'Rather Be Forgotten Than Remembered For Giving In': The Necessity Of The Refused Reunion

Umeå is the largest city in northern Sweden. It has a subarctic climate and has grown rapidly since the foundation of Umeå University in 1965. Last year, it served as one of two European Capitals of Culture. It is the home of the Norrland Opera, hosts a significant annual jazz festival and is a centre for visual art. Most notably, though, Umeå has been an extraordinarily fertile city for heavy music over the last 25 years. Meshuggah are from Umeå. So are Cult of Luna.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 06 May 2015

Last Of A Dyin' Breed: Lynyrd Skynyrd And Rock Immortality

They may have only one original member left from their 1970s heyday, but against all the odds Lynyrd Skynyrd are still packing out venues around the world. The band are currently playing a trio of dates in the UK, with fans flocking to see musicians who didn't write and record their classic songs. But what could their continued potency as a live act mean for the future of our favourite ageing bands?

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 21 April 2015

PREMIERE: Kaitlin Riegel Scratches Beneath The Surface On Fluorescent Lighting

Kaitlin Riegel’s journey to date has been one characterised by subtle reinventions. Fluorescent Lighting is the first taste of her new EP, ‘41.9’, and marks a further shift, melding a shimmering pop melody with lounge jazz touches and an inquisitive lyric.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 17 April 2015

PREMIERE: Cross London In A Hurry With Antonio Lulic's Beckoning Drum Video

Ed Sheeran’s verdict on Antonio Lulic? “Sick tunes.”

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 15 April 2015

PREMIERE: Ralegh Long Starts Fresh With Gulls Hovering

‘Hoverance’, Ralegh Long’s debut, exists in quiet, reflective spaces.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 13 April 2015

No Back Up Plans: Hanging On With The Leisure Society

We rely on certain things. For fans of sprightly folk and well-placed pop jangle, The Leisure Society have been one of them for the best part of a decade, with Nick Hemming’s deft weaving of confessional lyrics and polyphonic arrangements making the band a byword for songwriting nous. But what happens when that equilibrium is upset?

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 09 April 2015

PREMIERE: John Garcia Teams Up With The Doors' Robby Krieger For Her Bullets' Energy

John Garcia and the desert go together. It’s fitting, then, that the former Kyuss frontman’s new video for Her Bullets’ Energy begins and ends under an open sky, with notes ringing out from the guitar of Robby Krieger.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Tuesday, 07 April 2015

PREMIERE: Tigercats Spin A Little Mystery With Wheezer

London pop sophisticates Tigercats recently returned with ‘Mysteries’, placing a full stop on a couple of years on the road in the wake of their debut, ‘Isle of Dogs’.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 01 April 2015

Noise Not Music #9: Liturgy, Lightning Bolt, Dodheimsgard And More

Photo: Liturgy by Erez Avissar It’s been a terrific start to the year for extreme music of all forms. So good, in fact, that this edition of Noise Not Music must begin with an apology to the various artists’ whose albums couldn’t be squeezed in. New releases from Ghold, Halshug, Sannhet and Zu are all worthy of your attention and narrowly missed the cut this time around, while Mastery and Unrest sadly arrived on my radar slightly too late in the day to knock out some some more established records. All these albums deserve at least a cursory listen.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Monday, 30 March 2015

Stereoboard Session: Four Year Strong Unplug One Step At A Time And Stuck In The Middle

Four Year Strong are currently winding their way across the UK as headliners of the Pure Noise Records tour and we were lucky enough to sit in as they ran through a few choice cuts from their back catalogue prior to a massive set at Cardiff University’s Y Plas.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 25 March 2015

PREMIERE: M-1 And Bonnot Hit Hard On Offense Defense

In their new video for Offense Defense, M-1 and Bonnot bind a call to action with the confrontational world of Gridiron.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 25 March 2015

Depeche Mode: Many Happy Returns To 'Violator'

If they really only expected 30 people to show up, then the surprise must have run very deep. Twenty five years ago, a line snaked away from the Wherehouse record shop in Los Angeles, where Depeche Mode were booked to sign copies of their new record, ‘Violator’. By the time police drew a line under things, over 10,000 fans were massed at the scene.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Friday, 20 March 2015

PREMIERE: Dodge Bouncers With The Wave Pictures In Their Video For The Fire Alarm

The Wave Pictures’ return earlier this year was a case of old meeting new. ‘Great Big Flamingo Burning Moon’ delivered yet more idiosyncratic, hook-rich indie-pop but arrived co-written and recorded with one of the band’s heroes: the prolific, utterly individual Billy Childish.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 19 March 2015

Different Shade Of Blues: The Songwriting Evolution Of Joe Bonamassa

Photo: Christie Goodwin He may cast a spell with his guitar pyrotechnics and blistering cover versions, but Joe Bonamassa's growing skill as a composer shouldn't be overlooked. With the American hotshot currently playing four nights at London's Hammersmith Apollo, we’ve trace the key stages of the man's songwriting development, from his early days as a solo artist, to the crafting of his first album of almost-all original material in over a decade, last year’s 'Different Shades Of Blue'.  

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 17 March 2015

PREMIERE: Zefur Wolves Head Back To California On Sin Fronteras

Zefur Wolves are the latest diversion in one of pop’s greatest quests into the unknown. Led by Cian Ciaran, of the Super Furry Animals, and Estelle Ios, their debut arrives inspired by a stay in Mendocino, Northern California and by rough-around-the-edges west coast melodies.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 16 March 2015

PREMIERE: Tom Williams Returns With Stripped Back 'New Guitar' Cut Oh Boy

You may have stumbled across Tom Williams before. Probably with his band, The Boat, where his rough-edged folk has traditionally found a home. But, inspired by a new guitar, the singer-songwriter’s latest project is a stripped-back affair that finds him going it alone for a while.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 06 March 2015

No Guilty Pleasures #5: Iron Maiden's 'No Prayer For The Dying'

I fucking love Iron Maiden. They are the quintessential metal band: epic tales of Byronic scope, dual-guitar harmonies and, of course, Bruce Dickinson's immortal Air Raid Siren operatics. For good measure and back-patch readiness, they also have a gigantic zombie as a mascot.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Friday, 27 February 2015

PREMIERE: TenFiveSixty Quietly Thrill With The Slow Burn Copy.Over.Out

TenFiveSixty recently returned with Dashboard Light, a darkly romantic tale of escape and the latest in run of alluring outsider narratives from the Manchester duo, Jen Bailey and Rick Hornby.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 26 February 2015

Tears For Fears: Many Happy Returns To 'Songs From The Big Chair'

There is one hurdle that many British bands - including several with iron-clad claims to legendary status - never manage to clear: breaking the States.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 25 February 2015

Noise Not Music #8: The Body & Thou, Napalm Death And More

Happy New Year noise nerds! There’s a lot to get through this month and, alongside the usual dose of vicious extreme metal, we have top-notch new efforts from the worlds of field recording, jazz, techno and power electronics – enjoy.

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 24 February 2015