Yon Mon - Warmongers

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

*images courtesy of Yon Mon.

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

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

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

Pastel: The Dome, London

Manchester’s Pastel finished their UK tour at London’s Dome in Tuffnel Park last Saturday. It’s their first tour since their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Souls In Motion’ was released.

*Banner image credit: Gary Walker

Last time headlining in London at the Garage, the band crossed over. A magical performance blessed with a spellbinding psyche that enticed a crowd into a unifying moment of escapism.

Image credit: Gary Walker

With the album not charting as well as they might have hoped, could they cope with the pressure? Could the band do it again?

Form is temporary. Class is permanent.

In the past, their gigs have been a display of talent—of a band with the songs and attitude to define a generation. Pastel is now toying with its crowd like master performers. The adrenaline rush of ‘Gone Too Fast’ is dipped into the Verve-eseque soul of ‘Leave A Light On’.

From then on, everything was beguiling, seemingly slight of hand as the Mancunians ascended to their throne as the band of the moment. The atmosphere hit a fever pitch amidst lysergic fog emanating from James Yates and Joe Anderson’s guitars. The guttural anthemia of ‘Heroes Blood’ and the rolling majesty ‘Deeper Than Holy’ spiral into the sweet release of ‘Isaiah’. It lands the band in a realm of glory, of a world where bands don’t have to serve up wet-fisted indie and half-baked Arctic Monkeys lyrics. In Pastel Land, bands are great, and they strive for more!

‘Souls In Motion’ may not have graced the heights of the album charts it deserved, but the people know. They have spoken. Loudly, in numbers, and with arms aloft, they ushered in their new heroes.

Image credit: Gary Walker

MOSES - Skin

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

*image credit Mike Rădulescu. Courtesy of Artbeat Promo

Artwork credit: JJ Eringa

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

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

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

Dogs – Olby’s Soul Café and Pioneer Club

“When something’s good  / It’s never gone.”

Fourteen years have passed since we last saw Dogs on stage at Dingwalls. Earlier this year, a shock post from their social media account announced they would support The Rifles at Olby’s Soul Café in Margate and the Pioneer Club in St. Albans. We were at both to witness their comeback.

It may have been The Rifles’ name up in lights in Margate, but night one belonged to the prodigal sons Johnny Cooke and Kevin Iverson. War stories from 100 Club gigs were swapped with the glee usually reserved for kids going to bed on Christmas Eve.

Chants of “We are the dogs” went up every few minutes. The atmosphere built with the electricity that diehard fans thought would never return. If this was supposed to be a bit of fun for Cooke and Iversen, it was anything but for the crowd.

Images courtesy of Sean Kelly.

The fourteen years of hurt never stopped us dreaming.

Cooke, visibly nervous, introduced himself with a whisper. The fallen icon riddled with self-doubt was eased back into things by Iversen’s divine version of ‘Turn Against This Land’. Step forward Dogs’ loyal fanbase. ‘Tarred and Feathered’ followed to unleash an outpouring of love, grief, regret, pain, angst, joy, and ecstasy.

I know that was then, but it could be again!

Cooke may have entered nervous, but he left victorious. He found his snarl on ‘This Stone Is a Bullet’ and ‘London Bridge’. His poetic cadence oozed its rhythmic flow on ‘By The River’, and on the classic ‘Tuned To A Different Station’, he found the voice that, for some, was one of its generation!

In the ode to Orwell’s ‘1984’ ‘Winston Smith’, the crowd is sent into a spin of emotion. The melodic uplift at “Because I know there's something / I just can't get to it” soared, releasing the torment of what might have been, what should have been for this eloquently powerful beast. A mini stage invasion ensued on ‘Dirty Little Shop’, sending memories of the 1234 Festival’s glorious chaos to the fore.

On night two in St. Albans, Cooke and Iverson were a different animal. The nerves banished, Cooke stepped into his role of performer, and their harmonies were enriching. It was less emotional, a more typical support slot of winning people over, and win they did.

It’s too soon to say if we have our band back, but we’re out of this jail and will be dreaming for now!

Rolla - We Owe You Nothing

Manchester’s Rolla are set to release their second EP ‘We Owe You Nothing’ on Friday 7th March via Run On Records.

Artwork & image courtesy of Fear PR and Mamucium Design

On their debut EP ‘Nothing Less Than Everything’, Rolla largely shed their love of early Kasabian sonically and began to venture into the expansive world of The Verve. ‘We Owe You Nothing’ witnesses a stylistic return to their early singles ‘Thinking of Tomorrow’ and ‘Sweet Lullaby’.

The EP is bookended by ‘We Owe You Nothing’ (title track) and ‘The Slide’. It's less a return to this singles and more a cataclysmic earth-shattering display of how far they’ve come as a band. The former is beset with intoxicating violence via Luke Gilmore’s destructive basslines. The nods to ‘Fuckin’ in the Bushes’ and ‘666 Conducer’ give this chaotic joyride a sense of chest-beating glory that is impossible to ignore.

Gilmore doubles down on this hypothesis ‘The Slide’. His opening bass lines alongside the backwards guitars fade into the febrile psychedelia like a dystopian nightmare induced by speed. Dank and vicious landscapes emerge around the snarling roar of frontman James Gilmore which cause unnerving wall of sound.

Elsewhere, ‘It Ain’t Easy’ continues the mayhem with basslines menacingly funking like Mani era Primal Scream and on ‘Beautify Lie’, they mercifully change track with a more simplistic Richard Ashcroft crafted melody.

Rolla are currently on tour with Pastel. Do not arrive late!

The Crooks – Carry On

Chesterfield’s The Crooks return This Friday with their new single ‘Carry On’ produced by Embrace’s Richard McNamara.

*image and artwork courtesy of the band.

Photos taken for cover by @Buncity_ on Instagram

It’s a marked difference for the band sonically but a natural one for them. Through the vocals and primordial drums, the nomadic spirituality of Stone Roses’ ‘Your Star Will Shine’ and ‘Tightrope’ emerge alongside their inclination for rock ‘n’ roll’s bombast.

The guitars during the build flicker with the grandiose stature of ‘Champagne Supernova’ and howl with heaviness as life comes on top. It’s through Duncan Couch’s lyrics and Jacko’s defiant vocal that light finds a way in:

“My heart kickstarted up again, and beat so hard It shattered all my chest / But I still breathe.”

Modders’ guitars in the closing stages, whilst huge and deafening, are beautifully understated. His connection to songwriter Couch’s lyrics brings an integrity and humble reflection of the times we endure.

Pre-Covid, the band was unleashing lights up fist aloft singalong anthems. Upon return, they nailed the noise and confusion of the psychedelic banger. This was enough to make their debut album one of the hottest prospects. In ‘Carry On’ they’ve strayed into the explorative world of Pastel and The Verve and opened up their future cannon. Key to its success is the gradual step. They’ve retained their sense of death or glory amid the new nodes of shoegaze and psyche. The anticipation of the debut album has now skyrocketed.

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming shows:

The Utopiates – Evanescent

London-based groove machine The Utopiates return this Friday with their first release of 2025. Their new single ‘Evanescent’ was produced by Pigeon Detectives and Maximo Park cohort Andy Hawkins. It will be released via V2 Records.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

Previous singles ‘Neighbourhood’ and ‘Reputation’ have been privileged to lift 00s NYC indie-electro back to the fore. As it turns out, they’ve been the perfect bridge to ‘Evanescent’ where the band, arguably, step out alone sonically for the first time.

Frontman Dan Popplewell adopts the poetic fire of Skint & Demoralised in the verses, allowing the songs’ discourse of time passing you by to swell. His newly adopted spoken word delivery comes after years of post-punk bands doing the same. It is a testament to his venomous clarion call speeches that it sounds fresh, a lone wolf in a bloated crowd of intolerable bores.  

Josh Redding’s punchy riff condenses Art Brut and TV On The Radio into a slick, angular moment of aggression. Not since Stone Cold kicked to the gut pre-stunner has something so jarring been this enjoyable! Its brutal impact allows the looping synths and Popplewell’s angelic chorus to melt away life’s ills.

Live, The Utopiates have always had an air of defiance that hasn’t shone through on the records. It hasn’t needed to; such was the beauty of the debut album. On stage, though, their humanity shines through, and they’re band desperate to prove to the world they’re worthy of attention. On ‘Evanescent’, they’ve allowed this sentiment to seep in, and it’s freed them up to take creative risks, and it’s paid off.

Click the image below for tickets to their upcoming tour:

THIS IS WAR - Lucifer’s Party

Liverpool’s THIS IS WAR returned at the end of January with two new tracks, ‘Lucifier’s Party’ and ‘Talkin Blues’ featuring Sterlin.

‘Lucifer’s Party’ comes rip-roaring 2025 with their archetypal sound in full flow. The relentlessness of The Jam is injected with the muscular riffage of Pete Townsend.

There are few finer things in this world than seeing frontman Paul Carden attack a vocal like this. Aggressive yet soulful, his cadence distils a purity that allows you to make sense of our times.

Lyrically, he doubles down on this spirit as he attacks the casualness with which the world has lurched to dictators, fascists and oligarchs. The disbelief they conjure at a world of Trump, Putin apologists, and Reform on the march is the righteous angst-ridden tonic we’ve all been unable to wrench from despairing souls.

Countering this is ‘Talkin Blues’, featuring Midland’s artist Sterlin, a self-described electro-punk-rap performer. Sterlin’s introduction to THIS IS WAR is a match made in heaven—his wry and inciteful polemic fizzes with excitement around the NYC-enthused basslines. Jonny Roberts’ guitars fire like an early Bloc Party or Rapture single. Destined for sticky dancefloors in underground sweat-filled indie clubs, ‘Talkin Blues’ broods with the erstwhile menace of The Streets and the understated volatility of a Jagz Kooner remix. Long may this collaboration continue!

The North – Blood Orange

Leeds four-piece The North are back with their new single ‘Blood Orange’.

Soundtrack Your Soul put 2025 on notice with its electrifying guitars and raucous attitude. ‘Blood Orange’ is the antithesis of this. It is measured, downbeat, but no less evocative. At the heart of this creative expansion is Billy Memphis’ vocal. He pivots from Kele Okereke’s hushed indie soul to the early laconic drawl of Jonny Borrell, allowing the agonising confusion of the lyrics to swell.

Memphis’ guitars overlap each other with a masterful precision. As he sings, “I go round and round and round...” his licks howl in every direction, searching for a way out of the mental torture they emanated from.

Memphis and Co have displayed songwriting ability way beyond their years here. Two singles deep and they’ve shown they cut loose and turn inwards. The future is bright; the future is blood orange.

Sonnet – Changeover

Aberdeen band Sonnet released their first single of 2025 at the end of January. It follows the breakthrough EP  ‘Wishful Thinking’ released last summer.

*banner image credit: DMCaptures

To date, Sonnet have been a whirlwind of punk and rock ‘n’ roll. This time out, with unrequited love and isolation dominating the discourse, Sonnet finds themselves more introspective.

The opening line, “Life moves faster, but I don’t know where it goes,” set a melancholic tone as yet untravelled for the band. The guitars, tinged with The Cure's gothic psychedelia, elevate the vocal to a frightening level of vulnerability.

The vocal strays from angelic to unhinged without notice, making this single rise from downtrodden to euphoric, one of great intrigue at all points. The sense that it all could fall apart at any point is tangible. Nevertheless, Sonnet finds a way through the mire to release a scintillating solo into the ether to enrich souls and save lives!

The Bracknall – Falling Out Of View

The Bracknall released their second album ‘Falling Out of View’ last Friday via Beat Lab Records. In 2022, their debut album ‘Going Nowhere Fast’ announced the band as contenders to rock n roll’s throne. Will they ascend?

You wait five years for a great guitar record to come along, and then two come at once. First up was Pastel’s ‘Souls In Motion’, and now, The Bracknall have followed suit. In 1994, Noel Gallagher’s songwriting gave a downtrodden nation the seedlings of hope. In 2025, after fifteen years of racing to the bottom, The Bracknall’s brand of Gallagher songwriting and their penchant for soulful rock ‘n’ roll seems set to save us all once again.

Noel’s influence has a beautiful foothold on this record. Frontman and lead guitarist Jack Dacey’s vocals and lyrics on ‘Get Better’ tap into the Burnage soul that yearned to break free. Lyrically, an earthiness leads you into the band’s struggle with the same authentic ease as ‘Definitely Maybe’. Rather than adopt angst-ridden guitars, Jack, brother Harry, and Ed Smith’s guitars land you in the swirling hysteria of ‘I Hope I Think I Know’ and ‘My Big Mouth’ (minus the gak). It’ll land you in the gutter but arm-in-arm with a nation of guitar-loving brothers and sisters.

‘Say You Won’t Be Gone’ leans into the acoustic guitars and heaven-sent production that made Gallagher Senior a national treasure. It is, though, the windswept majesty of Soundtracks of Our Lives that underpins this track's magic. Dacey’s vocal glides between Ashcroft's melodic snarl and Mattias Bärjed's soulful romanticism on this ode to romance.

The album is bookended by two clarion calls in Make It Happen’ and ‘Giving Up Again’. The former flies across the horizon with the debauched grace of All The Young at their peak. Blessed with fingernails in the dirt desperation, it confronts it’s fears with the air of violence that early Kasabian roared onto the scene with. Dacey sings, ‘I could make it happen’ with such unflinching self-belief that mortgages will be wagered on it.

‘Giving Up Again’ sonically storms the gates with its bullish guitars. This relentless assault of the senses is accompanied by a lyrical nugget of gold:

“I’m tired of giving up again”

The euphoria that Dacey delivers in this line is sensational. The Bracknall, a band of over a decade, conveys the agony and ecstasy of band life with sensational euphoria. When otherworldly psyche chimes, it allows for a brief moment of peace and, thus, all of the band’s toil and rejection flood the senses before they come roaring back with tear-inducing power.

This is an album of blessed guitar solos. However, it has its crowning glory on ‘Everything I’ve Ever Known’ and the title track. If Kasabian nudged Oasis forwards in 2004 sonically, The Bracknall have appropriated their best bits and forced rock n roll’s wheel to begin rolling again. The progressive snarl of Liam and Tom Meighan and the rapturous key changes of Noel are injected with the blissed-out sunsets of Soundtracks of Our Lives and the joyfulness of My Morning Jacket. In an era of increasingly spiteful men, The Bracknall have given a generation a chance to hug their best mate and tell them they love them with a pint in hand and a tongue in their ear!  If ‘Everything I’ve Ever Known’ is coming up, then ‘Falling Out Of View’ is the sweet hours of love that follow. Images of the lights going up in Brixton Academy emerge in the wake of this powerful yet ethereal brilliance. Thousands simply must sway in unison as the band walks off triumphantly at the end of their working week.

For many, having Oasis back this summer is a great thing. It’s nothing compared to the guts and glory of The Bracknall slogging their guts out for a decade and unearthing this album-of-the-year contender. Sonically, stylistically, and lyrically, they’ve reimagined what Oasis, Soundtrack of Our Lives for the modern age. In an era that doesn’t give bands a shot, they should be lauded as working-class heroes, for The Bracknall have reminded us all it’s something to be!

The Lilacs – Calling It A Night

Wigan outfit The Lilacs have come roaring out of the blocks in 2025 with their new single ‘Calling It A Night’. The single is released via Scruff of the Neck Records.

Infectious and sun-kissed, they explore the avenues of taking life to the edge of debauched oblivion and questioning its legitimacy. Many adopt the imagery of “bensons in one hand and heels the other”, too many, but The Lilacs’ infectious and sun-kissed sonic allows them a space to operate credibly. The sense of the gang loitering in the corner of a Spoons, watching others' worlds fall by the wayside with great amusement, shines through. A British pastime as traditional as conkers or cricket.

Sam Birchall’s guitars tap into the rippling joy of ‘Cavorting’ and provide a platform for the melody to breeze into the nation's souls yearning for bands to fill big rooms. Upon first listening, anyone who came of age in the 00s will inevitably feel The Courteeners’ presence looms too large. However, such is the melodic exuberance coursing through the single that ultimately, most will end at a destination of “who cares”.

The Lilacs have kicked off 2025 with an effortlessness that suggests those big rooms are soon to become a reality. A band in such a free-flowing mood can be a hard juggernaut to stop, woe betide anyone attempts it in 2025.

Pete Doherty – Felt Better Alive

“I gave my nights up for old songs, sound better alive
I gave my life over to old songs, sound better alive”

 The Libertines icon recently released his latest single, ‘Felt Better Alive’, via his label Strap Originals. It is the lead single from the upcoming fifth studio album of the same name, due May 16th.

*image credit: Bridie Cummings

The flourishes of skiffle and slide guitar suit Doherty’s down but not out image with a poetic magic that few can authentically compete with. Alongside the strings, it allows a mournful Doherty to build up an intense narrative before his melody melts all life’s woes away.

Nods to ‘What Katie Did’ and ‘Delany’ sonically toy with his glorious and checkered past on the most textured record within his solo cannon to date. The strings, at points, have a lost-at-sea isolation which plants you in his reality, whereas, lyrically, he seeks to reaffirm his younger self’s dreams and notions of “what might have been”. It’s a juxtaposition that seems a natural fit for his romanticism. However, for those who’ve followed the course of his Albion, it comes loaded with tortured imagery and regret.

As he decrees, “I’d always planned to sing in a sweet and soulful way, as only cowboys can!” Doherty transcends music. Like a bird singing just because it can, Doherty finds the sweet spot between a free soul and one trapped by the past.

After a career-redefining year with The Libertines in 2024, the good ship Albion looks set to sail into more glorious sunsets with its chief troubadour in great form.

Marseille – History

For the most part, Marseille has presented itself as a joyous collective. Pulling from the same psychedelic hymn sheet, they’ve traversed Ride, Oasis, and The Verve. On ‘History’, deliberately or not, tension in style arises, and it’s great!

*banner image courtesy of the band.

Lead guitarist Joe Labrum’s parts sound like Noel Gallagher playing Nick McCabe. Less intricate more universal, but still beset with enough spaced-out exploration of The Verve to keep things interesting. They’re guitars for dreamers.

Cut to frontman Will Brown, whose vocals are urgent, besotted with making said dreams reality. They collide poetically with the guitars, causing a chasm. Labrum entices Brown to a more philosophical world, and Brown, in turn, demands they implement it.  

In the closing stages, Brown decrees “you and I, you and me / you and I, you and me / you and I, you and me” in a moment of feverish euphoria. Their worlds unite, dreams become destiny, and hope is restored to guitar lovers.

Like Pastel’s triumphant debut album, Marseille are on a journey to restore rock ‘n’ roll to a time when it mattered when bands were life and death! In ‘History’, they stare into their souls, face their fears, and march forward with a confidence that can only be a clarion call for change to all who listen.

Derby’s Marseille returns on Friday, 24th January, with the new single ‘History’.

Pastel – Souls In Motion

As lockdown began to fade in October 2021, Pastel put the world on notice with their ‘Deeper Than Holy’ EP. Organic, righteous, explorative indie-psyche music reared its head and sowed the seeds of hope for the guitar scene.

Four years on, they’ve opened for Liam Gallagher at Knebworth, blown their label mates of stage at the Islington Academy, and ushered in a new era of shoegaze and rock ‘n’ roll with a miraculous performance at The Garage in London.

Key to their ascendancy has been the likes of ‘Deeper Than Holy’, ‘Isiah’, and ‘Escape’. The former eloquently follows in its footsteps. The trippy ‘Life’s An Ocean’ guitars, whilst Blake-esque lyrics elevate the best moments of The Verve to the fore, something that will become their stock in trade. ‘Isaiah’ is steeped in Nick McCabe’s magical swirling guitars that beckon tonnes of dry ice on a huge stage for them. Frontman Jack Yates’ angelic vocals give the astonishing sonic a human touch, allowing us mortals into their world. ‘Escape’, written after a hefty acid trip, has the melodic hallmarks of ‘Weeping Willow’ and ‘Space & Time’ and the explorative splendour of ‘Blue’. The sumptuous slide guitars are destined for iconic status.

Image courtesy of Fear PR

The unheard additions to the album are its biggest assets, though. ‘Heroes Blood’ and ‘Gone Too Fast’ rise to the top of ‘Souls In Motion’ with astonishing power. ‘Heroes Blood’ is a tornado of rock ‘n’ roll with basslines from the devil and guitars from the darkest quarter of McCabe’s soul. With hedonism in their blood, they march unsighted through the mire to announce “I’m free” alongside the majesty of ‘Urban Hymns’. It’s a monstrous opener, beset with the kind of intent that ‘Stone Roses’, ‘Definitely Maybe’, and ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ unleashed.

‘Gone To Fast’ is where they transcend to greatness. Frontman Jack Yates finds spitefulness in his vocals in the verse; it gives the self-belief in the lyrics the venom they richly deserve. Conversely, as  Joe Anderson and James Yates build the tension to a fever pitch, Jack’s melodic vocal uplift becomes the most significant moment in rock ‘n’ roll this decade! Has three and a half minutes ever felt more like a victory?

Pastel have given the alternative circuit its credibility back. For the first time in what feels like forever, a band has decreed statements of intent and confidence that, not only can be believed in, can resonate with the life-or-death authenticity of Jimmy Cooper (Quadrophenia):

“I’ve got heroes blood running through my veins” (‘Heroes Blood’)

“The hand that shakes the suit and tie / is the one that will betray” (‘Your Day’)

“You can’t walk a single step in my shoes” (‘Gone To Fast’)

The time is up for the raffle winners who are half-arsing fame and supporting 90s legends on seemingly every tour! The real deal has woken from its slumber, and it’s taking back big stages, festivals, and glory.

Manchester’s Pastel are set to release their debut album on January 17th via Spirit of Spike Island Records. ‘Souls In Motion’ was recorded at The Old Bank studios, with Afflecks Palace frontman J Fender producing and James Kenosha mixing.

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The Crooks – Dreaming Out Loud

Chesterfield rock ‘n’ rollers The Crooks are back with their fourth single since reforming ‘Dreaming Out Loud’.

*Banner image by Oliver London.

Since their return, their live shows have been enthralling, emotion-driven moments that will echo down eternity to those who went. On record, ‘Wide Awake’ and ‘In the Meantime’ picked up where they left off sonically, but something was missing.

On ‘What You Know’ and now ‘Dreaming Out Loud’, they’ve found the missing ingredient: the fall-to-the-floor anthem that countenances their sing-along ballads pieces of rock n roll defiance.

The middle ground between ‘Silhouette Sunshine’ and ‘Better Days’ shows the band completely controlling their identity and destiny. Toying with chaos and splicing in great melodies like rock star puppeteers, they have found their sweet spot.

Concise yet huge, they now sound like a band conquering the studio.

The guitars come out swinging with a heavy, intoxicating power on what is comfortably their best riff to date. Its power lies in its conciseness. Like a great heavyweight boxer’s jab, it knocks its opponent back into a daze. The violence of Kasabian’s debut and Rolla loiter as Modders’ hook loops with its way to glory.

Frontman Jacko, so often their melodic secret weapon, pulls back from an all-out assault and allows his soulful drawl to wash over the devastation with euphoric consequences. Few can match Embrace when Danny and Rich McNamara sing in tandem, but Jacko surpasses them in this showing. He leads you to the edge of the universe, allowing the solo to blow holes into the sun.

When they initially split, fans were devastated. The real deal was taken away from them. In the intervening years, no marks and also-rans have filled the void and reaped huge benefits their talents do not warrant. The Crooks’ return was less relief to fans and more, saddle up, we’re coming for the pretenders. ‘Dreaming Out Loud’ gives them yet another stick to beat the middle of the road with, and it feels great!

The Utopiates – Reputation

London outfit The Utopiates are back with their new single, ‘Reputation. ‘Released last week on V2 Records, it follows their LCD Soundsystem-driven ‘Neighbourhood,’ which came out in September.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

Their direction of travel on ‘Neighbourhood’ significantly shifted towards NYC and the 00s indie-electro scene. ‘Reputation’ struts further into this territory with crunching basslines akin to London’s 00s scenesters New Young Pony Club.

Frontman Dan Poppewell taps into his vocal cadence on ‘Devolution’, which allows the Disco elements to creep in alongside the New Order meets nu-rave synths, which sprinkle magic sporadically throughout.

The combination of disco and indie-electro in this stripped-back style allows The Utopiates to glide in between Radio 4 and Tom Vek to occupy the fascinating ground. What neither of those above had, nor anyone from the nu-rave/electro scenes, was Josh Redding. He shone as a riff and solo maker of baggy and psyche classics on the debut album. Now, he appears mercurially like a guitar genie. Sprinkling psyche magic a la (Moon Duo) but in concise moments of technicoloured bliss.

Electric Sheep Inc. - Inn on the Green, Shiiine On '24

Rhyl outfit Electric Sheep Inc. made their Shiiine On debut two weekends ago on the Inn on the Green stage and we were there to check it out.

To outsiders, Shiiine On has the unfair tag of a nostalgia festival. There’s some, granted. Step inside Minehead for that weekend, and you’ll see the established perfecting their craft on new albums, but, furthermore, you’ll find nuggets of fledgeling gold like Ecko, Deja Vega (no longer fledgeling) by any means, and Holy Youth Movement being given grand stages to emerge from the shadows.

With nine years of unearthing the UK’s finest new bands behind them, Electric Sheep Inc. in the Inn on the Green came with a buzz.

They did not disappoint!

The intoxicating Velvet Underground drama of ‘Liberation’ unfurled with breathtaking power, while ‘Cough Syrup’ and ‘Moosha Moosh’ swayed from the Mondays to PiL debauched and undeniable.

On former singles ‘Queen’s Nose’ and ‘Taste of It’, the band went from engaging to weekend stealing. As frontman Christian Pimley wrenched “your sheep, annnnnd your cattle, iii’mmmmm not dying for you” from his soul, he found a space between ‘Bummed’ era Ryder and PiL era Lydon to reign supreme as the next great frontman. So many proclaim their colossal stature; Pimley exuded it as he glided effortlessly, making a tiny pub stage look like a vast arena. Coupled with Cameron Kelly and Josh Jones’ spiralling guitars, rock ‘n roll announced its greatness once again.

Set closer, ‘Taste of It’ doubled down on this with its warping majesty. Pimley’s snarling vocal cut through the Mondays-esque grooves with a euphoric intensity. MORE

A festival so synonymous with Happy Mondays was arguably treated to the finest thirty minutes of post-‘Pills, Thrills, and Bellyaches’ ever seen—great lyrics, effortless swagger, and a venom that could kill from a hundred paces.

Ecko: Centre Stage, Shiiine On '24

Ayrshire’s Ecko have become cult heroes at the Shiiine On Weekender since their 2022 debut. Their rags-to-riches debut was a tough act to follow last year, but they still impressed. If the band remained at this level this year, it could only be considered a success. Could they go further still?

Pressure? What pressure?

Shoulders were loose, guitars were slung low, and this was a band with confidence oozing through their souls. On ‘Danny MacKenzie,’ frontman Jamie Warden moved with an ease not seen before. He stepped on the intensity when the power came on top and then eased off into a gentler, aloof mode, visibly allowing an aurora to build around him. Like all great frontmen, he wheeled away from the limelight when it was Matthew Welsh’s (lead guitarist) moment to shine.

A practice they doubled down on during ‘Play Pretend’ when Welsh became the lead singer for the first time. With Warden in such great form, heads turned rapidly. The most exciting band of the decade just added another intoxicating dimension to the band. Welsh's vocal snarled with bullish defiance, his incredulous Keith Richards-esque solo and Liam O’Connor’s career-best bassline crunching its way to glory set this band out so far ahead of the rest.

After the behemoth performance of the latest single ‘Let Go’, the band cut loose on ‘Think Three Times’. The perfect ying and yang of these two felt like a set closing pair for a long time. The violence of ‘Let Go’ tempered by the glee of ‘Think Three Times’ to send thousands home joyously became an inescapable image.

Ecko, three years into their Shiiine careers, played with the skill of a mainstage headliner. Pumping the room full of adrenaline on ‘Miss Hurricane’, and dipping it on ‘Sour’ to show their genius, Ecko propelled souls into the darkness and lifted them out via a haze of psychedelic immortality.

The main stage awaits!

Siracuse - Simple Pleasures

Image courtesy of Goldstein United Mgmt

Cheltenham outfit Siracuse recently returned with their latest single, ‘Simple Pleasures,’ via Vibrant Sky Records. The single is backed by the angelic euphoria of ‘You Change,’ and a defined live version of ‘Lossen Your Grip’ on Spotify.

*banner image credit: @james_taking_pictures

Lyrically, Ben Zakotti finds himself in a carefree head space. As seen on ‘Saviour’ and So Serene’, shackle-free is where Zakotti thrives. His innate ability to be in the moment while creating rock music carnage around with nods to the Stones, the Primals, and Kasabian is enough to keep Siracuse’s stick rising into these bleak winter months.

The pulsating intro pushes the hedonism of Soundtrack of Our Lives to the edge of what is sane. Debauched, with the threat of violence lurking, it showcases how intoxicating rock ‘n’ roll’s three chords can still be.

Siracuse is rapidly becoming one of the UK’s best-kept secrets, and the time feels right for that to change. From big epics to short blasts of glory, they have the rock ‘n’ roll cannon to change lives.