THIS IS WAR! – All Hail to the CEO

Artwork courtesy of the band.

Liverpool’s THIS IS WAR! returned at the end of January with their latest single, ‘All Hail To CEO’. The single was recorded at Faktory Studios in Chester with The Verve’s Si Jones producing and Andy Fernihough mastering.

There are moments in some band's careers where a subtle tweak and change of tact change the game for them. The Libertines dropped their 60s flower-pop singles for an English garage-punk take on The Strokes and never looked back. On ‘All Hail The CEO’, it feels as though THIS IS WAR! Have approached a creative switch-up which will catapult them to greater things.

The band have stepped away from their archetypal rock-cum-punk classicism and introduced the post-punk dancefloor licks of Franz Ferdinand and Gang of Four to make them a serious floor-filler outfit.

The early garage riffs of Razorlight remain to carry their loyal following with them on their journey. However, this feels like a lift-off moment. They have a cut-through indie club dancefloor anthem to ram down the throats of any top 10 chart.

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming show:

The Lilacs – Hopeless Romantic

Wigan outfit The Lilacs returned last Friday with their new single ‘Hopeless Romantic’.  

Image & artwork courtesy of Fear PR.

Lead guitarist Sam Birchall has moved away from indie anthems with great sensibilities into the trickier realm of forlorn indie. A weariness permeates through, bringing the majesty of The Rifles’ Luke Crowther to the fore. Like Crowther, Birchall maintains a sense of euphoria amid the protagonist’s romantic failures.

Meanwhile, Ollie Anglesa’s vocal taps into Liam Fray circa ‘Mapping The Rendezvous’. Melodic but gravelled, he is emerging as the next indie everyman for the masses to unite behind! With their production adding Blossoms-esque flourishes, The Lilacs are becoming a three-dimensional band that can flesh out anthems with subtle flourishes to hook you in for the long term.

The run of form The Lilacs have had from Vicarage Road to now is making their upcoming tour utterly unmissable.

Click the image below for tickets:

Skylights – Time To Let Things Go

On February 9th, Leeds’ unsung heroes Skylights will return with their new single ‘Time To Let Things Go‘. The single will be released as a 7” CD via the impeccable 42’s Records.

*banner image courtesy of 42’s Records. Credit: Johnny Grenda.

Artwork by Painted Papillon Smile. Click the image ot purchase.

Last time out on ‘Rebellion’, Skylights brought their natural inclination to indie euphoria to the precipice of the Pistols’ filth and fury. ‘Time To Let Things Go’ finds them in a much different mood, both sonically and philosophically.

If The Twang had written ‘Took The Fun’ with Embrace, this single's trippy, anthemic joy would have resulted. Rob Scarisbrick’s vocals have Phil Etheridge’s melodic gruffness, allowing for a humbleness to loiter even as they soar to the climax. It gives this tale of self-reflection and positive change the rawness and poignancy of Ken Loach at his best.

Guesting on the record are Julia Violinista on strings and Ian Surgenor on keyboards. Their input cannot be understated. The emotion of Surgenor’s keys in the opening alone are enough to set any bottom lip wobbling. Meanwhile, Violinista’s strings soar with such splendour they’ll have you double checking Youth wasn’t producing the single.

The single has moments of Embrace and Liam Gallagher’s solo-era euphoria. Still, its guitarist Turnbull Smith’s Ashcroft flourishes on the acoustic or the lo-fi Thirteen Senses indie in the outro, which gives it a sheen that spells an even brighter future for the band. Everything about them signifies a band who have no fear. They’ve seen the promised land; it’s up to us to follow them now.

Airflo - Swansong

Bristol-based four-piece Airflo have returned with their new single ‘Swansong’. It was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Junkyard Studios, Newport, by Richard Jackson (Pretty Vicious, The Automatic, Super Furry Animals).

*banner image credit: Yushy

Image

Their debut single, ‘Drift Away', offered romantic escapism that even the coldest and oldest of souls couldn’t refrain from feeling like teenagers again. Buoyant and carefree, it was the blueprint for debut indie singles.

If ‘Drift Away’ and ‘Swansong’ were one movie, then ‘Swansong’ would be the poetic closing moments of a coming-of-age story, where the protagonists say goodbye to a friend or lover as the inevitably of real life appears. Both songs make each other better. The “I just want to listen whilst I drift away with you”, which felt like a live-for-the-moment release last September, is now coupled with the nostalgic agony of ‘Swansong’.  

Lyrically, it’s inherently romantic, but such is the youthful power of Cam Artigan’s vocal that images of friendships Evan and Seth, Molly and Amy, or Otis and Eric materialise just as easily.  Artigan’s vocal is beset with angelic innocence that will induce daydreams of those formative relationships that burned the brightest and fizzled out the quickest.

Although a song of looking back, sonically, it lands in you in the final moments of a significant relationship. The build is gentle but always intense, akin to the tentative footsteps taken on the walk home from a break-up. The knowingness that, once home, it's gone forever, which, through James Wilson’s climatic howling guitars, comes with devastating effect.

However, Wilson’s lyrics are charming and mature, easing the pain and allowing the fondness to creep back again. With only two songs released, Wilson’s songwriting has set sail towards greatness. Long may it sail!

Click the image below for tickets to see Airflo at This Feeling’s Big In 2024:

The Crooks - In The Meantime

It’s been two years since The Crooks split. The Chesterfield band carried a magnitude before that, that those two years feel like a generation has passed. With every good single you’d hear from other bands, the nagging knowledge that The Crooks had better ones ate away at the soul.

*banner image courtesy of the band and This Feeling.

Last time out, ‘I Wonder’. The stars aligned. All the promise, hope, and talent forged into something vital and, crucially, their own. The Oasis influences began to fade, and emerging was not just a great band but one that could carry the scene back to the dizzying heights it deserves.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

Yet.

Then, on January 16th, the band emerged on social media with:

Rumours flew. What about Jacko? We’ve seen with Vida’s reformation that it’s not the same without Jamie Pollock. Cue this:

When The Crooks left us in 2021, society wasn’t exactly on an upward curve, but it was easier. It’s now become about survival- existing. Step forward ‘In The Meantime’ with its colossal wall of sound and howling guitars to change the narrative.

Many bands write clarion calls and escapist anthems, but few can write songs about stepping off the line in the sand. This is one. As Jacko decrees, "We’re the same inside, forced to fight" the urge to advance toward change feels possible once again.

‘In The Meantime’ feels like redemption for the band and more like salvation for the fans. The juggernaut may have docked for two years, but it’s clear now that the engines are raring to go once again.

Cast – Faraway

Liverpool’s iconic Cast returned this month with their new single ‘Far Away’. The lead single from their upcoming album ‘Love Is The Call’ (released Feb 16th) was recorded at Space Mountain Studios with Youth (Shed Seven / Embrace) in Spain.

*Image and artwork are courtesy of Fear PR.

Pre-order ‘Love Is The Call’ here.

2017’s ‘Kick Up The Dust’ felt like a big moment for Cast. Frontman and songwriter John Power rediscovered his purity of songwriting on ‘Further Down The Road’ and ‘How Can We Lose’. Liam ‘Skin’ Tyson’s live magic began to filter through on the title track, but, crucially, Power and Tyson’s melodies began to touch hearts on ‘Baby Blue Eyes and ‘Paper Chains’.

What Cast tapped into seven years ago has been doubled down on ‘Faraway’. The melody is so instant you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for a lost B-side circa ‘Mother’s Nature Call’. Power’s has matured into a gravel-tinged angelic career best. It breeds harmony and a sense of peace throughout this exploration of a world that doesn’t care or listen anymore.

Power’s state of repose filters through into Skin’s playing. The freeness of his guitar glistens on horizons as far as the eye can see, but crucially, they infect the mind further.   The spirit of the West Coast, Shack, and Richard Hawley’s romanticism ooze through the guitars with a hazy, undeniable reassurance.

It may have been seven years, but that itch was worth waiting for! This Cast classic will demand the best from Liam Gallagher to top on tour this summer!

The Silver Lines – Bound

Birmingham-based band The Silver Lines released their latest single, ‘Bound’, at the backend of 2023 via Ravo Records. Did it stack up to the power of their previous single ‘Cast Away’?

Image & artwork courtesy of The Songbird

At the start of 2023, The Silver Lines released ‘Blow Dry’, which, despite a great ending, would never set the world on fire. Then, on the 18th of August, ‘Cast Away’ was released, and everything began to change. Frontman Dan Ravenscroft found his voice, a desperate rock ‘n’ roll outsider voice for a generation to march alongside into battle with.

Fast forward to the release of ‘Bound’, and Ravenscroft’s vocal is ready to scorch the earth. His ability to inject Jonathan Richman with Brian Molko’s disenfranchised snarl and Joey Ramone’s ebullience is utterly mesmerising.

Ravenscroft is but one man. On ‘Bound’, his brother Joe (guitars), George Vivian (bass) and drummer Kindo confidently step to the fore. Joe’s guitars and Kindo’s drumming, especially, are now beset with colossal power that drags you into their despair before the middle eight soars to the surface to fight again!

There are brief, fleeting, beautiful moments when a band comes along and changes everything. Whether you think this is one is irrelevant. The Silver Lines are going to that special place where sub-cultures, guitars, and being in a gang are the thing to be. Substance is on the horizon and it’s The Silver Lines waving its flag in the name of victory.

Solar Eyes – Let’s Run Away

Birmingham duo Glenn Smyth (Guitars/Vocals/Songwriter) and Sebastian Maynard Francis (Drums/Percussion) are Solar Eyes. This week, they released ‘Solar Eyes’, the latest single from their upcoming self-titled debut album to be released on February 16th via Fierce Panda Records.

Image & artwork courtesy of Sonic PR.

Written last March during their time at the SXSW festival, it witnesses the band taking in their surroundings. Their sci-fi psychedelia has always had a cinematic quality, and, like on ‘Dreaming Of The Moon’ they splice in elements of Americana and classic Spaghetti Western soundtracks.

Morricone’s influence grows around the experimental pop of John Maclean’s The Aliens, and the warped road trips of Primal Scream’s ‘Evil Heat’ as they merge the meanderings of Moon Duo with The Coral’s pop sensibilities.

Smyth’s smoky vocal billows in mystique like all good Western protagonists. It allows for the record's urgency to swell around him joyously. On this showing, their debut album is shaping up to be one of this year’s most eagerly anticipated.

Liam Gallagher & John Squire - Just Another Rainbow

A dream was sparked when John Squire performed with Liam Gallagher at the Knebworth shows in the summer of 2022. ‘Just Another Rainbow’ is the first machination of said dream. Originally written at Squire’s studio in Macclesfield, the pair then took to LA for sessions with Greg Kurstin. The single is released on January 5th via Warner Records.

*banner image courtesy of Fear PR. Credit Tom Oxley.

Artwork courtesy of Fear PR. credit: John Squire & Jamie Hutchinson.

We all know what Liam is bringing. He’s blessed with great vocals and, despite a below-par third solo album, has proven that the fire and magic remain post-Oasis time and time again. For Squire though, he has only written two tracks that have been released. ‘A Beautiful Thing’ proved he had “it”, whereas ‘All For One’ left room for doubt.

So, when Liam’s vocal snarls for the first minute with Squire loitering in the background, the tension building is agonising upon first listen. What is the guitarist of a generation bringing? That pensive stasis soon melts with the rip-roaring Townsend-esque bluesy majesty that follows.

The two giants of the rock ‘n’ roll scene, neither with anything to prove, come armed with more attitude than an Eastenders Christmas special. Liam’s opening delivery prowls like a caged tiger waiting to maul its owners to death. A fete that comes with obligingly when Squire’s background licks explode to the fore with the guttural power of Hendrix via The Who and Peter Green alongside thunderous drums.

Although the track is about disappointment and not getting what you want, their desire to forge this project and be this expansive evokes a beauty unique to rock ‘n’ roll. The urge to reach heavenwards, to kiss galaxies with their psychedelic power, remains as accurate now as it did in ’89 and ’94.

The sense that they have been good for each other in the studio is palpable. Squires playing, sprawling and vast as ever, is given an urgency, a Peter Green and Pete Townsend punchiness that Gallagher has yearned for since ‘Morning Glory’. With a guitarist to match his ability on the mic, once again he can prove he is more than just a snarl. He shows more ethereal and angelic touches to counter the raw power of Squire’s playing, elevating the record to another level.

‘Just Another Rainbow’ is released on the 5th of January. Brace yourselves!

This Rebel – Heartstopper

This Rebel is the lockdown concoction between The Twang’s Phil Etheridge and Liam Gallagher engineer Jon “Simmo” Simcox. The pair first met in 2008 when Simcox was The Twang’s monitor engineer touring the UK. During the pandemic, Simcox sent Etheridge music to write and sing for and ‘Heartstopper’ is the first helping from their self-titled album due for release next March via Jump Cut Records.

Image Credit: Charlotte Simcox. Courtesy of Wasted Youth PR.

In 2019, The Twang released their fifth studio album ‘If Confronted, Just Go Mad’. It was career-defining on several levels. Creatively, it was the best work to date. Perhaps more significantly, its reception didn’t appear to stretch beyond the band's loyal fanbase. Another fine body of work overlooked by the press and radio stations supposedly having the back of our alternative scene heroes.

It would have been easy for The Twang’s frontman, Phil Etheridge, to walk away. On ‘Heartstopper’, he could be forgiven for taking tentative steps. Instead, he delivers a vocal drenched in defiance and lyrics which snipe with venom (“no snakes, just ladders”).

Unrestrained by the industry, the carefree Etheridge from The Twang’s first two albums and the aforementioned ‘If Confronted…’ remerges throwing soulful hooks (“This rebel, aint your level”) to Simcox’s XX-esque music. Together, they’ve made a lo-fi 4am sonic sound like a headline act setting the masses free.

This Rebel have laid ghosts to rest and set hearts racing for the debut album next March.  

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.