Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Tuesday 23 October 2018

Daughters – ‘You Won’t Get What You Want’

Being a music fan can turn you into a cynical bastard. Sure, we’ve all heard a lot of great music this year. But with every album or song that you can imagine available at the click of a button, its hard not to feel like you’ve heard it all

LIVE: Arcane Roots / Bryde / Emily Denton @ Hoxton Hall, London

There isn’t anything that feels quite as bittersweet as seeing a band on tour for the final time. First, there’s the air of exclusivity that runs through the evening. An unmistakable feeling that you’re among a select few, witnessing something for the last time. There’s the joy of the

LIVE: Coheed & Cambria / Chon @ Academy 1, Manchester

Coheed & Cambria shows always draw such an eclectic mix of people. On this Saturday night in Manchester, the Academy is a melting pot of emo kids, full on metalheads, dads in Rush tees, normal looking ‘trendy’ folk and people who DEFINITELY work in CEX; all hoping to embark

Monday 22 October 2018

Cloud Nothings – ‘Last Building Burning’

From the very first moment of ‘Last Building Burning’, you are thrown into the chaos of a Cloud Nothings live performance. The raw, incendiary tones rip through the whirlwind of a half an hour packaged up as the Ohio indie rockers’ fifth studio album. The latest

Disturbed – ‘Evolution’

You would think that a band who sprung into the world’s consciousness with a song as gloriously goofy as ‘Down With The Sickness’ would be destined to occupy nu-metal’s cavernous bargain bin. Disturbed instead avoided also-ran status by evolving their sound, and cultivating a surprisingly large cult following. This

Wednesday 17 October 2018

LIVE: Halestorm / Avatar @ Brixton Academy, London

Having sold out months in advance, Brixton Academy is filled to the rafters with 5000 eagerly excited fans, ready to celebrate Halestorm’s latest triumph. Following the release of their epic new album, ‘Vicious’, earlier this year, the American rock heavyweights return to London to deliver their biggest show yet.

Monday 15 October 2018

Hellions – ‘Rue’

Theatrics in music are most commonly found on the stage. Be it pyrotechnics, dry ice, CO2 cannons or Gene Simmons in a harness flying over your head, they’re a visual aid used to enhance the music. Every now and again, though,

Friday 12 October 2018

LIVE: Knuckle Puck / Tiny Moving Parts / Movements @ Electric Ballroom, Camden

When Knuckle Puck started out covering songs back in the cool autumn days of 2010, they probably didn’t think they’d end up releasing a split EP with Neck Deep and signing to Rise just a few years later – not to mention touring the world with original material. In

Wednesday 10 October 2018

mewithoutYou – ‘[Untitled]’

The growth of Philadelphian experimental rock troupe mewithoutYou over much of the past two decades has been fascinating to watch. From the direct and bracing post-hardcore of debut album Life, through embracing folk rock on 2009’s ‘it’s all crazy! it’s all false! it’s all a dream! it’s alright’,

Tuesday 09 October 2018

LIVE: Against The Current / The Faim @ O2 Forum, Kentish Town

It’s been two weeks to the day since Against The Current started out on the world tour for new album ‘Past Lives’ in Dublin, but tonight at the O2 Forum is a special one; not only is this by far the largest venue of the tour, it’s

Monday 08 October 2018

LIVE: With Confidence / Story Untold / Anavae @ King Tuts, Glasgow

It might be a dreary, chilly Monday in Glasgow (are there many other kinds of Monday?), but the buzz in King Tuts within just minutes of doors opening makes it feel more like a Friday night. This may well end in an unpleasant surprise for anyone forgetting they have

LIVE: Delta Sleep @ The Joiners, Southampton

Riding on the crest of math rock’s biggest wave this side of the millennium, and just a few weeks on from releasing their second album ‘Ghost City’, breaths are bated in the hope that Delta Sleep can radiate the cinematic beauty of their sophomore record live on

Friday 05 October 2018

Cursive – ‘Vitriola’

Cursive have never been a band to hold back, and their eighth studio album certainly doesn’t either. Through the lens of nihilism and desolation, ‘Vitriola’ sees the Omaha natives express their thoughts on modern society, comparing the artistic cycle of creation and destruction to that of society’s seemingly impending

Black Peaks – ‘All That Divides’

Brighton’s Black Peaks have set a very high standard for British rock. While other bands rely on backing tracks and aspiring to break onto daytime Radio 1, Black Peaks have spent the last few years focusing on writing some of the most interesting and visceral progressive music in the

twenty one pilots – ‘Trench’

“Welcome to Trench”, says a low, warped voice. Whether this statement is a threat or an invitation is hard to tell, being just two tracks into twenty one pilots’ latest conceptual venture: ‘Trench’. Openers ‘Jumpsuit’ and ‘Levitate’ run into one another, seemingly two halves of the same

Thursday 04 October 2018

LIVE: Muncie Girls / The Hard Aches @ Deaf Institute, Manchester

The first night of a tour brings with it a nervous tension for bands. Questions fly through the mind – will anyone turn up, will they like the new material, can we remember the older songs, are we going to actually sell any t-shirts? While bands have

You Me At Six – ‘VI’

Like most bands who have a solid grasp of the music industry in 2018, You Me At Six have acknowledged and embraced the need to develop their sound over the years, and their sixth album – unsurprisingly named ‘VI’ – is no exception to this trend. With each album, You

Wednesday 03 October 2018

Youth Killed It – ‘What’s So Great, Britain?’

London/Norwich indie-punks Youth Killed It seem to be completely incapable of sugar-coating. Their brutal honesty and often humorous approach to songwriting is a key component in making their music stand out, and their sophomore album ‘What’s So Great, Britain?’ is certainly no different. Self-produced and recorded at Crystal Sound

Tuesday 02 October 2018

Against the Current – ‘Past Lives’

Packed tight with stories of love, life and emotional struggles, ‘Past Lives’ marks the forthcoming sophomore album from Poughkeepsie natives and internet-born pop rock band Against the Current. Starting out the year with a support slot touring alongside Fall Out Boy, the acclaimed trio are still expanding their ever-growing

Monday 01 October 2018

Palaye Royale – Boom Boom Room (Side B)

It must feel like having the weight of the world on your shoulders when you’re relatively unknown on UK shores and are being thrust in every rock fan’s face as the ‘next cool thing’. Having been put on front covers and handed big festival slots off the back of