Latest Reviews

Sam Fender is a man of many talents. After being spotted performing in a pub in his home town in the northeast when he was just a teenager, he went on to appear in ITV drama series Vera, and in the CBBC show Wolfblood. Music was his passion though and after signing a record contract he dropped his debut EP Dead Boys in 2018 and followed it up last year with his first full-length album Hypersonic Missiles, which received some excellent reviews. Along the way, he was named as one of BBC’s Sounds of 2018, and picked up the Critics’ Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards.

As prolific as they are entertaining, Cats In Space have won over plenty of earthlings with their 70s-inspired, riff-heavy classic rock sound since forming back in 2015. Now comprised of Greg Hart (guitars / vocals/ keyboards), Dean Howard (guitars / vocals), Steevi Bacon (drums / vocals), Jeff Brown (bass / vocals), Andy Stewart (piano / synths) and Damien Edwards (lead vocals) after some pretty significant lineup changes recently, the six-piece from Horsham still have a particularly strong reputation for putting on a hell of a live show, and have played alongside rock royalty such as Deep Purple, Status Quo and Bonnie Tyler.

You might not yet have heard of Australian singer-songwriter Kian Maxwell Bytyci Brownfield – known professionally just as Kian – unless your Down Under, where the teenager has already built a loyal following after dropping a string of alt-pop sensations over the last couple of years. Chief among them was Waiting, a delightfully low key and spacey indie-pop song that has amassed well over sixty million streams in Spotify, bagged an ARIA Awards nomination for Song of the Year and secured twentieth place in Triple J Hottest 100 for 2018.

Katie Melua’s latest single ‘Joy’ is a tender ode to the people that make each and every day worth living. The British singer-songwriter has spent over seventeen years building a decorated, beloved career, and her latest feature contains as much heart and complexity as her first pieces.

For anyone else that grew up in the noughties, a warning: this next sentence will make you feel really old. American rockers We Are Scientists have been around now for TWENTY years. OK, they’ve been through plenty of lineup changes and even experimented with lots of different genres over that time, but the band that gave us the fun and frolics of 2006’s breakthrough hit album With Love and Squalor are now entering their third decade together.

There’s no way around it, 2020 has been a bit of a stinker, so it’s no surprise to see Christmas celebrations underway spectacularly early this year. It seems we’re all just looking for a little way to forget all the pain and suffering this year has brought, and that’s absolutely understandable. In any normal year, a Christmas release in mid-November might cause a few grumbles among certain people, but given the storm of unpleasantness that 2020 has been, I think we can all just welcome it with open arms.

Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes reflect on the overwhelming pressures of their soaring careers in their collaboration ‘Monster.’ The two artists have a number of nearly-identical similarities that unite them in this profound contemplation. Both are from Ontario, Canada; they were both plucked from the ever-competitive platform of YouTube, they were thrust into the spotlight while they were mere teenagers, and they both went on to have unprecedented levels of female fan following. Currently, both Shawn and Justin are in high-profile relationships, which attract both scrutiny and adoration from the public on a daily basis. It’s no surprise that they were able to mine from their shared experiences and create something meaningful. 

Anne-Marie’s latest single ‘Problems’ reveals the self-destructive forces of love through sweet, serendipitous melodies that are just charming enough to make it work.

Miley Cyrus harks back to the rock ‘n roll era in her latest single ‘Prisoner,’ featuring pop sensation Dua Lipa. Miley’s raspy, soaring vocals have been begging for a glam-rock piece for a while now, whereas Dua Lipa’s disco-pop dynamism is just the perfect little piece for this rambunctious, mischievous cocktail. The two ladies are bursting with angst and recklessness, romping through the desert in their big, rowdy bus, complete with a cherry juice splatter display, seductive dance moves, and wayward energy that hasn’t been seen since the likes of Joan Jett and Metallica. 

London born singer-songwriter Rachel Keen – otherwise known as Raye – has forged a hugely successful career writing for the likes of Beyonce, Ellie Goulding and Little Mix, and provided vocals for hit records from the likes of Jonas Blue and David Guetta. However, her own solo career in front of the microphone has been a bit of a stop-start affair, with four EPs released over the last six years and a wide collection of singles to boot.