Tei Shi: On 'Crawl Space' And The Desire To Be Inspired By Light

Tei Shi composes devastatingly poetic love songs. Whispering in sexy, tobacco-stained tones, her voice stalks like a bird of prey. She suddenly owns her powerful choruses with intent; her vocal buildups are all-consuming and dominate emotions and senses upon first listen. Tei, real name Valerie Teicher, released ‘Crawl Space’ via Polydor at the end of last month and proudly unveiled an accomplished, autobiographical body of work decorated with a picture of herself on the sleeve.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Tuesday, 11 April 2017

The Neal Morse Band: Enjoying Life's Grand Experiments

If this world had been created by Neal Morse, there’d be no such thing as subtlety. Mountains would be 10 times taller, romantic gestures more grandiose than a billionaire’s cocktail party and movie screens so ginormous they’d render IMAX puny by comparison. Fortunately for lovers of bombastic progressive rock, he is but a mortal man, so instead he channels his widescreen, Technicolor vision into albums like last year’s near two hour concept piece ‘The Similitude Of A Dream’.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 07 April 2017

The Flatliners: Finding Quiet In A 24/7 World

“Let’s just go home.” It looks like a simple idea when it’s written down. But for the Flatliners, a Toronto punk band who’ve been on tour pretty much non-stop for the last decade, it sparked a sort of quiet revolution in their ranks. What if, instead of grinding through the gears of writing a new record while quite literally doing the same in the van, they just...went home for a while?

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 05 April 2017

First Time's A Charm: Can't Swim Set Out Their Stall On 'Fail You Again'

Could you hum the melody of the first (only?) song you wrote?

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 04 April 2017

Creeper: Eternity, In The Charts?

I’m locked out of my flat with no shoes on. I’m locked out of my flat with no shoes on and Ian Miles, guitarist from Creeper, is on the phone. “You’re breaking up again, mate,” he says. “Do you want to try calling on Facebook?” “Cracklexxyxyxyxcracklefuzzzzzz,” I reply, hanging up and sprinting to the door.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Friday, 24 March 2017

Me And That Man: Nergal And John Porter Sing Out Their Darkness

“Me and That Man is a side dish,” says Nergal. “A salad.” “A dessert,” says John. “Some songs are like a fuckin' thick, bloody steak, while others are desserts,” says Nergal. “Others are appetisers. Does that make sense?”

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Friday, 17 March 2017

Modern Love: Craig Finn Finds Hope In Adversity On 'We All Want The Same Things'

When Craig Finn was young he spent a fair bit of time with a copy of Lou Reed’s Greatest Hits. In particular, he was drawn to Wild Child and its cast of characters: Chuck, Phil, Betty, Ed and Lorraine. Back in 2012, while discussing the pros and cons of striking out from the comfort of your band prior to the release of his solo bow, ‘Clear Heart, Full Eyes’, he told Jessica Hopper that his biggest takeaway from the song was a simple one: he wanted to know more about Chuck.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 15 March 2017

Embodying An Aesthetic With Sound: Idles' Joe Talbot Talks 'Brutalism'

“In the rank of unflattering monikers for an artistic style, Brutalism has got to score near the top. Like the much kinder-sounding Fauvism or Impressionism, it was a term of abuse for the work of architects whose buildings confronted their users - brutalized them - with hulking, piled-up slabs of raw, unfinished concrete.” - Nikil Saval, the New York Times

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Tuesday, 14 March 2017

Off The Rails In Bangkok: Jam Baxter Talks 'Mansion 38'

Critics generally tend to split British MCs into three camps: street-oriented grime artists, boom bap-obsessed backpackers and, for want of a better word, the mavericks.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Friday, 10 March 2017

Ride: Many Happy Returns To 'Going Blank Again'

Here’s a claim to get us started: Creation Records boasted perhaps the coolest roster of acts ever assembled in one place. The label, founded in the early ‘80s by Alan McGee, put out some of the most revered works in British rock history and, along the way, assembled a catalogue that remains astonishing. Forget ‘astonishing for an indie label’. Just astonishing.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 09 March 2017

Gonna Build An Army, Gonna Smash That Patriarchy: Introducing Peach Club

Photo: Poppy Marriott There may be almost 5,000 miles and three decades separating the riot grrrl scene that blossomed in Olympia, Washington and Peach Club’s inception in Norwich, but a single spin of Mission Impossible, one half of their recent double a-side single, will have you feeling as though you’ve been transported back to the early ‘90s through the medium of unapologetic feminist lyrics and raw mixes reminiscent of Bratmobile and Bikini Kill.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Tuesday, 07 March 2017

Wonder, Beauty, Isolation: Jagwar Ma Talk 'Every Now & Then'

Jagwar Ma have been composing accessibly irreverent psychedelia for half a decade now. Layering kaleidoscopic sounds, they effortlessly married imagination with melody on their second album, ‘Every Now & Then’, which was released last autumn.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Tuesday, 28 February 2017

Ripping Up The Rulebook: Luke Morley On The Evolution Of Thunder

Having spent the best part of three decades making top notch bluesy rock 'n’ roll records dripping with soul and swagger, Thunder surely deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Free, Bad Company and Whitesnake when it comes to great British bands of our time. ‘Rip It Up’, their new album, is an artistic tour de force that exemplifies that claim, with the group delivering everything we’ve come to expect while also pulling a number of delightful rabbits out of their hat.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 22 February 2017

A Brighter Side To Things: Introducing Tkay Maidza

Photo: Andrew O'Toole Scaling fluorescent sonic plains, Tkay Maidza is the fresh Zimbabwean-Australian vocal talent who bagged herself a celebrity cheerleading squad before dropping her debut LP.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Monday, 20 February 2017

Cult Concern: Chris Olley On The Legacy Of Six. By Seven

Everyone has a song, an album or even an entire artist’s catalogue tucked away in their collection that, for some obscure reason, none of their friends own, don’t they?

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 16 February 2017

It's A Live Thing, A Living Thing: Francois and the Atlas Mountains Discuss 'Solide Mirage'

Photo: Tom Joye Cynicism bounces happily alongside optimism and irony on Fránçois and the Atlas Mountains’ fourth album, ‘Solide Mirage’. Recorded throughout the summer of 2016 at Jet Studios in Brussels and influenced by the terrible international derailments of peace that threatened his home country of France and then rippled across Europe, it's the result of Fránçois Marry taking to his music to compute the chaos.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Thursday, 09 February 2017

'The Essence Of The Political Struggle Is Inherent In The Music': Sinkane Talks 'Life & Livin' It'

“When I heard it, I was completely blown away. It was a distinctive African music that wore these American influences in this really earnest, honest, excited and beautiful way. You could hear James Brown, Funkadelic and Sly Stone. Synthesisers, drum machines and weird cyclical grooves that were kind of like Afrobeat. They had this Caribbean feel - very tropical.”

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Tuesday, 07 February 2017

Fleetwood Mac: Many Happy Returns To 'Rumours'

Many albums lay claim to being the best of all time. But ‘Rumours’ has a stronger case than most. Released in 1977, Fleetwood Mac’s 11th studio album was designed not to have an inch of filler and achieved its goal with room to spare. Of its rivals, perhaps only the Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ could muster that defence so convincingly.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Monday, 06 February 2017

All Roads Lead Home: Dave Hause Talks 'Bury Me In Philly'

A few months ago, Paint it Black offered to perform a public service. “At a movie premiere and Springsteen is here,” the Philadelphia hardcore band posted on Twitter. “If this gets enough RTs I'll punch him in the dick for ruining punk!”

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 02 February 2017

All The Right Moves: Introducing Aaron Keylock

Anyone with an IQ  larger than a mushy cucumber knows how stupid the whole ‘rock is dead’ argument sounds. Yet, after the last 12 months, we’re increasingly aware that the genre’s icons, those who built its foundations and shaped its sound, are not impervious to the grim reaper’s merciless scythe. We need new heroes to worship, new blood to carry the music into the future without losing the roots of the past. Step forward 19-year-old Aaron Keylock.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 01 February 2017