Marseille – Monkey in the Middle

Derby’s rising stars Marseille return on the 1st of March with their new single ‘Monkey In The Middle’. It’s the lead single from the GODIVA EP, due for release this September.

Image courtesy of

Last time on the ‘This Dream of Mine’ EP, they mostly enthused the Roses into their escapist fantasies. Except for the closing track, ‘Devil’s Gonna Get You’. The moodier piece traversed the world of Nick McCabe and Richard Ashcroft, thus ushering in non-single material that was worthy of equal attention.

‘Monkey In The Middle’ continues this direction with a mesmeric power. The guitars now drive with Andy Bell’s purpose on ‘Leave Them All Behind’ in the early part, adding a mystique to Marseille’s allure. The shoegaze dissipates midway, and their love of the Roses comes back via the ‘I Am The Resurrection’ bassline and Squire-esque guitars.

Joe Labrum’s guitars begin as a jingle-jangle breakdown, soon become an all-encompassing ‘Resurrection’ meets ‘Champagne Supernova’ freak-out moment of glory! What prevents them from parody is the rampageous spirit of The Verve’s ‘Come On’. In part due to frontman Will Brown’s vocals in the climatic stages. Moreover, it’s the intensity which they impart as a collective. Full on and all ablaze, they maintain a relentlessness destined to play massive stages, not for the money but for people, togetherness, and immortality.

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:

Cast - Love Is The Call

Cast return this Friday with their seventh studio album ‘Love is the Call’. It’s their first in seven years and sees them hook up with legendary producer Youth at Space Mountain Studios in Spain.

*image and artwork courtesy of Fear PR.

Last time out on ‘Kick Up The Dust’, there were offshoots of peak Cast, but overall, it loitered outside of this realm and became an album for only the truly loyal fans. This time though, frontman John Power and their manager, Alan McGee, have both been very buoyant about Cast delivering something special.

Pre-order the album here.

In the main, they’re not wrong. ‘Love is the Call’ feels like a debut album yearning to be set free onto the world to make its mark. ‘Forever and Day’ chugs with the optimism of a wiser mindset which knows the pitfalls to avoid. As Power sings, “some things in life are destined to change / and for the first time in forever you have a smile on your face”, the feeling of the band’s anxieties and creative fears melting away are tangible. Power’s melody is as pure as anything he’s ever written. It’s juxtaposed with a reassuring vocal sternness, like a father figure nudging young souls back to the light.

‘Time Is Like A River’ and ‘Tomorrow Calls My Name’ both stoke the band’s early creative fires, but now, Power’s lyrics look back with an experience and knowingness of when to fight and when to let go. The former meanders toward the ‘Forever Changes’ brass as the protagonist learns to let go of the past. ‘Tomorrow Calls My Name’ finds a sweet spot between vintage Cast, Shack, and Love on this tale of trepidation and redemption. The Bunnymen-esque acoustic guitars create a tense apprehension. Still, the melodic uplift in the chorus and Tyson’s sumptuous guitars provide a redemptive blueprint for even the most tarnished souls. Power’s vocal switches from defiant to hymnal as guitars rain down an emotional heft that surpasses ‘Walkaway’.

Throughout the album, two things become abundantly clear. Power’s songwriting has rediscovered the magic touch, and accompanying it is his desire to impart love and wisdom to the world. A well-lived life, not shared, is criminal, and Power is certainly not guilty. His pop sensibilities have also hit career peak with ‘Faraway’. It's more instant than a sun-drenched Coral ditty. The slight gravel tinge to his voice dissipates into choral euphoria as he attempts to lead us back to collectivism and kindness.

Restoration is key to this album. Cast have restored faith in humanity and their ability as a serious exponent of great music. Their faith in hope and love has, in turn, delivered, at worst, the best album since their debut. Where ‘All Change’ captured a moment of optimism and change in 1996, ‘Love is the Call’ seek to counter the fractured world with a reminder that things can, should, and will be ok again. It’s an arm around the shoulder of the discontented, a hand up off the floor to the disenfranchised but chiefly, great guitar music.

Shambolics - Dreams , Schemes, and Young Teams

Pre-order the album here.

Friday 16th, February will see the release of Fife’s Shambolics’ debut album ‘Dreams, Schemes & Young Teams via Scruff of the Neck Records. The album was produced by Chris Marshall (Gerry Cinnamon).

*banner image courtesy of Fear PR. Credit Liam Maxwell.

It’s been six years since they announced themselves as serious players with their debut single ‘When She Goes Home’. At that point, Blossoms and The Lathums were in serious ascension and, for many, despite their fine melodies, lacked an edge that these bleak times deserved. It is then notable that it, along with fan favourites ‘Sandra Speed’, ‘Chasing A Disaster’, and ‘Love Collides’, do not appear on the album.

Bold? Yes. Reckless? No.

In ‘Attention’, ‘Losing Your Mind’, and ‘Daily Dosage’, they have a new arsenal of melodic weapons to unleash.  ‘Attention’ is relentless and grand, perhaps capturing their live sound for the first time on record. Flourishes of The View combine with Fleetwood Mac and Big Star to conjure a dream-like state to rejoice in. ‘Losing Your Mind’ gracefully strides out into moonlit skies with angelic guitars before ascending to a ‘Rumours’-esque classic. The co-frontmen Darren Forbes and Lewis McDonald transcend music here with an ethereal rock ‘n’ roll vocal that will echo into eternity if any justice is left in this industry. ‘Daily Dosage’ leans into the melodic ache of ‘Well I Wonder’ and the sweeping majesty of ‘There Is Light That Never Goes Out’ as they guide The Smiths to a sunnier disposition.

While the standard remains melodically, the characterisation and intensity significantly outweigh the early years. This newfound substance spills over sonically on ‘If You Want It’ and ‘Fight In Side’, their heaviest sound to date. The substance levels and creativity spread their wings on ‘Tambourine Tam’ and ‘Universal Credit’. The former is armed with a Jamie T-esque riff, and The Libertines’ ramshackle beauty cuts through the album's archetypal harmonies. ‘Universal Credit’, is a joyously sardonic take on being on the doll whilst in a band. The humour of their interviews has now filtered into their writing and created a Sick Boy and Renton-style rant to guitar hooks worthy of The Rakes and The View.

Forbes and McDonald’s vision of working-class life is no better exemplified than in ‘Everything You Should've Done’ and ‘Dreams, Schemes & Young Teams’. It is a tale of what might have been versus a clarion call to chase your dreams. ‘Everything You Should've Done’, sonically euphoric, which is the notion it’s protagonist is trying to generate with drugs as they tragically run away from real life. The title track, however, is gritty, feel-good British cinema parading as an instant pop classic. Recklessly defiant and oozing confidence will make the oldest of souls feel like a teenager again! Together, the songs light up the working-class struggle for the first time in a generation. The former, downtrodden with no sense of a future, it's easy to check out of society with misguided dissipation as our hearts cry out for heroes on TV screens. What ‘Dreams, Schemes & Young Teams’ does so well is to lay bare the struggle and hope. Forbes and McDonald’s sense of Albion isn’t going to come by just wishing. It will be a long, hard road, but, such is their ebullience, you believe they will get there.

As debut albums go, it's not quite in the pantheon of all-time classics, but there are moments when it is. At worst, it's banging on that door to be allowed in.  Above all else, it’s refreshing to hear working-class life soundtracked by great melody again.

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.

Kula Shaker – Natural Magick

Kula Shaker return on Friday, the 2nd of February, with their seventh studio album, ‘Natural Magick’, via Strange Folk Records and Absolute. For the first time since 1998, keyboardist Jay Darlington returns to reunite the original line-up.

*images and artwork courtesy of Hermana PR.

Click the image to buy the album.

The band returned in 2022 after a six-year break with the album ‘1st Congregational Church of Eternal Love’, which marked a new era of great 60s-inspired psychedelic rock for the band. Can the old line-up continue this new run of form?

Based on recent singles ‘Waves’ and ‘Natural Magick’, their fire is burning bright.  The former blossoms with melodic sitars and bugged-out riffs, which frontman Crispin Mills wraps his Donovan via Syd Barret vocal around. Its melody is instantaneous, and Mills’ vocal is so buoyant it’s impossible not to be encapsulated by the joy of it all. However, this year's ‘Natural Magick’ thrusts into action with its best hook since ‘Hey Dude’ exploded onto the airwaves in 1996. Its psychedelic-funk licks stomp the way to the almost The Go! Team-esque DIY vocal breakdown. Ask any band that broke through in the mid-90s; breaking away from that era has been challenging for them. On these two singles, Kula Shaker appears to have embraced that time and put out singles worthy of their chart peak.

The band has always been known for their spaced-out psyche and Middle Eastern influences. They’ve been the bedrock for the band to manoeuvre away from the poppier moments with an ease that many bands struggle with. Bridging the gap is ‘Indian Record Player’. Opening with Ezra Furman-esque guitars and Cornershop‘s pop sensibilities, Mills returns to his Southall upbringing, discovering the soundtrack to Mughal-E-Azam and yearning for the ideal of 60s love and peace. The culmination is a groove which commands dancefloor and muso attention.

The band steps into full kaleidoscopic mode on ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘Chura Liya (You Stole My Heart)’, both assisted by Laboni Barua’s spellbinding vocals, both come armed with mass cinematic appeal via Mills’ love of Bollywood. The former dips, peaks, and effortlessly grooves like classic Tarantino. Darlington’s hazy keys trip with a blissed-out freeness, allowing Barua to glide in with her divine, ethereal vocal. Then, the album spills over to bona fide classic territory on' Chura Liya'. They fuse the vastness of a Morricone epic, Bollywood, Lee Hazlewood vocals, and majestic widescreen brass and guitar licks of Arthur Lee’s Love.

The album's back end (‘Whistle And I Will Come’ / ‘Kalifornia Blues’ / ‘Give Me Tomorrow’) moves out from their mystical stance into a more timeless sense of writing. They don’t hit the heights of what came before it, but they add an enjoyable ballast for the poppier moments and the more thought-provoking tracks. Either way, they’ve tapped into the debut album energy of any great band desperate for your attention.

We suggest you give it to them.

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming tour:

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!

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: