It's Boss Time: 10 Hidden Gems Bruce Springsteen Needs to Perform Live

Photo: Press/Provided by PR We might picture him as some kind of immortal titan, but Bruce Springsteen is, sadly, just as susceptible to father time’s inescapable march as the rest of us. As he succinctly ruminated on ‘Letter To You’, his most recent album with the E-Street Band, “One minute you’re here, next minute you’re gone.”

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 15 June 2023

'I Love Being a Songwriter': Goo Goo Dolls' John Rzeznik On What Keeps Their Creative Fires Burning

​ Photo: Maxine Evans It’s always heartbreaking when our most cherished bands lose their creative drive and, effectively, retire into the role of a touring outfit content to feed off past glories. Fortunately, fans of the Goo Goo Dolls will likely never have to experience such grief. The US rockers are one of the hardest working live acts around, with their latest UK and Ireland tour about to get underway, but as last year’s ‘Chaos In Bloom’ affirmed, not at the expense of vibrant new music.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 13 June 2023

Fighting Darkness, Bringing Light: The Return of Rival Sons

Photo: Pamela Littky After a four year gap that felt like an age, the only thing that could be better than one new album from Rival Sons would be, you guessed it, a pair of stunning new offerings courtesy of the Californian quartet. Forged in the uncertain fires of the pandemic, ‘Darkfighter’ and ‘Lightbringer’ are, quite simply, epic. Delivering fearless personal storytelling and thrilling sonic dynamism, the band have more than made good on their desire to craft “a larger artistic statement”.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 05 June 2023

Tents and Tunes: Stereoboard's Ultimate Guide To Festival Season 2023

If you’re young (curse you, your time will come) then festival season might present itself as a wonderful unknown, full of days that might become the best days of your life. If you’re old (be honest, how are the knees today?) then it might awaken the grizzled warrior inside you, steeling you for one more warm beer under the summer sun (or summer rain) as human waste simmers (or dilutes) in an adjoining field.

Written by: Maddy Howell and Emma Wilkes | Date: Wednesday, 24 May 2023

'It's the Rawest I've Ever Been': Inside Brandy Clark's Personal New Record

Photo: Victoria Stevens The creation of great art might seem like the mystical result of sorcery, yet the truth is much more human and grounded. Hard graft and natural talent are crucial elements in such an equation but, for any artist trying to wrestle their muse into life, finding exactly the right collaborators, at exactly the right time, is equally pivotal.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Beyoncé's Most Iconic Live Moments

Photo: Beyoncé opens the Renaissance World Tour at Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden / Andrew White After half a decade away, Beyoncé is back in the UK, bringing her Renaissance World Tour to stadiums and arenas up and down the country, beginning with a night at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on May 17.

Written by: Jack Terry | Date: Tuesday, 16 May 2023

Sounds of Melancholic Wonder: The Lemon Twigs on Their Path to 'Everything Harmony'

Photo: Eva Chambers Anyone who’s experienced The Lemon Twigs’ flamboyant retro-theatrical-pop stylings will already know that Brian and Michael D’Addario love to reinvent themselves on every record. But even fans who’ve become accustomed to the New York siblings’ convention-defying music might be taken aback by how sweet and vulnerable they sound on the sophisticated folk-rock of ‘Everything Harmony’. 

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 09 May 2023

OK, Time For Plan B: Enter Shikari on Starting Again With 'A Kiss For The Whole World'

Photo: Lukasz Palka "It was like we witnessed the death of the band," Enter Shikari frontman Rou Reynolds says, looking away as he reflects on Covid’s impact on a band with a prolific workrate and fearsome live reputation. "We had a year and half of not playing any shows and not writing. That hadn’t happened throughout our whole adult life, it was a scary time being disconnected from the fanbase. For the first time it didn’t feel like a pause, it felt like the end of something. We didn’t know if we would play again." 

Written by: Jack Terry | Date: Wednesday, 03 May 2023

Moment In Time: The Lottery Winners On Strength, Unity, Defiance and 'Anxiety Replacement Therapy'

In recent years, The Lottery Winners have become something of an underdog success story. Releasing their self-titled debut album into a country freshly headed into lockdown, in 2020 indie fans across the UK were captivated by the distinctly positive sound of the presumed newcomers. But by then the band were already a decade into a career of hard-fought optimism.

Written by: Maddy Howell | Date: Monday, 24 April 2023

Ain't It Fun: Paramore Throw Arena-Sized Party In Cardiff

Photo: Zachary Gray I wasn’t a fan of Paramore back when they broke through in 2005. I’d see them emblazoned on the covers of my favourite rock-leaning magazines during my teen years and dismiss them out of hand. I was too cool to like a group that appeared to be so mainstream. I was more concerned with “edgy” bands like Queen Adreena and Babes In Toyland. But what a fool I was. Better late than never, though, right?

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Monday, 17 April 2023

Quality Lasts: How Kenny Wayne Shepherd Reinvented 'Trouble Is...'

What makes for a classic album? Why does some music age like the finest of wines? And how can anyone craft a defining body of work when they aren’t even old enough to get legally drunk in their country of birth? Having created the enduring ‘Trouble Is…’ at the  age of 18, and then re-recorded it with equal fire and flair more than two decades later, blues-rock icon Kenny Wayne Shepherd is definitely the man to answer such pressing questions.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 17 April 2023

The 10 Songs We NEED to Hear on Limp Bizkit's UK Tour

Nu-metal royalty is on its way back to the UK, with Limp Bizkit about to embark on a short tour culminating in massive shows at the OVO Arena Wembley. A band that led the field when it came to brute force riffs and scatalogical rhymes at the turn of the millennium, they've sold more than 40 million albums worldwide off the back of songs that ramp up the energy at every turn. So, in anticipation, we compiled the 10 songs from their back catalogue that we are dying to hear live in the coming days.

Written by: Jack Terry | Date: Wednesday, 12 April 2023

Connecting With The World: Joshua Radin Talks Songwriting, Intimacy and Searching for Honesty

If the last few years have taught us anything of value, it’s that life without connection is really no life at all. Combine our desire for kinship with a passion to explore everything this world has to offer and you have a recipe for a happy and satisfied life, as well as the formula that helped Joshua Radin become one of the most honest and relatable singer-songwriters of the modern era.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 11 April 2023

Top 10 Moments Of BBC 6 Music Festival 2023

Photo: BBC 6 Music Ah, it’s that time of year again. After spending their gap yaaah(s) travelling to cities across the UK, the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival has recently made a return to its spiritual home of Manchester.

Written by: Sophie Pengelly | Date: Thursday, 06 April 2023

'Nothing is off limits': Trinity 'The Tuck' Taylor Talks UK Haters Roast - The Shady Tour

Trinity 'The Tuck' Taylor is an Alabama-born, Florida-based drag queen, well known for jointly winning the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars with Monet X Change in 2018, having placed in the final four of season nine just the year before. During the confessional accompanying her intro look for the latter, Trinity promised us she, “can do anything from beautiful to way outside the box”, and she’s stayed true to that ever since.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 23 March 2023

Underneath the Mask: Inside Black Honey's 'A Fistful of Peaches'

Photo: Jamie Noise Off the back of their triumphant third album ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’, which unleashes a widescreen barrage of cinematic indie sleaze anthems, it’s tempting to reclassify Brighton’s Black Honey as more movement than band. Hell bent on giving a sense of belonging to every outlier in search of connection, it’s a communal and unflinchingly truthful record that looks set to further strengthen the  bond between the group and their devout followers.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Wednesday, 22 March 2023

The 10 Songs We NEED to Hear on Lamb Of God's State Of Unrest Tour

It's been a long time coming, but Lamb Of God are back in the UK for their State Of Unrest tour, which was originally booked for 2021. Of course we all know what's happened over the past three years, and while the Richmond, VA five-piece kept things ticking over with global live streamed shows, nothing quite compares to being in the room with their brand of ferocious and politically-charged metal.

Written by: Jack Terry | Date: Tuesday, 07 March 2023

Why Couldn't It Be Us?: Meet Me @ the Altar On 'Past // Present // Future' and World Domination

Photo: Jonathan Weiner Téa Campbell can’t help but smile when recalling Meet Me @ the Altar’s stratospheric 2022. “There were so many moments where it was like, ‘Are we awake or are we dreaming?’ When we were kids idolising all these people and listening to this music, we didn’t know that one day it would become such a huge part of our lives,” the multi-instrumentalist says. “It’s insane to think about. We opened for Green Day—who the hell gets to do that?”

Written by: Maddy Howell | Date: Monday, 06 March 2023

'We Are The Voice For Everyone Who Can't Shout So Loud': Introducing Death Pill

Death Pill vocalist and guitarist Mariana Navrotskaya is feeling subdued. She’s based in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, and on the day of our interview, there’s just been another deadly Russian missile strike. Attacks like these, she says, cast a shadow over her entire day. Midway through the conversation, her shaky internet connection falters, but she returns when she’s been able to get a signal and find a light source.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Tuesday, 28 February 2023

Building Back Brighter: The Slow Readers Club Rebound With 'Knowledge Freedom Power'

Photo: Trust A Fox Photography Contrary to fantastical teenage dreams about forming a band and achieving life-changing fame and fortune, for most musicians the reality of their profession is a constant, unglamorous struggle. But even by past tribulations, the last few years have been especially hard on artists operating at a certain level without a financial safety net. Yet, if you had to put your money on one act to battle through such a tumultuous period, The Slow Readers Club would represent a pretty safe wager.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 23 February 2023