The Institutes - The Mountain Song

Artwork courtesy of the band.

The Institutes have released ‘The Mountain Song’, the second single from their upcoming second album. It was produced by Pastel and The Enemy cohort Matt Terry.

Last time out on ‘Trick of the Light’, bridged the gap from their debut album toward a new sound somewhere between Wunderhorse and Ride. With the pleasantries out of the way, ‘The Mountain Song’ arrives with a bombast and directness previously unheard from The Institutes.

Second Coming’ era John Squire licks open proceedings, but there is no time for six-minute solos here. They dive headstrong into the emotive side of Doves and Soundtrack of Our Lives and the heavier shoegaze of Swervedriver and Ride. This melting pot serves up a single charged with a sense of destiny.

Despite this, it’s a song tinged with sadness. As frontman Kane .roars  “there’s nobody there”, the overriding sense that life is futile pervades the song. An emptiness follows the protagonist as he declares, “falling down from the mountain / landed straight into the sea, yeah / there's nobody there to catch me”. Such is the urgency of the guitars and basslines, images of the forlorn getting up and trying again, and again, and again win through.

‘Mountain Song’ is in many ways the perfect discourse for a band. Being lost, creatively isolated, yet returning to the well time and time again to seek out the magic and live out a dream. The Institutes have added great drama to this tale, landing you a film's inciting moment and a hero’s quest for glory.

Hard-Fi - They Ain’t Your Friends

Hard-Fi are back tomorrow with their new single ‘They Ain’t Your Friends’.

Direct and venomous grooves launch the Staines band back into action alongside their archetypal dub flourishes. Sonically, the track is rooted in two old demos which Archer left open on his laptop one day, only to find later that his ten-year-old son had stitched them together. From there they developed the joyous chaos and presumably, tense legal discussions over PRS payments.

Archer, famed for his social comment lyrics, has come out all guns blazing as skewering the shallow and vapid corners of the industry he once placed faith in. As he snaps out “the big shot looter fingering his prize”, images of cultural predators consuming for ill-got gains emerge vividly. He goes on to lament the modern world’s addiction to social media and cocaine, “fake friends on Facebook, fake friends on your phone / fake friends in the bathroom”.

Although the music industry was always polluted with sharks, there was still a sense of meritocracy. Bands knew that you could dance with the devil and win. Archer’s perceptive polemic lays bare how this dream has faded and leaving a vacuum filled by content-chasing, unengaged, ill-informed gatekeepers.

Make no mistakes, Hard-Fi are back!

All The Young - Another Way

Artwork courtesy of the band.

All The Young are set to release their new single ‘Another Way’ on Friday 6th March. The single was produced by Gareth Nuttall (The K’s / Frank Turner).

Rock ‘n’ roll bands write songs about carnage and chaos, grow up (a bit), and sonically peter out. They don’t up the sonic mayhem and write about addiction, let alone land you in the heart of its consuming power.

Not All The Young.

Spiritually, Oasis and BRMC have always been in the bands' soul, but sonically, this feels like the first time they’ve leaned into their work to enhance theirs. The spite and venom of Liam Gallagher linger throughout Ryan Dooley’s vocal, as the hypnotic ‘Columbia’ is given a punk makeover at points. The devilment at play on BRMC's second album, ‘Take Them On, On Your Own’ presides over the guitars here too.

The sound is a visceral reflection of the life they once embraced and now reckon with. It may only be February, but it’s hard to imagine a more devastating opening line landing this year.

“I think I know you well / the push and pull, the ring of the bells / is there a better time / I think I better know your name”

Frontman Ryan Dooley’s ability to shift from a man out of control to one of peace is masterful. The verses are beset with bravado and a man on the edge, whereas the chorus vocal hits a euphoria as our protagonist begins to change his ways.

The Dream Machine - Fort Perch Rock

The Dream Machine have released their third album Fort Perch Rock via Run On Records. Written, recorded and self-produced in their hometown of the Wirral, it feels both rooted and restless.

On 2024’s sophomore record Small Time Monsters, the Wirral outfit picked up where their debut left off. Melody was everything, and they wielded it well. Allowing more time to pass between albums has given them space to regroup and reimagine what it means to be The Dream Machine. Bridging old and new are ‘Flowers on the Razor’ and ‘Things That Make Us Cry’. The former leans into the vocal melodicism that lit up ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Children, My England’, as frontman Zak McDonnell delivers anguished layers of heartbreak (“without your love it won’t be the same”). Meanwhile, Matthew Gouldson plants the seeds of renewal, his guitars reaching the fuzzy, bugged-out heights of Anton Newcombe. ‘Things That Make Us Cry’ takes their gift for melody somewhere more whimsical, channelling Richard Hawley’s romantic sweep, Beach Boys’ pop sensibilities, and a touch of Phil Spector grandeur.

Elsewhere, the album pulls at calmer threads: ‘Julie on the Rocks’, ‘If I Could Be King’, and ‘The First Bird’. They expertly slow the pace on ‘Julie on the Rocks’, letting the bright furore of The Horrors’ Primary Colours dissolve into faded seaside glamour and comedown haze. ‘If I Could Be King’ merges Hawley’s crooning romanticism circa Hollow Meadows with the hazy introspection of Kurt Vile on this CSN-tinged gem where McDonnell somehow sounds godlike, floating above the swell. ‘The First Bird’, an eight-minute psych drama, draws from the mysticism of The Velvet Underground, echoes of The Verve’s ‘Gravity Grave’, and the exploratory ambition of The Coral’s Coral Island.

When they do step on the gas with ‘Duck Bone Fever’ and the title track, there are new layers that keep things from feeling familiar. The former is a freakbeat masterclass, chaotic, skidding along seaside promenades, barely lucid. ‘Fort Perch Rock’ drops Ty Segall into a world of sex, drugs and menace. Both are blessed with divine Newcombe-esque guitar lines, slicing through the album’s atmosphere with immediate force.

It would’ve been easy for the band to stick to the lanes carved out by their first two records. Easier still to choose just one new direction and play it safe. Instead, Dream Machine, when faced with a creative crossroads, chose both routes and forged them as one, and they’re a far better band for it.

Suede: Cliffs Pavillion, Southend

Image Credit: lisa_ha_1974

“We are the anti-nostalgia band”

Suede’s Brett Anderson, an icon, a hit maker, a national treasure with nothing left to prove. Right?

Suede’s ‘Antidepressants tour’ took place at Southend’s Cliffs Pavilion amid a bleak seaside storm. The rain and wind power were no match for a band blessed with rock n roll’s desperation to be heard inside.

The standard routine for legacy bands with a new album is predictable: three fresh tracks dutifully aired while the crowd waits politely for the past to return. But this is no ordinary band, and these are no passive fans. Anderson bellows ‘Disintegrate’, and the audience hurls it back at him. The band’s anxieties and rage remain fiercely shared.

Following this were ‘Dancing With the Europeans’ and ‘Antidepressants’. The former, offering the night a moment of transcendental power.  Richard Oakes’ guitars resounding into the ether with the freedom of the band's early days, allowing Anderson to stray from his former pop majesty into an untamed, snarling poet. Wave upon wave of righteous indignation violently and allegorically pours out of their souls to cleanse, raise up, and empower ours! ‘Antidepressants’ snarled with punk's abrasiveness and glam-rock's great choruses, before Oakes, and Mat Osman’s basslines stampede their way to a triumphant close.

Such was the impact of the opening trio that their classic ‘Trash’ came as a relief. A song that, for so long, has defined Suede crowds with its urbane romanticism and tales of outsiders felt, not irrelevant, but second-tier.

It’s no wonder Anderson took great pride in declaring “we are the anti-nostalgia band” at various points throughout the set. When they turned to the past, ‘Animal Nitrate’ sounded more intense than ever before, presumably Darwinian forces driving it to compete for survival with ‘Antidepressants’ and ‘Autofiction’. ‘Obsessions’ was given a stripped-back piano makeover, giving the lyrics their moment to truly shine, and, when Anderson sings without a microphone to a silent audience, even the most obnoxious ‘only here for Britpop’ types were moved by its stillness.

On ‘The Beautiful Ones’ and ‘She Leads Me On’, Suede framed their dichotomy. The former, a monster '90s hit, is given an injection of punk’s nihilism. Anderson’s vocals adopted a sarcastic vitriol during the “la la la’s”, daring the audience to go with him as he breaks free from the past. Forging the new path was ‘She Leads Me On’, an ode to his departed mother. Just as anthemic, but contorted in pain and anguish, Anderson finds a way to inspire from a place of grief, giving this set its crowning glory.

Suede should be the blueprint to all bands in their latter career phases. They folded in everything they were, everything people have cherished them for, into their new songwriting. The crucial ingredient of it all was on display in full force in Southend; they are all in. There are no half-arsed measures about anything they do. The longing for meaning that Quadrophenia’s Jimmy struggled to find, they have in abundance. Their out-and-out belief in making art and being present in the now might have rattled a few, but most are charging through the gates to follow them for years to come.

The Others - When In Doubt

Cult 00s heroes The Others return this Friday with their sixth studio album ‘When in Doubt’. The album will be released for free on their Bandcamp page.

It follows 2025’s ‘Difficulties Understanding’ an album unfairly overlooked but, for good cause, as the celebrations of their debut album were too tempting for all. As the band prepare to celebrate 2006’s ‘Inward Parts’ this March, will ‘When In Doubt’ also fall into the shadows?  

Leading the charge out of the shadows are ‘Met You In Bar’, ‘Never Thought It Would Be So Difficult’, and ‘The Battle of Menotomy’, which act as a perfect bridge from those first two records to The Others’ new realm. Lead single ‘Met You In Bar’ fires up their Buzzcocks guitars alongside new mod-inspired organs. The dreamlike machinations hinted at when they expanded to an eight-piece are now fully realised. ‘Never Thought It Would Be So Difficult’ witnesses frontman Dominic Masters rail against the pressures of modern life on the bread line, invoking ‘This Is For the Poor’. Alongside this come keys steeped in The Stranglers glory days and a chorus worthy of a Spector girl-group. On The Battle of Menotomy, the volatility of their early work is given a brutish injection of Sonic Youth’s power, whilst Masters unleashes a heavy narrative of drink, drugs, and excess. Master’s delivery is marked by great character and drama; it allows images of Terry, the law-abiding man from The Streets’ debut, to flood the senses.

The flourish of their past, while triumphant, is fleeting. The Others are a band with bigger horizons now. ‘Stagger To Your Feet’ unfurls itself as though Goldfrapp and The Membranes have formed a supergroup. Deranged synths groove waywardly as Masters leans into yet more tales of debauchery. ‘Who I Was’ ignites the dirge-rock power of The Stooges and Sonic Youth’s guitars before Tears For Fears and angelic licks melt away the past tortures that Masters is laying bare. ‘I Don’t Mind’ sees the band transcend music and become an untamed animal. The dystopian landscapes of Joy Division collide with the brutality of Husker Du and Sonic Youth, yet their archetypal empathy loiters throughout. It gives the darkest moments hope, as though the shit we’re all wading through in 2026 will be over soon.

There is a therapeutic nature to this record. An openness and a calmness oozing from the new influences on show. It’s an album that can only stem from lived experience, from pained self-reflection and coming through, scarred but not beaten. What is truly uplifting about The Others is that, six albums in, they’re getting better, while most fade and die. ‘Don’t Have To Be Alone’, a sumptuous Orange Juice-esque record, offers their poppiest sound to date. No one from their stage diving crew, the 853 Kamikaze Division, would have imagined this when Inwards Parts was released. All should rejoice; it did.

Ash: Chinnerys, Southend

Belfast icons Ash took their Ad Astra tour to Southend’s seafront last night. A sold-out Chinnerys was treated to the indie veterans and fellow Fierce Panda labelmates Bag of Cans.

Their latest album ‘Ad Astra’ has enjoyed cut through with its Graham Coxon collaboration and the cover of ‘Jump the Line’. The latter, given a real punk-rock makeover amid the 90s and early 00s.

It’s ‘Deadly Love’ and ‘Which One Do You Want’ from the new album, which shine brightest. The former saw Mark Hamilton’s basslines devastate like Sonic Youth as they throbbed with great menace. Frontman Tim Wheeler’s angelic vocals fight through the colossal sound, acting as a ray of light to cling to amid the gut-wrenching lyrics. Countering the devastation is ‘Which One Do You Want’, the finest Johnny Marr track he never wrote. Its initial shimmering guitars glide toward the forlorn solos, freeing Wheeler to allow his infectious vocals.

Elsewhere, ‘Orpheus’ obliterated souls with its huge riffs and mesmeric ability to make you feel Brian Wilson is fronting ...And You Will Know Us By Trail of the Dead or Queens of the Stone Age. Standing up to this classic was ‘Ad Astra’ thrash-joyride ‘Hallion’ which thrilled like The Wildhearts and sought meaning like ‘Ignore The Ignorant’ era of The Cribs.

During ‘Oh Yeah’ and ‘Goldfinger’, Ash don’t just revisit their youth, they reopen ours. The songs rush in like the first reckless summer you thought would never end, all noise and nerve and wide-eyed belief. In rooms like this, sweat-flecked, shoulder-to-shoulder, gloriously unpolished, these anthems first learned how to belong to a nation. Then ‘Girl From Mars’ detonates. Suddenly, you can see the moment they left this world for greatness.

These songs weren’t written for or played for James Van Der Beek, but with his recent tragic passing, Wheeler’s lyricism is so indebted to those angelic days when nothing and everything mattered.  

As for Ash, they were never of their time, which is why they resonated so clearly.

Embrace - Road To Nowhere

Image Credit: Simon Walker

At the end of January, West Yorkshire’s finest anthem makers Embrace returned with their new single ‘Road To Nowhere’.  It kicks off their thirtieth anniversary year as a band, and the run up to their ninth studio album ‘Avalanche’, due for release June 12th via Cooking Vinyl.

Launching like a lost classic from their ‘Out of Nothing’ era, frontman Danny McNamara declares, “You say you're scared to leave me / But it hurts too much to say.” Sonically righteous yet lyrically toxic, Embrace once again proves that destructive relationship confessions set against euphoric melodies remain one of pop music’s most powerful contrasts.

When it seemed they had reached their limit, lead guitarist Richie McNamara turned to synths for fresh inspiration on ‘Refugees’, reimagining not just their sound but the very scope of what Embrace could be. In its closing moments here, he unleashes a fevered surge of sound that both disrupts and elevates their signature gospel-tinged anthems.

They go further than musical evolution: brother Danny unfurls a journey through and beyond, and these guitars serve as the tipping point as an old life fades and a new, more positive one emerges. With every note, what was once guttural rage steps aside, allowing the hearts and minds to recalibrate and move forward.

With age, so often comes a clamming up of creativity, of openness to new ideas, but not Embrace. They’re more porous to love than ever, allowing wave upon wave of sonic euphoria to flood the senses.

Thirty years of joy never stopped them dreaming.

Mansfield - Too Much To Handle

Image Credit: Jesper Ludvigsen

Danish outfit are back with their new single ‘Too Much To Handle’ on Friday, 20th February. Recorded at Black Tornado Studio in Copenhagen, it was produced by Morten Bue and will be released via DME Records.

In 2024, Mansfield came of age on their second record, ‘For All The Right Reasons’. It was an album of fine melody and great storytelling, and here, they have picked up where they left off. Mathias Havelund’s guitars adopt the pop precision of Lightning Seeds but with an added darkness. That darkness, being life distractions, the fog and mire of everyday life, eating away at the most valuable commodity you can never fully possess in middle age, time.

Frontman Christian Sage’s vocals sit somewhere between Broudie’s bubble-gum optimism and the dramatic realism of Jake Shillingford of My Life Story. The bright hopes and dreams of pop are grounded by the weight of adult reality, creating a tension that gives ‘Too Much To Handle’ its emotional pull.

On February 27th, Mansfield will open for UK cult heroes All The Young and, on this showing, are not to be missed.

The Rogues – New York

Artwork courtesy of Songbird PR

Newport five-piece The Rogues recently released their latest single, ‘New York’. It follows last November’s acclaimed single ‘Oh Gena’.

Last time out on ‘Oh Gena’, the band were in a playful mood, toying with the blues and infectious indie hooks. This time out, they’re sonically enshrined in romance on this ode to breaking free of from the mundane.

Frontman and lead guitarist Andrew Flannelly channels the romance of Cherry Ghost and the warmth of Richard Hawley on this moonlit desire for change. Stripped back, yet wholly enriching, his vocals and guitars meander from the cuteness of The Zutons and the embracing outsiderdom of The Stands.

With new bands, you want, no, need to see something in their early days to keep you hooked. With every single from The Rogues that comes, there’s a sprinkling more charm and style. ‘New York’ points to an enchanting elegance that could yet unveil a ‘Coles Corner’ or ‘Thirst For Romance’, which frankly, is more than enough for us.

The Enemy - Social Disguises

Image courtesy of Fear PR

Coventry’s indie-punk icons The Enemy are set to release their first album in eleven years this Friday. Produced by their longtime cohort Matt Terry (‘40 Days and 40 Nights’ and ‘No Time For Tears’), it’s the first studio album since 2015’s ‘It’s Automatic’.

In their time away, frontman Tom Clarke has written two solo albums. 2021’s The Chronicles of Nigel unveiled its hit single ‘Be Somebody,’ which featured Nigel from XTC’s ‘Making Plans for Nigel,’ and, subsequently, Clarke wrote about his imagined life ten years later. In 2024’s ‘The Other Side’, Clarke returned to this style of writing on ‘Roy’s Life’ and ‘Flowers’, and now, upon his band's return, he finds himself drawing from the character-driven well again. ‘Serious’ examines the plight of those who “exist in the shadows, afraid of the day”, a damming indictment of the keyboard warrior. Opener ‘The Boxer’, finds a protagonist beset with fear whose failures lead to the destructive patterns. Similarly, ‘Not Going Your Way’ seeks to untangle a toxic relationship with the male blinkered and the female becoming empowered from its release.

This style of writing is important for a band like The Enemy. Once you’ve written ‘We’ll Live and Die in these Towns’, made (some) money, and twenty years have elapsed, it would be disingenuous to write those songs again. Clarke’s ability to delineate the people he grew up with or socially observe new ones has given the band and, therefore, the fan, a chance to relax into thier new found authenticity.

Having navigated this, you can feel the band's shoulders loosening as they, for the most part, offer fresh takes on not only their first two albums, but the wider 00s scene they came up in. ‘Trouble’ sees Andy Hopkins deliver a bone-shattering bassline and Clarke groove their way into ’40 Days and 40 Nights’ and ‘Technodanceaphobic’. The slower approach allows them to slot in between The Strokes’ aloof rock ‘n’ roll and Franz Ferdinand’s jagged hooks with such ease that it feels like their natural habitat. On ‘Innocent’, they reach for Depeche Mode via Maximo Park in the early parts, as they seek redemption in a poignant moment of soul-searching. Sonically, they build to a mid-tempo rousing climax, using guitars where they once used brass, another example of how acutely aware they are of still being the real deal (which they are).

Countering this are ‘Pretty Face’ and ‘Serious’, blistering punk interludes in the album's latter stages, proving the dog can still bite. The former plugs into the adrenaline-fueled moments of ‘It’s Not Ok’ and ‘Pressure’. There’s a broader, more rock n roll cohesion to Pretty Face than their early years, where they fold in Hard-Fi’s abrasive indie-rock meets ska, whilst Clarke’s solo taps into the understated magic of early Arctic Monkeys and the flamboyance of Steve Craddock. ‘Serious’ thunders out of the traps with ‘Had Enough’s venom before Clarke’s scintillating guitars build a wall of sound that is besotted with The Storkes and flirting with The Paddingtons, together delivering breathtaking results.

Some bands need to go away to come back. Some bands need to go away and reconnect with their early years. The Enemy have done both those things with their live return in 2022. Their cathartic nature washed away the pain of the so-called alternative media landscape, turning their back on them. ‘Social Disguises’ is a post-catharsis album. It embraces their past, both internally and the bands that inspired them and the peers they liked. Former single ‘Not Going Your Way’, a fine example of this, suits the Pigeon Detectives, as Clarke imparts thoughtful, mournful lyrics to the joyful 00s indie-punk backdrop. The middle classes will no doubt write it off as lad-rock again. Well, they were wrong then, and they can fuck-off now.

Viva La Enemy!

Frances Murray - Adults

Essex artist Frances Murray (formerly Blab), who now resides in Brighton, is set to release her new single ‘Adults’. The single is taken from the upcoming debut album ‘Dreamer’, due for release on 10th April.

Adults, like a great episode of The Simpsons from seasons 1 to 9, move between serious and playful with consummate ease. Her guitars nestle somewhere between Pavement’s slacker indie and Kurt Vile’s laissez-faire daydreams. They lay the perfect platform for Murray to ponder her quarter-life crisis.

Turning 25, the milestone that’s never given the poignant recognition it deserves. The dawning realisation that you should have it figured all out by now, I (“am I ever going to know, what the f**k is going on”) collides with an ever-growing sense of isolation and doom of your thirties coming without you ever making an impact. Murray captures this with great poise and wit:

“Seaside, gentrified / Am I just washed up / Trying not to give up / Mortgages, taxes, icloud storage / Current affairs, kitchen appliances, trying not to listen to your neighbours arguing”

Murray, a long-time friend and collaborator with Get Cape Wear Cape Fly!, has eloquently, amusingly, and melodically distilled the magic of his masterpiece, ‘The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager’. Every generation needs a poetical polemicist; Murray is shaping up well to be this one's.

Speakface - That’s My Luck

Cardiff’s Speakface have released their first single of the year, ‘That’s My Luck’. Recorded at Rat Trap Studio in Cardiff, it was produced by Tom Rees.

Much like The Strokes' first two albums, Speakface accelerates out of the blocks but hits cruise control soon after. The mid-tempo allows their brand of hazy grunge to grip you in it’s intoxication.

On previous records, Frontman Jarvis Morgan slides from a Julian Casablancas–style drawl into a guttural snarl straight out of ‘In Utero’ era Cobain. His descent from cool and calm to rabid and unhinged lays the perfect platform for lead guitarist Hayden Lewis. His deranged guitars in the closing stages and a layer of warped majesty to proceedings.

‘That’s My Luck’ captures the brilliance and depravity of Portman’s performance in Black Swan. The realisation that grace and genius are one thing, but untameable hellish rock n roll is another oozes from this single.

The Molotovs - Wasted On Youth

Teenage siblings Matthew and Issey Cartlidge, aka The Molotovs, have released their debut album ‘Wasted On Youth’ via Marshall Amp Records.

“In those days, youth was a way of life.”

Absolute Beginners

Look around the media landscape, and you’d believe youth and counterculture were dead. Just a sea of vapid social media folk and has-been radio stations stuck in a 90s Groundhog Day.

Step forward The Molotovs.

‘Wasted On Youth’ is brimming with abrasive optimism, bookended by a spirit of get out of our way, it's our turn! Opener ‘Get A Life’, a mod-cum-punk riot engulfed in the bombast of Secret Affair, the flamboyance of Mick Ronson, and The Clash’s early fury takes aim at those spitting bile. Meanwhile, ‘Today’s Gonna Be Our Day’ charges through the streets with the purity and clarity of thought that can only come from teenage exuberance and Christ, how we all need a dose of it. The buoyancy of ‘Over The Counter Culture’, the pop instincts of The Jam, and a new vision that things can, should, and will be great are launched into the ether like a rock ‘n’ roll manifesto.

“Sometimes I get the impression there’s no room left....only the old can afford to be young.”

Anna Forbes, This Life

On the title track, ‘Wasted On Youth’, they offer the human condition of the young with glorious devastation. Lost but hopeful, a knowing sense of destiny kicking against its futility. This power-chord blitz explodes with optimism and corrupts with self-doubt, “That every word I speak has been said before”. As Matthew says, “Oh la la la , we were invincible”, twenty years of decline are eviscerated. The drama of Pete Townsend’s guitars, the biting lyrics of Joe Strummer, and a key change to remind us all that sometimes birds just sing and nothing is more beautiful.

Finally, 90s mania has bitten the dust!

As 2025, a year far too indebted to nostalgia fades, The Molotovs race into 2026 with the freshest take in a generation.  With two fingers up to the naysayers and a helping hand outstretched to the forlorn, they reignite the UK’s greatest living creation, rock ‘n’ roll.

The Others - Met You In A Bar

Image courtesy of the band

London’s 00s pioneers The Others returned recently with their new single ‘Met You In A Bar’. It’s the lead single from their upcoming sixth studio album ‘When In Doubt’.

Their first official single in fourteen years serves as a bridge from their first two albums to their later eight-piece renaissance. The guitars and drums fire with the punk-rock roar of the Buzzcocks, whilst the Hammond organ lures in mod instincts of The Charlatans and the rabid early power of The Stranglers.

Frontman Dominic Masters' vocals remain as potent, spitting disdain and hurling venom as he regales a toxic relationship. His vocals and the aggressive Steve Diggle fuzz in the verses eventually give way to a Mark Collins-esque solo (The Charlatans) that melts away the bitterness.

Where once they would have kept their feet on the throat and gone out in a blaze of intense glory, now, a divine musicianship is elevating their ability to cause riots. 2026 is shaping up to be their year on this showing.

The Others · Met You In A Bar (Single Edit)

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming gig:

James Walsh - It’s All Happening

Image Credit: Barnaby Fairley

Starsailor frontman James Walsh releases his new studio album ‘It’s All Happening’ on January 31st. The album was written, recorded, and produced entirely by Walsh.

Walsh’s songwriting, although more thoughtful than most even in his Starsailor days, adopts a more wisened stance throughout. On ‘I Can’t Stop Myself From Lovin’ You’, he reflects upon those insecure days of a new relationship when imposter syndrome is rife. ‘Moving Target’ sees a lost and anguished soul steady themselves in the mire and take solace in the thought that “nothing better in this life than you and I” when dwelling on their partner. Whereas, on ‘Shadows’ Walsh digs into mental struggles. As he decrees, “fight another lion in my head”, souls will stop dead in their tracks. His voice is utterly haunting. Walsh, a master storyteller, though, leads you back to the light (“it’s getting brighter further up the road”), but with a quiet, reserved vocal to signify that life will never be the same.

Sonically, Walsh’s stripped-back approach and his ease at a higher-pitched vocal recall Bon Iver’s debut album at several points. The aforementioned ‘I Can’t Stop Myself From Lovin’ You’ leans into Justin Vernon’s ability to make an acoustic guitar and gentle vocals embrace a hymnal quality as he ushers his flock from dark to light. ‘Coney Island’ offers up Walsh’s best vocal of the album. His full array of pitch and tone, coupled with Vernon’s mystical, light-touch production, lights up this nostalgic story.

‘Poole’s Cavern’, whilst an ode to rural escape in Derbyshire, lyrically serves up heart-shattering grief:

“part of me died / so I crept inside / and hid myself from view / for the rest of my life / as I cant get by / without you”

The protagonist goes on, much like Ricky Gervais’ portrayal of Tony Johnson Afterlife), breathing but not living, accepting that a live together, although too short, was still a gift:

“I'm still happy with the life we got to make / even if it ended far too soon”

Walsh continues the poignancy on ‘The Great Northwest’ as he details the sense of community that emerged in the wake of Paul Doyle’s reckless driving, which injured over 130 people. Tinged with Iron & Wine’s playing and Turin Brakes’ vocals, he displays the resiliency and affection of a city that yet again stands tall in the wake of tragedy:

“when it feels like all hope is gone / We show our faith like we’ve always done / we call on each other”

They say timing is everything, and as Trump tears the world order apart, empty-shell populists lead the polls on the left and right, Walsh’s humble, honest songwriting is the tonic to it all. He brings peace, even moments of heartache, and offers a welcome pause for thought.

Kula Shaker - Wormslayer

Kula Shaker are set to release their eighth studio album ‘Wormslayer’ on the 30th January. Released via Strange F.O.L.K Records, it follows 2024’s critically acclaimed ‘Natural Magick’.

In many ways, ‘Wormslayer’ picks up where they left off in 2024 with spiritual explorations and Beatles influences remaining prominent. ‘Dust Beneath Our Feet’ supplements the richness of The Grateful Dead with Stephen Stills’ soul-cleansing guitars (‘For What It’s Worth’). Whilst ‘Good Money’ strays from Sgt. Pepper's to Ravi Shankar to Cornershop with a playfully hazy groove. Both are enhanced by frontman Crispian Mills’ ability to fold in the bite of Lennon with his own penchant for melody. These well-trodden paths dominate proceedings for the most part.

Just another album for life-long fans?

That would be the case but for ‘Be Merciful’, ‘The Winged Boy’, and the title track ‘Wormslayer’. All are of such quality that they transcend to higher planes. ‘Be Merciful’, their latest single, a collaboration with Thom Yorke cohort Mark Pritchard, has a hauntingly cathartic feel. Mills and the backing singers bring a gospel tinge, while panoramic guitars act as liberators for souls trapped in purgatory.

‘The Winged Boy’, lights up the record with its vast science fiction landscapes. Mills’ guitars resound across galaxies like cries for help, warning signs, and at their most ecstatic, moments of heroism.

On ‘Wormslayer’, the hallmarks of all their finest moments lurk like loving psyche shadows caressing this new moment of genius. There’s a curiosity to Jay Darlington's keys and Mills’ mesmerising vocals in the early stages that only Robert Plant (and band) can match in the modern era. When they step on the power, they splice the boisterous blasts of the early Black Keys albums with their archetypal mysticism, allowing Mills’ gentler vocal to cut through and create pure magic.

Having released a run of fine albums over the past six years, it would be an understatement to say the band are in a purple patch. What Wormslayer achieves over ‘1st Congregational Church of Eternal Love and Free Hugs’ and ‘Natural Magick’ is not reinvention, but elevation. Where ‘Tattva’ and ‘Govinda’ once stood as unique high points, ‘Be Merciful’, ‘The Winged Boy’, and ‘Wormslayer’ now take their place, signalling a band not just sustaining momentum, but surpassing themselves.

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming tour:

Cast - Yeah Yeah Yeah

Image courtesy of Fear PR

2025 was a stellar year for Cast. Be it celebrating 30 years of debut ‘All Change’ or opening for Oasis, there can be no denying the band are at something of a zenith, right now. Far from resting on their laurels, they roar into 2026 with a new album, ‘Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’.

Released later this month (30th Jan) via Scruff of the Neck Records, Cast’s 8th studio album was recorded in Spain with producer Youth (Killing Joke’s Martin Glover) at his Space Mountain studio in Spain. 

In 2024, the Liverpool icons released ‘Love is the Call’, marking their first collaboration with Glover. It marked a fine return to form, with frontman and songwriter-in-chief John Power rediscovering his touch, casting aside the fears that perhaps held back prior albums.

‘Calling Your Name’ is easily viewed as a clarion call for anyone who feels downtrodden or undervalued. With its gospel backing vocals powering the melody to a higher plane, and Power decreeing “never let them tell you if you’re wrong or right, the message is clear: chase your dreams! On ‘Way It’s Gotta Be’’ we hear Cast’s archetypal sound united with the stinging punch of Paul Weller’s underrated ‘Heavy Soul’ album.

On ‘Weight of the World’, the narrative flips, and Power’s worries are wistfully laid bare, detailing his struggles to understand the world around him. Vocally, he effortlessly ebbs from defiant to distressed, whilst guitars build wave upon wave of pressure that feel as though they could blow at any time. The chasm between melody and anxiety, especially while Power sings “why do I always feel the weight of the world,” summons a career-best vocal, capturing a struggle - perhaps creative, perhaps more serious - of wanting to give in to darker forces, but coming out fighting.

The band pull everything together for the masterpiece that is ‘Teardrops’. The summoning of their early days, coupled with abundant soul influences, gives ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’ its great pop moment. With the gentle sway of Bacharach and the bubblegum melodies of Lightning Seeds clear influences here, Cast’s ability to impart hope is on display for all to see: “the world awaits for love to break the spell.” It is an utterly timeless piece of songwriting, which displays Power’s boundless ability to deliver cinematic presence.

For many season bands, there has often been a clamour of late to put out records that pay lip service to their beginnings. Let’s face it, the nostalgia wave of the post-COVID era would be an easy one to ride. What’s not always clear is whether this is an attempt to capture former feelings or simply appease their fanbase. What Cast achieve here is a knowing wink to their roots, while allowing their skill, sense of adventure and ambition off the leash. 

Does it outrun ‘All Change’? Is it even possible to surpass a breakthrough that soundtracks life, love and loss? Probably not. What this album achieves is the restraint with which it captures time’s passage, alongside spiritual growth and sharpened craft. As such, Cast have delivered an album that those of us lucky to be around in another thirty years will herald as another classic.

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming tour:

Marseille - Out of the Blue

As the year winds down, we’re using the last days of 2025 to revisit our favourite singles from autumn and winter that we didn’t get to review but couldn’t leave behind.

On November 28th, Derby’s Marseille released ‘Out of the Blue’ via their own label Echo Bass Records. The producer was Wolf Alice cohort Michael Smith.

On this ode to catharsis, Marseille find their sweet spot between The Verve and Oasis once more. The intro signifies the wrath and mounting grief in a toxic relationship that frontman Will Brown endured. To music lovers of a certain age, it screams words like history, forever, and destiny. It evokes, rightly or wrongly, the ambition of bands to conquer the world. It’s heavy, it will drain the soul, but it will leave you a better person for it.

Lead guitarist Joe Labrum’s playing is the answer to the question, what if Noel Gallagher merged with Nick McCabe? The intense introspective power of The Verve and the ability to soar and escape of Oasis unite to give the Derbyshire outfit one of their finest moments to date.

2025 has proven, through The Bracknall and Pastel, that there is a want and need for bands like Marseille to exist. With any luck, 2026 will see their debut album and significant rewards for them.

Maze - Ziggy

As the year winds down, we’re using the last days of 2025 to revisit our favourite singles from autumn and winter that we didn’t get to review but couldn’t leave behind.

At the start of September, London’s Maze released ‘Ziggy’, the second single from their upcoming second album.

In 2022, Maze emerged as everyone's favourite elder statesmen with their album ‘Chaos Interrupted’. It was a heartfelt ode to the music they loved, a fine project for mates to embark on. On ‘Ziggy’, there feels like a shift, a confidence has stirred in the wake of the debut. Frontman Gary Davis toys with cadence, switching from sumptuous pop vocals to defiant with a joyous ease.

Sonically indebted to the Roses’ paisley era, ‘Ziggy’ trips along with John Squire’s early romanticism until the solo, where they capture the magic of the C86 movement alongside the hazy hedonism of Northside.

The newfound belief in themselves will extend to a massive gig at the Scala with Peter Azzopardi. Do your duty and help them sell it out!

Click the image below for tickets: