Blueprints: How Clairo's Sound Balances Cutting Edge and Classic

Photo: Lucas Creighton Clairo’s rise feels like it happened over time and all at once. Having been both a Soundcloud darling and a viral star — both quicksand for some artists — Claire Cottrill’s post-breakthrough work has been nuanced and adventurous. Her third LP ‘Charm’ delved deeper into a world of stately, grown up pop, displaying both melodic nous and a knack for world-building.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 10 March 2025

'You're Only As Good As Your Next Album': Napalm Death on Staying Furious

In 1981, three punk kids in the Midlands banded together to make extremely fast music at the loudest possible volume. The group’s initial lineup would prove as volatile as their songs but, amid the mayhem, Napalm Death eventually birthed the now-legendary ‘Scum’: a debut album so raucous that a new genre had to be made to characterise its ferocity.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Thursday, 27 February 2025

Very Cool: Bad Nerves On Famous Fans And Bridging Punk's Generation Gap

Photos: Scott Sullivan Bad Nerves were made for rooms like the Electric Ballroom. Nestled on the bustling Camden High Street, among some of the most outlandishly decorated shops you might hope to find, it feels like it has been preserved in amber since these streets spat and strutted to the sounds of punk’s late-70s heyday. The same could be said for Bad Nerves’ sound, which is loud, frenetic, and sometimes fast enough to really test the tensile strength of a drummer’s arms.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Wednesday, 26 February 2025

'We're Still Here': Doves' Andy Williams on Longevity and 'Constellations For The Lonely'

Born out of the ashes of the early ‘90s dance act Sub Sub and having entered an 11 year recording hiatus between ‘Kingdom of Rust’ and 2020’s ‘The Universal Want’, Doves have become used to figuring out how to go away and come back. Even so, it’s been a rocky road of late for the indie trio as they work towards the release of their latest album ‘Constellations for The Lonely’.

Written by: Chris Connor | Date: Tuesday, 18 February 2025

'It's About The Horror of Banality': Bdrmm Dissect Their Innovative New Album 'Microtonic'

Photo: Stew Baxter Bdrmm think that their new album is their best yet. Now, while you pick your jaw up off the floor, consider that the Hull-based nu-gazers aren’t the sort of band to lean into empty cliches. There really is something behind their belief that with the inbound ‘Microtonic’ they’ve “finally cracked it”.

Written by: Tom Morgan | Date: Tuesday, 18 February 2025

Electric Funeral: Predicting The Collaborations At Black Sabbath's Big Farewell

All things must end, and fittingly Black Sabbath’s story will end where it began. The metal pioneers will reunite in their original configuration — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — at Birmingham’s Villa Park this summer to sign off once and for all. Billed as Back To The Beginning, the July 5 concert in the band’s home city will bring together a who’s who of modern metal, with their heavy contribution to the shape and sound of a whole genre set to ring from every note.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 12 February 2025

'We've Grown Into Arenas Over The Years': The Wombats on 'Oh! The Ocean' And Their Massive UK Tour

Photo: Julia Friedland-Godfrey Hindsight is a wonderful thing. These days bassist Tord Øverland-Knudsen can look back at The Wombats playing Liverpool’s Echo Arena — now going by the name of the M&S Bank Arena — in November 2008 and admit that they probably weren’t ready for that sort of room. But hot on the heels of their debut album ‘A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation’, instant indie classics such as Moving To New York and Kill The Director had propelled them into the UK mainstream. “It was more suitable in theatres back then,” he tells Stereoboard.

Written by: Rishi Shah | Date: Tuesday, 11 February 2025

'It's Liberating But it's Terrifying': Tribulation on Going Full Goth With 'Sub Rosa in Æternum

Photo: Damoìn Zurawski  Adam Zaars is sitting in front of what could conceivably be a Tribulation moodboard. When the guitarist joins Stereoboard’s video call from his house in Arkiva, Sweden, on the wall behind him are black and white photos of black metal musicians and gargoyles, underlined by a shelf with a blood-red candle on it. It’s as gothic, metal and extra as the music he makes, even if none of it belongs to him. “This is all my girlfriend’s stuff,” he tells us as he glances over his shoulder. “But we have very, very similar taste in these things.”

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Thursday, 06 February 2025

'We're Gonna Transport You Back in Time': Papa Roach on Bringing 25 Years of 'Infest' to UK Arenas

Photo: Bryson Roatch There’s something in the name — despite wholesale changes in the world around them Papa Roach have simply refused to die. Across 11 albums, the Californian veterans have cycled through sounds, styles and record labels, riding nu-metal’s initial wave before becoming an ever-reliable rock institution.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Wednesday, 05 February 2025

Prankster to Auteur: Five Pivotal Tyler, The Creator Performances

Tyler, the Creator’s evolution has been stark over the past decade. The Californian multi-hyphenate has risen from a troublesome shock value merchant to his current status as a fully-fledged auteur leading an evolutionary charge on hip-hop. His wide-ranging artistry, which now encompasses singer, producer, music video director, fashion designer and actor, has made him one of the most influential figures in alternative culture.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Tuesday, 04 February 2025

'Why Would You Not Try?': Ithaca on Integrity, Legacy and Their Final Show

Ithaca’s ‘They Fear Us’ was perhaps always going to be remembered as a landmark moment in modern British heavy music. Released in 2022, the London metalcore band’s second album was furious, vulnerable and principled and its place in the pantheon is now all but assured following the recent announcement that they’d soon be calling it quits with a final song and one last headline show.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Monday, 03 February 2025

The View From The Merch Table: Origami Angel

Photo: Kay Dargs Origami Angel’s music is an explosion — of sound, of colour, of creativity. The Washington DC emo duo’s recent LP ‘Feeling Not Found’ offered a head-spinning deep dive into their approach, which is unsurprisingly top-to-bottom in its attention to detail. It even extends to matching merch designs to the sounds they have pressed to wax. “I try to make it as attached to the music as possible,” frontman Ryland Heagy says. “When we build out the aesthetic for an album, with the cover art, it’ll still be tied to the music.” 

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Friday, 31 January 2025

Sabrina, Lana and You: Stereoboard's Guide To The Best Tours In The First Half of 2025

With Blue Monday behind us, it’s time to look forward to something again. The first half of 2025 promises to be one for the books in terms of live music, with plenty of huge names set to hit the road before festival season gets its hooks over the summer. Head below for our one-stop guide to the biggest, brightest and most interesting tours set to touch down in the UK and Ireland over the next few months.

Written by: Stereoboard | Date: Thursday, 30 January 2025

'All My Dreams Have Come True': Bowling For Soup's Jaret Reddick on Legacy, Nostalgia and Wembley

For most bands, 30 years in the game means you’re firmly settled into the twilight of things. But Bowling For Soup are still out here bucking trends. Things are rather sunny in their world right now — they’re regularly perched on festival main stages and frontman Jaret Reddick can still see the crowds getting bigger. They’re still packing out rooms night after night, with the fans who grew up with the Texan pop-punks’ music now bringing their children along. This doesn’t usually happen.

Written by: Emma Wilkes | Date: Wednesday, 29 January 2025

So Romantic It Hurts: C Duncan Talks 'It's Only A Love Song'

Photo: Harrison Reid C Duncan is an incurable romantic, which partly explains why the Scottish singer-songwriter is also a devotee of lush, multi-layered arrangements with swooning strings, classicist melodies and dreamy harmonies. In his world, the more lavish and grand things get, the better.

Written by: Jeremy Blackmore | Date: Tuesday, 28 January 2025

'There Was Something Special': Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium on The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour

Photo: Ryan Chang If there was a Mount Rushmore for modern metalcore, Welsh outfit Bullet For My Valentine and Floridian crew Trivium would be on there. These elder statesmen were at the vanguard of the scene when it exploded 20 years ago and now they’re teaming up to celebrate their seminal albums ‘The Poison’ and ‘Ascendancy’ by playing them in full on a massive co-headline tour.

Written by: Jack Butler-Terry | Date: Monday, 27 January 2025

Catch Them If You Can: ALT BLK ERA On Their Debut Album 'Rave Immortal'

Photo: A. Vassell It was around 2am when Nyrobi and Chaya Beckett-Messam cooked up the stunning Straight To Heart, a tour de force of pulverising alt-rock, liquid drum ‘n’ bass and emotive melodic vocals. The track opens ALT BLK ERA’s debut album ‘Rave Immortal’, but it began life with two teenagers in a classic bind — namely being told off for staying up too late. “Mum walked past our room and went, ‘What time is it?’” Nyrobi recalls.

Written by: Rishi Shah | Date: Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Carnage and Chaos: Future Indie Stars Pastel on Keeping it Real

Flying out the blocks armed with a killer indie-rock sound that’s equal parts throwback and breath of fresh air, it’s easy to see why Pastel made waves before their debut album ‘Souls In Motion’ was even released. From being hand picked by Liam Gallagher to open his Knebworth shows to high charting vinyl EPs and stadium-sized streaming numbers, their combination of graft, talent and no nonsense style has resulted in an anthemic attack that feels like another wake up call for guitar music.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Monday, 20 January 2025

In With The New: 10 Artists to Watch in 2025

Every new year poses intriguing questions. Who will be a household name by the time Christmas rolls into view again? Who will make a record that will be adored by generations to come? Who will release a sleeper hit that ignites just in time for festival season? Who? Who? Who? Well, why not this lot? In the spirit of answering January’s great hypotheticals for music nerds, here are 10 bands and artists who might have a breakout 2025. 

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 15 January 2025

'I'll Keep Going': RØRY on Sobriety, TikTok and Releasing Their Debut Album at 40

Most overnight successes are anything but. Just ask RØRY. The alt-pop star’s TikTok-assisted rise might look like it came out of nowhere, but in reality they have been part of the music industry in some capacity for 20 years, whether as a performer or as a writer for other artists. Having given up on furthering other people’s dreams to chase her own she’s releasing her debut album ‘Restoration’ this month, having recently turned 40. Even then, they didn’t want people to know how long it had taken to reach this point. “I thought I should lie about my age,” she explains over Zoom.

Written by: Will Marshall | Date: Tuesday, 14 January 2025