PREMIERE: Vienna Ditto Get Weird And Wonderful With Hammer And A Nail

It’s Monday, but that’s no excuse not to get a little weird. Vienna Ditto - the duo of Hatty Taylor and Nigel Firth - have handed us the delightfully surreal video for their new single, Hammer and a Nail, which finds the pair confronted by a series of carnival-esque oddities.

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

PREMIERE: Adelphia Crank Up The Drama On If I Fall

Adelphia have gone big. Go hard or go home, right? If I Fall is an unashamedly ambitious slice of alt-rock from the Nottingham quartet, who have their sights set on perches currently occupied by You Me At Six and Don Broco.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 09 February 2015

PREMIERE: Houdini Dax Pack Harmonies And Hooks On Apple Tree

You’ve either seen them live, or will soon be told to see them live. Houdini Dax are poised to return later this year with a crowd-funded new record, ‘Naughty Nation’, delivering more hook-happy psych-pop and doubtless sweating up as many venues as will have them.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Thursday, 05 February 2015

Dream Koala: 'It's Beautiful To Make An Everlasting Movie'

Photo: Enora Jung “I’ve just come back from India, where I played Magnetic Fields festival. It took place close to Delhi, but was still in the middle of nowhere. We drove six hours from the airport to stay and play in a palace. It was crazy, there were camels. Different from anything I’ve ever seen before.”

Written by: Milly McMahon | Date: Wednesday, 04 February 2015

Cover Me: Dawn Landes Takes On The Classics And Wins

“Man, I'm just tired and bored with myself.” - Bruce Springsteen, Dancing In The Dark

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 02 February 2015

Greetings From The Beast Coast: Why The Past May Point To Hip Hop's Future

Hip hop isn’t dead. It’s bored. Dramatic as the statement sounds, it’s more accurate than the oft-repeated mantra of old-school heads: that rap has lost its essence.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Thursday, 29 January 2015

Simon And Garfunkel: Many Happy Returns To 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'

Simon and Garfunkel’s 1970 collection, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, is more than just a classic; it’s a milestone in the history of popular music. But one that came at a huge price.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Wednesday, 28 January 2015

Staying (sic): Inside The Mind Of Slipknot's Chris Fehn

Somewhere in the bowels of Nottingham’s Capital FM arena, Chris Fehn and I are introduced. Lovely, jovial, friendly Chris. He lounges on a sofa and casually rests his arm on the back. They must have sent in the wrong guy.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Tuesday, 27 January 2015

Queen: A Hidden Kind Of Magic

Although some dislike Brian May and Roger Taylor using the Queen moniker when the late Freddie Mercury and former bassist John Deacon aren't involved, many of their songs remain timeless classics that demand to be played live.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Thursday, 15 January 2015

Air Guitars At The Ready: Why 2015 Will Rock

The hangovers have departed and the last strains of Auld Lang Syne have drifted away on a frosty breeze, so now we're left with the inevitable realisation that a change of year doesn’t guarantee everlasting happiness. Don't despair though, because this particular fresh start promises great new music for those of you who kneel at the altar of rock 'n' roll. So, without further ado, here are albums and tours to banish those blues and make 2015 a killer 12 months.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Tuesday, 13 January 2015

No Guilty Pleasures #4: Marilyn Manson's 'Eat Me, Drink Me'

Oh, Brian. How the mighty fall. From America's most hated man to Alan Rickman lookalike, Marilyn Manson has, in the eyes of the many, spent himself. Having bequeathed a large chunk of his recent time to a role on Sons Of Anarchy and making pervy art films instead of being the Antichrist Superstar of yore, many see 2000's 'Holy Wood' as his last potent dose of poison.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Monday, 12 January 2015

Ten From 2014 #8: Hip Hop

If 2013 was the call, then 2014 was to be the response. But, after Kendrick Lamar spent last year trying to “push forward the competitive element of hip hop”, it seems that his memorable Control verse fell on deaf ears. J. Cole missed the point, while legendary artists stepped back in the ring only to fall far short of their former glories. Wu-Tang Clan and Mobb Deep just sound bored at this point in their careers.

Written by: Jonathan Rimmer | Date: Thursday, 18 December 2014

Ten From 2014 #7: Pop

Pop is a big word, and one that tends to offend as much as it excites these days, but that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? Here are 10 records that fitted the bill for us in 2014, ranging from piano confessionals to the glitziest Polaroid collection in history.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 17 December 2014

Ten (+10) From 2014 #6: The Best Of Noise Not Music

Photo: YOB/James Rexroad As you may have gathered from the packed, if not exactly consistently available (my apologies, readers) Noise Not Music column over the last 12 months, it's been a brilliant year for all forms of sonic violence. This top 20 is far from definitive, and the rankings are largely arbitrary, but may it serve as an introductory guide to some of the year's very finest releases. See you in 2015…

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 16 December 2014

Ten From 2014 #5: Punk

It’s perhaps easier to judge how good a year’s been by what doesn’t make your top 10 at the end of it. In another time, Apologies I Have None, Chumped, Punch, Andrew Jackson Jihad, La Dispute, I Am The Avalanche or a different Joanna Gruesome release could have made the cut for this punk countdown, but instead they have to make do with standing outside making obscene gestures at the bands on the other side of the rope. Or something like that.

Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Monday, 15 December 2014

Ten From 2014 #4: Rock

Picking the best rock albums of 2014 has been about as easy as threading a zeppelin through the eye of a particularly small needle.

Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 12 December 2014

Ten From 2014 #3: Indie/Electronica

Twelve months on from a list that doffed its cap to some of indie’s true heavyweights,the rundown for 2014 has a slightly more grubby, DIY feel. It’s home to a couple of notable bows, the odd comeback and a few bands finding their feet and flourishing.

Written by: Tom Seymour | Date: Thursday, 11 December 2014

Ten From 2014 #2: Metal

The year's been mighty kind to us headbanging folk, hasn't it? Almost all of the big hitters have delivered, with Slipknot and Machine Head unleashing neck-threateningly brilliant records and bands like Septicflesh, Nightbringer and Voices doing a superb job of keeping the cult alive.

Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 10 December 2014

Ten From 2014 #1: Labels

Great labels often go under-appreciated at this time of year as countless records are arranged into lists, debated and rearranged, so in the first part of our year in review series we’ve picked out 10 that have excelled in the last 12 months, outlined their best releases and delved into why they deserve their place in the mix…

Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 09 December 2014

Pink Floyd: Many Happy Returns To 'The Wall'

‘The Wall’ is a cultural giant, but a record that’s often overshadowed by a couple of Pink Floyd’s mid-’70s masterworks, ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ and ‘Wish You Were Here’.

Written by: Graeme Marsh | Date: Thursday, 04 December 2014