Latest Reviews

Singer and guitarist Brian Sella and drummer Mathew Uychich, known collectively as American lo-fi folk-punk outfit The Front Bottoms, took a sizeable creative risk with their previous album Going Grey, which they uncharacteristically packed with synths. It was a fine album, but their seventh release, In Sickness And In Flames, finds us back in familiar territory.

Comprised of Dale Norton (vocals), Callum Norton (drums), Jamie Darby (guitar), Thomas Ford (bass), and David Hardstone (guitar/keyboard), Broken Hands are an energetic stadium rock band hailing from Kent who have been playing together for well over a decade. Their debut album, Turbulence, was released last year and earned the outfit airplay and press coverage with the likes of Radio`1, The Independent and Clash.

London four-piece Sea Girls have been one of the hottest upcoming names in indie circles for what feels like years now. With a string of four EPs in the last three years, a host of singles under their belt, a reputation for high energy live shows and a nomination for the BBC Sound Of 2019 poll, they’re a band with all the components in place to take the world by storm.

The Killers conquered the world in the mid-2000s with their electro-tinged floor-filling indie rock blockbusters, and while they may never have quite hit those heady heights again, they nevertheless still fill arenas and headline festivals around the world and probably always will, and every single one of their previous five studio albums has hit number one in the UK charts.

The Manic Street Preachers have built a career around politically vocal, guitar-driven indie rock. A solo concept album paying tribute to the life and work of Chilean teacher, theatre director, poet, singer-songwriter and communist activist Victor Jara, from the band’s lead singer James Dean Bradfield, seems a natural progression then.

Scottish rock behemoths Biffy Clyro are pretty much a national institution these days. One of the UK’s biggest acts across any genre, their march to the mainstream has been unstoppable since 2007’s game-changing album Puzzle, which spawned the top-20 hit singles Saturday Superhouse, Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies, and Folding Stars, and reached number two in the UK albums chart. When X-Factor’s Matt Cardle reached number one with a cover of their track Many Of Horror a decade ago, their status as household names was confirmed.

Enigmatic country music star Orville Peck is hard to unravel. From his decision to wear a tasselled mask at all times – it’s claimed he’s never shown his face in public – to his intriguing back story that takes in ballet and musical theatre, it’s hard to know where the artist ends and the man behind the mask begins. Orville Peck, itself, is a pseudonym. He is a riddle, a puzzle, a mystery.

Wakefield indie-rock trio The Cribs have confirmed details of their first new album since 2017. Out on 13 November, it’s titled Night Network and is preceded by lead single Running Into You, which is available now and is accompanied by a video co-directed by Andy Knowles and Nick Scott.

In his thirty-nine short years on this Earth, Jason Molina was unbelievably prolific. Between his output as Songs: Ohia and the transition into Magnolia Electric Co., as well as his solo work, Molina released sixteen albums, eight EPs, and a large volume of singles.

It’s been a busy few months for American indie-folk ensemble Bon Iver. After dropping their single PDLIF (Please Don’t Live In Fear) in April, with all proceeds from the track going to Direct Relief, a company that is providing resources during the Coronavirus pandemic, they popped up again in July on exile, the second single from Taylor Swift’s new album Folklore, scoring their biggest hit in the USA to date as the song reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100.