filler tracks when it lost some momentum, but that aside a top listen from the Belgians

Tame Impaler 6.5

Never been completely sure about these guys. Each albums had a few gems but plenty of whispy nothingness and this was much the same.

TOTW: Soulwax - Run Free. Tom and Ed would be proud of this one

Gomez 7.5

Another act that passed me by. Enjoyed the lower key bluesy folksy rock .

Annette

Bar Italia: 7

Last Dinner Party: 6.5

Soulwax: 7.5

Tame Impaler: 7

TOTW: Run free by Soulwax

Classic: Gomez : 7

Mark

Bar Italia - in my mind they should be some mod / jazz influenced outfit with their name taken from the famous Soho cafe. Although an improvement on their last one, I thought this was only okay - 6

Last Dinner Party - they're an acquired taste but at least it's something a bit different, and there's some strong songwriting for sure, This Is The Killer Speaking is a real infectious toe tapper - 7

Soulwax - great mix of LCD / Depeche / New Order, enjoyed this, and Run Free will be making a bid for inclusion in my year end comp - 7.5

Tame Impala - I'd read reviews that he'd gone full pop on this new album so wasn't expecting too much but this was pretty decent I thought, and Ethereal Connection is a slamming piece of Underworld-esque rolling techno - 7

TOTW - Run Free by Soulwax

Adam

Bar Italia

Solid range of indie rocking. Some moody, some upbeat. 7

Last Dinner Party

Didn’t quite click with this as much as their first offering. Still a decent number of soaring slightly ethereal tunes. 7

Soulwax

Quality beats from the electronic veterans here. Excels where vocals exist and it gets a bit funkier. Pure techno type stuff not so good. 7

(NY Excuse from 04, a tune)

Tame Impala

Like the evolution from the more laid back floaty stuff and then shoving in a load more dancy beats at the same time. Works well for me. 8

TOTW - Tame Impala - Ethereal Connection

Classic

Interesting and funky beats. One to expand the mind. 7

Matt

Bar Italia - 6.5

Last Dinner Party - 7

Soulwax - 6.8

Tame Impala - 7.8

TOTW - My Old Ways, Tame Impala