New And Underground: Stereoboard's 2000trees Setlist
This weekend 2000trees gets underway at Upcote Farm in Gloucestershire, with Frank Turner and Mystery Jets headlining a bill bristling with the finest the UK's alternative music scene has to offer.
Written by: Sam Jones | Date: Tuesday, 09 July 2013
Play That Funke Music: Turnpike Glow, London And The Flaming Lips
What's your favourite record? Who are your favourite band? Two simple questions that music fans ask each other regularly, but two questions that often leave artists spluttering. Not Turnpike Glow.
Written by: Tom Davies | Date: Monday, 08 July 2013
Frank Hamilton, The London Eye And Silly Ideas
We all have silly ideas from time to time. Frank Hamilton seems to have more than most, and also a pretty good strike rate in terms of turning flights of fancy into reality.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 05 July 2013
The Guilty Ones: First Your Stereo, Then The World
It appears that the Guilty Ones are happy to take their time. The London-based band are preparing to drop their debut single, Conquer The World, on July 28 after nearly a year cooped up in a recording studio, and it's a huge, glossy pop song driven on by the idiosyncratic vocals of frontwoman Liv Slania.
Written by: Sam Jones | Date: Thursday, 04 July 2013
Chorus, Repeat: Iwrestledabearonce Ready To Surprise All Over Again
It seems that the time has come for Iwrestledabearonce to dial down the crazy a couple of notches. The American metallers will release 'Late For Nothing' on August 12, a record that finds them experimenting with more traditional song structures amid the unruly time signatures and crushing guitars that have become hallmarks of their sound.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 03 July 2013
It's 2013, Listen Up: Fist City, Church Outrage And Killer Tunes
The road less travelled is often that way for a reason, but from time to time a trip along it proves to be the making of a band. Fist City have been through some stuff in the last few years and as a result their glorious, hook-laden record 'It's 1983, Grow Up!' is shot through with elements of an exciting, chaotic time.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 02 July 2013
Going Continental: Stereoboard's European Festival Guide
One of the biggest weekends in music is done and dusted for another year. Glastonbury closed to the strains of Mumford and Sons on Sunday night, 24 hours after the Rolling Stones had entertained an estimated 100,000 fans following a day of rare sunshine in the English countryside.
Written by: Josh Adams | Date: Monday, 01 July 2013
Carrying The Torch: Vintage Trouble And The Battle For Rock 'N' Roll
There's something refreshingly old-fashioned about Vintage Trouble, and it's not just the name. A stripped-back rhythm and blues four-piece, their blueprint – rock-solid rhythm section, slick guitarist and a showman out front – has been around since the earliest knockings of rock 'n' roll.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 28 June 2013
Ponchos And Pocket Pints: The Stereoboard Festival Checklist
Festival season is well and truly upon us and with some of the summer's biggest hitters rapidly approaching, it's time to get prepared for whatever the elements may throw at us. Tent - check. Wellies - check. The basics are second nature, but there is a market out there for more niche products to make your festival experience better and, at times, more practical. So, festival types, here are a few suggestions.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Thursday, 27 June 2013
Icons, Upstarts And Metallers: The Ultimate Summer Festival
This summer's festival schedule truly does offer something for everyone. From rock icons, to dance royalty, via hairy metal and hip hop's biggest names, there's almost too much choice to handle.
Written by: James Ball | Date: Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Summer Nights: Stereoboard's Ultimate Festival Moments
Festivals are a unique proposition for music fans. Life-changing moments can occur in the midst of a sea of humanity in front of Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage, nestled in a tent at Reading or Leeds, alongside flailing arms at Global Gathering or sat on a bank at Download watching the mayhem unfold below.
Written by: Stereoboard.com | Date: Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Taste The Difference: Stereoboard's Glastonbury Setlist
Glastonbury is pretty big. It's got more stages than an Ikea instruction booklet, and a bill so diverse that there really is something for everyone. Presiding over things this year are the Rolling Stones, who will turn in one of the most-anticipated headline sets in recent memory on Saturday night.
Written by: Sam Jones | Date: Monday, 24 June 2013
Youth Of Today: Radkey's Defence Of Cool Music
On Cat & Mouse, the title track of Radkey's debut EP, Dee Radke drawls: “You better run, he's coming for you. Nowhere to hide, he's going to take your life.” His brothers, Isaiah and Solomon, lay down a driving rhythm straight out of the '80s hardcore playbook. Their brooding take on punk recalls early Black Flag, T.S.O.L and Misfits, bands whose peaks arrived before the brothers were born. They're kids making hardcore for the modern world, but they've got one foot firmly in the past.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 20 June 2013
Behind The Music: The Nyco Project's Bold New Step
In 1964, Bob Dylan told us that “the times they are a-changin'”. Back then, his take on the social change sweeping America was a dropped needle away. Later it would be burned onto CD, downloaded as an MP3 file and streamed online. Music has always been inextricably linked to the technology of its time, and one London-based band has some big ideas about where to take it next.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Small And Perfectly Formed: The Alternative Festival Experience
Festival season is a very evocative time for any music fan. A moment's daydreaming can easily conjure images of majesty and mudslides at Glastonbury, metal horns at Download or thousands of arms aloft in front of the main stages at Reading and Leeds. But in recent years, the scene has grown. For every Glasto, there are now five or six small, independent events offering music fans the chance to broaden their festival horizons.
Written by: Sam Jones | Date: Monday, 17 June 2013
A Quiet Night Out (Download Festival Feature)
Download has, since its first staging back in 2003, become a byword for everything loud, hairy and metal. On June 14, Iron Maiden, Slipknot and Rammstein will descend on Donington Park to headline another weekend of guttural roars, blastbeats, flame-throwers and good times.
Written by: Sam Jones | Date: Thursday, 13 June 2013
In With The Old, In With The New (Download Festival Feature)
Many festivals grow beyond their initial boundaries to become iconic. It's not surprising, then, that bills around the world are packed out by the giants of the music world. On June 14, Download gets underway at Donington Park, and this year's line up is diverse and exciting, with bands old and new set to complement each other perfectly.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Wild Nights: Five Classic Download Sets (Download Festival Feature)
On June 14, Download gets underway. Iron Maiden, Rammstein and Slipknot will headline the 11th edition of the festival, a descendant of the legendary Monsters of Rock event held on the same hallowed ground at Donington Park.
Written by: Sam Jones | Date: Tuesday, 11 June 2013
The New Breed: 10 To Watch At Download 2013 (Download Festival Feature)
On June 14, the great and good of the metal world will descend on Donington for the latest edition of Download. The UK's biggest festival for fans off all things fast, loud and hairy, this year's line-up offers a little something for everyone.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 10 June 2013
The New Beat (Blood Command Feature)
With one foot on a monitor, Silje Tombre screams: “We are here to claim the throne”. It's 10.30 on a Thursday night and Blood Command are tearing through Cult Of The New Beat, the centrepiece of a thrilling, brutal set at Cardiff's Clwb Ifor Bach.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 10 June 2013
Winter Songs (Children Of Bodom Feature)
Children of Bodom have been around the block a few times. Now in their 20th year, the Finnish metallers will release their eighth full-length, 'Halo of Blood', in the UK on June 10, and once again they have turned in a diverse collection that flits between the genre's various extremes.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 06 June 2013
Talking Music (Scott Ian Feature)
With festival season almost upon us and summer doing its best, June through to August can be a dry spell for gig-goers not keen on fields. There's a warm-up show here and there, and the occasional blinding tour to keep non-festival goers satisfied, but it's a time crying out for something different.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 03 June 2013
Is It Time To Ditch The 'Face Value' On Concert Tickets? (Ticketing Feature)
You wake up bright and early, you log on to the page to buy your tickets and you nervously glance at the clock counting down the seconds until 9am.
Written by: Owen Sheppard | Date: Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Stereoboard Look At The Biggest YouTube Sensations (Psy, Justin Bieber, Boyce Avenue Feature)
In the last few days, Youtube sensation Psy - the man behind famed 'Gangnam Style' - was confirmed for Capital FM's Summertime Ball. It just seems like yesterday when we first saw Psy and his friends dancing and thrusting their way through some strange choreography on course for e-world domination. But, it begs the question - how far can a Youtube sensation go?
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Tuesday, 30 April 2013
New Jersey: A Mecca Of Rock ’N’ Roll (My Chemical Romance, The Gaslight Anthem, Springsteen Feature)
Two recent events have drawn my thoughts towards New Jersey of late. First, the band who formed my teenage years and fuelled my passion for music split up. That would be New Jersey's own My Chemical Romance. Then, while being freakishly organised, I found a review I wrote regarding The Gaslight Anthem, noting that they hailed from what seemed to be 'a Mecca of rock 'n' roll'. Ever since I read that, I've been unable to shake that New Jersey feeling, because - truthfully - that state's track record is pretty spectacular.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 22 April 2013
Stereoboard Look At The Best Smart Phone Music Apps
Although there are lots of music apps available for downloading to a mobile phone, this doesn’t mean that they are all the same. Gaining more and more popularity – music apps are on a par with gaming ones for mobile devices. The most common type of music app is one that enables the user to download music onto their mobile device, but there are also other kinds available as well, and the sheer number of music apps can make finding what you want a little tricky.
Written by: Brad Norris | Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Gig Of The Week: Win Two Tickets To See Counting Crows At London’s Hammersmith Apollo (Competition)
San Francisco rockers Counting Crows return this week for their first UK tour in over 4 years. In association with Eventim, Stereoboard are giving away a pair of tickets to see Counting Crows perform live at London's Hammersmith Apollo on Tuesday 23rd April - see our new competition below for details.
Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Monday, 15 April 2013
The Power Of Nostalgia (The Big Reunion, Stone Roses, Ant And Dec Feature)
Two pretty phenomenal events have occurred in pop culture over the past few weeks. The first is something your average rock or indie fan was probably blissfully ignoring, albeit aware of: a group of 6 previous big-names in late 90s early 00s music have produced a spectacle that a) managed to garner ratings that rivalled many of it’s parent network’s biggest drawers, and b) been able to receive such demand for their one off show in London - that subsequently it’s presence is now demanded in 12 arena dates up and down the country.
Written by: Josh Adams | Date: Friday, 12 April 2013
Win A Copy Of Counting Crows New Live Album 'Echoes Of The Outlaw Roadshow' (Competition)
UK fans have had to wait four years to see Counting Crows on stage again, but they’ll hardly be complaining: to coincide with the much awaited tour later this month, the San Francisco rockers have just released their newest collection of live songs 'Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow' through Cooking Vinyl. You could win a copy of the album in our brand new competition, below.
Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Stereoboard's March Playlist Feat. Joe Bonamassa, The Defiled, Justin Timberlake - Listen Now
Crikey - it seems just yesterday we were doing our monthly round up at the end of February, and now it's Christmas already. Oh, wait - that's just the British weather throwing a rather annoying curveball. Luckily March hasn't been all bad, especially for our ears (even more so if you were smart enough to wear a snug hat), as there's been plenty of tracks to revel in, from some metal goodness to Ant and Dec leaping back to their good ol' PJ & Duncan days.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 01 April 2013
My Chemical Romance: Merci Pour Le Venin (Feature)
Being a teenager is kind of a crazy time; everything seems huge to you and you have a lot of firsts. For music fans, we tend to experience a first true love with music - a band we discover outside of our parents' influence and that we fall head over heels with, that we obsess over and call our own. This band then leads us onto discovering other new music and - more often than not - some questionable fashion choices. That band, for me, was My Chemical Romance.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Sunday, 24 March 2013
British Rock - Forgotten Heroes & Where We Went Wrong (Palma Violets, The Strokes, Muse Feature)
Stereoboard's Jonathan Rimmer analyses the current lack of buzz for British guitar bands and how we let a whole generation of talented bands pass us by.
Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Friday, 22 March 2013
Stereoboard's Top Ten Albums For Those Who Miss 'Classic Bon Jovi' (Bon Jovi Feature)
With the release of their latest album New Jersey superstars Bon Jovi have further defected from the raunchy rock & roll bombast of their past. 'What About Now' sails by on a gentle breeze of mature melodies and understated ballads that are light years away from the monolithic choruses and roaring guitar attack of 1980's multi-platinum masterpieces 'Slippery When Wet' and 'New Jersey'. Whilst painfully frustrating for devotees of Bon Jovi's punchy melodic rock stylings, their dedication to the mainstream sounds of the day is hardly surprising. More so than any other band of their ilk, they've backed up an unwavering desire to remain commercially viable with incredibly astute business decisions. In 2013, making anachronistic party rock just won't provide the kind of sustained success Jon Bon Jovi craves. When he described himself as being 'the CEO of a major corporation' in the band's 'When We Were Beautiful' documentary, the motivations for his recent musical choices are all too evident.
Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 22 March 2013
Five Music Books To Read Before You Die (Feature)
Books aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and before and after the chronicles of Harry Potter; they certainly weren't mine either. That was until I stumbled upon a genre that I’d previously assumed just didn’t exist if it wasn‘t a celebrity biography: those books about sex, drugs and rock n’roll. Needless to say, popular music is a genre that doesn’t require a whole lot of selling. But here, I’ll be counting down (my/our/Stereoboards?) top five music books of all time. Because, let’s face it, if you spend enough time reading about music on internet pages - you might as well read about it on actual pages too. Just a little suggestion.
Written by: Josh Adams | Date: Wednesday, 20 March 2013
Kickstarter: The Future Of Music? (Kickstarter, Pledge Music Mindless Self Indulgence Feature)
It's quite difficult to keep up with advances in technology these days and at times it can prove difficult for the industries around them to evolve accordingly. Everything is going digital and for music that's proven problematic. With less money being made from digital music, less money is given into producing it. So, what do bands do?
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 18 March 2013
Do We Still Have Politics In Our Pop Music? (Jessie J, Lady Gage, Sex Pistols Feature)
It doesn’t take a team of Musicologists and a supercomputer to come to the conclusion that politics is featuring less and less in our most popular music. Now more than anytime in our post-war history, the inclusion of economic and social issues as a staple of modern popular music is becoming increasingly non-existent – as a record buying public, we simply don’t seem to be that bothered about the ‘next revolution‘ or the overthrow of the ‘establishment‘.
Written by: Josh Adams | Date: Thursday, 14 March 2013
The New British Classics (Bullet For My Valentine, Bring Me The Horizon, While She Sleeps Feature)
It may be biased to think your own nation has a thriving musical scene, so to pre-empt my point I would like to refer to a nice quote from comedian Steve Hughes:
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Stereoboard's Top Ten James Bond Songs - Does Adele's Make It? (James Bond Theme Song Feature)
Amidst Hollywood's glitterati at the recent Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles a British singer by the name of Adele capped off an incredible few years by winning the best Original Song Oscar for her James Bond theme tune, 'Skyfall'. But on a night when the Academy paid special tribute to 50 years of 007 movies, it was Dame Shirley Bassey who stole the limelight from the young pretender with a thunderous rendition of one of her gold plated Bond classics. Whilst 'Skyfall's title track is easily superior to recent efforts like Jack White and Alicia key's clunky duet or Madonna's disastrous 'Die Another Day', does it really stand up against the series best efforts? Or is it merely a well written and performed track that imitates the great compositions of yesteryear without ever threatening to surpass them? Stereoboard's Mission: To compile a dossier of the ten greatest James Bond songs in order to assess how Adele's all conquering entry compares when pitted against the best of the rest.
Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 05 March 2013
2013: The Year Of The Comeback? (Big Reunion, David Bowie, Destiny's Child, Fall Out Boy Feature)
Every year seems to have the potential of being the year of the comebacks, with icons deciding they've had enough time out of the limelight, to long-lost bands reforming in the hope of restarting their career - Hey, Steps. Perhaps one of these years will even be the one that the rumour of the Smiths reforming is actually true, but that - for now - remains unlikely.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Friday, 01 March 2013
Stereoboard's February Playlist Feat. Cut Ribbons, Nick Cave, Lordi, Bastille & More - Listen Now
It's difficult to believe the amount of quality music that comes out month after month. January was brimming with brilliance in the form of musical releases, and February had a high bar to contend with.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Thursday, 28 February 2013
Long Distance Calling Speak To Stereoboard About Their Forthcoming Album 'The Flood Inside'
Stereoboard spoke to Long Distance Calling guitarist Florian Füntmann about the band’s new album, their recruitment of a full-time vocalist and touring plans...
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Friday, 22 February 2013
Fleetwood Mac Top Stereoboard's Hot Ticket Chart For Second Week Running
British-American rock icons Fleetwood Mac have held onto the #1 spot in this week’s hot tickets chart, as tickets for their tour - in celebration of the 35th anniversary of ‘Rumours’ - continue to sell like hotcakes.
Written by: Elliott Batte | Date: Thursday, 21 February 2013
Fleetwood Mac Fly Straight To Top Of Stereoboard's Hot Tickets Chart
British-American rockers Fleetwood Mac have unsurprisingly fought their way to the top of our Hot Tickets Chart this week, pipping last week’s leaders The Who - who fell to #2.
Written by: Elliott Batte | Date: Friday, 15 February 2013
Introducing Don't Flop: The Squared Circle Of UK Hip Hop And Grime (Battle Rap Feature)
Jonathan Rimmer investigates how battle rap has become a movement in this country and how Don't Flop has changed the mainstream viewers' mindset.
Written by: Jonny Rimmer | Date: Monday, 11 February 2013
The Who Top Stereoboard's Top 10 Hot Ticket Chart
London’s rock legends The Who have returned to limelight once again this month, as tickets for their hugely-anticipated Quadrophenia tour, which sees them performing the seminal album in it’s entirety (as well as some Who classics!), fly out - earning them the #1 on Stereoboard’s Top 10 Hot Tickets chart this week.
Written by: Elliott Batte | Date: Wednesday, 06 February 2013
Stereoboard Look At Bands In Comic Books (My Chemical Romance, KISS, Rob Zombie, Stone Sour Feature)
Music is more than an audio format, it is an art form. Many in the business understand that, using music as a base for other projects. Comics are a popular sidestep from music, with artists using their base as a musician to move on into a career in comics, or use their albums as a base to interlink a new series.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Tuesday, 05 February 2013
Stereoboard's January Playlist (Biffy Clyro, Black Veil Brides, David Bowie, Continents Feature)
Towards the end of each year, it seems the best time to come up with the 'best of' lists. Soundtracks of the year aren't that far-fetched, but when you're sitting at the end of December, it's not quite so easy to remember the songs that stood out across the whole year. Many tend to slip through the net in the yearly round up.
What Really Makes A Hardworking Band? (PRS For Music, JLS, Westlife, Cancer Bats Feature)
By this point, it seems almost old news that JLS were titled the hardest working band of 2012 by the PRS For Music with a staggering 34 shows across twelve months - yes, that is less than one a week. So it does beg the question - what exactly constitutes a hard working band, in their minds at least?
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Monday, 28 January 2013
Stereoboard's Soundtrack For The UK's Big Freeze (Black Sabbath, Immortal, Lordi Feature)
Speaking on behalf of the entire British public: We do moan a fair bit about the snow, don’t we? I mean, I know that it severely disrupts travel plans and provides to be a bit of a nightmare on occasions, but the chaos should be embraced! Personally I love hurling snowballs at unsuspecting children. Anybody else? Okay, just me. Anyway, there are thousands of songs out there that will remind you of warmer, fairer times (if you fancy braving the new Bruno Mars album). But here, on this page, I have compiled a list of 5 songs relating to this perilously chilly weather we’re having. So enjoy it, you grim, frostbitten miseries.
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 21 January 2013
Stereoboard List 5 New Acts To Watch Out For In 2013 (New Music Feature)
As time tells us, we can't and won't rely on our chart hitters to produce different and good music every single time. But if Mercury Prize winning Alt-J have anything to show us, it's that there's still new and impressive sound to discover and creative territory to gain. Championing the great and obscure, Stereoboard has compiled a list of 5 acts for you to keep your beady eye's on over the coming year.
Written by: Josh Adams | Date: Monday, 21 January 2013
