Review: Big Special – Postindustrial Hometown Blues
On occasion there comes an album that speaks to the times, resembles the present moment and captures the emotions of a generation. ‘Post Industrial Hometown Blues’ does exactly that, it gives the words to describe the shared malaise, the perils of precarity, daily drudgery and pharmacological escapism.
Preview: Primavera Sound 2024
Since its inception in 2001, Primavera Sound has been a beacon of live music, continuously evolving and shaping the cultural landscape of Barcelona. Over the years, the festival has grown from a modest one-day event in Poble Espanyol to a globally recognised extravaganza, firmly establishing itself as a cornerstone of the city's vibrant music scene . After a two-year COVID-19 hiatus, Primavera Sound roared back in 2022 for its 20th-anniversary celebration. Now, in 2024, the festival gears up for its 22nd edition.
Night Currents Festival to arrive in Portsmouth
Night Currents Festival is a brand new music event coming to Portsmouth on Saturday the 7th of October, showcasing the UK’s most exciting established and rising talent. Ten acts will storm the South Coast to play across 2 stages at Portsmouth's iconic music venue The Wedgewood Rooms and The Edge of The Wedge, with zero clashes between artists.
Hamish Hawk – The Joiners
It had somehow been years since I was last at the Joiners, so a trip out to see…
Vistas – The Beautiful Nothing EP
Edinburgh Indie band Vistas released their new EP ‘The Beautiful Nothing’ this week. It follows their second album released back in 2021. The five new tracks will breathe new life into the bands future performances and will likely feature in the bands setlists for many years to come.
Gracie Abrams – The Level Nottingham
Last week, U.K. fans were swept away with dizzying surprise and delight as Gracie Abrams announced an impromptu, limited run of special, intimate acoustic shows in Southampton, London, and Nottingham.
UB40 – Wembley Arena
However UB40, who’ve ploughed very commercial tangents themselves amongst their fifty chart breaking singles, still retain some grit and homespun timbre. Forty three years since Chrissie Hynde spotted them in a Birmingham pub and asked them to support The Pretenders, the band is on its postponed 2021 tour, with its first non-Campbell frontman, Matt Doyle, formerly of Kioko, at the helm.
Black Country, New Road – Bush Hall
On a freezing cold west London night, Mercury-nominated Black Country, New Road took to a sold-out Bush Hall stage decorated in rudimentary and brightly coloured cardboard depictions of country scenes, dressed as humble country folk and to the tune of Dvorak's New World Symphony (aka the Hovis ad to those of a certain age). "Are you feeling pastoral?" Lewis Evans asks the audience.
Pale Waves – 02 Forum Kentish Town
The ripples Pale Waves make may not be especially original, but they create a huge swell and the Forum loves to surf them. This is down to electric, PVC clad front woman and force of nature, Heather Baron-Gracie. She's part Avril Lavagne, part Joan Jett and blonde for now, with the cadence in her voice of an indie Madonna.
GoGo Penguin – The Marble Factory Bristol
Trio GoGo Penguin emerge through the smoke of the stage as if they’re walking over gothic moors rather than the boards of a Bristol landmark. It sets the tone for their performance; a complex and moody affair that’s undercut by the nightclub scene their music alludes to. It is under these circumstances that the statues of Nick Blacka, Chris Illingworth, and Jon Scott are brought to life in order to play.