Marseille – Fever

Derbyshire’s Marseille are back with their new single ‘Fever’. Released on the 17th October (Echo Bass Records), it was written by frontman Will Brown and produced by Wolf Alice cohort Michael Smith.

*image & artwork credit: Anya Maya Photography

Back in January, time on ‘History’, Marseille had a sense of destiny about them. Sonically staring over a psychedelic horizon and proclaiming it their own. ‘Fever’ feels more like the prequel to said glory as the guitars drive forward with shoegaze's exploration.

The added layer of synths and production has given their rock classicism a fresher take. It allows yet more mysticism to swirl around Joe Labrum and Lennon Hall’s forever-rising aura as the nation's best guitarists.

Rock ‘n’ roll’s rules are unwritten, but clear. They state, your frontman must be the bollocks. Step forward Will Brown. He induces melody when, for the most part, all around him is expansive and otherworldly. Then, after the jagged edges nod to The Verve’s ‘The Rolling People’, he unfurls one of the genre’s greatest howls. Guttural, demonic, and utterly unhinged, his vocal bruises its way through the ether, harvesting the light of mortal souls.

November sees Marseille back out on tour, and on this showing, it’s not to be missed!

Been Stellar – Always On My Mind

At the end of August, New York’s Been Stellar released their latest single ‘Always On My Mind’. It’s taken from their latest EP ‘Breakaway’ released in late September via Dirty Hit Records.

Not resting on the laurels of last year's debut album, Been Stellar has released three singles to start 2025. Previous releases ‘Adored’ and ‘Breakaway’ both tapped into late 90s early 00s alt-rock influences, and this is no different.

Fuzzy guitars and Sam Solcrum’s vocals, which stray from the purity of Matthew Caws (Nada Surf) and the Kirby James Fairchild (Grandaddy), light up this perfect slice of alt-pop. Then, in the climactic stages, they reignite the poetic fires of Seafood, My Vitriol, and early Idlewild.

Anchoring the sonic is an intense protagonist lost in the throes of love, paranoia, and anxiety. As Slocum decrees, “I need you, I want you because you’re always on my mind”, images of a soul on the edge of a downward spiral flood the senses.

A sublime alt-rock journey that drifts with the carefree spirit of youth before igniting in a burst of euphoric intensity at its climactic peak. After bursting onto the scene in 2024, Been Stellar has written a blueprint in 2025 on how to stay relevant in such a fast-moving world.

The Utopiates - Let’s Make This Happen

This month sees London-based outfit The Utopiates release the title track from their upcoming album ‘Let’s Make This Happen’ (coming March ‘26). Issued via V2 Records, it follows last month’s divine ‘Montezuma’.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

The Utopiates have always had a bullishness to them, despite the groove-laden baggy influences of their first album or the 00s NYC vibe of their recent singles. Here, it emerges coolly and calmly on this ode to self-belief in the last chance saloon.

Musically and spiritually, ‘Let’s Make This Happen’ feels like the natural successor to their last single from ‘Montezuma’. The hazy perfection of that earlier track has drifted back home, recharged and restless. Now, they step into the faceless sprawl of London, ready to carve their path on their own dreamy, self-assured terms.

There’s a kind of pain here - a beautiful, stubborn ache that draws us to the underdog. It spills from them effortlessly; that quiet defiance we so often mistake for heroism, and rightly so. 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. In another time, with Lammo or John Kennedy behind them, they’d be headlining academy stages, their names inked into flyers and hearts.

But alas, the game has again changed, or perhaps gone entirely. And so, they spiral, beautifully out of sync, refusing to march to anyone else’s beat.

Pablo Carrizo – Bit of Me

Rising Hull starlet Pablo Carizzo recently released his third single, ‘Bit of Me’, via M. A. Promotions.

*banner image credit: Hayden Bell

Artwork credit: Alfie Stanford 

Like a lost classic from The Inbetweeners or Gavin & Stacey, ‘Bit of Me’ waltzes through 00s indie with charm and style, evoking memories of Converse stomping sticky floors and shouting ‘laaaandon’ to Jamie T.

The charming end of The Coral’s singles and Zutons links arms with the Violent Femmes on a sonic dalliance for indie kids to stomp feet and spill cider once again. His acoustic solo lifts this beyond 00s rehash with a skill level that demands respect.

Meanwhile, Carizzo’s breathy and soulful vocal toys with cadence a la Jack Penate’s debut to amp the allure. It demonstrates a wisdom and risk-taking approach that far exceeds his fledgling status. Easy to see why This Feeling tipped him back in January

Tuesday Night Whites - Time

Lancashire’s Tuesday Night Whites on the 19th September. Produced by Tom Hale, it was recorded at the now-defunct All Silk Recording Studio.

*banner image credit: Liam Maxwell

As The K’s announce their huge shows at Castleford Bowl and Halifax Piece Hall, the indie doors open wider. Emerging from the shadows, with The K’s songwriting style emblazoned across their hearts is ‘Time’.

An intro blessed with youth’s desire to break free is met with frontman Ollie’s most urgent vocal to date. Together, they capture a generation straining at the leash to be given their shot at glory.

Jack and Nathan’s guitars lean heavily into Ryan Breslin (The K’s) enthralling style, allowing an immediacy to rise up. Death-defying, desperate, and brilliant, these licks are going to catapult the band into a world that The K’s have opened for so many. Come one, come all. Bands. Are. Back!

The Cases – Leaving Behind

Preston outfit The Cases released their latest single ‘Leaving Behind’ last week. Recorded at Kempston Street Studios, it was produced by Chris Taylor (The Courteeners, The Coral, The Lathums.

*banner image credit: Izzy Scott

This autumn sees the band support The Lilacs, Arkayla, and travel to Sweden’s Viva Sounds. They’re a band on an upward curve in a hurry. This is reflected in their condensed intro on this ode to letting go.

Frontman Harry’s vocal cadence dances with a kind of youthful mischief, cleverly disguising the heartache woven through the lyrics. From the sting of unrequited love to the ache of rejection and the simmer of quiet resentment, The Cases channel the raw, tangled emotions of adolescence. Through Harry and Will’s guitars, they craft a build that feels less like a song and more like a rite of passage, a short, aching crescendo that doesn’t just echo teen angst, but exorcises it.

It may be a simple song with minimal thrills, but they do it well. They deserve their shot this fall, watch them take it.

The Utopiates - Montezuma

The Utopiates released their latest single, ‘Montezuma’, at the end of July via V2 Records. It’s the fourth single from the upcoming second album due in early 2026.

The previous three singles have taken the band on a journey away from the elegant baggy grooves of their debut album. ‘Neighbourhood’ and ‘Reputation’ took them to NYC and Nu-rave, whilst ‘Evanescent’ became their most left-field track to date with its Skint & Demoralised-esque spoken word.

Banner image & artwork courtesy of the band.

On ‘Montezuma’, the flirtations with LCD Soundsystem, Tom Vek, and The Rapture chill out and mesh with the effortlessness of the debut album. The bassline has the funk of those above but has been given Peter Hook’s iconic dose of bliss.  

The keys glisten on sun-kissed waves lapping over pristine beaches, allowing frontman Daniel Popplewell to paint pictures of love in technicolour. 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 may be in a lazy mode sonically here, but the creativity at play is making next year’s album a drool-worthy prospect.

Holy Youth Movement – Fearless

Bristol’s Holy Youth Movement have returned with their new single ‘Fearless’. It was produced and mixed by the legendary Jagz Kooner( Sabres Of Paradise/ Primal Scream / Andrew Weatherall) at his Stone Circle Studio.

*banner image credit: Alan Wells

Previous releases have conjured a mesh of Primal Scream and Kasabian. Intoxicating as they have been, in truth, they lacked their own presence to catapult them to the big time.

Step forward, ‘Fearless’.

The sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll of their previous work remain strong as they finally tip over into club classic territory. It’s a realm so many bands flirt with; few have the confidence or the skill to take the plunge, leaving it to others to remix.

Not HYM!

Frontman Tom Newman strikes a poignant tone in his delivery, whilst Tom “Schmidt” Smith’s synths distil the ecstatic joy of Underworld’s ‘Rez’ into a sensational hook. Whilst the gas has been stepped off, the potency remains prominent. The out-and-out club sonic has delicate guitars chiming with the lightest of touches, and basslines destined to be the catalyst for success.

As we approach closing party season, ‘Fearless’ is set to soundtrack lifelong memories and love-fuelled friendships with the skittish synths and defiant vocals soaring through night skies.

 Click the image to buy the hit debut novel from Wrestletalk’s Oli Davis.

All The Young - Bad Blood

Cult icons All The Young have released their second single of 2025. ‘Bad Blood’ was self-released on the 13th June and follows the instant classic ‘Demons’.

‘Demons’ was a deeply personal record, one that examined the relationship of a rock n roll partner. This confessional style continues on ‘Bad Blood’ as they explore the break-up of lead guitarist Tom Crompton’s former band.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

Poignant guitars shimmer with echoes of the past as Dooley’s vocal searches the most agonising moments of the fallout. Although not technically about All The Young, it’ll be hard for fans to escape that feeling.

The notion that the third album has to be the masterpiece is probably a bit alien in 2025. For those like All The Young who straddle different eras, it’s still worth striving for. Something seemingly on their mind when Crompton’s solo comes. In both 2010 and 2022, we suspect they would have unleashed a wall of sound at this point. Instead, they unfurl a lighter, almost ethereal but warped moment of majesty to light up yesteryear’s torment.

Dooley’s vocal cadence is nothing short of masterful in 2025. Knowing when to refrain, when to hit the power of ‘Welcome Home’, and when to let his penchant for emotive melody to soar. He tugs on the heartstrings as he lets some couplets fade, and ramps up the bitterness in others when he steps on the gas.

If 2022’s ‘Tales of Grandeur’ was a return to form, then their third album is shaping up to be a masterclass in songwriting.

Ryan Dunn – Lovin’ You

Former Gazelle frontman Ryan Dun released his second single, ‘Lovin’ You’, last week. It followed his debut solo venture ‘Ale House Blues’ in 2024, can it stack up to the promise shown/

‘Ale House Blues’ was indebted to Dylan circa ‘Bringing It All Back Home’. This time out, we see Dunn in a buoyant Motown mood akin to the back end of his former band, Gazelle.

Image % artwork courtesy of Ryan Dunn.

Dun lands himself instantly in the melody and beats of Stevie Wonder and Frank Wilson on this soul-pop gem. At points, he counters the uplifting northern soul with moments of real drama and intensity as a wall of sound eclipses the sunnier climates.

Vocally, this is Dunn’s most varied performance to date. He moves from Smokey’s angelic side of soul to Sam Cooke’s defiant nature with a grace that warrants serious attention!

Two singles deep and any ghosts of his former band are showing no sign of haunting Dunn. His eyes are focused on reimagining the classics for the modern age, and the results are triumphant.

Subterrania – Peaks

With Pastel in the ascendency and label mates Marseille in the rear-view mirror, something is afoot in the UK right now. Ballsy shoegaze and escapist rock ‘n’ roll is on the rise. Throwing their name into the hat next are Subterrania. Their latest single ‘Peaks’, was recorded with Wolf Alice producer Michael Smith and was released last week via Echo Bass Records.

banner image courtesy of Songbird PR.

Artwork courtesy of the band.

Frontman Dylan Cai serves up a vocal that beds in between Liam Gallagher and Pastel’s James Yates. In the angelic verses, Cai arguably delivers the finest homage to Gallagher’s early Oasis days yet.

It’s a record that twists from angelic indie melodies to bruising shoegaze and bluesy rock 'n' roll, forged in the hedonism of the 90s. Like their label mates Marseille and Pastel, the sense of Richey Edwards’ ‘4 Real’ oozes from this single. The lyrics deliver hope (“I see the road ahead”), and the muscular blasts of guitar distribute hope. Together, they can forge a new allegiance of righteous souls marching on big venues and festival main stages.

Despite the many layers, it’s a simplistic record: Melody, noise, and a burst of sweet release in a solo. It’s a reminder that the music's principles haven’t changed, only its purveyors have been weak for too long. Subterrania have kicked off 2025 with a bang!

The Kowloons - I Don't Care

At the end of May, Liverpool outfit The Kowloons released their latest single ‘I Don’t Care’ via Ripe Records.

*banner image credit: Matt Owen

The LA’s defiant acoustic jangle looms large on this remarkable slice of guitar-cum-pop music. To compare The Kowloons to anyone beyond this would be a criminal injustice. There’s an effortless quality to this record that breeds a warm familiarity through its melody. The kind usually reserved for radio stations indebted to the past that stir up childhood car journey memories.

Melodies this good are so often met with lyrics which don’t stack up. Not here! The Kowloons have served up a deeply personal ode of love and heartache. Characters with darkness are drawn back to the light, and lifelong friendships are put to the test. Lyrically, he closing stages are poignantly open-ended, so that the joyous sonic becomes an emotive juxtaposition.

The Kowloons next gig is a big home city gig at Liverpool’s District on October 10th. It’s difficult to imagine this being anything other than triumphant based on this form.

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming show:

Marseille – Heaven’s At My Door

Derby’s Marseille recently released their latest single ‘Heaven’s At My Door’ via Echo Bass Records.

*banner image & artwork courtesy of the band.

There have been past singles which felt too rushed. Enjoyable, yet too fast, not allowing the majesty of Labrum and Brown to flourish. On ‘Heaven’s At My Door’, those attempts to speed up the work of the Roses click with spectacular results.

By adopting the trippier drums of Reni’s work on ‘The Second Coming’ and Andy Bell’s hazy jangle-jangle Beatles-inspired guitar sound, they forge a realm that marries big psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll and pop sensibilities.

Through Brown’s harmonious vocal and Labrum taking a back seat for the most part, the vocals ease their way into 60s pop and allow tinges of the Roses and the everyman infectiousness of Shed Seven to shine.

No Marseille single is complete without Labrum emerging as this generation's Squire, Bell, or McCabe, and this is no different. His work with Lennon Hall on rhythm here lays a platform for Brown to shine until the time comes to spiral heavenwards with rapid-fire licks from the gods.

With Y Not Festival just around the corner, Marseille are set to win yet more die-hard fans this summer with tier spiralling majesty.

Siracuse - Chase The Morning

Cheltenham’s Siracuse returned with their first single of 2025 ‘Chase The Morning’ at the end of May. Released via Vibrant Sky Records, it was produced by Dave Draper in Pershore, at The Old Cider Press Studio. It follows last year’s hedonistic ‘Simple Pleasures’ with both expected to feature on their new album due in 2026.

The thunderous intro lands you in ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’s rabid intention of world domination. From there, through a divine key change, they depart from Oasis and forge a new path of intoxication and aspiration but with greater heart.

With each circling year, Ben Zakotti - frontman, guitarist, poet in chords - edges closer to the ranks of the almost-forgotten greats. Once, the phrase belonged to the slow-blooming, the ill-starred, the haunted. Now, in 2025, Zakotti stares down a music world hollowed and hunched. Even the stations that once swore by bands have drawn up the ladder, leaving echoes where anthems should be.

With hope now an almost bygone era sentiment, Zakotti’s performance becomes more vital. As his hypnotic vocal decrees, “take your chance to electrify” and “chase the morning”, a generation of guitar fans fed up with the lack of exposure have their clarion call. Images of stadiums shaking with limbs flying to this electrifying anthem become the goal, an insurrection among guitar lovers imminent. Their time miust be now!

2025 is going to be the year that Oasis came back. It should be about Pastel’s debut and The Bracknall’s seminal second album. It should be about Marseille, Rolla, and The Crooks selling out venues. It should be about Siracuse!

The North – Trainspotting

Leeds outfit The North recently released ‘Trainspotting’, the last single from their upcoming debut EP.

It’s been seven months since they released their scene-shifting debut single ‘Soundtrack Your Soul’. It seems fitting that they open this with a grunge-tinged vocal howl of “nostalgia”, leading to climatic roars of “soundtrack your soul” in the close.

Memphis and lead guitarist Kobi Griggs’ guitars tonally tap into the poignancy of early Coldplay and the forlorn joyfulness of Electric Soft Parade. These, alongside introspective lyrics, could easily have allowed classic indie morbidity to unfurl. However, buoyancy and directness at play have the hallmarks of a great coming-of-age story.

The guitars punch with a knowingness that it’s now or never. Where ‘How Soon Is Now?’ swelled with angst and failure, ‘Trainspotting’ balloons with hope and promise of what is yet to come. Lyrically, Memphis tempers this with the protagonist searching for their place in the world a la Egg in This Life:

“nothing you can do boy / feels slightly blue ‘cos / you can’t go back in time”

The North’s debut EP ‘Blood Orange’ is out now and is not to be missed.

Good Health, Good Wealth ft Fredwave - You Don't Know Me

London’s Good Health, Good Wealth returned last week with their new single ‘You Don’t Know Me’ featuring additional vocals from Fredwave.

*banner image courtesy of Alan Wells Photography.

‘You Don’t Know Me’ was written after a fake festival promoter ripped off the duo. The duo was due to play a festival alongside Tinchy Stryder and Toploader just off the A13. A rare chance for a new act to step out in front of an older, more eclectic crowd to win hearts and minds. In reality, they played to 12 people and some burger vans. Scams have come a long way since the Prince of Nigeria emails.

Single artwork courtesy of Fear PR

Sonically, it’s their sleekest moment to date. Chic in sound, bleak in nature. Vocalist Bruce Breakey is bedding between Rich Archer (Hard-Fi) and Simon Franks (Audio Bullys). The gritty nodes lend the lyrics a weight of despair that would drag most under!

The grit and charm of The Streets, Audio Bullys, and Burial spelt out an alternate reality to reside in in the 00s. They painted pictures of subcultures, clubs, and post-rave squalor, but hope and optimism were never out of sight. Their characters, rich in the game of chance, taught lessons in drugs, nights out, and love from the position of the underdog.

Good Health Good Wealth tap into that sonic but reflect the stark futility of life in 2025 for anyone under thirty. Work doesn’t pay, and the housing market is a cruel joke. Despite this, they, like others, persevere with their passion projects, knowing there are no record deals or life-changing publishing advances, which were once a way out of towns and cities with integrity intact.

Good Health, Good Wealth merges the promoter's lies, the lack of opportunity, and their fallibility (“flying off the handle down the local on a school night”) to further push their sense of being the underdog. Hope that was tangible twenty years ago is now merely a twinkle in their eye, and for that, they are a triumph of the human spirit!

The Cases – Where Is It (That You Wanna Go)

Preston outfit The Cases recently released their latest single, ‘Where Is It (That You Wanna Go)’. It follows last September’s eye-catching ‘Just Like You’. Can it maintain the momentum?

*banner image credit Izzy Scott

Where ‘Just Like You’ was indebted to current indie darlings Lock-In, ‘Where Is It (That You Wanna Go)’s soul belongs to the 00s greats! The achingly infectious licks evoke the carefree abandon of The Maccabees beginnings. They summon the humble glory of Battle and the raucous collectivism of Kubichek on this ode to self-discovery.

00s revivalism. It’s been done, right?

The cascading guitars and angelic vocals are a divine combination, making those sweat-filled nights at Frog and the decadence of Club NME at Koko pertinent once again.

It’s a single blessed with the effortlessness of youth, which only The Goa Express has achieved recently. They conjure images of friendships bonded by intense love. Every generation needs great coming-of-age stories. The class of ’25 has it’s first!

The Slates – Fiesta

Yorkshire’s The Slates are back after twelve months with their latest single ‘Fiesta’.

* Banner image credit: Tom Oxley. Courtesy of This Feeling

Last time out, the band was in an anthemic yet reflective mood on ‘What Have You Done’. Upon return, the internal scrutiny has been altered for living in the moment on this ode to the journey, not the destination.

Through the riotous mod-cum-rock ‘n’ roll of Twisted Wheel and the debauched euphoria of The K’s, The Slates have fired themselves out of a cannon into 2025. This is nothing short of the joyride across a town destined to be escaped for sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll a ragged-out Fiesta deserves!

Louis Barnes’ vocals have taken on an urgency, an almost vicious tone that allows the guitars to breed the now-or-never sonic. This is a vital record that deserves to be rammed into the consciousness of those who care, and especially for those who don’t!

It’s easy to see on this form why Radio X icon John Kennedy is giving them a spin.

Yon Mon - Warmongers

Yon Mon recently returned with his third solo single, ‘Warmongers. ’ It follows ‘Shine On’ and ‘Picture This.’ Can the former Shed Project frontman maintain his run of form?

*images courtesy of Yon Mon.

Yon Mon, aka Roy Fletcher, has found a brooding intensity in this dark tale of our times. The cataclysmic drums and Doves-esque guitars make their way to the mind's dark corners.

The single is lit up with the devilish psyche guitar solo. Huge in sound and demonic in stature, Yon Mon’s sonic has been set to destroy. Where ‘Shine On’ and ‘Picture This’ were bursting with the joy of a young Tim Burgess, ‘Warmongers’ delves into a tank of despair and is a fine counterpoint in the Yon Mon cannon.

Three singles deep and Yon Mon’s underdog status is beginning to steadily rise to contender status.

MOSES - Skin

London’s MOSES returned at the end of February with their latest single, ‘Skin’. Recorded at Magic Garden Studio, they again hooked up with legendary producer Gavin Monaghan (The Blinders / Ocean Colour Scene / Rosa Caleum)

*image credit Mike Rădulescu. Courtesy of Artbeat Promo

Artwork credit: JJ Eringa

The early days of MOSES were a rabid animal. Ferocious guitars which fizzed with fire and brimstone alongside frontman Victor Moses’ frenetic vocals. As they approach album number three, the power remains, but they are older and wiser, and things are more measured.

Victor is barely at jogging pace in the verses, allowing the New York-enthused basslines and measured guitar snarl to wrap around this ode to love. The choral backing vocals build the track to a breaking point via a scintillating Bloc Party meets The Strokes solo.

MOSES third album is due out this autumn and is shaping to be a real contender.