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

Beachheads: Singing Their Sorrow

You’re in a band called Kvelertak. You play an unholy concoction of black metal and classic rock. Your lead singer wears an owl on his head every night. Surely, at some point, you’re gonna have to fishbowl the whole operation and realise there might be more to this whole rock ‘n’ roll thing. Something simpler, perhaps.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Tuesday, 31 January 2017

Look Back To Move Forward: The Menzingers' 'After The Party'

When you look like Robert Redford, there’s an expectation that things will go your way. Hubbell Gardiner looks like Robert Redford and spends most of The Way We Were, Sydney Pollack’s glossy ‘70s romance, expecting things to go his way. Your man’s got blonde hair, blue eyes. At college, he rowed, threw a mean javelin and laughed his way through pickup football games. He’s charming, intelligent and gets paid to put words in actors’ mouths. By the end of the film, as he shares a few beers on the deck of his old friend JJ’s boat, he’s also a cheat who’s about to walk out on his family; a political inactivist who might lose his career to McCarthyism. But can he still crack a cold one and reminisce about his favourite Saturday as the California surf goes about its business? You bet he can.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 26 January 2017

Pop Goes DIY: Introducing Sacred Paws

Photo: David Pollock “Energetic pop music that comes from the heart, but also comes from a place of DIY punk, so it’s more stripped back music making, but also influenced by a lot of African pop music.”

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 26 January 2017

From Falun To Brixton: Sabaton And The Rise Of Power Metal

Falun is a small city in the middle of Sweden. Once an integral copper mining community, the capital of Dalarna County boasts a population of around 35,000 and is surrounded by idyllic greenery and ski slopes. Its shopping centre is a sprawling, suburban loungeabout and on the outskirts of town there’s a Max Burger restaurant. Its mine and the surrounding areas are a Unesco World Heritage site, too.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 25 January 2017

Keep It Snappy: Slowcoaches And The Art Of Pairing Pointed Words With Sharp Hooks

You don’t need a thousand words to make a point. Usually, a single phrase is enough. Often, a pop song can tell you all you need to know about a person or situation in three minutes.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 20 January 2017

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes: More Than Modern Ruin

“Before, I was just an obnoxious, arrogant little cunt. I didn’t have any respect for what I had. I didn’t appreciate what I had.”

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 18 January 2017

Code Orange: Bleeding Through Blurred Lines on 'Forever'

In its purest form, hardcore can be the most liberating, primal art you’ll ever come across. Minor Threat made you want to scream at a wall. Black Flag made you want to damage inanimate objects. Sick Of It All would make most unsuspecting civilians vomit on the spot. It’s a dangerous, bare-knuckle sport that contends with the fastest bands thrash has to offer and the ugliest, coldest of black metallers.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Tuesday, 10 January 2017

Fresh Faces: Stereoboard's Ones To Watch In 2017

td#right {display:none !important;} A new year means exciting fresh faces. You know how it works. Head below to get acquainted with some of the artists we think will be shaping the musical conversation in 2017.

Written by: Jennifer Geddes | Date: Monday, 09 January 2017