No Rest For The Spacemen: Fickle Pickle, Southend

Image Credit: Indie Cult Club

Watford outfit No Rest for the Spacemen made their Indie Cult Club debut last week at the Fickle Pickle.

‘Music Till I Die’ was the kind of indie-psyche number that’s destined to remain a set opener for decades. Between the John Squire-esque hooks and the funked-up basslines, they conjured the kind of magic that has the Death Star’s tractor beam power!

Lead guitarist Danny is a show-stealing performer. His elaborate flourishes and solos on ‘Goodbye Jane’ and the warped debauchery of ‘MASH’ led the band's charge to announce themselves. Cutting through the mayhem was frontman Charlie. His deep drawl on ‘MASH’ leans into the cool of Jonathan Richman, whilst on ‘Somebody Like You’ he beds in between the Baxter Dury and Ian Broudie to deliver great pop sensibilities.

On ‘Goodbye Jane’, these strengths converged, hinting at UK rock ’n’ roll’s next great partnership. They pushed and pulled against each other with effortless chemistry, each recognising the other’s talent and knowing exactly when to step aside.

In recent years, The Lilacs and The K’s have kicked open the doors for this kind of ecstatic indie guitar music, and on this showing, No Rest for the Spacemen look a dead cert to knock it off its hinges.

Lois Leon: Fickle Pickle, Southend

Image Credit: Indie Cult Club

Southend’s Lois Leon opened the third instalment of Indie Cult Club’s Teenage Kicks at the Fickle Pickle in Southend last week.

In April, we caught them at the same venue, and there was an effortless quality to their brand of slacker-rock-meets-shoegaze playing. Fast forward two months, and they came armed with two new songs and a newfound abrasiveness.

Their languid style remained, but the new songs had an eagerness and a directness to step forward. A confidence percolated every toiling guitar riff and every sultry vocal delivery. This is a band in the ascendancy.

Their single ‘Stuck’ felt grander, more cinematic. Subtle, but adventurous, it grows into the room as only a great indie movie can. Frontwoman Lois’ delivery charts a course from innocence to torture, and it’s nothing short of intoxicating.

If Losi Leon’s previous appearance at the Fickle Pickle hinted at potential, this set felt like proof of it. With sharper edges, stronger songs and a growing sense of purpose, they left little doubt that bigger stages await.

Monumental

Image Credit: Indie Cult Club

Monumental embarked on a joint venture with Indie Cult Club in February. Teenage Kicks is their indie night at Southend’s Fickle Pickle, which they headline bi-monthly. This, their third instalment, was supported by Lois Leon and No Rest For the Spacemen

Every generation should have a mod revival. It’s a glorious right of passage that The Molotovs kicked off in fine style with their debut album back in January. Southend’s Monumental are now on hot their tales carving out a space between Mod and Rock ‘n’ roll.

No finer exponent of this than on ‘Eyes Wide Open’ as the guitars tap into Ocean Colour Scene's ‘Mosely Shoals’ splendour whilst Frontman Finn Sexton serves up soulful anthemic vocals a new generation can bellow into the ether as life depended on it.

The cover song, so long overlooked in a new band's arsenal, got two airings. First up was a riotous version of Fontaines DC’s ‘Liberty Belle’. Second up was The Specials’ ‘Little Bitch’, which conjured more images of The Ordinary Boys bursting onto the scene in 2004 than their ska predecessors. Together, they knitted their brand of Mod and rock ‘n’ roll through protest and rebellion. Furthermore, it highlighted how they’ve merged those styles on ‘Reasons’ to create an enthralling joyride single. Sexton’s vocal straying from volent to soulful amid the colossal drums created a vitality that very few can match.  

It might have been their third appearance, but there were no signs of band or audience fatigue. Monumental were compelling, and it is set to catapult itself to big stages this year.

Ferb – Provence

Image Credit: Alyssa Clark

South-London alt-rock outfit Ferb are back with their new single ‘Provence’. The single is released via Dirt Circle Records.

What begins with atmospheric stripped-back Nirvana circa ‘In Utero’ guitars descends into a pit of despair. The languid guitars, which venture out with a morbid curiosity, entwine themselves around a toxicity that bursts with desperation.

As Harley McKinley repeats “I hope it makes you happy”, the protagonist is clinging to humanity by the fingernails. Ross Blendell’s guitars offer chinks of hope to mask the ensuing pain, which eventually erupts into an angst-ridden masterclass.

A joyously bitter record, which culminates in a wall of sound beset with teenage heartbreak. The kind that all must endure to survive adulthood. A great and vital single!

Lemon & Lime - Sunshine

Southend outfit Lemon and Lime released their debut single ‘Sunshine’ yesterday.

To date, the band have been causing quite the stir on the local scene, selling out The Fickle Pickle and Moonraker in recent months. As such, the anticipation of this release has become much talked about along the estuary.

The guitar hook, leaning into rock 'n' roll psyche, is supplemented by Small Faces' keys, which carry the single's myriad twists and turns. Both lay the platform for Josh’s standout vocal.

Many reach for Marriott, but they all fail. His vocal strays across Marriott’s path at points as he steps on the power, before melting away into great harmonies with the band. The ease with which he moves from guttural to poetical is remarkable for a debut single.

The single departs its breezy 60s mod-pop course during the solo, where a playful, bluesy jam reminiscent of BB King or John Mayall takes over. Out of left field, it shows a band happy to take risks. Not constrained by the past, they reimagine it with modern brush strokes and are all the better for it.

As bold a debut single as you’ll hear in some time. A throwback, yes, but one with bags of promise for future glory.

Bendricks – Heartbeat Stopper

Image courtesy of the band

Barry outfit Bendricks are back with their new single ‘Heartbeat Stopper’ via Studio 250 Records.

To date, they have been a band on radars, threatening to break out. Threaten no more, they have arrived!

The awkward angular riffs have found purpose and are injected with playfulness by the frontman, Mitch Griggs. His rapid-fire cadence ascends into great fist-aloft sing-along moments as he sways from Grebo to Britpop, landing himself alongside Manchester peers Spangled.

Rhys Greening’s bass lays a funk for Griggs to stomp all over with his boisterous witticisms. Alongside the Dom Griggs’ hedonistic solo, they’ve unearthed an instant cult classic. Hyperactive and debauched in sonic terms, the lyrics fly out like bullets of vital cultural commentary!

Bendricks haven’t just arrived, they crashed through the window in a forklift truck with a beer in one hand and a book of prose in the other.

The North - Coming of Age

Image Credit: Alan Wells

Leeds’ The North released their latest EP ‘Coming of Age’ at the start of May.

Here’s our track-by-track review:

Can’t Sleep

Ecstatic licks cleansing the soul as wave upon wave of youthful exuberance washes over you.

Frontman Billy Memphis unleashes a vocal drawl for the masses to worship once again. Effortlessly cool and snarling, he crashes into the chorus of “I love you / I know you love me to” with the reckless abandon that only youth can muster. Isolated and muddied in thought, the protagonist's sleep-deprived state spews out an isolated and broken soul that everyone will root for.

The desperation Memphis imparts to be free of his in-between phase, to have arrived, to not have doubts, is gloriously angst-ridden.

Is this ever gonna end?
Or is coming of age dead?

Coming of Age

Every generation needs a voice. The North is this one!

Lost, defiant, desperate, hopeless, angry, but all the while hopeful. The North have threatened greatness from their debut single ‘Soundtrack Your Soul’, and here it is fully formed.

Distorted guitars, Julian Casablancas' vocals (before the failed autotune experiments), boisterous riffs, and a Dookie sense of abandonment are wrapped in this euphoric journey to nowhere.

Eyelashes

Trying to find the perfect band is impossible. Right? When The North blend the infectious indie rock n roll of The Ks with the abrasive punk rock of Idlewild, well, you must give serious consideration to the fact that you might have found it.

Tubes

For the first time, the band allow for space to breathe. Bigger landscapes just mean vaster dreams for The North. There‘s nothing they can’t do and do it better than everyone else!

Masi Masi - Daylight

Bradford-based solo artist Masi Masi returned last week with his new single ‘Daylight’.

They say timing is everything, and, in these sweltering temperatures, Masi’s melodic ambling is the perfect tonic. His guitars strip back The Stands' melodic joy to a heartbreaking standstill as the forlorn protagonist struggles to deal with his impact on a loved one (“I wish you weren’t so down around me”)

Masi’s thoughtful and painful prose is delivered with the weathered notes of I Am Kloot’s John Bramwell and the innocence of early Jake Bugg. It’s a recipe that turns the glib into something deeply rewarding.

Then, in the closing stages, to elevate this above the avalanche of singer-songwriters striving for poignancy, Masi unfurls a hazy Kurt Vile meets Ruben Nielson (Unknown Mortal Orchestra) psyche solo.

Three singles into 2026 and Masi is looking like one of the year's truly great finds. A classic debut album is surely in the offing.

The Cases - Mr Penny

Image courtesy of Fear PR

The Cases are set to release their debut EP, MR Penny (May 29th), via This Feeling Records and Lab Records. The EP was produced  Chris Taylor (The Lathums, Blossoms, Courteeners) at Kempston Street, Liverpool.

Here’s our track-by-track review:

Mr. Penny

The evanescent youthful vibrancy of The Kooks’ debut is reimagined for the modern age with the character-driven lyrics of The Coral (Bill McCai) or Blur (Tracey Jacks).

The Curse

The Preston outfit is currently celebrating the song's release with a sold-out tour. This sense of triumph perfectly captures this ode to overcoming hard times. The ease of The Kooks’ debut album and the melodic bombast of The Zutons drive this song from emotional turmoil to freedom.

Will Bullen’s riffs are best with angst, wrestling to free themselves of the toxicity they’re mired in. He buries the pain deep so that when the solo comes, it’s less an ecstatic release, more a cathartic howl.

She Said

Blending their archetypal Kooks sound with flourishes of Blossoms’ electronic enthused indiepop is the biggest no-brainer of 2026. They’ve set their lasers to joyous and are cavorting around towns and cities with the freedom of youth.

It’s one great chorus away from becoming a classic.

Romantic

Intimate vocals and howling rock 'n’ roll guitars unite on this charming and anguished ode to romance

Click the image below for tickets to their headline slot at this years Isle of Wight Festival.

The Rogues – Last Summer

Artwork Credit: Ceejay Bonner

Welsh outfit The Rogues have self-released their new EP Last Summer.

Here’s our track-by-track review:

Last Summer

The sumptuous songwriting of Danny Wilson and Aztec Camera oozes through its veins. Whimsical indie nostalgia led by a great indie-soul vocal.

Throw It Away

Ecstatic guitars and the rumble of youth evoke memories of The Kooks’ debut album, charging for the big time.

Foolin’ Around

Their ability to embed joy into their riffs is to be marvelled at. Every lick feels like the first drink on a night out. Excitable and relatable, The Rogues are on their way!

New York

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.

Maze – I’ve Got A Feeling

London’s Maze gear up for their biggest headline show at Scala with their latest single ‘I Got A Feeling’. It follows the fine ‘Four Seasons’ and is taken from their upcoming second album ‘All Best Are Off’

On their most free-flowing single to date, Maze are in a reflective mood lyrically as they search for meaning in relationships and the passing of time. Frontman Gary Davis’ couplets conjure images of a soul lost, but not without spirit.

Davis’ understated vocal allows the chorus's euphoria to burst into technicolour. The fire of The View’s debut album and the glory of The Real People merge as this anthem builds to the destructive solo.

Like a Shane Meadows script, they blend life’s greatest feelings with an aching sense of turmoil. The poignancy oozing through the guitars gives Maze a depth that takes them from the cult everyman band they’ve been to date, to one of serious stature who demand attention.

The Bracknall - Where I Belong

Image Credit: Gary Walker

The Bracknall follow up last year's album of the year, ‘Falling Out Of View’, with their new single ‘Where I Belong’. It’s taken from their upcoming EP ‘Waiting for the Lights to Change’, which is produced by Embrace’s Richard McNamara.

The closed out 2025 with at London’s 229 in with a sold-out crowd arms aloft, tears rolling, and a feeling that, if this was all it was to ever be, then it was perfect. Not resting on their laurels, they have unearthed another epic anthem for their ever-growing army to rejoice in.

On this ode to the towns they grew up in, The Bracknall pay perhaps the finest homage to the songwriting of Noel Gallagher ever seen. Sumptious key changes, lyrics that light up working-class towns, and guitars that ignite feelings of pure escape unite to make yet more magic from the Essex band.

Like the greats of any discipline, Billy Connolly, Martin Scorsese, or Oasis, The Bracknell pulls you into their world and makes you never want to leave. If Oasis’ tour last year taught us one thing, it’s that the world has an appetite for rock n roll still. Whether those crowds have the hunger to seek out new songs is another thing, but if they do. Then this should be their starting point.

Lois Leon: Fickle Pickle, Southend

Image Credit: Alfie Winters

Southend-based Lois Leon took to the Fickle Pickle in Southend last Saturday to headline a night of local bands.

Some bands must launch into a set with a statement of intent, to unfurl life’s polemic in three minutes of chaos seeking affirmation. Then, there are bands like Lois Leon, who glide into your life as though they’ve been mesmerising 6Music dads for decades.

They took slacker rock, Sleeper, Echobelly, and blissed out shoegaze to new, beguiling levels. Frontwoman Lois took the charm of Beth Orton along the Essex estuary. On ‘Untamed’, Lois nestled between the performative side of Louise Wener and the forlorn beauty of Aimee Mann. As her smoky vocal delivered the hushed clarion call “not too late to roll the dice and change the score”, the majesty of Portishead began to fill the room.

On ‘Slow Motion’ Lois and lead guitarist Adam emerged as a partnership to be reckoned with. The latter’s subtle riffs allow a sense of optimism to swell whilst Lois’ vocals tentatively emerge from the shadows. They entwine themselves as one in the verse and allow Adam’s solo to land with great emotional heft.

On their latest single ‘Stuck’, they strayed from slacker to shoegaze with a poise that belies their fledgling status. Adam’s guitars howled into the ether alongside Lois’ ethereal vocal, which was effortless and heart-wrenching.

Often with new bands, you cling to the parts of their set, but never all. Lois Leon, however, came fully formed. They knew when to step on the gas and when to refrain. Bordering on masterful, they feel a stone's throw away from festival main stages and universal acclaim.  

The Slates – Watch Life Burn

Image credit: Oliver Roberts

The Slates have released their latest single ‘Watch Life Burn’ via This Feeling and Lab Records. The single was produced by Peter Redshaw and mixed by James Kenosha.

As Spring breeds life into the UK, The Slates follow suit with this ode to living your life to the fullest. Originally written when frontman Louis moved to University, the song has a broader appeal, and one that the world needs reminding of in these dark times.

The rhetoric may be well-worn, but frontman Louis Barnes’ vocal breeds new life into it. Angelic and thoughtful, he allows hope to look humble and achievable for all. It’s an arm around the shoulder from an elder saying, “You can do anything”. His voice is subtly heartfelt, not overreaching, no ego, just a soul yearning to see the world and fall in love.

In a world that often feels heavy, The Slates offer a gentle yet stirring reminder to look outwards. This isn’t their ‘Live Forever’ step into the greats, but they’re striding toward that sentiment; it’s sure to follow soon.

The Cases – The Curse

Image courtesy of Fear PR

The Cases have released their second single, ‘The Curse’, from their debut EP ‘Mr. Penny’ (This Feeling Records / Lab Records). Recorded at Kempston Street in Liverpool, it was produced by Chris Taylor (Courteeners).

The Preston outfit is currently celebrating the song's release with a sold-out tour. This sense of triumph perfectly captures this ode to overcoming hard times. The ease of The Kooks’ debut album and the melodic bombast of The Zutons drive this song from emotional turmoil to freedom.

Will Bullen’s riffs are best with angst, wrestling to free themselves of the toxicity they’re mired in. He buries the pain deep so that when the solo comes, it’s less an ecstatic release, more a cathartic howl.

The Cases are currently on a sold-out tour with This Feeling, and on this showing, it’s easy to see why.

Colour TV - At Sunset

*image courtesy of the band & This Feeling.

South-West outfit Colour TV released their latest single, ‘At Sunset’, at the end of March. Recorded at Cube Studios, it was released via Tip Top Recordings.

When The Strokes released ‘Is This It?’ in 2001, it changed British culture forever. Its influence over The Libertines is perhaps its most powerful, causing them to drop their 60s paisley melodies and to inject adrenaline into their romantic prose.

Fast-forward 25years and a similar pattern can be seen forming between Fontaines D.C.’s masterful ‘Romance’ and the poetical dwellings of Colour TV. Their previous single ‘iBaby’ leaned into the album’s grandiose rumblings, and here, its directness comes to the fore through Jack Yeo’s marbling guitars. Where once everything was pure indie, it is now being fuelled by a welcome adrenaline and recklessness.

The results? Divine.

Key to their breakthrough moments a few years ago was frontman Sam Durneen’s poise and grace, reimaging what a young Morrissey, Bret Anderson, and Martin Rossiter could be in modern times. His vocals are now less key and utterly crucial to their success! His fragility and purity soar and tumble around Yeo’s bullish yet angelic guitars; together, they are the future of all great things in the UK guitar scene!

The Utopiates - Let’s Make This Happen

Image courtesy of the band.

London outfit The Utopiates have released their second album, ‘Let’s Make This Happen’. It follows the 2023 album of the year, ‘The Sun Also Rises’. The album was recorded at The Nave in Leeds with longtime cohort Andy Hawkins producing.

Having set the bar high, can they follow up?

Their debut album cruised to the hearts of the UK in 2023 with effortless grooves indebted to acid house and baggy scenes of the late 80s and early 90s. On ‘Reputation they bridge the gap between then and now with ‘Devolution’-esque charisma and New Order production grooving their way to sunnier climates.

For large sections, though, they chart a course to the 2000’s where NYC basslines and the neon colours of the UK’s NU-rave scene reigned supreme. ‘Neighbourhood’ builds on the debut’s driving grooves but introduces a sharper, hyper-modern strut. This LCD Soundsystem meets Depeche Mode banger sets the tone for their new vision, big sounds, fewer guitars, and a laser-like focus! ‘Lost My Groove’ forges LCD Soundsystem with New Order whilst frontman Dan Popplwell offers up one of several spoken ventures. His vocals have previously been so aligned with soul and soaring indie euphoria; switch up to a darker, venomous version of Matt Abbott (Skint & Demoralised). It allows the themes of time running out and the fading chance of destiny to embody bitterness and spitefulness, giving them a new, abrasive edge.

Frontman Dan Popplewell continues the poetic fire of Skint & Demoralised in the verses of ‘Reputation’, allowing the songs’ discourse of time passing you by to swell. Unlike so many bands of recent times, there’s a desperation to his delivery, a lone wolf in a bloated crowd of intolerable bores.  Meanwhile, the star of the debut Josh Redding’s guitars, fight for existence, striving upwards for sunlight, the perfect metaphor for this album

On the title track ‘LMTH’ and ‘Montezuma’, they wrap up this album's journey. Both are perfectly entwined, ‘LMTH’ being the natural successor to ‘Montezuma’. The former, beset with hazy production and gentle comedown keys, oozes a quiet, nagging pain, one of the underdog feeling undervalued. Dan Popplewell’s voice carries the wide-eyed innocence of Rob Harvey and the stoic depth of Bernard Sumner, winding itself around synth lines that shimmer with Kraftwerk’s elegance.

“It can still happen, let’s make this happen”

As the phrase loops, the song’s true beauty unfurls bittersweet and bruised by doubt. Maybe it won’t happen; maybe it will. But it should. Still, they move forward, unshaken, their credibility intact.

Whereas ‘Montezuma’, a tale of a perfect holiday, becomes bigger and broader through its Hooky-esque bassline. Lyrically, this is comfortably Popplewell’s finest moment to date. Too many writers leap to the feeling of love as a get-rich-quick songwriting scheme. Popplewell takes you on a journey from the bleakness of 9 to 5:

“So, pleased to meet you and what do you do? / I fake all these friendships for cash / It’s dragging me down and it’s stealing my prime”

Then reminds you of why you sell your soul to get there:

“Dream of the horizon / Close your eyes and see, / We lived and died in Montezuma”

The Utopiates have not yet had that leg up in the industry to the next level they deserve. A concept that has driven so much of this album’s defiance may also be the one that sees them fade away, this album’s other major focus. Their skill at merging the bitter and the hopeful here is utterly mesmeric. It defines the times we live in for so many under 40. Go to uni, get a job, oh, here’s your graduate tax, and there are no houses. Write two good albums, guess what, you're not a nepo baby, so fuck off. How The Utopiates steadied their course to incorporate the beauty of LMTH, the dreamlike Montezuma, or the unifying New Order-meets-Depeche-Mode brilliance of The Path is a triumph of the human spirit.

The Utopiates are still waiting for the industry to recognise the music they deserve. That frustration fuels much of this record’s defiance, yet it also lingers as its greatest threat. This is an album caught between belief and burnout, bitterness and hope. In that tension, they capture something painfully familiar for so many under 40: do everything right, follow every rule, and still find the finish line moved further away. Go to uni, get a job, oh, here’s your graduate tax, and there are no houses. Write two good albums, guess what, you're not a nepo baby, so fuck off.

And yet they endure. Through the fragile beauty of LMTH, the sun-drenched escapism of Montezuma, and the unifying, synth-driven surge of The Path, The Utopiates steady their course with remarkable conviction. Whether the wider world finally catches up is another question. But the spirit driving them forward is impossible to ignore.

Rosellas - Beautiful Lonely

Image Credit: Maggie Malyszko, courtesy of Futureproof Promotions

Manchester’s Rosellas released ‘Beautiful Lonely’ last Friday via First Run Records. It’s their lead single from their upcoming EP ‘Shadow Dancing’.

Since the influx of singer-songwriters into the alternative scene over the past decade, the number of lost-soul types writing songs about being lost and searching for something has skyrocketed.

Forlorn? No. Pointless? Yes.

Step forward the Rosellas. They’ve flipped the searching soul genre on its head with racing guitars that create a perpetuating indie euphoria. Their sense of searching is more akin to a quest for glory, no matter the regularity of failure.

As they build their cohesive sound, a coming-of-age spirit emerges, where every day is a new chance to try. The lyrical introduction of “mirror, mirror on the wall” joyously affirms their fairytale spirit.

There will be those who, question whether this band, any band can have a happy ever after in such trying times. They, of course, miss the point in rock n roll. It’s always the journey that matters, not the destination. Upon this indie epic, Rosellas have become utterly undeniable!

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!