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!

Shed Seven - A Matter of Time

Shed Seven returned last week to release their sixth studio album via Cooking Vinyl Records. Recorded at Space Mountain in Spain with the iconic Youth producing once again. The album went in at number one/, a fine way to kick off their 30th year as a band together. Let’s see why.

Buy the album here.

*all images courtesy of Cooking Vinyl Records.

Six years ago, they released ‘Instant Pleasures’, sixteen years after the unfairly overlooked ‘Truth Be Told’ in 2001. The origins of ‘Instant Pleasures’ began by chance when frontman Rick Witter overheard Paul Banks playing a riff in a soundcheck. While ‘Room In My House’, ‘Better Days’, and' Butterfly on a Wheel’ were memorable moments, there was an air of constraint looming over the album, consistent though it is.

Fast forward six years, and the Sheds faced the exit of fan-favourite drummer Alan Leach and keyboardist Joe Johnson; the band was at a crossroads. With Tim Wills (keyboards and guitar) and Rob Maxfield (drums) coming in, the band decided to continue. The fresh impetus spreads through the band as they rediscover a youthful vibrancy on ‘Let’s Go’ and ‘Talk of the Town’. The former stomps to early U2 and The Ramones, with their punk fire burning bright once again. On ‘Talk of the Town’, the album explodes into life. The vivid haze of ‘A Maximum High’s youthful indulgence roars to the surface via Peter Buck and John Squire guitars. As Witter decrees, “Bring back the romance to these streets”, change (although less hopeful) feels as tangible now as it did in ‘96. As we move into election year, this instant classic could and should act as a clarion call for change.

The compositions and Witter’s ‘Instant Pleasures’ melodies carried an aching beauty. On ‘AMOT’, a sense of escape and yearning to be elsewhere caused by COVID’s entrapment take hold. Although stylistically close to ‘Instant Pleasures’ at times, spiritually, the energy and sense of destiny on ‘Change Giver’ and ‘A Maximum High’ ooze through this album.

‘Kissing Kalifornia’ and ‘Let’s Go Dancing’ are perfect bridges from ‘Instant Pleasures’ to now. Banks’ playing on ‘Kissing Kalifornia’ again takes Buck’s quaint guitar lines to the precipice of ‘Mersey Paradise' era Squire. It joyously twists and turns from urgency to an aching forlornness that ‘Enemies and Friends’ was beset with. Meanwhile, ‘Let’s Go Dancing’ possesses the cinematic beauty of ‘It’s Easy’ or ‘Invincible’ with its soaring orchestration.

On ‘Starlings’ and ‘Thowaways’, however, they lean into their elder statesmen status. ‘Starlings’ delicately handles the concept of a life partner dying and the widow wanting to commit suicide to join them. Witter and Banks combine here with such a deft power that it is chilling at points. Banks’ pianos begin with such hope and end in harrowing circumstances. Witter’s vocals and lyrics, gentle and melodic throughout, soar and tumble with the grace of the subject. The references to the “picturedrome” and night buses evoke romantic nostalgia that, even the youngest of lovers can emphathise with. Witter exquisitely frays the seams of this happiness and moves into grief and bitterness of the loneliness:

“For you to take off would be daylight robbery

They always said we’d become real darlings”

‘Throwaways’, featuring The Libertines singer-songwriter Pete Doherty, explores a life of being an outsider. The unlikely pair steal the show on this fine album. All the years of being written off undervalued and undermined become anathema. For fans, it becomes worth it. This is a moment of brilliance that we can skip across Albion, ramming down the throats of whoever doubted them.

Thirty years deep, Shed Seven have hit songwriting heights most never thought they’d hit again. It’s too early to say if this topples ‘A Maximum High’ from their best album slot, but it's banging on the door for a cuppa with serious intent.

LOCK-IN – On To The Next

LOCK-IN are set to release their debut EP ‘On To The Next’ on January 19th. The EP was produced by Curtis Elvidge of Ritual Sounds and recorded during sessions at Premises Studio in Hackney.

Artwork courtesy of Fear PR

In the latter half of 2023, LOCK-IN released ‘Easy’ and ‘Red Stripe Remedy’. They consolidate their position as one of the UK’s indie bands poised to break through by improving their archetypal indie-dancefloor sound. The former, at times, threatens to ignite into a Two Door Cinema Club party, but such is the emotional heft that it remains in its world-weary lane. It breeds a lonely but never detached sonic, where LOCK-IN have thrived best to date. Meanwhile, on ‘Red Strip Remedy’, they toss their hat into the ring of indie anthems about escaping 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, before these two singles, were a fun band. Led in main, by frontman Benji Leak’s charisma and joyful cadence. Fun only gets you so far. Step forward, brother and lead guitarist Joe Leak. Joe’s choppy licks pull from Bloc Party’s ‘So Here We Are’ and The Wombats circa ‘Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life’ and produce images of a forlorn soul dusting themselves down for another shot at glory. On ‘Red Stripe Remedy’ Joe harsher and more jagged licks allow the “what if” Graham Coxon joined Two Door Cinema Club to develop joyfully. His joyous guitar solo on the title track culminates this newfound confidence and intensity.

Whilst so many bands proclaim to be rock ‘n’ roll, they lose sight of its spirit whilst searching for that ‘Live Forever’ moment to change their lives. On the title track and ‘He Said She Said’, LOCK-IN rapturously live in the moment and, thus, lifts souls out of theirs. Nothing is more rock ‘n’ roll than that. ‘He Said She Said’ opens another avenue the band have yet to show. It has the feel of an OK album track that fans lust after as much as the singles (‘Slide Away’, ‘A New Decade’). Fiercely striving towards colossal status, the band has tapped into a power that will set crowds ablaze alongside the lighter indie-dancefloor moments.

Their biggest headline show at London’s Lafayette is shaping to be a launch-off into much bigger things on this showing.

Click the image below for tickets to their headline Lafayette show:

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!

The Dream Machine – Thank God! It’s The Dream Machine

Wirral five-piece The Dream Machine released their debut album ‘Thank God! It’s The Dream Machine back in April via Run On Records and Modern Sky UK. The band formed in 2020 when frontman Zac McDonnell quit drumming in The Mysterines and began working at the iconic Parr Studios. Studying the likes of Blossoms and The Coral, McDonnell united Matt Gouldson (lead guitar & backing vocals), Jack Inchboard (bass & backing vocals), Isaac Salisbury (drums), and Harrison Marsden (keyboards) and began to hatch their psychedelic dreams.

Image and artwork courtesy of The Lost Agency

In a world of corruption, war, and failure of leadership like never before, The Dream Machine’s innocent souls are beyond refreshing. Their creative journey without borders or destination rings true through them, as with The Jonestown Massacre in 1995. Newcombe, Mayami, and Gion’s fingerprints can be found on ‘Away For The Summer’ and ‘The Last Temptation’. The former, a ramshackle kaleidoscopic folk number with harmonies so pure that you’ll miss the bitterness (“I'd rather die all on my own than see you again”) swelling. ‘The Last Temptation’ taps into BJM’s colossal sense of destiny and The Coral’s melodic joy on this satanic masterpiece.

The moments when they raise the tempo show that this is a band that can and will do whatever they want! ‘Always On My Mind’ waltzes into view like the devil conducting The Stands. Meanwhile, former single ‘TV Baby / Satan’s Child’ sets fire to Love’s ‘A House Is Not A Motel’. McDonnell’s usually angelic vocal fractures into a James Skelly freak beat moment of genius! Then, in ‘White Shadow Blues’, they erupt into a furious mesh of ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ and Jake Bugg’s early classics ‘Taste It’ and ‘Lightning Bolt’.

What is true of their influences is still typical of the music industry today. They will be judged on their singles. Step forward ‘Lola, In The Morning’ and ‘Children, My England’. The former is blessed with the optimism of The Coral’s ‘In The Morning’, Roger McGuinn’s finesse, and Hamilton Leithauser’s vocals. On ‘Children, My England’, The Dream Machine cross the threshold from upstarts into a world of Richard Hawley and Pete Doherty. Masterful poets lost souls, and romantic souls are searching for a higher ground to set themselves free. The Parisian keys meet the guitars of The Stands and the bands featured on the Children of Nuggets compilation. Shimmering and tumbling guitars provide a perfect backdrop for the lyrics that bed in between Coleridge’s ‘Lyrical Ballads’ and John Cooper Clarke’ 's ‘Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt’.

‘Thank God! It’s The Dream Machine’ is undoubtedly the most fully formed debut album from a British band in a generation. Perhaps longer. They’re on the precipice of greatness. Flashes of immortality rear up here, making the prospect of their second album mouth-watering.

The Coral - Sea of Mirrors

“From as far back as I can remember, I've been a drifter
The drifting life is a lonely life but the only life I know”

Twenty-one years on since the Wirral outsiders stormed the scene with their anarchic self-titled anarchic debut, they released ‘Sea of Mirrors’ via Run On and Modern Sky UK Records back in September.

Image and artwork courtesy of Perspective Communications.

After a brief dip on 2010’s ‘Butterfly House’, The Coral have delivered four studio albums of remarkable substance. The heavy psyche of ‘Distance Inbetween’ and folksy-cum-La’s melodies of ‘Coral Island’ lead that pack. So, where did ‘Sea Of Mirrors’ stack up?

During the ‘10s, their fine albums explored new but quite natural avenues of their sound. Then, on ‘Coral Island’, they ever so slightly nudged their melodic poise toward the weird and wonderful sonic of ‘The Coral’ and ‘Magic Medicine’. Now, on ‘Cycles Of The Seasons’ and ‘North Wind’, their mature worldview steps resplendently back into their youthful realm. The former looked at ‘Calendars and Clocks’ and ‘Don’t Think You’re The First’ and nodded in approval. Meanwhile, the caressing beauty of ‘North Wind’ feels like a fully formed and joyfully content ‘Careless Hands’.

With Coral Island being a double album and ‘Sea of Mirrors’ being accompanied by a physically released only album, one has to wonder just how much The Coral has in the arsenal. The two tracks mentioned have great folk orchestration calling Weller’s fine reinvention on ’22 Dreams’, an almost double album. The beauty, peculiarity, and effortlessness of ‘Sea of Mirrors’ never deviates from this state of wisdom and quality.

However, there are several moments of darkness throughout the album. ‘Ocean’s Apart’ captures why fans love their rebellious ways:

“It's been the same since I was a little kid
When I see the desert I see an ocean
When I see an ocean I see a desert
Each the image of the other
A sea of mirrors, and here I am
Caught between both the form and the reflection
Between fact and fiction”

The torment of not fitting in and drifting relationships as a consequence has taken its toll:

“I love you, yes, I love you
From your smile to your scars
But we're oceans apart”

This ode to fallen stars earning their living at the arse end of their industry sparkles when Cillian Murphy recites Nick Power’s poetry in the closing stages. It gives it an innocence that eases the sense of regret permeating throughout. Blink, and you’d miss the anguish amid the cinematic orchestration. Latter-day Weller and Richard Hawley’s enriching souls swoon across horizons here to offer hope amid the despair.

The title track, ‘Sea of Mirrors,’ continues the feeling of uneasiness, of not knowing if up is down. Twenty-one years as outsiders, as pioneering drifters, has left them feeling “no help can be found when the world sinks into the ground”. The strings are beset with the creative grandeur of Love (the band), which soundtrack the bands struggle to co-exist:

“From my window seat, I see a stranger sleep
Visions of a war long since past
An enemy, a friend, a battle 'til the end
The flags have been lowered to half-mast”

No matter the inner turmoil, The Coral remains outwardly mesmeric. This is no traditional journey back to the start, but the fleeting moments they pop into their beatnik spirit are delivered with middle-aged suffering and a creative masterfulness to revel in. ‘Sea Of Mirrors rightly takes it place in the upper echelons of their catalogue.

Half Captain – In The Firing Line

Devon via Lancashire’s Half Captain is the musical moniker for singer-songwriter Martin Burt. A total DIY project, Burt writes, records, produces and creates the artwork from his home studio.

In 2021, Half Captain put out ‘Lost Covers’, an album of Doves covers, as part of a Mental Health UK charity campaign. Bridging that work with this EP is Burt’s version of ‘The Last Broadcast’. Doves gently tumbled from high to low, allowing Jimi Goodwin’s voice to fray with anguish. Tackling this head-on would be disastrous for even the well-intentioned. Burt, mercifully, takes things down a notch into a half-life witching hour that the EP rarely deviates from. His slight smoky drawl adds a pained integrity to the tumultuous lyrics that a song of this magnitude deserves.

Half Captain succeed when residing in the wee hours. The title track’s elegant but forlorn guitars chime like a lo-fi Slow Readers Club. The down-temp sonic allows for the pained lyrics to take a stranglehold on this journey of brutally pained acceptance:

“Nothing feels like it’s good enough / falling in and falling out of love / put the brakes on to make it stop / this is life now”

Despite the morose plea to “make me disappear”, his Goodwin via Bernard Sumner vocal brings him to the surface to decree “Don’t turn take your back on the ones you love”. It allows just enough light to prevent the darkness from becoming all-encompassing.

On ‘As Long As Everything Is Alright’ and ‘Accidental Strangers’, an autumnal beauty emerges alongside the moonlit guitars and production.  The former taps into the aching shoegaze of Daniel Land and Engineers, Noel Gallagher’s sense of fading away, with nodes of Depeche Mode’s gothic production. ‘Accidental Strangers’, however, an ode to outsiders (“We’ll take the world on you and I”) delves into the morbid beauty of The National. If ‘In The Firing Line’ were our protagonists at their lowest ebb, ‘Accidental Strangers’ is their road to recovery. Down, but not out, they’re “accidental strangers, accidentally out of time”.

At points, the EP is emotional ice. Musically, lyrically, and spiritually, there does come a much-needed thaw. The journey from dark to light is measured but impactful as those whose music furiously spirals out of control.

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 Enemy: Shiiine On 2023

Coventry icons The Enemy recently headlined the final night of this year’s Shiiine On Weekender, and we were there to catch them.

*banner image courtesy of Moments to Media.

Festival season may be well out of the rearview mirror but, in a windswept corner of Somerset, The Enemy came armed with the big guns from the first two albums only to send everyone home in glorious rage.

Image courtesy of Moments to Media.

There’s a myriad of reasons why their tales of working-class life still resonate. People are still a slave to the (non-existent) modern wage. Public services are treated like a soggy biscuit from whatever tax-avoiding private school our PM is from this weak. As such, the fury of ‘Aggro’ and the colossal power of ‘Pressure’ can still tap into the burning sense of injustice people feel.

Obviously, at the heart of the ability to connect is the simple fact, the songs are great. ‘Away From Here’ and ‘Had Enough’ still have the majestic power of 2007 oozing from them. Despite the creaking joints and incrementing fear of Monday morning, both top-ten hits send Shiiine into a dizzying frenzy. ‘We’ll Live Die In These Towns’ and ‘This Song’ carry huge emotional and polemical heft, and the Shiiine faithful are willing to rip the lyrics from their soul to prove their worth to their heroes.

Image courtesy of Moments to Media.

However, something else makes The Enemy a dangerous beast in 2023. Integrity and authenticity. The incisive and instinctive observations of the Peugeot forecourt closing or the aching longing for Jane to still be among us course through their veins with a distilled clarity that few can match. So, when the brass strikes on ‘Your Song’, a hymnal-like quality soars through the room, nourishing the downtrodden.

The music industry they knew and loathed barely exists today. It’s the perfect time for The Enemy to return and thrive. Labels, the press, and airplay are redundant. In truth, so is this review, but the power they emit is astonishing and must be documented! Especially as those at Pitchfork are devoid of euphoria. No one laughs or cries in their realm; they just sit around saying, “Oh, how funny” while listening to Andre 3000’s primary school recorder sessions. Bore Off!

At Shiiine On, the weak become heroes. Tears streamed, laughter howled, and The Enemy proved that working-class heroes are still something to be.

Shiiine On!

Abstraction Engine: Shiiine On 2023

Kicking off this year’s Shiiine On Weekender was Oxfordshire four-piece Abstraction Engine in the Inn on the Green. An honour for any band, but the moment was not lost on them as regular attendees as fans.

Shiiine On is different things to different people. What runs through it all though is a sense of community.  Abstraction Engine’s set arguably captured this more than any other this weekend. Opening with ‘Placeholder, frontman Dave Moore decrees “now that I’m older / I’m bolder that’s what they say / well hey, I'm not a placeholder” hearts begin to melt. The sense that this is our thing, our time to be whoever we want, to relive past glories, and make new life-long memories crystalises.

This feeling is doubled down on the gentle but life-affirming ‘Dependence’. As the lyrics “life is what you make it” percolate, financial, romantic, and health burdens fill the air, but via the keys and guitars, a BMX Bandits-esque joy emerges to set us free.

In the closing stages, AE step on the power. ‘Dreamer’ strived for the power of The Cult, ‘Walk Through Walls’ conjured the what if “Pete Astor played guitar for Sea Power” that frankly, everyone should be pondering! The set was ended by the aptly named ‘Shine’. As Moore sings, “We are the survivors”, it becomes increasingly harder not to lose emotional stability. The emotion of personal loss and the icons of the stage that thousands pilgrimage to see every year swell. The eerily ethereal keys and indomitable rumble on guitars were beset with aching wisdom that this might not be forever, so live for the moment.

With bottom lips wobbling and hearts beaming, Abstraction Engine opened Shiiine On with a poetic refinement that will long in the hearts of all who made the early journey.

Ecko: Shiiine On 2023

At Shiiine On 2022, Scotland’s Ecko stole the weekend in a rags-to-riches story that the world of rock ‘n’ roll hadn’t seen in some time. A small crowd gathered for that set in the Inn on the Green, and such was their prominence, word spread instantly. So, when the Shambolics pulled out of their Sunday night slot, Ecko stepped up to play to the 1500-strong crowd on Centre Stage to back up the spreading gospel.

All images courtesy of A Deeper Groove.

As such, their slot in Reds on Sunday night at this year's festival was one of the weekends most eagerly anticipated. It came with a certain amount of tension. Had we misremembered 2022? Have we pushed them too far, too soon? 

Any doubts were smashed into pieces by their supreme talent. The temptation to come out all guns blazing was withheld. Instead, ‘Miss Hurricane’ emerged chest-out, mid-paced but dangerous, staring down the barrel with grit and assurance few peers can match.

Where 2022 oozed with a ragged glory, 2023 was a polished outfit toying with pace and intensity as they saw fit. ‘Get Out’ stepped on and off the gas with mesmeric skill. ‘L.A.X’, like all truly dangerous ’ only showed teeth when necessary, coming in the closing moments as Matthew Welsh’s solo cut through Liam O’Connor’s crunching bassline.

Former single ‘Still Know Nothing’ closed the set out. It felt less like a euphoric climax and more an admonition that the main stage would be theirs next year. Ecko's rise in a year is nothing short of remarkable. They’ve gone from plucky upstarts to show stealers, and now, they look ready for the stages, drama, and glory that befell so many of the icons of the Shiiine On line-up.

Holy Youth Movement: Shiiine On 2023

“Better, better together / I feel stronger, stronger than ever”

Last week, Bristol’s Holy Youth Movement kicked off the Friday night on Centre Stage at the Shiiine On Weekender.

In the last eighteen months, we’ve seen HYM support Rolla, The Utopiates, and play (but not headline) This Feeling’s stage at Truck Festival. Their short but devastating sets have always left us with the feeling there is more in the tank. At Shiiine, they brought the tank!

What was lacking from those shows was time and grandeur. The longer set and better-rigged stage afforded them at Shiiine laid bare their ability to look like superstars! Epitomised by the intoxicating instrumental ‘Raz’ opening the set. The snarling electronica and thudding basslines hit a groove that demanded full attention.

Enter the stage frontman Tom Newman to the ecstatic synths of ‘You Thought I Was Dead’. Resplendent in his boiler suit and shades, Newman is supercharged on this Primal Scream ‘XTRMNTR’ classic in the making. The guitars fire into the ether like four-minute warning sirens as the synths distort with kaleidoscopic chaos.

Minute by minute, the Shiiine crowd filter into the late-night venue. Ebbing closer to the magnetic power of their early Kasabian trips. During ‘Better Together’, a moment of unification only topped by The Farm’s ‘All Together Now’ crystalises. Although the tempo drops, the intensity burns just as brightly. The spirit of unification conjured by the Primals, and the dearly departed Weatherall and Johnson in ’91 oozes through the room with a soul-enriching blissfulness.

No HYM gig is complete without the blistering ‘Tranquilizer’. Recorded with Andrew Innes and produced by Jagz Kooner, the Bristol quintet have a weapon of mass distraction in their armoury. With the light show coming at the Shiiine crowd like a technicolour blitz, Newman strutted from the crowd to band members like the pied piper of rock ‘n’ roll leading us to salvation.

BLESS. Shiiine On 2023

Opening this year's main stage at Shine On are London’s recently reformed BLESS. Despite the time away from the scene, the cult heroes are back after recently supporting The Rifles and headlining the Water Rats for This Feeling. Would this be the launchpad they needed for the big time?

*banner photo credit Alexandra Haddow

Photo credit: Alexandra Haddow

Frontman Joei Silvester is well known to the Shiiine faithful having knocked out killer DJ sets and played iconic sets the now-defunct band The Shakes. The latter looked destined to headline festivals worldwide, let alone Shiiine. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

As crushing as this was to fans, seemingly water off a duck’s back for Silvester who strode on stage to Supercool Indie (where’s Dylan?) spinning The Specials ‘Friday Night Saturday Morning’. King-like, admiring his public, surveying outsiders to overcome, the confidence oozed from his soul and, beautifully, never wavered.

BLESS. a band akin to the Roses or The Coral where every member is a serial talent. Only in this band could a lead guitarist with riffs and licks as savage and punchy as Jake Barnett be overlooked for Silvester. On ‘That’s Love’, he pulls in nuggets of gold from ‘Bill McCai’, ‘Riot Radio’, and such is his talent, makes 00s also rans Little Man Tate and the Harrisons sound like rockstars.

Photo credit: James O’Mullan

It is Silvester who stole the show though. He sets fire to the stage with his northern soul dancing amid the frenzied keys and guitars. He wielded his rhythm guitar like Wilko Johnson as he charged the stage with his rifle set to stun. The drama, eloquence, and sheer showmanship in the way he fires his gun were delivered with such power and emotion that you could feel thousands being sucked into his orbit.

Alongside his star quality was the guv’nor David McSherry on bass. Looking hard as fuck and powering everything with aplomb. On keys and sharing vocals was Kieran Kearns, who would be the star attraction in any other band. Wayward, hilarious, and blessed with great soul, Kearns never lets the set drop when they switch up main vocal duty.  Last, by no means least, was Moses Elliott's fluid genius on drums. Together, they walked on stage just another band to this audience. During the soon-to-be classic set-closer ‘Daddy Didn’t Make It As Rockstar’, they exited as the flag bearers of rock ‘n’ roll.

This was less a launchpad to success and more a Soho backstreet toward rock ‘n’ roll purity. Apathy has been put on notice! Not since The Libertines has a band had this much chemistry. Combustible? Probably. Better to burn out than to fade away.

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.

Marseille: The Water Rats, London

Last week, Derby’s Marseille headlined a sold-out Water Rats in London, and we were there to check it out. It was almost a year since their London debut at The Slaughtered Lamb; the contrast couldn’t have been starker. In 2022, they were part of a line-up which, at best, could be described as ill-thought-out. Most had come to see a piece of performance art by a student dressed as a spaceman whose guitars were on hip-height glitter-covered stands. It was an odd precursor to Marseille’s incredible debut (full review here).

*banner image courtesy of Nima Chappell

Image courtesy of Mark Chappell

Fast forward to the Water Rats and Marseille were supported by the songsmiths Mansfields and Maze, who delivered a superb hazy rock n roll set. This felt proper. The anticipation for Marseille was palpable in the room. The EP and single releases had whipped up a tangible buzz. For TT, it was a chance to see if Marseille could deliver another night of heady guitar-driven rock n roll.

They could!

Vast proof of this came from the reaction to three new tracks from their upcoming new EP.  ‘Monkey In The Middle’ and ‘She Can Fly’ followed one another in the set with devastating effect. A split-second pause of silence followed both. The sheer disbelief of a room in total awe of raw potential emerging on stage. The former swirled with the hysteria and fever that called time on all who headlined the stages they had their sights on. ‘She Can Fly’ was blessed with the shoegaze power and celestial beauty of Nick McCabe and Andy Bell, whose frontman Will Brown lets rip a vocal howl sent from the devil. The other new song, ' If It Hurts, Don’t Cry’, leans into Noel Gallagher and Richard Ashcroft’s timeless songwriting with sweeping euphoria.

Image courtesy of Nima Chappell.

Whilst Marseille have a great groove-laden rhythm section and a charismatic frontman, this gig belonged to lead guitarist Joe Labrum. A young man so unassuming of the spotlight has otherworldly powers on his Gibson Les Paul that you cannot help be drawn to him. The closing stages of ‘If It Hurts, Don’t Cry’ were utterly spellbinding. His majesty made the intimate Water Rats feel like Knebworth with John Squire and Noel Gallagher smashing Champagne Supernova into another galaxy. On 'former single ‘This Dream of Mine’ he injects Squire’s paisley era of the Roses with punks urgency, aided by the incredible Reni-esque fluidity of Tom Spray on drums.

Marseille closed the set with their early jingle-jangle classic ‘State of Mind’. The elegance of Labrum’s riff looping alongside Brown’s angelic vocal was the touching full stop this set deserved. Brown gracefully bowed out early to allow the band to meander to a lysergic close with the artistic integrity of Bobby Gillespie. There is nothing this band cannot do!

Go see them do it!