Standing Out From The Crowd: Introducing Adwaith And Their Debut Album 'Melyn'

Photo: The Shoot Adwaith have one of the most streamed Welsh language songs of all time, and Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield recently remixed one of their tracks. But there are still way too many people out there who’ve never heard of the Carmarthen trio. Why is that?

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Wednesday, 17 October 2018

One Step Back, Two Steps Forward: Mike Lindsay On Rekindling the Magic of Tunng

“Progressive folk… acid wonk pop?"

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Wednesday, 17 October 2018

Safe Hands: Cardiff's Sŵn Festival Starts Over With An Exciting Bill

Cardiff mainstay Sŵn Festival is back, so get ready to flex your musical muscles during four riotous days of gigs across various venues in the Welsh capital.

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Tuesday, 16 October 2018

Technical And Topical: Black Peaks' Guitarist Joe Gosney Discusses 'All That Divides'

Music critics are often guilty of presenting rock's history as linear. Progressive rock emerged out of pop music and psychedelia in the late 1960s but was ultimately killed off by punk in the late 1970s, so the narrative goes. Punk, with its raw sound and DIY ethic, was also a better vehicle for voicing social and political issues than prog, which was considered more escapist and lyrically concerned with “high culture”.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Friday, 12 October 2018

Boygenius: The Badass Supergroup We've All Been Waiting For

Photo: Lera Pentelute Earlier this summer, three like-minded indie-rock musicians began teasing their fans. Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus were pictured together, draped moodily on a sofa. Looking suspiciously like the sleeve image from Crosby, Stills and Nash’s self-titled bow, the word ‘Boygenius’ ran below them, as well as that all-important stamp of approval from Matador Records. Speculation bubbled. Rumours were whispered.

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Wednesday, 10 October 2018

Shameless Outsiders: El Ten Eleven's Tim Fogarty Talks 'Banker's Hill'

El Ten Eleven have never quite garnered the adulation they deserve, despite emerging from the noughties instrumental boom that spawned Explosions in the Sky, Russian Circles and countless others. It's a shame as their ambitious arrangements and daring songwriting approach have always marked them out as an interesting proposition. While other post-rockers focus on linear guitar progressions and reverb-driven crescendos, El Ten Eleven construct their unpredictable yet atmospheric sound with copious loops, vamps and pedal-led effects.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Monday, 08 October 2018

Poetry Versus Precision: Estrons Talk 'You Say I'm Too Much, I Say You're Not Enough'

Photo: Imogen Forte When Estrons vocalist Tali Källström played a test pressing of the band’s debut album to a friend, their response was easy to remember. “It sounds like you’ve dipped in and had sex with every genre,” they said. Well, they’re not wrong.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Friday, 05 October 2018

Cool With The Bargain Bin: Mike Pace Investigates The Pop Form On 'Smooth Sailing'

A few weekends ago there was a sale at a record shop in the next town over. Their stock list had ballooned, taking over a small warehouse space on a suburban street. Pretty much everything had to go, and it was going cheap. The bargain bin has no respect for reputation, so nestled among the trashy cock rock LPs were rough diamonds and certified gems; ambitious works that shifted serious units and ambitious works that were chalked up to folly back when labels were paying for things like that.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 04 October 2018

I Hope That People Can Find Catharsis In It: Tim Kasher Discusses Cursive's Powerful 'Vitriola'

Photo: Tony Bonacci “The United States President is currently buddying up with every dictator and shooing away anyone who looks remotely democratic and globalist. That’s weird. That’s weird and it’s upsetting,” Tim Kasher says, discussing the inspiration behind Cursive’s first album in six years, ‘Vitriola’.

Written by: Jennifer Geddes | Date: Wednesday, 03 October 2018

We Got Lucky: Kevin Devine And Petal's Kiley Lotz Sculpt A Perfect Tribute To Tom Petty

It’s one year since we said we’d see Tom Petty somewhere along the road, and it’s still a bitter one to swallow. We’ve had time to accept that there’s a full stop to his story, and to understand our relationship with his music in a new context, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 02 October 2018

This Is Death Of The Ego: Dabbla Talks The Ambitious Cross Pollination of 'Death Moves'

The hip-hop industry can be pretty cut-throat at the best of times and it's a challenge for artists to keep the fires burning past a certain age, let alone remain at the top of their game. And yet, as he edges closer to 40, Dabbla is running rings around rappers half his age with swagger and conviction. Hailing from London, he has long held a reputation for being your favourite rapper's favourite rapper and in the last 12 months alone he's been endorsed by comedian Romesh Ranganathan and actor Ed Skrein, among others.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Tuesday, 02 October 2018

"I See Stuff For What It Really Is, And That's A Curse": Doe Discuss Second LP 'Grow Into It'

Photo: Andrew Northrop Earlier this year Doe celebrated their fifth birthday, while all three members of the London indie-rock band are either in their early 30s or about to step across the precipice. On their second LP, ‘Grow Into It’, they appropriately find themselves taking stock.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Monday, 01 October 2018

Light, Love and Lineage: Amy Helm Keeps Her Family's Fire Burning

Photo: Ebru Yildiz To some people music is much more than just a form of entertainment or artistic expression. On her latest solo album ‘This Too Shall Light’ Amy Helm, daughter of the Band’s legendary singing drummer Levon Helm and singer-songwriter Libby Titus, has not only crafted a beautiful collection of gospel-infused Americana gems, but also a record with a rich sense of heritage dripping from every note.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 27 September 2018

Making A Big Noise Is Fun: Inside The Weird And Wonderful World Of HMS Morris

Let’s start with some advice from Heledd Watkins and Sam Roberts, who are the backbone of the Welsh-speaking, genre-melding psych-pop band HMS Morris: “Expect the unexpected.”

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Wednesday, 26 September 2018

True Rockers Take Risks: Why Monster Truck Are Set To Explode

Armed with a bulldozing brand of stoner-infused, bluesy rock ‘n’ roll, Canada’s Monster Truck have steadily established themselves as a must see live act over the last decade. Having battered more and more eardrums into submission at progressively larger venues, particularly as a support act to Deep Purple, Alter Bridge and Black Stone Cherry, arena headlining status has increasingly seemed like it’s theirs for the taking. And if their relentlessly anthemic third album ‘True Rockers’ is anything to go by, heaven help anyone who tries to stop them.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 25 September 2018

It's Important To Put Back Into The Scene: Introducing The Jazz-Flecked Style of Oscar Jerome

Photo: Dashti Jafar “I am a strong believer that if you go into making art with a predefined idea of what you want it to be,” Oscar Jerome says. “Your art will never achieve its full potential.”

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Monday, 24 September 2018

New Faces, New Sound: How Federal Charm Moved Forwards on 'Passenger'

Imagine being in a rock ‘n’ roll band with two albums under your belt and a fistful of big-name support slots in the bank. Imagine you spent the best part of a decade building a fanbase. Then, just as you’re preparing to make that all important third album, imagine waving goodbye to half the group. Do you wallow in self-pity? Wave the white flag and call it quits? Or recruit two new members and bounce back with your strongest album to date.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 18 September 2018

Stop Standing Still: The Goon Sax Evolve On The Rich, Ambitious 'We're Not Talking'

Photo: Ben O'Connor Louis Forster keeps forgetting something. He’s at his band’s rehearsal room picking up some gear. They’re going on tour; landing in London and moving on to an opening night in Glasgow after the long trip over from Brisbane. They’re pretty much good to go.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 17 September 2018

Grin Through The Dark Stuff: The Dirty Nil Return With The Mighty 'Master Volume'

Towards the end of Pain of Infinity, one of the singles from the Dirty Nil’s new record ‘Master Volume’, Luke Bentham drawls “and another thing, baby...” before ripping a guitar solo. He gets back to the microphone in time to yell: “I never loved you and I hate your friends.” The frontman is inconsiderately handsome, and has been known to play a Gibson Les Paul mid-knee slide while chewing bubblegum and wearing a star-spangled denim cowboy shirt.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 11 September 2018

Living Their Best Lives: Idles' Joe Talbot Talks Their New Album 'Joy As An Act Of Resistance'

Crackling through a speakerphone, Joe Talbot’s voice is calm and level. “I don’t feel any pressure to do anything,” he says. “It’s up to me. I genuinely don’t care what anyone else makes of what I do. It’s up to me to be as honest to myself, and truthful to the band and our art, as possible. The rest is up to you.”

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 30 August 2018