Undeterred by Spotify’s influences, The Utopiates take their time on intros and solos alike. They’ve allowed rock ‘n’ roll to breathe once more. The results are nothing short of a perfect debut album.
The Kynd - Timelines
DMA’s: Wembley Arena, London
This Is War – Rotten
Rolla: Lower Third, London
Manchester’s Rolla kicked off their UK tour at London’s Lower Third last Wednesday to celebrate the release of their debut EP ‘Nothing Less Than Everything’.
Bloxx – Television Promises
Shambolics - U Serious Boi?
Shambolics release their debut EP ‘U Serious Boi?’ this Friday via Scruff of the Neck Records. It was recorded at Glasgow’s 7 West Studios and produced by Chris Marshall.
Usual Affairs – Elementary to Penitentiary
Edinburgh four-piece Usual Affairs fresh from supporting the mighty Marseille have released the new single ‘Elementary to Penitentiary’.
Rolla - Nothing Less Than Everything
The Cavs – Again
Manchester outfit The Cavs, fresh from their Big In 2023 show with This Feeling are back with their new single ‘Again’.
Body Type – Holding On
The Lunar Towers – About Time
Rolla – Hey You
Don't wait to be found
Come along with our sound
Image and artwork courtesy of Fear PR
Manchester’s Rolla follow up on their tour with Kasabian with their new single ‘Hey You’. The single is taken from their upcoming debut EP ‘Nothing Less Than Everything’ which will be released on April 5th.
It’s bizarre how a band so seminal as The Verve have remained so uninfluential these past 15 years. Exit Calm was a fine exponent of their work in the early part of the last decade but no one else has really stood up. Like buses, two have come at once in recent times from Manchester. There’s been Pastel, who have been beautifully in tune with delicate jams of ‘Storm In Heaven’. Whereas Rolla have pulled in the power of ‘A Northern Soul’ and the sprawling melody of ‘Urban Hymns’.
If Noel Gallagher had possessed Nick McCabe’s guitar ability then ‘Hey You’ could have been the sound of the Oasis’s third album. Luke McConnell and Tom Paddon’s guitars have that hissing power of Oasis’ live presence circa 95-97 but, with the deft touches of McCabe. The latter’s influence looms much larger creatively as the band takes you on a journey without a destination to free your soul. The yelps of ‘Rolling People’, the howling furore of ‘A New Decade’, and the perilous defiance of ‘Come On’ unite on what is, as close to pure art as rock ‘n’ roll can sound.
Frontman James Gilmore harness the more melodic moments of Tm Meighan’s time in Kasabian alongside a venom not yet seen. The demonic nature of Richard Ashcroft on ‘This IS Music’ and ‘No Knock On My Door’ ooze from his soul whilst his brother Luke’s bass throbs with the grooves of criminally underrated ‘Gravity grave’.
Rolla’s ascent to the top not only looks inevitable, it looks gloriously volatile. They throb with danger and excitement at every turn. They are reigniting the mysticism of the rock star and it’s intoxicating.
Click here for the last remaining tickets for their UK tour:
The K's: Lafayette, London
Back in 2020, The K’s headlined This Feeling’s Big in 2020 showcase. The promise was there in abundance, but, in a world where record contracts absconded the galaxy and radio airplay is so difficult to come by (despite 4 national alternative stations), fans were left hoping maybe.
For many, the pandemic became a reason, an excuse to fold. Not The K’s. They produced the solemn ‘Valley One’ which grabbed a generation of guitar music fans by heartstrings. Five more singles later and they have a national sold tour to their names. Catch a break? Nah mate, talent plus graft every step of the way.
From the Newcastle fans’ stage left to the die-hards chanting “the K’s are on fire”, the sense of anticipation was oozing from every corner of London’s Lafayette. As anticipation gave way to reality it became obvious that The K’s are not a band of promise anymore. They’ve arrived in the hearts and minds of rock ‘n’ roll fans. Limbs and vocal chords are sacrificed alike as they blast out of the traps with ‘Picture’, ‘Got A Feeling’, ‘Relying On You’, and ‘TV’.
The set is utterly relentless as they follow with new single ‘Chancer’ and fan favourite ‘Glass Towns’. New singles on tour can be tricky, has anyone heard it yet, will it become a piss break. For bands on the up, it’s the chance for the fans to take ownership of it, and man, did they ever. The tale of a risk-taker living for the moment captured the dreams of the sold-out crowd yearning for their own escapism.
Former single ‘Hoping Maybe’ acts more as a lifeline to a crowd feverish with a desire to prove themselves to their new heroes. The singalong anthem has a hymnal quality and its boisterous congregation rejoiced in its illustrious stature.
A special night, a special tour, both sold out. The K’s are indeed on fire and the UK’s cumbersome radio stations are going to have to pay attention now. With an album on the way, it’s inevitable this will be The K’s year.
The Utopiates – Ups and Downs
Balado – Paper Airplanes
Glasgow five-piece Balado recently released their new single ‘Paper Airplanes’. Recorded at Mark Morrow’s Studio B with Ewan Simpson behind the mixing desk it follows their smoky-blues rock ‘n’ roll anthem ‘Black Shadow’ from last October.
Image & artwork courtesy of The Songbird PR.
‘Paper Airplanes’ tells the tale of the band’s journey through their teenage years as rogue students and how they got their rocks off. Danny Bonner’s opening riffs burrow straight to the heart with pangs of nostalgia which frontman Jamie Finnigan’s heightens exquisitely as he decrees:
“Those are the days that you will see never again for you and me”
Many would stay in this lane of nostalgia, especially with guitar parts this strong. Not Balado! They inject ‘Paper Airplanes’ with drum fills, hi-hats, and a solo of joyous defiance. The no-mark teacher who labelled “neds” well and truly exorcised from their past.
With two fingers up the 00s-esque solo resounds out proud, Balado will not have their past demeaned. Their playful sense of pride should breed confidence in future generations. Don’t let the bastards ground you down, the future is always unwritten.
The Kairos - Thick Of It
Liverpool outfit The Kairos recently released their new single ‘Thick Of It’. Recorded at The Motor Museum, it is the lead single from their upcoming EP ‘Better Late Than Never’.
Image & artwork courtesy of The Songbird PR
Through Tom Dempsey’s guitars, vocals, and Owen Forrester’s guitars, a huge sense of anticipation is conjured akin to the celestial dance meets rock music of Rob Harvey and Adam Nutter’s The Music.
Like their Leeds elders, the ability to slide from the mystical into a stomping guitar hook is prominent. Dempseys’ vocal is blessed with a grandness that builds such excitement it creates alternate realities to escape to. It’s the perfect platform for the band to switch up the tempo into something far more direct. The hook is reminiscent of Hot Chip’s classic solo on ‘Over and Over’ is the dictionary definition of indie floorfiller. Muscular but welcoming, it goes through the gears rapidly and begs you to stomp with arms aloft like you own the world!
‘Thick Of It’ follows a fine run of singles in ‘Time Keeper’, ‘Lazy Lethargic’, and ‘Round The Bend’. All of these show a band who have seriously kicked on from their initial pre-lockdown form. They are toying with the 00s hook-heavy scene and more expansive rock music with the skill of seasoned masters, not young upstarts. 2023 could well be their breakout year.
Click the image below for their hometown show in May:
Hazy Sundays – Hear The Truth
Back in January, Glasgow’s Hazy Sundays blew everyone’s hangovers away with the boozy anthem ‘Lose Control’. The four-piece are back again with their new single ‘Hear The Truth’
Oasis’ ‘Columbia’, an afterthought to many due to their pantheon of monster hits. For die-hard fans though, its swirling psyche was peak Oasis. A theme that Kasabian pursued with interest on their classic debut album. Hazy Sundays are now throwing their hat into the mix on ‘Hear The Truth’.
Lead guitarist Mark Devlin has the powerful simplicity of Peter Buck’s ‘What’s The Frequency’, the early hiss of Noel’s Gibson, and Serge’s ability to loop psychedelic riffs merging effortlessly. Devlin’s playing is beset with excess and hedonism which lay the platform for frontman Shaun Kenny’s vocal to snarl through the hysteria.
Like ‘Columbia’, ‘Hear The Truth’ remains in a groove too slow to dance to. Nevertheless, like it’s predecessor, it possesses a danger that takes you to the edge of chaos in a mystical fashion.
*image courtesy of the band
Click the image below for tickets to their support slot with Holy Coves:
Rosellas – Hideaway
Manchester’s Rosellas kicked off their UK tour last Thursday in fine style at London’s Grace. Marking the occasion was the release of their new single ‘Hideaway’.
To date, Rosellas have been a band with great promise. Single after single they showcased something fresh and, on ‘Hideaway’ they have pulled it all together. It’s a thunderous piece of rock-psyche that brings the five-piece out of indie’s shadows into the main stage spotlight.
The great harmonies developed on the ‘Slowdance’ and ‘Damaged’ are enhanced by a more direct approach to the guitar parts. Gone are the chilled stoner lo-fi guitars and in their place are bullish licks destined for stadiums. Squire’s flair collides with McCabe’s introverted genius on this brooding epic.
Many bands have a penny-drop moment. For The Libertines, it was seeing The Strokes live. Out went the 60s flower power melodies and in came the debauched punk we know and love. For the Rosellas, it’s the injection of aggression to their love of Shack and The Smiths. It’s taken the band to another level that few today can compete with.
*banner image courtesy of Fear Pr and Barnaby Fairley
Click the image for tickets to the Rosellas’ current tour:
Noah and The Loners – Protest Anger
London’s Noah and The Loners follow up their debut single ‘Teenage Tragedy’ with the throwback punk anthem ‘Protest Anger’ via Marshall Records.
The jagged edges of Wilko Johnson’s playing on ‘Roxette’ are given a visceral IDLES makeover on this tale of political angst. Their polemic spits venom like the Crass and Minor Threat but, unlike their punk elders, there’s a sense of building from the ground up rather than smashing the system.
Noah Lonergan’s vocal is a snarling mesh of Polystyrene’s innocence and Joe Talbot’s righteousness as he unleashes the spirit of ’76 to a new generation of rebels! Accompanying it is Joseph Boyle’s scintillating punk-cum blues solo that brings early Dr. Feelgood and Chris Spedding to the edge of Mick Jones’ explosive genius.
*image courtesy of End of the Trail Creative
Noah and The Loners play Brighton’s Great Escape Festival this May. Click the image for tickets:
