Trashing The Past: Why The Darkness Are Still Smiling

For those who only listen to music that’s deemed trendy by self-appointed tastemakers, the Darkness will always be a joke. Their comically anachronistic rock ‘n’ roll shone brightly on their unit-shifting, award-winning debut ‘Permission To Land’ before the novelty factor evaporated.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 06 December 2017

Lou Reed: Many Happy Returns To 'Transformer'

Now 45 years old, Lou Reed’s ‘Transformer’ still manages to hide some of its secrets. At the time of its release in November 1972, its discussions of drug use and transgender issues were taboo and flew right over the heads of many listeners. At this remove it retains the capacity to surprise and challenge us.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 28 November 2017

"We Were Both Behind and Ahead of Our Time": Amusement Parks on Fire Return

When a teenage Michael Feerick completed the first Amusement Parks on Fire record back in 2004, he achieved something quietly remarkable. It was an ambitious and ethereal rock project that renovated ‘90s shoegaze for the 21st century.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Wednesday, 15 November 2017

With Ire: The Great Discord Go Down The Rabbit Hole For Album Two

When someone says ‘pop music’, you now fear the worst. You think of the Black Eyed Peas. You think of Justin Bieber before he started getting tattoos and being pwopa nawty. You think of ghostwriters, lip-syncing and Simon Cowell. You don’t think of the Great Discord.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 01 November 2017

Sex Pistols: Many Happy Returns To 'Never Mind The Bollocks'

Amazing as it may seem, Sex Pistols’ notorious album ‘Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols’ just turned 40 years old. And yet, the whirlwind of bad press, controversy and monstrous songs that accompanied it came and went in the blink of an eye.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 31 October 2017

Path Best Travelled: SoCal Country Troubadour Sam Outlaw's Unique Journey

You wouldn’t expect a country artist named Outlaw to follow a conventional trajectory, would you? He’s a former business high-flyer who didn’t become a professional musician until he’d turned 30. He's a singer-songwriter who, in spite of being inspired by the greats, didn’t fall in love with country until his early 20s. And he resides in Los Angeles, not Nashville. This is the story of Sam Outlaw, a neo-traditional troubadour whose melancholy SoCal sound belies his rebellious moniker.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 30 October 2017

Snowed In: And So I Watch You From Afar Discuss Their Immersive New Record

We catch up with And So I Watch You From Afar (or ASIWYFA) at a particularly fitting time. The instrumental heavyweights’ fifth album, ‘The Endless Shimmering’, is easily their most tempestuous release, packed with anthemic guitar hooks and unpredictable detours.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Wednesday, 25 October 2017

I Will Have Hope: Julien Baker On 'Turn Out The Lights'

It’s not always the case that a cover version tells us something about the artist performing it. Sometimes they barely register as an empty gesture. But Julien Baker’s take on Badlands - recorded live at the Newport Folk Festival last summer - is a perfect exception.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 24 October 2017

Return of the Good Souls: Starsailor Talk Past, Present and Future

The music business is nothing if not fickle. Few bands know that better than Starsailor, a group whose million-selling debut album ‘Love Is Here’ catapulted them into the limelight seemingly overnight before they crashed back to earth almost as fast.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 12 October 2017

Mr. Scruff: Get Inside A Groove/Get Lost In It

Since the ‘90s, DJ and producer Mr. Scruff has gone from left field beat-matcher to a bonafide fixture in British festival culture, deriving his own brand of sample-led electronica from a deep appreciation of soul and funk.

Written by: Jacob Brookman | Date: Monday, 09 October 2017

Comfortably Confident: Introducing Alex Lahey

When it’s put to Alex Lahey that ‘I Love You Like A Brother’, her first album, is impressively confident it makes her smile. But it is.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Wednesday, 04 October 2017

Ian Dury: Many Happy Returns To 'New Boots And Panties!!'

There are only a handful of artists who can claim they saw off extreme physical odds to forge hugely successful careers. Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, certainly, also Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi and Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Tuesday, 03 October 2017

This Is The World I Brought You Into: Propagandhi Talk 'Victory Lap'

Photo: Greg Gallinger There’s a phrase that Propagandhi's Chris Hannah keeps coming back to when discussing their new record, ‘Victory Lap’: rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 27 September 2017

Past Lives, Future Me: Worriers' Lauren Denitzio On 'Survival Pop'

It feels stupid to describe this year as a good one for jean jackets in punk. Honestly, every year’s pretty solid.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 26 September 2017

Frank Iero: Good Things Come To Those With Patience

I remember buying ‘The Black Parade’ in Woolworths. We were on holiday at the seaside. My sister already had the album but I wanted to listen to it on my own shitty personal stereo, so I dragged my Dad into the now-defunct high street shop and asked if I could use my holiday money for it. It had a Parental Advisory sticker, so Dad had to tell the cashier that, yes, I could handle teenagers scaring the shit out of Gerard Way.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Thursday, 21 September 2017

Arcane Roots: Unlearning Muscle Memory On 'Melancholia Hymns'

Arcane Roots are survivors. That might seem like a big statement when you consider the long line of UK bands who have been beset by label troubles, the loss of key members and relentless touring with little reward.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Thursday, 21 September 2017

Cradle of Filth: Still Evil After All These Years

Legends of extreme music, black metal blaggers or Hot Topic heathens...whatever your view on Cradle of Filth, it’s already been expressed on some internet messageboard. They’ve heard it all before. Dani Filth’s troupe of misfits have undergone various line-up and stylistic changes over their near three decade existence, but one thing remains the same: people online hate them.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 20 September 2017

Plug In, Get Radical: The Bronx Talk Their Fired Up Comeback

“Man, they fuckin’ rip. I’ll tell you right now.” Do you really, in the inky recesses of your heart, want new songs by the Bronx to do anything else? Since the release of their first eponymous LP in the summer of 2003, the Los Angeles band have become standard bearers for a brand of punk ‘n’ roll that clings to an even keel by its fingernails.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 19 September 2017

Public Service Announcement: Phaeleh Is Back With 'Lost Time'

The word dubstep conjures different images for different people. Many associate it with the obnoxious Skrillex-led style that briefly dominated the charts in the early 2010s. But for those who encountered the genre at its inception, it connotes atmosphere, mystery and introspection. Burial, arguably the movement’s most critically acclaimed artist, was already an established, influential presence when he revealed his real name in 2008, for example.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Monday, 18 September 2017

It's Cool To Care: Charly Bliss And A Love Of Pop Songs

Photo: Shervin Lainez Charly Bliss have a foot in two camps.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 13 September 2017