Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Friday 16 October 2026

Venus Grrrls – ‘To Die As Lovers May’

Maybe you’re a romantic. You find beauty in tragedy. You dream of windswept moors and ruined cathedrals. Of Cathy and Heathcliff. When you close your eyes you imagine your back being pressed against a gravestone, a hand sliding up your thigh. You exist between darkness and the

Friday 09 October 2026

Unpeople – ‘We Are Unpeople’

If anyone can save the world, it’s Unpeople. In their jet-propelled rise to stardom, they’ve inspired dance parties at Download at a time when any sane person is hiding in their tent with a bacon sandwich, taken over a corner of Slam Dunk’s main stage and even persuaded Metallica

Love Is Noise – ‘THE SPACE BETWEEN HAPPINESS AND HEARTACHE’

If you have a big family you may have seen this play out. It’s Christmas. A boy who we’ll call Harry opens a huge present. Inside is a marvellous gift covered in bells and whistles that must have cost a fortune. But Harry isn’t happy. He bursts

Thursday 08 October 2026

LIVE: Beartooth + Silverstein @ O2 Academy Brixton

‘I Am The War’ proclaims everyone’s shirts – after a quick change at the merch stand, that is – so a casual observer would be forgiven for thinking tonight was going to be a militant affair. The war that Beartooth are winning, however, is one against the haters and

Wednesday 30 September 2026

Prodigal – ‘THE FLOATING WORLD’

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the ‘Parable of the Prodigal Son’. In the story, the son uses up all his riches, returns to his roots, and is embraced. This, as we shall see, is a fitting way to describe Prodigal’s debut EP ‘The Floating World’.

Tuesday 29 September 2026

LIVE: Death Cab For Cutie @ Troxy

You’d probably expect the crowd for a band with “a considerable amount of songs about death” to be a miserable bunch, but far from it. The Troxy’s packed with jovial city types slamming pints, a surprising touch of Friday night normality in the little bubble of sensitivity and emotional

Monday 28 September 2026

Butcher Babies – ‘NIGHTBLOOM’

During the spring, up at the lake, the birds make nests. If you head up there early morning, you can watch the hatchlings take to the water. They’re yellow, fluffy and cute. Within a few weeks that picture begins to change. They start to grow. They become

Friday 25 September 2026

Split Dogs – ‘Nice N’ Rough’

Three albums in, and Split Dogs are hitting their stride. If we’re being picky though, ‘strut’ would be a far better verb for the kind of energy that they’re putting out: a dirty cocktail of garage punk and the big-haired charisma of seventies stadium superstars. ‘Nice N Rough’ is

Thursday 24 September 2026

Gallus – ‘Life Is Bliss’

There are a few things in music that have a direct path to the pleasure centre of my brain. Fuzzed out bass, high energy riffs, and a filthy Glaswegian accent are all at the top of that list. What a treat to have all three served to me

Thursday 17 September 2026

Summer Wars – ‘CLOSER THAN IT SEEMS’

The sun is setting. It’s like a memory. You’re standing on a hillside, with a paper aeroplane. With all your might, you throw it. The plane takes flight, it drifts and sails on the breeze, but it doesn’t exactly soar. Do you have another throw, or do

Tuesday 15 September 2026

Honey Revenge – ‘Loving And Losing’

Honey Revenge have grown up, dusted themselves off in the wake of their debut and decided to make a sophomore album that’s (nearly) entirely dance bangers. What more can you ask for from our favourite pop-rock duo? They’re still walking the line between guilty pleasure therapy delivered via clubbing

Thursday 10 September 2026

The Meffs – ‘Business’

If there was such a thing as a 2026 Punk Championship, The Meffs would be contenders for the heavyweight title… or gold medal, or trophy in the shape of John Lydon. It’s only been four years since they crashed onto the scene, and the diminutive duo are only growing

Wednesday 09 September 2026

LIVE: ArcTanGent 2026 – Saturday

ArcTanGent 2026 was always set to be an emotional one, with fans of the more niche end of the underground scene gracing the grounds of Fernhill Farm for the last time. Tickets sold out not long after the announcement that the festival would be moving to new pastures for

Scene Queen – ‘METALICIOUS’

Pink is the colour. Barbie pink, bubble-gum pink, it has so many connotations. Scene Queen, Hannah Collins to her friends, embraces them all. With her new EP ‘Metalicious’ she’s embracing something else too, metal. Over six tracks she’s exploring the heavier side of her sound; Bimbocore never

Tuesday 08 September 2026

Midnight Swim – ‘MIDNIGHT SWIM’

The heatwave never seems to end. Perhaps you’re lucky enough to live near an open body of water. You might know of the dangers. The air heats quickly but the water is cold. Leap in, and you might get a shock. You might have a cardiac arrest.

Monday 07 September 2026

LIVE: ArcTanGent 2026 – Friday

Saturday 05 September 2026

Showing Teeth – ‘A Fate Worse Than Loneliness’

It’s a dream, or maybe a nightmare. You’ve just spent your weekend at the dentist, resulting in an unforeseen, and rather painful repair that leaves you feeling under the weather. Then, you receive a call, it’s from your editor. You really must cover the debut EP from

Friday 04 September 2026

LIVE: ArcTanGent 2026 – Thursday

Chat Pile – ‘Who Loves The Sun’

There’s something innately American about Chat Pile. It helps that they’re based in Oklahoma. This is the Wild West, where the corn is as high as an elephant’s eye – Uncle Sam’s territory. But Chat Pile has seldom sought comfort in their hometown. Their debut album ‘God’s Country’ features

Thursday 03 September 2026

LIVE: AFI, TR/ST @ Manchester Academy 1

Sometimes, you become a fan of something, and are forced to wait YEARS for the next instalment. Euphoria season 3? Four years. Chinese Democracy? Fourteen years. Winds of Winter? Fifteen years and counting! And yet, AFI take the lead on all of those, as it’s been SIXTEEN YEARS