Britain’s live music industry is currently on a knife’s edge. Ever-increasing costs are making it nearly impossible for the small artists who form the backbone of the industry to record, produce, and bring their music to audiences, while the spaces created for live music to thrive are also falling victim to the volatile economy we find ourselves in. 2023 saw yet another year of tragic closures of music venues up and down the country, with 76 venues permanently closing between February 2023 and September 2023 according to Music Venue Trust, with 42.1% of these closures coming as a result of fin ..read more

It’s ludicrous to think that Gorilla Manor came out a whole 14 years ago now. Since then, the California-formed band have released a string of enjoyable, understated albums that were largely well-received critically, if not, perhaps, as commercially successful as they might have been, given the popularity of other contemporaries who trod a similar path. But I’ll Wait For You is the group’s sixth full-length album. ‘Alpharetta‘ is its tender opener, evoking memories of Crosby, Stills and Nash, Fleet Foxes, Simon and Garfunkel and Al Green all at once. It sounds like someone who’s had their hear ..read more

As part of the BBC’s Mental Wellbeing season, BBC Radio 6 Music will launch Change The Tune – an on-air, digital and social media initiative to raise awareness of the impact that online abuse has on the lives of artists. The initiative will launch on Monday 13 May 2024 and has a number of features. 6 Music will debut a Journeys In Sound special, broadcast on 13 May between 11pm-12am. Presenter and psychotherapist Nemone will hear from a number of guests including Rebecca Lucy Taylor (Self Esteem) and Lauren Mayberry (CHVRCHES). They will share their perspectives on online abuse and the challen ..read more

Canadian sibling quartet The Garrys new single, ‘Cakewalk’ is out today and it weaves a charming, dreamy “doom-wop” garage surf sound, sewn with criss-crossing guitar riffs and a three-part braid of harmony underpinned by a rhythmic stutter. Today we are debuting the accompanying music video below, a Lynchian take on a TV variety show, inspired by found footage of a 1988 Miss Saskatoon beauty pageant brimming shoulder-pad glamour and soft-focus romance. They say: “On ‘Cakewalk’ we weave crisscrossing guitar riffs and a three-part braid of harmony with the rhythmic stutter and warm analog warbl ..read more

Hiatus Kaiyote have released new single ‘Telescope’, the third track from their upcoming album Love Heart Cheat Code. ‘Telescope’ is a reflection of the collective’s personal as well as otherworldly inspirations. The track has a psychedelic quality, and shows a vast musical range. Cosmic lyrics about space and astronomy are paired with Brazilian and samba-like rhythms in a well produced, arranged and captivating track. The band transports listeners to an intimate crux in the universe to find solace in their shared musicality. Speaking about the track’s influence and significance, bass guitaris ..read more

As a fan from their very first single, it has been heartwarming to see the esteem that the Pet Shop Boys are being held in, with their recent dedicated Friday night and Imagine documentary, both on the BBC showing their rightful place as one of the greatest pop acts of the last 70 years of popular music. And it’s on such a crest of a wave that sees them release their 15th album, nonetheless (another one word title, all in lower case), this time produced by James Ford, famous for his work with The Last Shadow Puppets and Simian Mobile Disco, so a mix of widescreen pop with dance influences is v ..read more

The Lemon Twigs are one of those names you see a lot of the cool kids mentioning on the socials, but to my eternal shame I hadn’t heard a note of theirs before the first listen of this, the follow up to their critically acclaimed 2023 LP Everything Harmony which was adored by the likes of Questlove, Iggy Pop, and The Guardian amongst others. So there were no preconceptions, no great expectations diving into this, their fifth album, arranged and produced entirely analogue in their Brooklyn recording studio on period specific equipment. The Lemon Twigs consist of two brothers, Brian and Michael ..read more

SPRINTS today announce a mammoth run of tour dates including shows across the US, UK and EU. The Dublin quartet also share two previously unreleased songs: ‘Drones’ and ‘Help Me, I’m Spiralling’ both recorded during the sessions that eventually formed their debut album, Letter To Self, which was released 5th January via City Slang Records.  The band will complete a sold out run of shows in the UK, US and Ireland, which included London’s Heaven last month, with two hometown gigs at Dublin’s Button Factory this weekend, cementing the four-piece as one of the mo ..read more

The King of Twang is dead. The pioneering rock’n’roll guitarist Duane Eddy has passed away at the age of 86. His wife Deed told the Associated Press that he died of cancer on 30th April in Franklin, Tennessee. A representative for the musician said (via Variety): “Duane inspired a generation of guitarists the world over with his unmistakable signature ‘Twang’ sound. He was the first rock and roll guitar god, a truly humble and incredible human being. He will be sorely missed.” Duane Eddy achieved solo stardom in the late 1950s and early ‘60s with a string of instrumental hits including ‘R ..read more

Scottish musician Hamish Hawk has signed to Fierce Panda to release new album A Firmer Hand. To celebrate, Hawk has released the first single from the record, ‘Big Cat Tattoos’. The track is playful, propulsive and searingly honest. Hawk said: “Big Cat Tattoos is just one of the great unsaid that make up the new record, and it’s the birthplace of the album’s title: ‘A Firmer Hand’. Unknowingly I’d been building up an ugly arsenal of great unsaids over the past few years, and the album became a place I could offload them, and with any luck put them to rest.” “I tried to avoid cleaning things up ..read more