Dual Lead Action: Ex Hex Discuss The Mighty Retro-Rock Power of 'It's Real'

Photo: Michael Lavine Millions of words are spilled every year in the hope of capturing something profound or true, or profoundly true, about music, or movies, or books. But, at least part of the time, it’s all a ruse designed to dress up the most basic tenets of fandom: I hate this or this rules so fucking hard.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 20 March 2019

That Feeling: Meet The International Women of The Franklys

Photo: Derek Bremner The Franklys are a Swedish-British garage-rock quartet you should be paying attention to. The band, singer and guitarist Jen Ahlkvist, guitarist Fanny Broberg, bassist Zoe Biggs and drummer Lexi Clark, are on the road showcasing their fizzing new EP, ‘Framed’. 

Written by: Anna Ghislena | Date: Monday, 18 March 2019

Pity The Nameless: Venom Prison Discuss The Egalitarian Brutality of 'Samsara'

“It doesn’t matter how bright we shine, the darkness always takes over,” begins guitarist Ash Gray, whose band, Venom Prison, are one of the bleakest in modern death metal. That said, after analysing the state of contemporary society on their new album ‘Samsara’, their nihilistic outlook is justified.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Tuesday, 12 March 2019

Morbid Fascination: How Billie Eilish Put Us Under Her Spell

Billie Eilish is everywhere at the moment. Armed with bewilderingly catchy pop hooks and a distinctly magnetic voice, the American artist is a force to be reckoned with.

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Friday, 08 March 2019

The Light and Dark Inside: Holding Absence Talk Fusing Pop and Hardcore on Their Self-Titled Debut

It’s taken Holding Absence a little over two years to go from freshly-formed newcomers in the Cardiff underground to one of the hottest acts in all of British hardcore. The youngsters have been cultivating their fanbase at a rapid pace, drawing new faces in with their infusion of heavy music’s shotgun-blast rhythms into what are otherwise emotional, melodic pop songs.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Thursday, 07 March 2019

'Being In A Band is a Dumb Idea': Pkew Pkew Pkew Keep Things Honest on 'Optimal Lifestyles'

There is no other strain of self-analysis quite like the one that begins with a hangover placing its foot on your throat—that sweaty, heaving mass of bad decisions, good decisions that now feel like bad decisions, and inconvenient black spots.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 25 February 2019

There Can Never Be Too Many Guitar Solos: Du Blonde On Creative Control and 'Lung Bread For Daddy'

“The ‘60s and ‘70s are where the majority of my music taste lies,” Du Blonde, aka Beth Jeans Houghton, says when asked about the vintage tones written all over her new record, ‘Lung Bread For Daddy’. “There can never be too many guitar solos. I’m surprised by how many people don’t love a good rock opera.”

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 21 February 2019

Evil Never Dies: Overkill Discuss 40 Years of Thrash Metal and 'The Wings of War'

“I’ve been everywhere but it’s never like home,” Overkill singer Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth wails on Welcome to the Garden State, the seventh song on the thrash metal stalwarts’ new album, ‘The Wings of War’.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Wednesday, 20 February 2019

The Friction of Molecules: Maxïmo Park's Paul Smith Talks 'As Long As We Keep Moving'

Time is constant, but it rarely seems to be on our side. That’s particularly the case for a lot of bands, who are under pressure to maintain standards as their careers progress and, from certain quarters, to keep doing the same thing in perpetuity. Maxïmo Park’s ‘As Long As We Keep Moving’ is an attempt to reckon with that.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 19 February 2019

Still Pioneers After All These Years: Millencolin Return With 'SOS'

Sometimes things just click. A band will figure out how they work at the right moment, release the right record on the right label at the right time, and find the right audience waiting. A little under two decades ago that happened to Millencolin when they sent ‘Pennybridge Pioneers’ into the world.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 13 February 2019

New Year, New Music: Stereoboard's Pick Of 2019's Best Gigs

td#right {display:none !important;} A brand new year has rolled around, January is finally behind us and with a new month comes a huge number of opportunities to shuffle your feet on down to a gig. Get that ugly diary your nan got you for Christmas out from the back of the cupboard, it’s time to pencil in some of the best gigs to look forward to in 2019. Think you want cheesy pop? Prefer something more alternative? For the rest of 2019 we’ve utilised the powers that be to collate the biggest artist playing the UK that month, and one act that may have slipped under the radar. So, if you’ll pardon the cliche, there really is something for everyone.

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Wednesday, 06 February 2019

Mired in Darkness: Unpacking the Raging Metal Riffs of Conjurer

Conjurer are a great anomaly within British heavy metal. In a genre where everything is divided into subsects—from glam to deathcore—these fresh-faced aggressors are all about demolishing boundaries and simply smacking the listener in the face with guitar-driven brutality.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Thursday, 31 January 2019

A Couple Power Chords Go A Long Way: Mike Krol On Going Back To Basics

“With a couple power chords, I’m gonna let you know...” One line. Five decades of music history.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 23 January 2019

'I Feel Stronger Than Ever': The Return of Chlöe Howl

Back in 2013, Chlöe Howl seemed set to take the world by storm. Her early singles, including the killer kiss-off No Strings, arrived accompanied by industry hype and a mounting sense of next big thing momentum, but in short order she was stepping away from music to take stock.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 22 January 2019

Big Four Meets Big Star: Puppy On Their Genre-Mashing Debut 'The Goat'

Photo: Georgia Rawson There are plenty of music fans out there who would happily hype the battle between pop and rock for the rest of time: the dark side versus the light, Ivan Drago versus Rocky Balboa, John Travolta versus Nicolas Cage, Nicolas Cage versus John Travolta. But then we also have bands like Puppy, who are able to cast that whole argument in the comic light it often deserves.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 21 January 2019

We Got You Babe: The History Of Cher

What a world we’d live in if everyone was as amazing as Cher. With a six-decade strong career tucked firmly under her sparkly belt, she truly is one of those pop icons we love to love. The singer has continually reinvented herself - from the hippy early days of the 1960s to her most recent emergence in the Mamma Mia! sequel, Here We Go Again. She has done it all, seen it all and worn it all.

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Thursday, 17 January 2019

'Dadcore', Mixtapes and More: Meet Mozes and the Firstborn

Photo: Nick Helderman It all started with clothes. Specifically, it all started with Melle Dielesen’s clothes.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 15 January 2019

Metal Moments: A Look Back Through Mastodon's 10 Best Tracks

Mastodon are good, aren't they? So damn good! With a career spanning nearly two decades and seven albums, the Atlanta Grammy Award-winning metal monsters have stood toe to toe with grief, despair, addiction and death to give the world a vast, genre-defying body of work.

Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Monday, 14 January 2019

Now And Next: Stereoboard's Ones To Watch In 2019

td#right {display:none !important;} A new year brings with it the chance to look ahead after a few weeks of looking back over our shoulders. In musical terms, we can start to think about the artists who’ll capture our attention on summer festival stages, or during opening slots for existing favourites. We can ponder the singles that’ll leap from radio waves or playlists into the fabric of our day-to-day. Here we’ve assembled 10 artists we believe will make 2019 one to remember—some of them are about to release debut records, others are starting to pound the pavement in support of music that deserve time to shine.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 08 January 2019

The List: Stereoboard's Top Tickets Of 2018

td#right {display:none !important;} td#right {display:none !important;} The way we listen to music may have changed throughout the decades but one thing remains a constant: we always want to see the real thing. We want to stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow fans as our favourite artists captivate us for an evening, taking us out of ourselves for a few hours as we sway to the beat and sing along until we’re hoarse. The statistics back up that the sentiment. This year has been another massive one on the live music front, and here we take a look at which tickets were the most sought-after in 2018.  

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Friday, 21 December 2018