Undeniable Hope: The Lumineers Talk 'Brightside'

Like rays of sunshine breaking through black clouds, The Lumineers’ heartening fourth record is tailor-made to sweep away lingering pandemic blues and make everyone feel a little more positive about the, admittedly still uncertain, road ahead.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 20 January 2022

Now and Next: Stereoboard's Ones to Watch for 2022

Every new year brings new chances to find that one song, that one record, that one artist or band, who matter to you more than anything. This year, the deck is stacked. Head below to check out a few picks from the Stereoboard team, and get listening.

Written by: Stereoboard | Date: Thursday, 13 January 2022

The List: Stereoboard's Top Tickets Of 2021

td#right {display:none !important;} Despite the uncertainty of COVID-19's impact bleeding into another year, our stats show that fans' commitment to live music has never waned, with a total of 16, 790, 678 searches for tour dates carried out over the past 12 months via Stereoboard.  Live shows are the life force of any music scene, so we can't give up on working our way back to their safe return, especially when grassroots venues that have fostered so much talent are at risk of closure and valued industry workers are in dire need of support. Head below to check out our Top 50 tours of 2021, and here to find out how to help your local venue in the new year!   td#right {display:none !important;}

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Friday, 24 December 2021

The List: Stereoboard's Best Albums of 2021

td#right {display:none !important;} Well, that was still pretty weird, wasn't it? In, out, shake it all about etc. But this year, as difficult as it has been, was again studded with wonderful music, from introverted pandemic pieces to pop records that broke the whole thing open. Here, from the pens of Stereoboard's writers, are some of those highlights.

Written by: Stereoboard | Date: Monday, 13 December 2021

Mammy's Weird Jogger: Jimmy Watkins Talks Vega Bodegas, Sober Living And Loving Gigs Again

Time runs the same way for all of us, but some people seem to be able to cram several lives’ worth of living into one stint on Earth. Take Jimmy Watkins, for example. In a little shy of 40 years, he’s been an elite athlete, guitarist in a couple of acclaimed noise-rock bands and, now, the face of Running Punks, the internet’s favourite posi-vibe music-fitness hybrid.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 25 November 2021

'I Was Taught I Should Put My Own Needs Aside': Møl Dissect the Emotional Heart of 'Diorama'

Photo: Cornelius Qvist It’s just gone 8pm in Aarhus, Denmark, and Møl frontman Kim Song Sternkopf is at the end of a long day spent reading reviews. As he talks with Stereoboard over Zoom, his band’s second album, ‘Diorama’, is less than a week away. Its transcendent blackgaze has the heavy metal press swirling in a hurricane of hype.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Friday, 05 November 2021

Don't Judge a Book By Its Covers: Joanne Shaw Taylor Returns With a Bluesy Bang

Photo: Christie Goodwin If you’ve been hesitant about approaching the covers record Joanne Shaw Taylor released earlier this year, leave any reservations behind a heavily bolted door and dive right in. Far from being one of those generic water treading exercises, ‘The Blues Album’ is a feast that swerves done-to-death workouts in favour of reinvigorating lesser known gems. Produced by a certain Joe Bonamassa, its gleeful, effervescent songs are sure to enthral UK audiences when she returns to the stage this month.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 01 November 2021

'I Wanted to Go Into a Magical Space': Tori Amos on the Spellbinding 'Ocean to Ocean'

Photo: Desmond Murray If anyone ever manages to write a book that comes close to being the definitive history of humanity, then it’s safe to say the past few years aren’t exactly going to be among its most uplifting chapters. Whether you’re talking about shocking political events, the Covid situation, or continued occurrences of institutionalised racism and misogyny, there has been a relentless onslaught of negativity to contend with. It has left many in desperate need of the relief provided by Tori Amos’s spellbinding new album ‘Ocean to Ocean.’ 

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 28 October 2021

Expect Amazing Things: Rob Damiani Takes Us Inside Don Broco's Experimental New Album

Photo: Tom Pullen If ever proof were needed that we’re living in an exciting post-genre world, then Don Broco’s ‘Amazing Things’ delivers it in powerhouse fashion. The band’s fourth album smashes together rock, rap, EDM, nu-metal and more over the course of 12 dizzying tracks that pack as much lyrical bite as they do stylistic bark.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 20 October 2021

"I Will Die. This Will Live On.": Creeper's Ian Miles Talks Solo Bow 'Degradation, Death, Decay'

The solo project is a well-trodden path walked by artists during downtime away from their main projects, or when they must scratch a creative itch their day job doesn’t permit them to. They offer an interesting creative dynamic, with songs that thrive off reputations while also revealing different sides to musicians fans thought they knew inside out.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Thursday, 14 October 2021

No Way Back, Just Through: Trivium on Ceaseless Evolution and 'In the Court of the Dragon'

“Sabbath…Maiden…Metallica…TRIVIUM: The hottest metal band of the century.” These were the words emblazoned on the cover of Kerrang! magazine in July 2005. It was an incendiary statement at a time when the influence of rock’s print press was yet to be pillaged by the internet—and one the world was not ready to read.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Friday, 08 October 2021

A Surprise Up Your Sleeve: JOHN Talk 'Nocturnal Manoeuvres'

Photo: Paul Grace JOHN have a gargantuan sound. So big, in fact, that the band’s two members— drummer, lyricist and vocalist John Newton and guitarist Johnny Healey—might be considered alchemists. Their approach noisily brings together elements of rock, prog, punk and doom in a distinctive and eclectic style that sets them apart from their contemporaries, rendering them instantly recognisable to the ear.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 07 October 2021

How Mark Tremonti Turned Pandemic Blues Into Metal Gold

Photo: Scott Diussa On 2018’s ‘A Dying Machine’ melodic metallers Tremonti unfurled a fantastical sci-fi concept set in a bleak, otherworldly dystopia. Two years later, band leader Mark Tremonti found himself—much like the rest of the planet—living in one. Initially plagued by self doubt and creative inaction as Covid took hold, the guitarist eventually rediscovered his mojo and used that experience to fashion ‘Marching in Time’, possibly the most explosive, anthemic and emotionally gripping album of his storied career.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 22 September 2021

'Finger in the Weird Pile, Finger in the Pop Pile': Exit_International Talk 10 Years of 'Black Junk'

“The studio fee from us was handed over in cash and a phone call later it was turned into ketamine,” Scott Lee Andrews recalls, mulling over the recording of Exit_International’s cult classic debut ‘Black Junk’. This year the abrasive noise-rock trio are celebrating the album’s 10th anniversary with a reissue, and both Andrews and drummer Adam Thomas are happy to take a tumble down memory lane.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 16 September 2021

A Sprinkling of Stardust: The Return of The Wandering Hearts

If patience truly is a virtue, then The Wandering Hearts must be among Britain’s most righteous bands. During a whirlwind first few years together, the Americana-pop-folk act enjoyed one hell of a ride. Signed within minutes of uploading their music to Soundcloud, the group subsequently released their accomplished debut effort ‘Wild Silence’ in 2018. By February 2020 album two was in the can and they looked set to build on that momentum. Until the world changed.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 04 August 2021

Coup d'état: Dennis Lyxzén on 25 Years of Refused's 'Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent'

“Well, I grew up as an un-political character in a small town in the north of Sweden,” Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzén recalls. “I had one of those families where you didn’t talk about politics at all. I discovered punk and that changed my perception of everything in the world around me. It radicalised me.”

Written by: Sam Sleight | Date: Thursday, 10 June 2021

Why Are You Standing in the Ashes of the Ladder They Climbed?: Rise Against on 'Nowhere Generation'

Photo: Wyatt Troll It’s not uncommon for an interview feature to begin with a direct quote: something inflammatory, intriguing or insightful to get you hooked from the word go. But in the case of dissident punks Rise Against, whittling it down to just one would be a challenge. Singer and guitarist Tim McIlrath is full of anti-establishment maxims, each chiselled by a life of rebelling from within the American counterculture.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Wednesday, 02 June 2021

'I Was Too Scared to Leave My House': While She Sleeps Fight Anxiety on 'Sleeps Society'

Photo: Marcia Richards It’s June 28, 2013 and things could not be going better for While She Sleeps. The metalcore upstarts are in Las Vegas, opening stages all over America as part of the prestigious Warped Tour. Not even a year ago they released their debut album ‘This is the Six’, an animal that made them darlings in their genre’s thriving UK scene, alongside bands such as Architects and Bring Me the Horizon. Tours with Parkway Drive, Crossfaith and Asking Alexandria in the last few months alone have jam-packed their schedule.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Tuesday, 13 April 2021

A Different Kind of Freedom? Artists on Patreon's Role in Music

Photo: Employed to Serve It couldn’t be a tougher time to be an artist. Though a return to something approaching normality is apparently in sight, the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic are inevitably going to echo through economic and social structures for years to come. The arts and entertainment industries will be hit hard.

Written by: Sam Sleight | Date: Monday, 22 March 2021

Future Plans: Stereoboard's 2021 Events Guide

Image: London's Field Day festival As we approach the 12 month anniversary of the first UK lockdown, the mood is beginning to shift towards cautious optimism. Following the release of the government’s roadmap out of the most recent bout of Covid-19 restrictions, with a pledge from Boris Johnson for all adults in the UK to be offered their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of July, live music is once again an enticing spot on the horizon.

Written by: Stereoboard | Date: Monday, 15 March 2021