Review: James Vincent Mcmorrow Moves into New Territory with Latest Album Grapefruit Season

by Joe Sharratt
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Irish singer songwriter James Vimcent McMorrow’s indie folk credentials go way back to around 2010 and the release of his debut album Early In The Morning, a record that was a runaway success, earning rave reviews, tour dates and appearances on the likes of Later… with Jools Holland. It was a soulful record that many compared to Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago, and for the indie folk troubadour, there can hardly be higher praise.

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Review: Alt-Pop Outfit Fickle Friends Return With Dreamy New Single Alone

by Nicholas Gaudet
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Brighton-based foursome Fickle Friends turned heads with their debut full length album You Are Someone Else back in 2018, a record that established their electro-infused alt-pop sound and set the group on their way to amassing nearly half a million monthly listeners on Spotify, led to tour dates to loving crowds up and down the country, and ultimately crashed into the top ten of the UK albums chart.

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Review: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes let loose on new album Sticky

by Joe Sharratt
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It’s been a decade since Frank Carter left Gallows, but it’s only in the last few years as the firebrand vocalist has established his newest band as one of the most thrilling live acts currently out there, that you sense everything has started to fall into place. Because now, with their fourth album in six years now out there in the wild, and that reputation for showmanship of the highest order firmly established, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes are getting the credit they deserve. 

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Review: We Are Scientists Are Back Among Friends With New Album Huffy

by Joe Sharratt
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California rockers We Are Scientists have a special relationship with the UK. They arrived on the scene at the time that indie was going through a reinvention in the UK, and fans on our fair shores took their 2006 debut album With Love And Squalor to their hearts, sending it Gold and earning a dedicated if slightly cult following over here. In the years since, that fan base has stuck with We Are Scientists, and their live shows and albums have always done well.

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Review: Folk Star Dar Williams Returns With Her First Album In Six Years

by Joe Sharratt
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New England folk singer and songwriter Dar Williams made her full debut with The Honesty Room way back in 1993, and in the years since has earned comparisons with the likes of Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez (who helped launch her career, but more on that later). Williams has won a loyal following for her insightful, gentle, but powerful songwriting and voice. And somehow, she’s also found the time to write, including two young-adult novels and a green blog for Huffpost, conduct songwriting workshops, and complete her urban-planning study, published in 2017: What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician’s Guide to Rebuilding America's Communities — One Coffee Shop, Dog Run & Open-Mike Night at a Time.

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Review: Gavin James explores eighties influences with new single Greatest Hits

by Joe Sharratt
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Irish singer songwriter Gavin James has teamed up with Ollie Green (who contributed to Tom Grennan’s number one album Evering Road) and Fiona Bevan (who co-wrote One Direction’s hit Little Things with none other than Ed Sheeran) for his new track Greatest Hits. And sonically, it’s a real sea change for James, who is perhaps most widely known for his gentle acoustic touch, most recently heard on his fantastic EP from last year, Boxes.

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Review: Sam Fender Dives Into His Past With Stunning New Album Seventeen Going Under

by Joe Sharratt
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North-east native Sam Fender is a young man with the world at his feet. From being named one of the BBC’s Sounds of 2018 to winning the Critics Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards, he and his debut album Hypersonic Missiles have been hoovering up accolades like they were as scarce as petrol. And with good reason too, Hypersonic Missiles was a gem, a record that, despite its youthful stance, in many ways bellied the tender years of its creator, a smart and accomplished collection that couldn’t obviously be bettered.

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