The Best Of The Fests: Stereoboard's Summer Festival Guide

td#right {display:none !important;} SUMMER. IS. FINALLY. HERE. Festival season is now upon us: the bumbags have been fished from the back of the wardrobe, the wellies have been scrubbed clean of two year’s worth of forgotten Glastonbury mud and you’ve stocked up on various colours of glitter from the craft shop. You discerning music fanatics now have an important choice to make: “Which festivals should you go to?” Stereoboard know your pain. Every year we’re faced with the same dilemma, and with the UK festival scene growing faster than you can count your ever-growing collection of wristbands, it’s never been harder to decide. If only there were some sort of guide to help you through… Here we are then. The best of the fests, organised by where you might be in the country. Because you’re never too far from a weekend of music and merriment. Let’s get started then, shall we?

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Thursday, 23 May 2019

Less Matrix, More Truman Show: Inside the Sci-Fi Hardcore of We Never Learned to Live

It’s two hours until We Never Learned to Live are set to take the stage for the release show of their second album, ‘The Sleepwalk Transmissions’. The doors to the Black Heart—one of London’s most iconic metal venues—are about to open. A small group of fans have already amassed outside, braving the elements on a harsh, drizzly evening in order to rush in and headbang the cold away.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Wednesday, 22 May 2019

Time Ticks By: Madonna's Iconic Career From Holiday to 'Madame X'

In case you hadn’t heard, or if Eurovision isn’t your bag, Madonna is back. The Queen of Pop’s new album, ‘Madame X’, is set to land on June 14 and bring with it the latest in a long line of live extravaganzas, including a huge run at the London Palladium. As we prepare for what’s doubtless going to be a quiet, reserved affair, we thought it wise to wind back the clock and take a look at some of the songs that helped make her one of the most iconic pop artists of them all. Spanning a teetering stack of hits, this is Madonna’s legendary career in 10 foundational moves.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 20 May 2019

The Importance Of Being Honest: Alex Lahey Talks 'The Best Of Luck Club'

Photo: Callum Preston “My problems are so miniscule in terms of the big picture,” sings Alex Lahey on Interior Demeanour, the third track from her second album, ‘The Best Of Luck Club’. It’s this modest outlook that makes the Melbourne native so relatable, but she’s possibly more shrewd and sharp-witted than even she realises.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 16 May 2019

Friendship, Los Angeles and Turkey Dinners: Introducing Pinky Pinky

Our childhood friends occupy a special place in our hearts for a whole host of reasons, but perhaps chief among them is the fact that they knew us when we were alternately useless, directionless, and maybe even fun in a carefree sort of way.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 09 May 2019

Harsh Truth: Employed to Serve Voice the Millennial Condition on 'Eternal Forward Motion'

“In 2017, 5,821 suicides were registered in the UK. This makes it the second-leading cause of death among 15-to-29-year-olds.”

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Thursday, 02 May 2019

Your Legend Gathers Around You: John Darnielle Talks The Mountain Goats' 'In League With Dragons'

Photo: Jeremy Lange You don’t just walk up to the mound with a baseball in your hand and throw a good pitch. First there’s the matter of a technique honed through years of graft, then some tactical decisions in the moment, and then the resulting mechanical adjustments—by the time you’ve nodded to the catcher and drawn back your arm you’re firmly in the realm of physics.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 25 April 2019

We All Suffer, We're All In This Together: Craig Finn Talks 'I Need A New War'

Photo: Shervin Lainez Back in the day, if you pulled up a chair at the kitchen table with the punk kids and hoodrats who ran riot in Craig Finn’s songs then your elbows had to settle for the gaps between empty beer cans and little bags of powder. To your left and right everyone was tired and wired—perpetual motion, with hearts set on the top but heads sweating rock bottom and the latest killer party. That was the way of things in the bloody, ugly, triumphant tales that defined the early years of the Hold Steady.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2019

Crazy For K-Pop: A Snapshot Look At The Phenomenon Taking Over The World

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a craze going on. A global frenzy for Korean pop music, or, as the kids are calling it these days, K-Pop. There’s a seemingly infinite number of K-Pop groups around at the moment, with millions of loyal fans all over the globe — the most obsessive of which are called Sasaengs. They're known for their extreme behaviour, with some breaking into group member’s houses, carrying secret recording devices, crashing weddings, that sort of thing. 

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Monday, 15 April 2019

Wet Plate Portraits: Idles At The Tramshed Cardiff

td#right {display:none !important;} Photograph: Gareth Jarvis Sweat is dripping from the ceiling, and there’s nowhere for it to fall except on the sea of bodies packed shoulder to shoulder at the Tramshed in Cardiff. Everyone is saturated, and it’s all Idles’ fault. The Bristol post-punks sold out the venue in under an hour when tickets went on sale back in November, and it seems the audience’s enthusiasm hasn’t waned since then.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 04 April 2019

There Is Fun Stuff and Cool Stuff and There Can Be Resistance: Martha Talk 'Love Keeps Kicking'

One of life’s dirtiest tricks is the way it slowly erodes the time we have to do the things we love. In response we have nights spent on either side of a low stage, sweat flying and words being wrenched from hoarse throats. “When we’re on tour and playing shows I’m like: ‘This is me’. And then I quickly get back into normal, boring work,” Martha bassist Naomi Griffin says.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 02 April 2019

'Life is Chaos, But I Won't Give Up if You Don't': Devin Townsend on the Life-Affirming 'Empath'

Photo: Tanya Ghosh Murphy, the patterdale terrier, just barked inside. He’s a good dog, but he knows he shouldn’t bark inside.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 25 March 2019

Dual Lead Action: Ex Hex Discuss The Mighty Retro-Rock Power of 'It's Real'

Photo: Michael Lavine Millions of words are spilled every year in the hope of capturing something profound or true, or profoundly true, about music, or movies, or books. But, at least part of the time, it’s all a ruse designed to dress up the most basic tenets of fandom: I hate this or this rules so fucking hard.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 20 March 2019

That Feeling: Meet The International Women of The Franklys

Photo: Derek Bremner The Franklys are a Swedish-British garage-rock quartet you should be paying attention to. The band, singer and guitarist Jen Ahlkvist, guitarist Fanny Broberg, bassist Zoe Biggs and drummer Lexi Clark, are on the road showcasing their fizzing new EP, ‘Framed’. 

Written by: Anna Ghislena | Date: Monday, 18 March 2019

Pity The Nameless: Venom Prison Discuss The Egalitarian Brutality of 'Samsara'

“It doesn’t matter how bright we shine, the darkness always takes over,” begins guitarist Ash Gray, whose band, Venom Prison, are one of the bleakest in modern death metal. That said, after analysing the state of contemporary society on their new album ‘Samsara’, their nihilistic outlook is justified.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Tuesday, 12 March 2019

Morbid Fascination: How Billie Eilish Put Us Under Her Spell

Billie Eilish is everywhere at the moment. Armed with bewilderingly catchy pop hooks and a distinctly magnetic voice, the American artist is a force to be reckoned with.

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Friday, 08 March 2019

The Light and Dark Inside: Holding Absence Talk Fusing Pop and Hardcore on Their Self-Titled Debut

It’s taken Holding Absence a little over two years to go from freshly-formed newcomers in the Cardiff underground to one of the hottest acts in all of British hardcore. The youngsters have been cultivating their fanbase at a rapid pace, drawing new faces in with their infusion of heavy music’s shotgun-blast rhythms into what are otherwise emotional, melodic pop songs.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Thursday, 07 March 2019

'Being In A Band is a Dumb Idea': Pkew Pkew Pkew Keep Things Honest on 'Optimal Lifestyles'

There is no other strain of self-analysis quite like the one that begins with a hangover placing its foot on your throat—that sweaty, heaving mass of bad decisions, good decisions that now feel like bad decisions, and inconvenient black spots.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 25 February 2019

There Can Never Be Too Many Guitar Solos: Du Blonde On Creative Control and 'Lung Bread For Daddy'

“The ‘60s and ‘70s are where the majority of my music taste lies,” Du Blonde, aka Beth Jeans Houghton, says when asked about the vintage tones written all over her new record, ‘Lung Bread For Daddy’. “There can never be too many guitar solos. I’m surprised by how many people don’t love a good rock opera.”

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 21 February 2019

Evil Never Dies: Overkill Discuss 40 Years of Thrash Metal and 'The Wings of War'

“I’ve been everywhere but it’s never like home,” Overkill singer Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth wails on Welcome to the Garden State, the seventh song on the thrash metal stalwarts’ new album, ‘The Wings of War’.

Written by: Matt Mills | Date: Wednesday, 20 February 2019