Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Friday 21 September 2018

Boyfromthecrowd – ‘Surrender To The Exercise’

It’s gratifying when a band comes along and doesn’t surrender to the norm or the mainstream model. It’s also great when an act shreds the rule book and plays with diverse undertones and majestic energy. Boyfromthecrowd are a band in the ascendancy, an outfit cutting frames from different,

Thursday 20 September 2018

Joyce Manor – ‘Million Dollars To Kill Me’

In the distant future, when the robots have finally risen and taken the land as their own, we’ll look back wistfully from our bomb shelters on our younger days spent listening to Joyce Manor. The Californian four-piece became a defining band in punk and emo in the last decade. Their

Monday 17 September 2018

We Were Promised Jetpacks – ‘The More I Sleep The Less I Dream’

Sometimes a band has to retrace their steps to figure out where they’re headed; such was the case with Edinburgh’s We Were Promised Jetpacks. 2014’s ‘Unravelling’ had them temporarily expand to a quintet for that album cycle, but the departure of Stuart McGachan midway through touring that record was

Emma Ruth Rundle – ‘On Dark Horses’

The enigma of Emma Ruth Rundle has unravelled with caution and consideration over the course of three stunning solo albums. As an instrumentalist of cinematic potential in post-rock troupe Red Sparowes – and initially in her own right also – the Californian songstress gradually sought catharsis through searing lyricism

Friday 14 September 2018

LIVE: Twenty One Pilots @ Brixton Academy, London

It had been over a year since twenty one pilots had taken to any stage at all, with both members of the band taking a year-long social media break and leaving their ever loyal Skeleton Clique to wonder what would come next, and when that might be. Following the announcement

Thrice – ‘Palms’

Have you ever taken a moment to look at the palm of your hand? Have you ever studied the cracks, the grooves, the cuts and the faded scars that form you as an individual? Dustin Kensrue has. The purpose and the stories that a palm can tell

LIVE: Reading Festival 2018 – Sunday

Reading Festival continues to be one of the most popular festivals to brighten up our British summer each year, even when summer fails to truly arrive and we are left wading through mud in our favourite wellies. Every year offers a lineup filled with the current biggest names in

The Dirty Nil – ‘Master Volume’

There’s something about The Dirty Nil that’s wonderful yet oh-so-rare in this day and age: a young rock ‘n’ roll band that sparkles with star power, without sounding like a pastiche – or worse yet, a pisstake – of their genre’s former glories. Already taking on support slots in stadiums

Thursday 13 September 2018

Arcane Roots – ‘Landslide’

It’s a bittersweet experience listening to the latest Arcane Roots release, knowing it’ll be their last. We’re talking about a band whose output has rarely dwindled in its sky-high quality; a band who never got anywhere near the dues they were owed until it was too late. A band

Wednesday 12 September 2018

Good Charlotte – ‘Generation Rx’

Good Charlotte had been shaken to their core following the death of close friend and rapper Lil Peep. Struggling with the emotional aftermath and the growing drug crisis in our society, the title of their latest record, ‘Generation Rx’, comes from our generation being “the first one to have

LIVE: Reading Festival 2018 – Saturday

LIVE: Puppy @ The Joiners, Southampton

For 40 minutes on a balmy September evening, the hallowed stage of Southampton’s Joiners Arms is ablaze with plumes of hot pink fire. There’s no real pyrotechnics here, just two flame effect lights – the sort you’d find in a backstreet hippie shop between the incense sticks and dragon

Petrol Girls – ‘The Future Is Dark’

Intense yet tender. Confrontational yet vulnerable. Despairing but optimistic. Forever relevant. Forever fighting. Forever defiant. Petrol Girls’ first material in over two years is already the most relevant record of 2018. ‘The Future Is Dark’ EP is three blasts of pent-up fury that rips open stitches on once-closed wounds. There

Monday 10 September 2018

Fizzy Blood – ‘Pink Magic’

Solidifying their rightful place among names such as Tigercub and Dinosaur Pile-Up, Leeds five-piece Fizzy Blood return with a brand new four-track EP by the name of ‘Pink Magic’ – marking the band’s third in three years. The record mixes contagious noise pop with lo-fi guitars and fuzzy grunge

The Run Up – ‘Good Friends, Bad Luck’

Since their formation in 2014, Bristol punk rockers The Run Up have become one of the most hard working bands on the scene, carving out their reputation for impressive, energetic live shows and gradually developing their signature sound. While last year saw the release of their self-titled debut album,

Friday 07 September 2018

Skegss – ‘My Own Mess’

It’s been a big year for Australian three-piece Skegss. A huge tour of the homeland earlier this year, the release of two well regarded singles as well as the release of their highly anticipated debut album, with a world tour (well, Australia and Europe) to come. Following on from their

Thursday 06 September 2018

LIVE: Reading Festival 2018 – Friday

Wednesday 05 September 2018

Klammer – ‘You Have Been Processed’

So, what the hell are Klammer? The Leeds four-piece formed in 2012 and have confounded categorisation ever since. They’re goths with the attitude of punks, with a pop sensibility. They describe themselves as “post punk dark pop”, but this only scratches the surface.

LIVE: ArcTanGent 2018 – Saturday

ArcTanGent has provided a home for those of a math and post-rock persuasion for six years now and with each passing event, the subtle changes and continuous improvements make this one of the best events on the British calendar. This year, the Main Stage has been given a makeover,

Tuesday 04 September 2018

LIVE: The Fever 333 @ Islington Academy

After letlive. ended, the world waited to see what the next move was. Then came The Fever 333. Taking the hooks, big riffs and melding them into a more hip-hop orientated style, Jason Aalon Butler was back and in a big way. The fact that they have released a