LOCK-IN – Red Stripe Remedy

Hertfordshire school friends Lock-In return with the second single from their upcoming debut EP ‘On To The Next’. ‘Red Stripe Remedy’ follows the fan favourite ‘Easy’ and was recorded at Premises Studio in Hackney with Curtis Elvidge producing again.

Images and artwork courtesy of Fear PR and Joe Lowe.

Joe Leek’s harsher and more jagged licks allow the “what if” Graham Coxon joined Two Door Cinema Club to develop joyfully. Where ‘Easy’ tapped into a more melancholic sonic, ‘RSR’ sees Lock-In take another step toward marrying their natural optimism with more serious songwriting.

Every generation has its band(s) tackling the human release from the 9-5. What’s different about Lock-In’s submission to the genre is its emotive poignancy. As frontman Benjy Leak sings “Lost in the 9-5, we only work to stay alive”, it’s tinged with a forlornness not seen with songs of this ilk before. It serves as the perfect reflection of the dire times we’re struggling through. When The Enemy sang ‘We’ll Live And Die’ in these towns, Tom Clarke conjured images of people still brimming with hope despite the decay.  ‘Red Stripe Remedy’, sixteen years later, demonstrates what it’s like to exist in those towns; six for a fiver being one of the only hopes left for so many.

Lock-In, though, are never down for the count. Their introduction of strings and as Leak howls “It’s life, Its Life, It’s life”, a chink of light emerges. Faint, but bright enough to reassure us that we’re not alone.

There are just too many dreams in this wasteland for you to leave us all behind.

Click the image below for tickets to their biggest ever show at Lafayette next April:

The Rifles – The Kids Won’t Stop

East London’s cult heroes The Rifles have returned with their first new single in seven years. ‘The Kids Won’t Stop’ was released on the 24th of November via Cooking Vinyl. It’s the first single from the upcoming album ‘Love Your Neighbour’ and is due for release on April 26th, 2024.

*image and artwork courtesy of Fear PR.

Pre-order ‘Love Your Neighbour’ here.

Despite the long absence of new material, the band has proved their worth creatively with the stunning Abbey Road acoustic album, and frontman Joel Stoker’s recent solo album (The Undertow) has also come in for high praise. Will the new single stack up?

Forty Seconds in and Grant Marsh’s archetypal drum rolls ignite the band's glory days. When The Rifles catch fire like this, few can match their emotive spirit. The band adopts a mature songwriting style, adopting aspects of the Madness classic ‘The Liberty of Norton Folgate’ in this reflective piece.

With a seven-year hiatus in the studio and continued success on the live circuit, The Rifles could be forgiven for being out of touch with the people on this new helping. Alas, Stoker’s lyrics easily tap into everyday life, portraying the hectic pace that ordinary folk must endure. Where ‘No Love Lost’ would have hit full throttle with this discourse, the band's twenty-year wisdom chimes, allowing space to reflect upon what’s important amid the chaos. It’s here the song's true beauty emerges. The “ba la la” and Luke Crowther’s brief solo serve as a reminder the simple things are the best, and must be grasped now youth is fading in the rearview mirror.

Marrying middle age with the riotous sonic fans have come to love could have been tricky. Perhaps it’s the reason for a seven-year break? Whatever the reason, The Rifles have navigated it with joy and contentment, which will keep fans happy and any leather-clad motorbike crisis at bay. As such, ‘Love Your Neighbour’ has become one of 2024’s most eagerly anticipated albums.  

The Utopiates – Love Pill

2023 breakout band The Utopiates are set to release their new single ‘Love Pill’ on November 15th. It’s the first release from their second album which will be out in the new year. After the critical acclaim of May’s debut album ‘The Sun Also Rises’ there are big shoes to fill.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

As dawn breaks on their ‘The Sun Also Rises’ success, ‘Love Pill’ strides forward with bags full of poolside charm and romance. Hints of MGMT and Friendly Fires electronic 00s debuts caress this ode to frontman Dan Popplewell’s better half.

Their debut album was everything a debut should be. Desperate to be heard, a statement of intent, a life’s journey oozing out of young men yearning to be gang for life. ‘Love Pill’, however, witnesses the band maturing, pulling from 80s pop, sentimental lyrics, and nu-rave to conjure a genuinely touching moment of alt-pop.

The Utopiates are currently on tour with The Pigeon Detectives; you’d be foolish to miss them. To further whet your appetite, a seven-minute extended version of ‘Love Pill’ will drop in the new year.

BLAB – Full Grown

Southend DIY artist BLAB has returned with her new single ‘Full Grown’ via Cool Thing Records (Asylums / Suspects). Self-produced, largely at home in her bedroom, writer and producer Fran Murray follows the playfully destructive ‘Hate Love, Make Love’ released in September. Banner image courtesy of James Mannion.

Artwork courtesy of Frances Murray.

Sonically a world away from ‘Hate Love, Make Love’, BLAB turns her hand to the kind of downtempo indie that her Essex mentor Get Cape Wear Cape Fly! has become so masterful at. Eloquent guitars build a realm of isolation and tense questioning of life’s meaning.

Despite the melancholy, BLAB retains her archetypal playfulness:

“I’m buying vegetables trying not to think about getting older / dying alone”

The sardonic morbidity pulls from peak Kate Nash and Morrissey as she details the futility of life in an economy built by boomers, for boomers. Every time the despair threatens to swell beyond repair, BLAB pulls back with a charm and sarcastic couplet to restore a flicker of hope.

The aching pessimism of a generation is laid bare in a fine slice of alt-pop. Coupled with her punk classic ‘Eton Mess’ and the beats-driven angst of ‘Hate Love, Make Love’, Murray is rapidly on her way to becoming one of the voices of her generation.

Maze - Actions

South London’s Maze release their new single ‘Actions’ today. It’s the first new music since 2022’s debut album ‘Chaos Interrupted’.

‘Chaos Interrupted’ was a piece of ragged glory which reimagined the sweeping orchestral peaks of Britpop's finest singles with great skiller and bigger heart. ‘Actions’ picks up where they left off with the Britpop-tinged orchestration and psyche meanderings.

Frontman Gary Davies’ smoky drawl lends the record a defiance and a wisdom which feels like a blissful line in the sand. The orchestration slides from the bombast of The Seahorses to the carefree abandon of The Space Monkeys . Davies’ vocal alongside this majesty as the beauty of The Skinner Brothers making a Shed Seven record.

As Davies’ vocal of “actions speak louder than words” loops, ‘Actions’ begins to take on a hymn-like quality. It’s not just uplifting the soul; it’s setting it free to a higher plane. A truly beautiful moment amid a world falling apart at the seams.

Click the image below for tickets to see Maze support Marseille at Water Rats

Colour TV – You Treat This Place Like A Hotel

The Southwest band of brothers returned on Monday with a new lineup and a new single. ‘You Treat This Place Like A Hotel’ with new bass player Chris Harwood in tow, was released via Tip Top Recordings and is taken from their upcoming third EP.

Artwork & images courtesy of the band.

It’s been quite the 2023 for indie outfit. ‘Christopher’s Halo’ fizzed with Suede’s brooding intensity, whilst ‘Vanilla’ was blessed with enough volatility to form and end a cult in 24 hours.  ‘YTTPLAH’ comes as somewhat of a shock with its gentle atmosphere.

To date, Frontman Sam Durneen has been forging his way into the history books alongside Morrissey and Brett Anderson as another magnetic poet dripping in sexuality and tormented charisma. Here, he adopts a falsetto vocal and a calmer cadence which lends the discourse of rejection and isolation an eerie eloquence.

His new style is met by a gentler sonic on Jack Yeo and James Elliot’s guitars. Together they conjure a delicate moment of social and romantic precariousness worthy of ‘The Perks of Being A Wallflower’. The lighter licks inject the math rock scene of the late 00s with an emotional power it always sorely lacked.

With the heart of 00s indie outcasts Polytechnic and the soul of The Crookes, Colour TV have flipped their identity on its head in a moment of sensual maudlin genius. The forlorn protagonist's plight is one that teenage hearts cannot fail to clutch as their own.

Softer in tone but no less impactful. Colour TV’s third EP promises to be quite something.

THIS IS WAR - Laces

Liverpool’s prolific THIS IS WAR are back with their new single ‘Laces’.

In 2022, the band set out to release a single a month. There were moments to enjoy in them all but they peaked when the urgency and danger levels stepped up on ‘Exile Poet’, ‘Pyramids’ and ‘Crossfire Fever’.

Artwork courtesy of the band.

When their EP ‘Rotten’ dropped this year the expectation of distorted bluesy-cum-post punk anthems grew. To an extent, on ‘Rotten’ and ‘Waves Of Love’ this febrile need was met. However, both had a brevity that wasn’t present previously. Then, on ‘Promised Land’, they stripped back the aggression to show a lighter, but no less meaningful side of their arsenal.

Allowing space for their talents to percolate has continued on ‘Laces’. Frontman Paul Carden’s reflective lyrics stomp toward unknown pastures, searching for meaning. It allows the guitars to jangle with the chaotic hope of early Razorlight the romanticism for youth of Pete Townsend.

Despite the sonic breathing space, masterfully, the urgency of 2022 is back. There’s a vitality to every aspect of this record that demands teenage obsession!

Megan Wyn – Familiar Faces

Manchester-based singer-songwriter Megan Wyn releases her new single ‘Familiar Faces’ today. Wyn wrote the song with writing and Producer partner Alex Quinn at the start of the summer. Can it match the quality of the debut single ‘You Don’t Get It’. Banner image courtesy of Sam Crowston.

Artwork courtesy of SM MGMT

Where ‘You Don’t Get It’ charted a coming-of-age journey from an isolated and melancholic position, ‘Familiar Faces’ lands Wyn right into the heart of relationship woes that have yet to be fully overcome.

Everyone writes about troubled relationships. The key to people caring is integrity and Wyn has it spades here. There’s a sense that the creative process has been obsessed over as much as the pain from it’s jealous muse. The guttural snap delivery of “darling I’d do anything for you” lands you in the white heat of a relationship's destructive pattern. It’s devastating emotionally but creatively astonishing. It’s supplanted by the more gentle “all these years”, acting as reluctant acceptance that all the efforts have been in vain.

Two singles in and Wyn is defining her identity with a clarity many artists struggle to find until album number three. Little Blossoms via Gerry Cinnamon guitar flourishes sprinkle a shimmer over country-tinged-indie sonic. it elevates her identity with a clarity many struggle to find until album number three, let alone single number two.

Wyn has followed up on her debut single with yet another single-of-the-year contender. A supreme talent not to be missed!

Click the image below for tickets to Wyn’s headline shows in Manchester and Liverpool:

Lissy Taylor - Minds A Riot

Stoke via Manchester songwriter Lissy Taylor returned mid-September with her new single ‘Minds A Riot’. Recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios with Tayte Nickols producing, it follows the blistering ‘Feel For Me’.

*banner image courtesy of Steve Holdway

Photo courtesy of Paul Gallagher

‘Minds A Riot’ is not your usual Abbey Road Studios affair. This isn’t Noel Gallagher with a 32-piece orchestra or the Beatles groundbreaking work on ‘Come Together’. This is a record determined to obliterate all that stands in its way.

Last time out on ‘Feel For Me’, Taylor proved she had stadium-sized anthems. ‘Minds A Riot’ is its creative precursor. The kind that documentaries will rewind to when examining how the glass ceiling was smashed.

The guitars launch into a violent spin, which takes breath only to scorch the earth again. The guitars firing sonic are fraught with danger and agitation as Taylor squares up to inner turmoil and isolation. Only the Stevie Knicks-esque breakdown allows a comfortable breath to be drawn, but only in the knowledge that the real pain and anguish is yet to be unleashed.  

Amid the rage, Taylor howls, “Love is pain / Pain is Art” to serve as a firm reminder that not being okay is okay. It gives her remarkable songwriting depth, considering she’s only three years into her journey.

Calvacde – Used To Know Me

East London’s Calvacade returned recently with their latest single ‘Used To Know Me’. After a weekend in bed reading Jeff Vander Meer’s The Southern Reach trilogy, frontman Connor Duggan was inspired to pen this reflective tale.

Aching guitars race out into the unknown with a recklessness that younger generations yearn for and older ones raise a wry smile to. Steve Norris’ drumming keeps them apace with Milburn hi-hats and Rifles-esque drum rolls, which explode into life alongside Jack Campbell’s bombastic guitars. United, a sense of character abandonment grows. As though, after a brutal self-examination of life’s missed chances, a new positive attitude will grab them by the horns the second time around.

Through Duggan, the protagonist's anguish and resentment ooze out with tinges of Matthew Murphy's (The Wombats) and Blaine Harrison’s (Mystery Jets) sense of romanticism. Duggan also possesses a snarl which catapults himself and the band away from pastiche into a truly exciting realm. It allows fragility and vulnerability to dissipate to adventure and progress and back again.

Despite the inner turmoil, Calvacade are mastering their creativity and harnessing an identity few would want to miss.

Vega Rally - Back At It Again

West Yorkshire-born songwriter, guitarist, and producer extraordinaire Vega Rally is back with a new EP his new EP, ‘This Moment’ at midnight. We have heard the track ‘Back At It Again’ courtesy of This Feeling. Banner image courtesy of Debbie Ellis Photography.

Rally’s guitars root themselves in the baggy mod beauty of The Charlatans’ ‘Some Friendly’ and ‘Between 10th & 11th’. The guitar lines are so pure your soul will cleanse itself by the midpoint. Accompanying the crisp, meandering guitar lines is a career-best vocal. Effortlessly gliding from the softer early Burgess cuteness to the smoky drag of Ian Brown’s debut ‘Unfinished Monkey Business’.

Everything culminates with a piano loop to soundtrack any life worth living. Rally taps into what set hearts racing back in ‘88 and redefines what they can be. His slower groove allows something more eloquent to emerge, conjuring images of young souls innocently entering a world they grew up with. His playing pushes on, allowing said characters to crystalise their dreams.

Rally’s grooves have been eye-catching to date. They’ve gone to a place that no one can deny now. Emotively brilliant! ‘Back At It Again’ is out at midnight, check back tomorrow to listen.

Matt Edible & The Obtuse Angles – Mirror Shoes

“The best thing out of Hull since the Humber Bridge!”

Josh T. Pearson

Hull’s Matt Edible (The Holy Orders / Kingmaker) has returned with his new single ‘Mirror Shoes’. Written and recorded by Edible at home, it was released on the 13th of September via Inedible Records.

image & artwork courtesy of the band.

Last time out, Edible strayed from Mark Hollis to William Blake to Darren Heyman on his mercurial debut album ‘Stargazing’. ‘Mirror Shoes’, sonically, marks a return to something far less challenging but equally as rewarding.

His guitars land between the big booming riffs of The Black Keys and the fuzzed wonderment of the Flaming Lips on this glam rock gem. Stomping with glitches, his protagonist marauds through society like a John Niven character at peak drug-fuelled narcissism.

Edible has reimagined ‘Dedicated Follower of Fashion’ for a modern age snorting, Madri drinking, brown leather and stonewash jean wearing Liz Truss adorning buffoon. It’s as hilarious as it is depressing, but when his solo lands, the pain subsides. Edible’s playing, alongside the joyous backing vocals, become a moment of alt-pop magic that 2023 so desperately needed!

‘Mirror Shoes’ is taken from the upcoming second album which is a now a drool-worthy prospect.

The Q-Days – Close Your Eyes

Before their triumphant home city show at Southend’s Chinnerys, The Q-Days released their second single, ‘Close Your Eyes’. It follows the celestial shoegaze debut ‘Underboard’; can it match its quality?

Image & artwork courtesy of Colossal Artists.

Where ‘Underboard’ grooved with an undercurrent of colossal, ‘Close Your Eyes’ bursts at the seams with rock ‘n’ roll ambition. The raw power of Noel Gallagher’s guitars on ‘Bring It On Down’ drive out to the cosmos with Keith Richards guiding them to joyous destruction.

Frontman Zac Mahoney’s vocal adds an explorative poetic rumble to the proceedings. It recalls U2 on their atmospheric classic ‘Achtung Baby’. This is anchored by Ryan-Benson Smith’s ferocious drumming and Zac Christie-King’s crunching basslines to land the single into the territory of The Walkmen’s ‘The Rat’.

Two singles and the Southend via Brighton outfit have raced past potential upstarts to main-stage warriors with their axe-wielding prowess.

Usual Affairs – Suppressant Crescent

Edinburgh four-piece Usual Affairs are back with their new single ‘Suppressant Crescent’. It follows the clarion call ‘Elementary to Penitentiary’ and an angelic search for  ‘Wonderland (Same Old Story). Banner image courtesy Redwood Streets.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

Roaring to life with killer basslines worthy of The Reytons and early Reverend & The Makers, they set a curse fraught with danger. Themes of addiction spiralling out of control arise as

Jack Cordey guitar solo transcends music. His artful reflection of life pressures burrowing its talons into the soul resembles a downtempo ‘Bring It On Down’. It forges a breed of despair mired in fog with seemingly no way out.

Whilst the sonic pulls from various great guitar eras, forging its heavyweight path are the lyrics. This is a social commentary of the highest order. Laying bare the initial innocence of drug taking for a weekend release (“The week is finished and Rudi says  / I’m up for gettin' off my head”) soon descends into the brutality of it all:

“High end knock offs and trefoils / Another head bounced off the soil”

Kids not thinking (“This place has no accreditation / Brain cells killed for the duration / Girls take snaps for their reputation / Boys take drugs for the cavitation”) are given a stark warning:

“You’ve got work in an hour n a half / And the gin is fresh on yer scarf / Does your weekend hide the cracks / Dead end job and a beaten track”

The finest social comment of 2023!

The Silver Lines – Cast Away

Birmingham four-piece The Silver Lines recently released the single ‘Cast Away’ via ADR Records. It follows the riff-tastic ‘Blow Dry’, can ‘Cast Away’ match its power?

Image & artwork courtesy of Away Day Records.

Frontman Dan Ravenscroft puts in a vocal delivery that puts him on the map! Pulling from Frank Turner’s desperation, Jonathan Richman’s drawl, and a Joey Ramone or Peter Hayes (BRMC) coolness, Ravenscroft puts in a career-best performance.

Lyrically, the band tackle feeling alone in a foreign land. Through frontman Dan, they build tension and a sense of isolation that could lead to darker realms. In contrast, Joe’s guitars serve the freeing nature of anonymity in a big city. His sonic races away at every opportunity, providing rock ‘n’ roll with its new dos of hedonism.

It‘s five years since their debut single, the direct underground ‘Roamer’; The Silver Lines now attack from all angles. They play with form, texture, and vocal cadence. They’re now a creative force to be reckoned with.

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming tour:

Abbey Moon – Getaway Car

London-based Abbey Moon have released their second single ‘Getaway Car’ via Lifejacket Records. Banner image courtesy of Albert Jagger.

Artwork courtesy of the band.

All bands should write coming-of-age stories. It gives a generation energy and purpose that they cling to and look back knowing they grasped life at its most fertile stage. How they write these tales is where a band’s skill comes into play, and Abbey Moon show just how adroit they are. Their unique take is told from the perspective of an older man in the local pub.

Bursting into life as though Johnny Marr has joined The La’s, our protagonist “nurses a fosters top” and serves up one of the finest choruses of 2023:

“Get a getaway car / leave the engine running / Get a getaway car / because the worlds just turning / Get a getaway car / got ambition burning / Get a getaway car / and don’t stop learning”

As summer draws to a close, dreams realised fade into the ether, and new crossroads emerge. Career or higher education paths to be taken, friends depart, and life moves on. If this chorus doesn’t ring true in your hearts, then it will be a miserable experience.

Frontman Niall Rowan’s deep vocal offsets the sun-kissed jangle to establish a new era for popular indie music. He’s brought back a clash of styles, the merest snarls to counter the luscious sonic surrounding him. This added depth gives the protagonist’s narrative a richer texture in the second verse. When he leaves the pub, you can feel sad eyes gazing on knowing he is off to rue a life missed or, at best, past its prime.

Two singles in and Abbey Moon are already channelling the indie folk of Tom Williams, the escapist nature of Springsteen, and Johnny Marr. Their getaway car will surely arrive at big stages sooner rather than later.

The White Roses - If I Could

Yorkshire outfit The White Roses follow up the death or glory ‘This Town’ with their latest single ‘If I Could’. It was recorded at Manchester’s Mad Fox Studios with Sugarhouse mixing and The Rookery on mastering duty.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band

Bands three singles in can be forgiven for ragged edges, not The White Roses. With every release comes a clearer vision of mainstage indie-pop to reel in the casual fan and those on the fringes. This time-out, unrequited love forms the bedrock of their swashbuckling indie.

Jack Maw’s guitars range from the angelic lovesick that gets our hopeful protagonist out of bed each day to those bristling with agitated defeat in the early parts. Their hope disintegrates into unadulterated anguish during Maw’s solo.

The White Roses will be recording at Abbey Road Studios on their next single. In this form, those hallowed walls could witness yet another great moment.

Hazy Sundays – Off The Cuff

Glasgow four-piece Hazy Sundays follow the dynamite double a-side release of ‘Like To Be’ and ‘Had Enough Of It’ with their new single ‘Off The Cuff’.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band

Picking up where they left off, ‘Off The Cuff’ is another blistering rock ‘n roll number. Frontman Shaun Kenny continues his rise to stardom by spitting venom like a young Tom Meighan with the melodic instincts of Miles Kane.

His snarling attitude allows lead guitarist Mark Devlin to hiss through the verses before blowing a hole into the sun with his intoxicating solo. Devlin serves up the sound of a band of brothers fighting the world. They might not always win, but they’ll retire with better stories than you.

With every release Hazy Sundays are becoming a serious force to reckon with. Their swirling rock ‘n’ roll is besieged with debauchery and hysteria to revitalise the soul.

The Shed Project – Ghost Town

Bolton outfit The Shed Project are back with their new single ‘Ghost Town’. The song is taken from their upcoming sophomore album ‘Our Fear Is Their Power’ due for release in October. It was recorded at Ivy Studio and produced by Danny Heyes.

On the previous single, ‘Our Fear Is There Power’ The Shed Project showed their political teeth by snarling at the oppressive Johnson government. Two Prime Ministers later, they release a deeply personal and saddened exploration of their hometown Bolton.

Artwork courtesy of the band.

A baggy update on The Specials ska classic, they countenance the notion of “levelling up” by highlighting increased homelessness, poverty, and race to the bottom across all industries. Their despair is lit up by sunlit guitar licks and frontman Roy Feltcher’s angelic vocals. It's as fine a juxtaposition as you’ll hear this year.

The pain and anguish in the synths mid-point brings a poignancy that will make even the most hardened of Tory haters shudder. Their harrowing nature is the sound of a town’s soul ebbing away seemingly unretrievable.

‘Ghost Town’ is their most immediate and urgent work to date. It’s blessed with a directness that is certain to grip the millions yearning for change. Furthermore, it makes their second album one of the most eagerly anticipated of 2023.

Marseille - Devil’s Gonna Get You

Marseille release their new single ‘This Dream Of Mine’ today via Bubblebrain Records. Accompanying it is the b-side ‘Devil’s Gonna Get You’. It marks a departure from the other jingle-jangle tracks on the EP, but can the new sound stack up in quality?

Image & artwork courtesy of Songbird PR.

In most bands, the singer and lead guitarist capture the limelight. That has often been the case in Will Brown and Joe Labrum, but bassist Felix Moxey and drummer Tom Spray emerge from the shadows to share the limelight.

Moxey’s basslines bring the hedonistic jams of The Verve’s ‘Gravity Grave’ and ‘Life’s An Ocean’ to life once more. Beset with the devil, they ooze danger and throb with potential destruction. Meanwhile, Spray’s drumming and percussion create a dystopian nightmare for Brown and Labrum to sprinkle their magic over.

The grooving power of this record is astonishing. Labrum drifts in and out with McCabe-esque noodling or fleeting blasts of Squire whilst Brown delivers an Ashcroft-like fire vocally.

‘The Dream Of Mine’ EP is a collection of three superb jingle-jangle singles and this dysfunctional psychedelic juggernaut. It puts them in the league of Pastel and The Institutes. Something powerful is afoot on the UK underground scene and it’s a joy to witness it.