Indie
Live Review: Circa Waves, The Leadmill, Sheffield, 10.4.2015
Circa Waves are the kind of new band it’s possible you could have totally missed, but it’s highly probable you’ve heard at least one of their summery, catchy songs being belted out on heavy rotation on Radio 1. Having been together only a couple of years and just releasing their debut album this April, it’s …
News: The Church announce May/June tour dates
One of Backseat Mafia’s favourite bands, The Church, is touring Europe next month and in June, and have also just announced a series of special gigs for Australia in July. Off the back of their superb and much lauded album, Further/Deeper (which we reviewed late last year) and following their sell-out tour to promote the …
Live Review: San Cisco, The Dome Tufnell Park, London, 9th April 2015
San Cisco are a band you need to see live, but being the busy bees they are and the fact they hail from Fremantle in Western Australia, it’s difficult to track them down for a gig. They’re recently completed a successful tour of Europe which ended with a solitary UK appearance at The Dome, Tufnell …
Album Review: San Cisco – ‘Gracetown’
I need to give full disclosure straight away here. I love San Cisco. My love affair began back in Barcelona last August when their infectious “Awkward” was on heavy rotation on my hotel music channel and it’s only grown stronger in the months between. I’d barely got to grips with enjoying their debut eponymous album …
Track: Black Honey – Spinning Wheel
Brighton beauties Black Honey reveal the other half of their double A side single and its recent live favourite ‘Spinning Wheel’. Spinning Wheel opened the shows on their recent tour and stood out as a highlight, which is no mean feat when you hear the rest of Black Honey’s set list. Starting off calm and …
Album Review: Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
Not since Seven Swans has Sufjan Stevens put out such a confessional, introspective, and heartfelt record. Even more, while Seven Swans was heartfelt and confessional, it was a generalization of those feelings of life, loss, and love. Carrie & Lowell is an album of grief pulled straight from Sufjan’s own life. The album is named after Stevens’ mom and stepdad, and …
Live Review: Catfish and The Bottlemen and Little Comets, O2 Academy Sheffield, 4.4.2015
Around Valentine’s Day last year, I was sent to the Leadmill to review two indie bands mid-way through their UK tour. Little did I know I would be reviewing those same two bands, together, as they tour once again in 2015 – just bigger venues this time. Catfish and the Bottlemen began as support for Little Comets, …
Gallery: The Gorgeous Chans at Plug, Sheffield, 3.4.2015
In anticipation of Mosborough Music Festival, taking place on Saturday 6th June this year, Plug hosted a special warm-up gig featuring 4 unique bands that drew in a crowd from various corners of the UK. First up was Nottingham-based band the Gorgeous Chans. I last saw these boys at Y Not festival in the summer …
See: Ezra Furman releases video to Restless Year
Ahead of his first album for Bella Union, singer songwriter Ezra Furman has released a new video for the track ‘Restless Year’. Its his first since the well received Day of the Dog, which showed Furman could mix up elements of doo wop, skiffle and garage into something that sounded decidedly modern. Restless Year follows …
Album Review: Stornoway – Bonxie
Oxford four-piece Stornoway are back with a new album called ‘Bonxie’, released on 13th April through Cooking Vinyl. It’s the first of Stornoway’s albums to take the services of a producer, their previous releases being very much DIY efforts, but not DIY in quality I hasten to add. The producer in question is none other …