Matt Storm - Idle Hands [Review]

Rating: 4 out of 5

Idle Hands feels like rushing water in a creek on a summer day in 1998. It’s honest in a way I don’t think people are often “I can’t sit still, I just need to run, I’m just like my Mum”. It’s self-reflective but in a way thats not beating down on yourself but almost smirking as you watch yourself spiral slowly. “Can’t help but laugh, at the state I’m in, it’s like imprisonment” is one of the most honest lyrics I think I’ve heard. Now excuse me whilst I go back to procrastinating away 2023.
— Andrew Amoah (LA On Lock Blogger)

Hojean - Cruel [Review]

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

With an intro that feels dipped into peroxide and coloured with yellow (see what I did there... blonde) and vocals that pierce through the core of your soul, Cruel is stunning. The lyrics are conversational, the emotions are raw and so visceral it takes you right back to the person did you wrong the hardest in love. The record is stripped with no frills just honesty and pain.
— Andrew Amoah (LA On Lock Blogger)

Jon Vinyl - Wasted [Review]

Rating: 3 out of 5

Jon Vinyl is back is the beautiful breezy ‘Wasted’. From soaring vocals, to honest conversational lyrics, wasted feels like the perfect way to close out summer 23. It’s bittersweet with an emphasis on the sweet.
— Andrew Amoah (LA On Lock Blogger)

Weston Estate - Slowly [Review]

Rating: 3 out of 5

I could literally shoot bittersweet love songs into my veins... I’m not sure what that says about me BUT what I do know is ‘Slowly’ is a beautiful brooding ballad. “We don’t got love like we used to but I still holding you close” is such a raw and honest lyric. Sometimes we know its not same but something familiar feels better than nothing...right?
— Andrew Amoah (LA on Lock Blogger)

OXLADE Ft. Dave - Intoxycated [Review]

Rating: 3 out of 5

Picture the scene. You’re in a swanky bar in London, a rum & coke in one hand, doing gun fingers with the other... and the person of your dreams has their back on your front and your dancing until the early hours. Intoxycated is one of those lowkey club anthems with a chorus you can scream at the top of your lungs riding the wave of the night. The verses are smooth and every melody feels plucked from King Davids harp.
— Andrew Amoah (LA on lock blogger)

Paul Russell - Lil Boo Thang [Review]

Rating: 3 out of 5

Sometimes a record can be so infectious it can seep in the very fabric of the ether. Lil Boo Thang is everywhere and well its for good reason... it’s fun! Music went through a period of taking it self too seriously and Lil Boo Thang harks back to the funk days of just making you feel good and wanna dance. We need that right now.
— Andrew Amoah (LA On Lock Blogger)

Nowo - Jungle [Review]

Rating: 3 out of 5

I’m loving the influence UK drill is having on music around the world and this record is no exception. ‘Jungle’ is smooth and inviting whilst still having attitude and tempo. Nowo is right the world is a jungle but records like this make it just that little bit easier to navigate.
— Andrew Amoah (LA on Lock Blogger)

Jon Vinyl - Thinkin Bout You

Rating: 3 out of 5

Jon Vinyl drops a vocal masterclass on ‘Thinkin Bout You’. It’s so controlled, never overdone and the lyrics are a perfect slice of melancholy.
— Andrew Amoah (LA on Lock blogger)

Ramon Binns - Titles [Review]

Rating 3 out of 5

Ramon delivers a mood thats so easy to live in. ‘Titles’ is soulful, honest and effortlessly cool.
— Andrew Amoah (LA on Lock blogger)