You might have noticed that Drowned in Sound has been on a reflective pause since 2019. We've been pondering and perfecting what a fully rejuvenated DiS would look like in the years to come. The good news? We're so (slowly coming) back! While we're still shaping our grand revival for 2024/25, we're thrilled to add to our much-loved podcast and independent label releases, a brand-new newsletter. Starting now, expect a weekly dose of DiS in your emails. There will be a monthly pile of music recommendations in your inbox. Alongside new essays and an internet digest of things to see, read and hea ..read more

If you head over to our new Substack newsletter, you can read much more about these records, see a longer list, and keep in touch with DiS by subscribing - as from January I'm sending out weekly album recommendations. There was no poll involved in creating this list. It's just my personal favourite, the ones that cut the deepest. As the lone voice of the site nowadays, these were the records that were stuck on repeat on our ghost-ship... and I hope you find a new favourite from these (as that's the only point of listing season, right?!) 21) Jehnny Beth - To Love Is To Live 20) Angel Olsen - W ..read more

Don't call it a comeback... actually, do! This is Sean Adams, the founder of Drowned in Sound. Firstly, I'm sorry for the radio silence on this site for the last 18 months or so. I wrote a goodbye message a few times but didn't have the heart to publish it. It felt too final to say farewell. As you may have seen on our social channels or in the media (even Billboard reported on our demise!), we decided to "pause" publishing due to what you could call financial constraints. Or to put it another way... our advertising revenue went from being an inhabitable house on a hillside to the entire clif ..read more

DiS founder launches new Unhappy Hour newsletter & playlist series to go with the monthly Drowned in Sound radio show (more info below). Here's the first edition to give you a taste of what's to come. Subscribe Sometimes I like to walk in the rain. Headphones are a must for me on any walk (sorry, nature!) and from a lot of research, I can confirm that there’s nothing more perfect than Lykke Li on a drizzly day. Pick any of her four albums on a day where it’s less like tears are falling from heaven and closer to that feeling of walking through a dragon’s breath. It. Is. Perfection. If you ..read more

Yes, we‘ve kind of shut up shop. But we have some pre-hiatus commitments to honour, and Drowned in Sound is off to Worthy Farm again this year for arguably the world’s biggest festival. Rather than just preview the big acts (you know who The Killers are, right?) we thought that we would do a list of ten things to do that capture the holistic spirit of the festival for you to discover if you are going for the first time, or for those who have been before and just want to spread their wings a little further. First, though, a playlist, to get you in ‘the mood’ 10 alternative must dos at the Gl ..read more

For once, Tom Barman is apprehensive. Not about tonight’s dEUS show, but the two-hour DJ set he’s been booked to play at the official after party. “What has happened in the past is this miscommunication with people,” he explains as we lounge on a terrace in the late afternoon sunshine. “They expect me to play rock, and then I play electro.” Electro? “Yeah, deep house, techno, drum’n’bass, indie house, glitch, trap, whatever you want. It’s just fucking dance music. But then they ask for R&B, so I tell them to go to the supermarket, where you can hear R&B twenty-four-seven. Nothing agai ..read more

Amidst the many panels and workshops at Bratislava’s Sharpe Festival, one stood out. Titled “Good-hearted Promotion or Downright Spam”, it looked at the role of PR in the digital age and how artists – and, indeed, labels and journalists – could benefit from the services of a seasoned professional. A key issue for many in attendance was how to break through online noise, and how to achieve traction – and exposure – beyond their own borders. There is, of course, no easy answer. “Be truthful in your art and your message,” says Poland’s Gabriela Szuba, a promoter and booking manager. “Work hard…a ..read more

May being the month of showcase events, DiS headed over to the city of Aarhus in Denmark for SPOT Festival. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, SPOT has firmly established itself as one of the leading events of its kind. Attracting a global audience of fans and delegates along with an array of the best musical talent Scandinavia has to offer, it’s become known as the Nordic South By Southwest for a good reason. Taking place across numerous venues in and around the city over the first weekend in May, we found ourselves veering off the beaten track in search of hidden gems as well as fo ..read more

Every spring since 2009, Knoxville, TN - the Scruffy City - opens for the Big Ears Festival, which showcases a staggering concert lineup rounded out by panel discussions, film events, and art exhibits. With shows in theatres, churches, bars, galleries, visitor’s centers and museums connected by dining and drinking establishments downtown, the festival has become a love letter to its unlikely hometown. Despite such a large number of venues, the organization was excellent, thanks in part to a well-designed mobile app. The festival lineup is clearly curated with music nerds more than partygoers ..read more

About two years ago, IDLES were still playing half-full toilet venues around the country, their screams for political change and vignettes of forlorn characters only half heard by the enthusiastic drunken attendees drawn to the chaotic nature of their gigs and enamored with their muscled sound, which leaned right over to the heavier side of post-punk. Since then, they've grown to take the title of Britain's Most Vital Band in every music publication, attracted celebrity fans, had spats with other cult acts, and narrowly missing out on taking home a BRIT Award. This meteoric rise has been part ..read more