Did You Hear The '59 Sound? The Gaslight Anthem and a Grand Rock Tradition

Illustration: Thomas Norton “Is Brian around?”  Bruce Springsteen has just pulled a cardboard sign from the Hyde Park crowd and flashed it around E-Street. A moment later Brian Fallon walks out from the wings, having opened the show with his band, the Gaslight Anthem. He embraces Springsteen before Max Weinberg’s kick drum counts in No Surrender.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 24 May 2018

Forget The Barriers: Goat Girl And The Power of Subverting Expectations

Photo: Holly Whitaker Expectations are constantly being placed on Goat Girl, and they just keep quietly subverting them. The band were hyped by London’s music press before they had released their debut single, while a narrative grew around them as a political garage-rock band that was part of a growing scene in south London. They then signed to Rough Trade, and 18 months later their self-titled debut album was released. Here they finally have an opportunity to let the music speak for itself.

Written by: Jennifer Geddes | Date: Tuesday, 22 May 2018

It's Loud And Wild, But I Swear It Feels Soft: Beach Slang's James Alex Talks Quiet Slang

When we think of Beach Slang, we think of screaming our lungs out with our best friends, t-shirts soaked with sweat and beer, as a man in a crushed velvet jacket leads a dive bar chorus. We certainly do not envision being brought to the brink of tears by the gentle melodies of the same songs after they have been recast with a hauntingly beautiful orchestral backdrop. But that’s the alchemy at the heart of James Alex’s Quiet Slang experiment.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Thursday, 17 May 2018

How To Be a Real Adult: Common Holly on 'Playing House' and Finding Your Place

Photo: Sean Mundy  “We’re all pretending to be adults on a fairly constant basis.” Brigitte Naggar tells it like it is. Her thoughtful, considered debut album as Common Holly, ‘Playing House’, was released in October last year, and although it jogs down the well-trodden break up path, she covers the difficult ground through sparse guitar textures, unexpected math-rock production and truly relatable twentysomething lyricism.

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Tuesday, 15 May 2018

Rock The House 'Til Its Closing: Nils Lofgren Discusses 50 Years On Stage

Photo: Cristina Arrigoni Rock ‘n’ roll would be nothing without a little mythmaking, and Nils Lofgren’s career lends itself to it.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 08 May 2018

Music Is Meant To Inspire: How Brothers Osborne Created The Sprawling 'Port Saint Joe'

The notion of genre as insular and self-contained is eroding. In a way that reflects our increasingly interconnected global community, exposure to a wider variety of influences means that fewer artists will stick devoutly to one style. Stuffy traditionalists will complain, but on their sophomore record ‘Port Saint Joe’ the Brothers Osborne show exactly why such an eclectic approach can reboot venerable musical forms in a fresh and exciting way.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 04 May 2018

Music Was Always There: Jake Ewald Talks Starting Again With Slaughter Beach, Dog

Photo: Jess Flynn Back in February of last year, Jake Ewald had to find a new job. After several years spent writing records and touring with Modern Baseball, the band went on indefinite hiatus. The statement they released referred to the fact that they had been “championing the importance of mental health” and that the band had become a source of anxiety that they could no longer ignore.

Written by: Jennifer Geddes | Date: Friday, 04 May 2018

A Different Perspective: TesseracT On 'Sonder' and The Quest To Keep Moving Forward

They started life as the bedroom project and Myspace page of guitarist Acle Kahney, but now Tesseract are credited with pioneering the madly expansive djent genre, have a intercontinental following, and can be safely regarded as one of the UK’s biggest names and exports in prog metal.

Written by: Guy Hirst | Date: Friday, 27 April 2018

Weed, Riffs And Prog: Boss Keloid Head Into The Unknown

In a little under a decade together, Boss Keloid have earned a good deal of support from the metal community. Having risen up from the scene in the north-west of England, the Wigan five piece have performed at Bloodstock and been hotly tipped by Metal Hammer, Kerrang, and Terrorizer. Much of this acclaim is owed to their killer sophomore album, ‘Herb Your Enthusiasm’, which, understandably, turned the heads of stoner-doom enthusiasts across the weedesphere back in 2016.

Written by: Guy Hirst | Date: Thursday, 26 April 2018

The More You Make, The Better You Get: The Prolific Jay Watson of GUM on 'The Underdog'

Jay Watson is the epitome of chill. His voice crackles through the phone from 10,000 miles away, where he’s in the pub. “The kitchen closes at 9, so I’m just getting some food,” he says. The Tame Impala-via-Pond multi-instrumentalist has just touched down in Melbourne, where he’s due to to play a sold out show at the intimate Yah Yah's club. There’s also the small matter of his new solo record, ‘The Underdog’.

Written by: Helen Payne | Date: Monday, 23 April 2018

Faith In The Future: Trivium Oversee The Passing Of Metal's Torch

Something brutal this way comes. Venom Prison, Power Trip and Code Orange are leading a new wave of young, forward-thinking bands that are tearing up the blueprints when it comes to creating heavy music. If you have any affinity for loud noises at all and haven’t heard them yet, you really haven’t been paying attention.

Written by: Jon Stickler | Date: Friday, 20 April 2018

'Hate Is A Really Rich Well To Draw From': Lice Talk 'It All Worked Out Great'

“Support us? We’re gonna be supporting you, mate. You come to this city you’re gonna learn the meaning of support.” That’s what Joe Talbot told Alastair Shuttleworth when they first met in Bristol three years ago. Shuttleworth, an English student moonlighting as a music writer, had interviewed the Idles frontman earlier in the evening and now, with a few beers in his belly at an afterparty, was asking whether his band, Lice, could open one of their shows.

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Friday, 06 April 2018

'We Just Get Our Heads Down and Create': Halo Tora Discuss 'Man of Stone: Chapter One'

A decade ago, there were few places more exciting than the Scottish rock scene. Biffy Clyro had demonstrated that bands north of the border playing heavy off-kilter music could break out and get radio play. The likes of Sucioperro, Twin Atlantic, the Xcerts and Flood of Red duly followed suit, creating a network of like-minded artists who would invariably play each other's shows.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Thursday, 05 April 2018

Mid 30s Angst: Mastersystem's Scott Hutchison on Using The Past To Undersand The Present

Sega started phasing out the Master System in the late ‘80s. That’s just how it goes with consoles. It’s always about what’s new and next. But you can still find them, knocking about under a film of dust in an attic or perched next to an ancient Nintendo on a completist’s shelf.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 05 April 2018

An Extra Thrill and a Twist: Introducing Marine

Marine’s music pushes the listener into a dreamy state of consciousness with a blend of anarchically melodic instrumental arrangements and a female chorus of trill, tuneful vocals.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Tuesday, 03 April 2018

Bruce Springsteen: How The Boss Found A New Home On Broadway

td#right {display:none !important;} ​ Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway run is about to take its final curtain, and will go down as one of the largest undertakings in a career partly defined by large undertakings. What began as a curio has become an important chapter in one of modern rock’s most engaging stories. Huw Baines was in New York at the start of the residency and found a show that made sense as the Boss’s next step.  

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 22 March 2018

Reflective, Maybe: George FitzGerald Talks Changing Perspectives And 'All That Must Be'

Photo: Rhodri Brooks George FitzGerald’s music blends melancholia and euphoria, building textured, enigmatic atmospheres. When twinned with haunting vocals, it feels poetic. His skills as a producer stretch far beyond the DJ booth, where he’s also at home, and his almost orchestral aesthetic opens the door to ambient, reflective passages and moments of unadulterated ecstasy.

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Thursday, 22 March 2018

Thanks For Listening, Thanks For Understanding: The Hold Steady Come Alive In London

Illustration: Thomas Norton There are easier jobs than singing along with Craig Finn, particularly when he’s in this sort of mood. His arms are spread wide, proselytising like the old days. He shimmies and shakes. His guitar, never his closest friend, swings at his waist like an invitation to a party he’s only half into. His words pour out and are yelled back by everyone who can keep pace; anyone who hasn’t already screamed their voice to shreds. It’s good to see him back in a bar band, baby.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 14 March 2018

Nobody Loses All The Time: Nervus' Em Foster Talks 'Everything Dies'

Photo: Derek Bremner E.E. Cummings’ poem Nobody Loses All The Time tells the tale of Uncle Sol, who despite being “born a failure” still manages to rack up several attempts at success before drowning himself in a water tank. In death, though, he brings about new life. It’s a posthumous, ironic win for a chronic loser: “Somebody pressed a button (and down went my Uncle Sol and started a worm farm).”

Written by: Laura Johnson | Date: Wednesday, 07 March 2018

'It's Fun To Still Be Surprised': The Changing Face Of Three Man Cannon

Photo: Russell Edling A bands’ band are a well respected part of the furniture in their scene. They have released several records of consistent quality, if not a consistent sound, and those records could be considered influential, even if that’s a relative term. They are probably opening for your favourite band in town tonight because they’re your favourite band’s favourite band. Three Man Cannon are a bands’ band.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 06 March 2018