Wooden Dog

Image Credit: Bob Griffiths

Wooden Dog are a five-piece hailing from Birmingham. Their line-up features Alfie Nicholls (lead vocalist/acoustic guitar), George Nicholls (keys/backing vocals), Luca Simian (guitar/backing vocals), Ben Roberts (drums), and  Drewe (bass).

Brothers George and Alfie began writing songs with their dad during lockdown, which kindled their creative fires. They went on to study music at college and university, where they would meet the rest of the band.

Let’s see what they have been up to:

Molten

With Noel Gallagher’s pin drop classic ‘Dead in the Water’ emblazoned across its soul, ‘Molten’ takes you to places that the indie scene had seemingly forgotten.

Blessed with torturous introspection to gleefully indulge in.

Only Sleeping

The kind of songwriting not seen since Starsailor’s pomp.

Click the image below for tickets to their gig with This Feeling:

The Public Eye

Image Credit: Jack Betts

The Public Eye are a four-piece from Derby. Their line-up features Joey Greener (vocals/rhythm guitar), Jonah Radford (lead guitar), Cavan Brady (bass), and Zack Bednall (drums).

This February, they play This Feeling’s coveted Big in 2026 gig in Birmingham.

Blue Note

Taking Reverend & The Makers on a dank journey where rock ‘n’ roll’s sex, drugs, and violence lurk around every corner. An intoxicating joyride of a single that's guitar solo is beset with bravado and flair, the kind that can steal shows!

Julia

Taken from their EP ‘Eternal Romantique’, ‘Julia’ takes on you on a deeply personal journey of love, loss, and regret.

To call this anything other than epic would be doing it a disservice!

Click the image below for tickets to their next gig:

Dreaming of Citra

Image courtesy of the band.

Dreaming of Citra are a five-piece from Manchester. They’re made up of Rae (vocals), Ryan (bass), James (guitar & backing vocals), Robbie (guitar), and Gordon (drums).

The band met via online ads just after lockdown and this February, they play This Feeling’s coveted Big in 2026 gig in Manchester.

Let’s see why:

Hostage

Rippling guitars and crisp indie-soul vocals conjure slickness strut their way to a joyously understated end.

Bitter

The clash of escapist guitars, ethereal vocals, and dark lyrics is pop music at its best.

Poignant and infectious, this is a single that seasoned pro’s would cut off limbs to have in their arsenal.

Click the image below for tickets to their next gig:

Decade

Decade are a five-piece hailing from Scotland. They’re made up of Brandon Martin (vocals), Fin Clark (guitar), Harry Moir (guitar), Alfie Hudson (bass/backing vocals), and Ollie Serle (drums)

Next month, they play This Feeling’s coveted Big in 2026 gig in Glasgow.

Let’s see why:

Lady

Frontman Martin captures the emotional fog of Doves’ Jimi Goodwin on their debut single. Unlike the Manchester icons, Decade are steeped in hope. Clark and Moir’s guitars counter Martin’s poignant sense of frustration with muscular defiance.  

In recent times, Stanleys and, latterly, The Ansells have led the charge with this kind of free-flowing yet emotive indie. Decade, in one single have announced themselves as serious players in this field.

Pedestrian Band

Image Credit: Nicole Osrin

Pedestrian Band are a three-piece made up of Enzo (guitar/vocals), Ace (bass), and Milo (drums/vocals).

We caught them supporting The Bracknall at 229 last December. An unenviable slot in many ways, as the sold-out crowd had come to see the underdogs' triumphant end-of-year gig. However, their ferocious playing pulled people away from the bar and, come the end, they’d clearly hooked the room.

Let’s see why:

The Winston Blues

The thunderous intro melts into angelic indie vocals and delicate but warped licks as they prove they can do what they want, when they want!

Stand aside, Queens of the Stone Age, there’s a new sheriff in town.!

Introducing

Meshing the best bits of grunge with punk's urgency, they give rock music a much-needed shot in the arm!

Rapid-fire monster hooks and head-turning drumming to steer a course for world domination.

Click the image below for tickets to their next gig:

Lacross Club

Image Credit: Ashley Evans

Lacross Club are a three-piece band from Wales based in Bristol. They consist of Ozzy (drums), Sean (bass), and Cai (guitar).

This February, they head out on a UK tour including iconic venues such as Elephants Head (Camden), Heartbreakers (Southampton), and The Bunkhouse (Swansea). Let’s check them out:

Spar Song

Full throttle guitars and venomous vocals are destined to erupt onto the guitar scene and shake it into life!

Welsh Weather Heather

Fire-breathing punk-rock from the realms of Soft Play and Bob Vylan that’s hell-bent on a destructive joyride!

Cheap Suits

Image Credit: Chloe Hornby

Cheap Suits are a four-piece from Oxford. They consist of George Parker (vocals / rhythm guitar), Felix Diamond (lead guitar), James Hart (bass), Stan Baker (drums).

This January, they play This Feeling’s coveted Big in 2026 gig in London. Let’s see why:

Poster

Riffs that reach for the glory of Dan Auberch and a rhythm section that stomps a sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll hole into your soul.

Frontman Parker’s voice is fragile enough to allow an underdog romance to swell, but defiant enough to fight back. Diamond’s intricate solo ebbs into a behemoth one and is destined to stun crowds.

Kiss Up

The aggressive intro melts into Parker’s indie vocal, allowing mortals a way into their brand of Strokes-cum-rock ‘n’ roll mayhem.  

Click the image below for tickets to their next gig:

ELLiS D

Image Credit: Freddie Willatt

ELLiS D aka Ellis Dickinson is the solo project of Fat Dog’s drummer.

He is set to play Hello 2026 for DIY Magazine at the Old Blue Last on the 13th January.

Let’s him them out:

Humdrum

Talking Heads on speed. Skittish indie with great drama to set the pulses racing in 2026.

ELLiS has made the more explosive glam-rock moments of Miles Kane’s debut sound like they're falling into a pit of despair, with the Talking Heads and B-52s.

Anything but simple, but glorious!

I Want to be Everything You Desire

An untamed mess to revel in. Raw and unfiltered, ELLiS makes the Talking Heads sound like they’re having a debauched crisis with The Rapture, and they’re all the better for it.

Click the image below for tickets to ELLiS D’s DIY gig:

Alphabet

Image Credit: Tatiana Ponzuelo

Alphabet are a four-piece band based in London. Lena, Milo, Tom, and George met in Brighton and formed the band in London where they now reside.

They’re set to play Hello 2026 for DIY Magazine at the Old Blue Last on the 6th January. Let’s check them out:

All the Words

The emotive post-punk power of Priestgate oozes through Milo’s vocal and is divinely cut through by Lena's shoegaze delivery.

A raw cacophony that comes at you in waves, which is undeniable.

Motion Sickness

Hints of Fontaines and Shame filter through their expansive shoegaze here. The elongated hook carries such depth, allowing romance, heartache, jealousy, and volatility to mesh in a rousing melting pot.

Click the image below for tickets to their DIY gig this month:

ferb

Image Credit: Alyssa Clark

ferb are a four-piece band based in London, Kingston, but met at school and formed the band at sixth form in Cheam. They consist of Harley McKinley (singer/guitar) Ross Blendell (lead guitar) Tom Tye (bass/backing vocals) Joel Boniface (drums/backing vocals)

On the 21st Jan, they are set to play the Elephant’s Head in Camden. Let’s see what they have been up to:

Ocean Floor

The effortlessness, great licks, and power of The Strokes’ ‘Is This It?’ is back!

Raw, unadulterated firepower that captures the volatile beginnings of the 00s.

Marina

Treading the rock classicist path of Wunderhorse, the guitars still manage to cause a frenzy. Laconic licks descend into chaotic thrashes that are one chorus away from catapulting the band to stardom.

Clamber

Image Credit: Tessa Neale

Clamber are a four-piece from London. They’re made up of Charlie, Kieran, Hayden, and Sam.

In the last two years, they have headlined and sold out The Old Blue Last, Camden Assembly (The Barfly), Hoxton Colours, and The Water Rats, which is a fine run of form for a fledgling band.

Let’s check them out:

37

The London outfit’s guitars ripple like shimmering waves of indie joy, crafting an ode to the journey of self-discovery.

Ideas Man

The early 10s saw math rock bands develop their emotional cannon, and ‘Ideas Man’ leaned into this with great joy sonically.

Lyrically, however, they cast grave shadows as they discuss the plight of a band in the era of TikTok.

She’s in Parties

She’s in Parties are a four-piece from Essex and London. They’re made up of Katie Dillon (vocals/guitar), Herbie Wiseman (guitar), Matt Carman (drums), and Charlie Johnson (bass).

*image credit: Polocho

They’re set to play Hello 2026 for DIY Magazine at the Old Blue Last on the 13th January. Let’s check them out:

Velveteen

A glorious nod to early Wolf Alice. Escapist shoegaze, ethereal vocals that lend buoyancy that could keep heads afloat at the bleakest of times.

Are You Dreaming?

Taken from the new EP, the band dives into Depeche Mode, The Cure, and early Madonna on this challenging guitar-cum-pop record.

Click the image below for tickets to their DIY gig this month:

Croíthe

Croíthe (kree-ha) are a four-piece band hailing from Dublin. They’re made up of Caodán (vocals, guitar) Ben (guitar) Frances (bass) and Keevy (drums).

Let’s take a look at two tracks from their debut EP ‘A Brief Respite’, produced by Just Mustard’s David Noonan:

Feed My Head

Ecstatic youthful energy pummelled through snarling guitars and Ian Curtis-esque vocals. They twist and turn from pain to euphoria, with the potential to be era-defining in poise.

I Heard, I Saw

Anguish-ridden brilliance!

The howling distortion of the guitars unleashes a world of pain and turmoil for a new generation of outsiders to clutch to their souls and call their own.

Modern Guilt

Modern Guilt are a five-piece band based in Camden but with roots in Scotland, Sweden, London and the South Coast. They’re made up of Jaz (lead vocals/guitar), Andreas (guitars/backing vocals/keys), Scott (drums/backing vocals/percussion), Mikey (guitars/producer), and Marc (bass)

*banner image credit: Keith Duffy

The single launch for You Know You Are back in May sold out at Paper Dress Vintage in London. Let’s check it out:

You Know Who You Are

The effortless cool of The Strokes is forged alongside the playfulness of Supergrass. From Jagger to Coombes to Casablancas (The Strokes), frontman Jaz Struts with a self-assuredness and the kind of care-free abandon that made the aforementioned instant stars in bygone times.  

Counterproducts

Counterproducts are a five-piece band hailing from Goole in Yorkshire. They consist of Josh (vocals), Milo (lead guitar), Lilli (rhythm guitar with backing vocals), Sonia, and Evan.

Still just teenagers, they have only released two singles. Let’s check them out:

Battleships

Frontman Josh reaches into Wunderhorse’s soul and rips out a sublime vocal. The kind that hammers away at the heartstrings until they bleed!

Pushing rock music forward are Milo’s beastly riffs that howl into the ether desperate for a place to fit in and soon, they shall!

Lilli’s vocals are less a backing accompaniemtn and more duel to Josh’s lead. With Charlotte Cooper’s (The Subways) spirit in her heart, she deploys a joyously antongnistic counter to Josh’s penchant for the heartfelt.

Running Down the Clock

As if ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ was reimagined by a supergroup of Wunderhorse, Foo Fighters, and Thin Lizzy. Grit, groove, and glorious chaos.

Raw, primal, and animalistic, Rock music has found its newest icons!

ALCHMEY

ALCHMEY are a five-piece from Derbyshire made up of brothers Peter (Lead singer) and Phil (Bass), Ollie (Guitar), Tom (Guitar) and Brad (Drums).

*image credits: Crossfield Content.

Let’s check them out:

Euphoria

The rolling hills of Kula Shaker and Paul Draper-esque (Mansun) vocals ooze their way to hearts and minds before sharp, snappy vocals cut through.

From the expansive to the immediate, ALCHMEY take chances and moulds the disparate together.

What We Made It For

What begins as sombre, melts away to indie lullaby status come the chorus. The seeds of something big that can unite big crowds have been sewn.

The Daltons

The Daltons are a four-piece from Yorkshire. They’re made up of Lucas Lorrimer (guitar & vocals), Alfie Hedges (guitar & vocals), Jamie Edwards (drums), and Charlie O’Brien (bass).

*banner image credit: Mike Hamp (Mike’s Photography__)

Let’s check them out.

Lazy People Seek Comfort (Prospect Studios Rehearsal)

The sound of wayward souls finding purpose through rock ’n’ roll. There's a warming brutality to their jagged edges. The kind that will stop you looking to the past!

Raw, unadulterated, and unchained, the Daltons have arrived!

The Daltons · Lazy people Seek Comfort (Prospect Studios Rehearsal)

Jagged edges cut through the noise, raw and unpolished, just the way truth should sound. Then comes the solo — wild, unchained, burning with the kind of intensity that could set the night on fire.

Fly Off The Handle (Prospect Studios Rehearsal)

The echoes of the greats loiter but never loom. The Daltons have found a way to nudge rock ‘n’ roll’s wheel forwards and create majestic havoc!

The Daltons · Fly Off The Handle (Prospect Studios Rehersal)

Whiskey Promise

Exhilarating rock ‘n’ roll! Death or Glory. Do or Die. Live Forever. This is the sound of a band catching fire!

The Daltons · Whisky Promise (Live - Leeds)

Daydreamers

Daydreamers are a four-piece from London. They’re made up of Riley (vocalist), Aurora (bass), Jay (drums), and Marco (guitar).

To date, they have toured with Sea Girls and have graced festival stages at The Great Escape, Latitude, TRNSMT, and Reading & Leeds.

Let’s see what they have been up to:

We Don’t Need to Do Forever

The crisp pop sensibilities of Blossoms combine with the early 10s indie of Bombay Bicycle Club and latter-day Courteeners to create a lush counterpoint to the current guitar scene.

This is sure to cut through!

Good Intentions

A master class in lo-fi reflective indie. Pulling on heartstrings, offering hope through examining the past, it’s what indie guitars were born to do!

Call Me Up

A runaway success on Spotify! With over 13 million streams, it’s easy to see why. Slick basslines and ethereal guitars are destined to soundtrack summers forevermore.

Red Light Camera

Red Light Camera are a four-piece band hailing from Birmingham.

*banner image courtesy of This Feeling

Earlier this year they played the Isle of Wight Festival and are set to headline Dead Wax in their home city on the 25th October.

Let’s see what they have been up to:

Heartbreak Girl

Boisterous jingle-jangle guitars and infectious vocals unite on this free and easy indie single. The angelic side of Dodgy links arms with the frivolity of The Lathums on this infectious gem.

Round the Corner

The indie-funk of The Clause, the immediacy of Franz Ferdinand, and the spirit of ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’ combine before the guitars erupt to a chaotic climax.

Click the image below for tickets to the Dead Wax show:

shortstraw.

Hailing from Coventry shortstraw. are led by punk-poet Erin West. Championed by Hak Baker, they’ve already supported The Libertines and Soft Play.

Let’s check them out:

Dot Cotton

Sound the alarm, punk, grime, and nu-rave unite on this guttural anthem. Small in stature, massive in cultural capital, shortstraw. have delivered a vicious reset to the alternative music scene.

Sods Law

The rousing rumble of Jamie T  and the undercurrents of Dan le Sac vs Scroobious Pip are lit up by West’s vocal. It may lack the heavyweight sonic of ‘Dot Cotton’, but it’s drowning in bullish resilience to keep it interesting.