Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
This week we begin with festival announcements and start off with the incredible first line-up reveal for 2000trees Festival.
Headlining the Saturday night will be Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. They’ll be joined across the weekend by the likes of Hundred Reasons, Rival Schools, The Wonder Years, Bob Vylan, Holding Absence, Cancer Bats, Dream State, No Devotion, Saint Agnes, Press To Meco and many more!
We move our News Report on now to the best tour announcements from the past week and begin with the iconic Duran Duran.
The group have announced a run of UK and Ireland Arena shows for next year.
Simon Le Bon said: â2022 has been an extraordinary year for Duran Duran – mainly down to the incredible fans we have around the world. In July we celebrated our years together at Hyde Park as part of the British Summer Time Festival. Next Spring we will be back on home soil once again to continue the party. Itâs remarkable to me that as a band, we are still hitting new milestones, still able to introduce the sound of DD to new generations of music lovers. We are truly grateful that we get to do what we do on a daily basis, and that we still love our job as much as we did when we started out some four decades ago.”
The final tour announcement in our News Report comes from The Sherlocks who will be out on the road later in the year with an October/November tour revealed this week.
We turn our attention now to the best new releases from the past week in our News Report. Just the one to highlight this week with the new single, ‘On The Up’ from Sean McGowan.
Listen to the track above, and head here for more.
Scotland’s Dancing On Tables have released their debut album, ‘Colour In The Grey’, including the single, ‘So What’!
The band says, “It feels like the last 3 years of our life have all been building up to this album. You can hear the journey that weâve been on as a group as you go through the tracks, with stories of love, happiness, loss and frustration sang on top of a sound that we have worked hard to define by combining our original rock influences with our favourite modern music alt-pop styles.
The album is a collection of songs that were put together over a time where as musicians, we were suddenly stuck at home after being used to being on the road for most of the year. Like most people, it was tough for us to stay motivated during this, but working together (remotely) on music was the highlight of each day and left us with over 70 tracks to choose from for this album.
For us, writing and recording this album really was the ‘colour in the grey’ of every day life at this point.”
Humour – ‘Jeans’
Fellow Scots Humour have released, ‘Jeans’, the final single from their EP, ‘Pure Misery’.
The band had the following to say about the single:
“Jeans is about a character who is internally trying to build himself up and convince himself that heâs a successful and confident no-nonsense man. But he periodically has lapses in this forced self-assuredness and realises that he is not any of those things and is in fact quite a sad, pathetic and laughable character. Much like myself.”
Jamie Beale – ‘Champagne People’
Jamie Beale has released debut album, ‘Hello Nimbus’ featuring the single ‘Champagne People’.
Speaking about the inspiration for the single, Jamie says: â I feel that we are living in this weird age where people are willing to do anything for fame. You see it all the time on social media – itâs so easy to put up a veil and hide all the realities and imperfections of life that ultimately make us human. Quite often, in these industries that promote the idea of fame as success, people surround themselves with an entourage of fake people; people that are only really there to further their own careers. On the outside looking in, it seems that no-one in these circles are truly content, but instead are lonely and looking to fill that void with possessions or short lived moments of attention and gratification.
âI guess I canât help but feel for these people, so I wrote a song about someone whoâs trying to climb the social ladder, and ends up alone, hiding behind a pretty picture of how they want their life to look.â
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
We start this week with festival announcements and we can’t begin anywhere else other than Slam Dunk Festival. The dual location event has revealed the first batch of bands set for Leeds and Hatfield next year and it’s a stunner!
On tap are The Offspring, Enter Shikari, Billy Talent, Bowling For Soup, Less Than Jake, Creeper, Holding Absence, Trash Boat and Kids In Glass Houses amongst many more.
Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari comments:
“Iâve been intoxicated by the idea of headlining Slam Dunk again ever since our Take To The Skies celebration headline set back in 2017. Itâs such a great festival, always nails its bills, and has the added bonus that us lads can actually cycle to the Southern date, being that Hatfield is a neighbouring town to us!
In fact, essentially, this will be our biggest âhometownâ show ever, now that the festival has grown even more. I cannot wait. In fact, I will not wait. I demand we play this tomorrow!
I think playing outdoors is my favourite thing to do in life. Just being able to look up and see the sky, with the expanse of people underneath it, all sharing the same emotions and experience, itâs just such a raw, beautiful, and reifying thing.
Slam Dunk is a festival I try to attend every year regardless of whether weâre playing it. I love both the sites, and itâs always full of mates and has such a convivial vibe. (Thatâs my word of the week).
Weâre already thinking about stage production ideas, weâre going to do everything we can to make this our biggest show yet.â
Staying in Leeds, and Live At Leeds: In The City grew by some 80+ acts this week.
Joining the already announced Pale Waves, Dinosaur Pile-Up and Baby Queen will be the likes of Sundara Karma, White Lies, Swim Deep, Lottery Winners, King No-One, The Pale White, The Hara and many more.
Speaking about the new additions to Live At Leeds: In The City, Festival Promoter Joe Hubbard said: âAfter the incredible reaction to our first wave of names, weâre delighted to announce over 80 new artists joining us across Leeds City Centre this October. Thereâs something incredible about bringing together some of the most exciting names in new music that us in the Live At Leeds office have been playing constantly or lucky enough to see this year – and Live At Leeds: In The City 2022 feels like the perfect combination of artists we know are set for massive things in the year ahead.
I canât wait to dive around the city catching set after set of must-see moments, and weâre sure that everyone will come away from the festival with countless new favourite artistsâ
Another fantastic looking line-up comes from Mutations Festival in Brighton.
Announced to play the November event are the likes of Bob Vylan, Pussy Riot, Squid, Do Nothing, Gaffa Tape Sandy, Pip Blom, Crows, Coach Party, Lynks and Hamish Hawk.
Our News Report moves on to the biggest tour announcements from the past week, but we start off with another huge summer show set for 2023.
Courteeners will be returning to Heaton Park to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of their debut album, ‘St.Jude’.
Speaking about the special âSt Judeâ Heaton Park show, Liam Fray says: âThey grow up so fast. Canât believe our darling St. Jude is 15 next year. Think itâs time for a celebration and we all know that great things come in threesâŠ.The Star Wars Trilogy, Sooty, Sweep & Soo and now, here we are, with the third instalment of âCourteeners at Heaton Parkâ.
June 2015. June 2019 and now June 2023 âŠ
This time, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its release weâll be playing ST. JUDE (in full) PLUS (of course) THE HITS. I canât think of any better way to celebrate than to make the pilgrimage to Heaton Park with like-minded souls and lose ourselves like itâs 2008. And, because weâre good like that, weâve remastered the original album ⊠GOD BLESS THE BAND. GOD BLESS THE FANS. OMNE TRIUM PERFECTUM.â
Fresh from performing at Reading & Leeds Festivals, Fever 333 have announced a full UK/EU Tour for early next year culminating with a huge show at London’s famous Roundhouse.
Kid Kapichi have revealed a new UK Tour set for early next year. The news comes ahead of the release of new album, ‘Here’s What You Could Have Won’, which arrives September 23rd.
The final tour announcement in our News Report this week comes from Daytime TV. The band will be playing a handful of headline shows this October alongside a Glasgow support slot with The Amazons.
Watch Daytime TV on our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast
‘Discover’ New Music Podcast – Episode 14 – Daytime TV
Arctic Monkeys debut new single ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’
Arctic Monkeys – ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’
Our News Report turns now to the best new music releases from the past week and we start with the iconic Arctic Monkeys.
Last week the band revealed that new album, ‘The Car’, will be released on October 21st. This week the band debuted the first single from the album, ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’, which you can check out above.
Gorillaz debut new single ‘New Gold’ with Tame Impala & Bootie Brown
Gorillaz – ‘New Gold’ feat. Tame Impala & Bootie Brown
Our News Report is packed with great new music this week and next is the latest new track from Gorillaz. ‘New Gold’ features both Tame Impala and Bootie Brown, and you can check it out above.
This week also saw Gorillaz announce that new album, ‘Cracker Island’, is out February 24th.
Next up is Yungblud who released his self-titled new album this week. Ahead of the release the singer debuted latest tack, ‘Tissues’, which you can check out above.
Editors are preparing for the release of new album, ‘EBM’, on September 23rd. This week they debuted the latest track from the album, ‘Vibe’, which you can check out above.
The Wonder Years share ‘Old Friends Like Lost Teeth’
The Wonder Years – ‘Old Friends Like Lost Teeth’
As we continue our News Report we look now at The Wonder Years who this week shared new track, ‘Old Friends Like Lost Teeth’, which you can check out above.
The track will feature on upcoming album, ‘The Hum Goes On Forever’, which is out September 23rd.
“As much as I try not to dwell on loss, I can’t help myself from thinking about it, writing about it, singing about it,” Vocalist Dan Campbell explains. “This is a song for another friend who passed too soon and about how I wish I could stop myself from opening the sutures, about how I know it’ll be painful to play live, and how powerless I am to do anything else.”
Boston Manor this week shared new track, ‘Inertia’, which you can listen to above. The track comes from new album, ‘Datura’, which is out October 14th.
Our News Report continues with news that there was new music on offer this week from Pierce The Veil as they debuted new single, ‘Pass The Nirvana’, which you can listen to above.
Pulled Apart By Horses share ‘Sleep In Your Grave’
Pulled Apart By Horses – ‘Sleep In Your Grave’
Pulled Apart By Horses this week shared new track, ‘Sleep In Your Grave’, which you can check out above. The track comes ahead of fifth album ‘Reality Cheques’, out September 30th.
Commenting on the bandâs sonic evolution for the new record, vocalist Tom Hudson says: âOne major thing we all chatted about was the âless is moreâ approach, so we made a collective decision for me to ditch my guitar. It was a logical and simple way of trimming the fat, it gave us a more direct âto the pointâ urgency. Instead of the racket of multiple duelling guitars and a cacophony of noise, everything had a pocket to sit in. A sonic corner. PABH 2.0.â
âWhilst we were working through writing and jamming, we also experimented with load of different recording techniques, an array of vintage microphones that weâd accumulated, trashed 70âs WEM guitar combo amps, routing vocals through old fender spring reverb heads, manipulating sounds with Space Echo tape effects and a load of other things for us to play around with.â
October Drift released new single, ‘Waltzer’, this week, which you can check out above. The tracks will feature on upcoming album, ‘I Don’t Belong Anywhere’, which is out October 14th.
Regarding the single frontman Kiran Roy says, ââWaltzerâ always makes me think of Robert Eggars film The Lighthouse. The isolation and spiralling madness of the film really echoes with this song. I guess it’s mainly about the fog of depression. Itâs a kind of focus lens on my lowest and darkest thoughts, as well as a reflection of people I love and care about who have themselves battled with these kinds of things.â
Check out Episode 10 of The Full Pelt Music Podcast with guests October Drift
The Full Pelt Music Podcast – Episode 10 – October Drift
Charlotte Wessels shares latest single ‘Toxic’
Charlotte Wessels – ‘Toxic’
Charlotte Wessels debuted her latest single, ‘Toxic’, this week which you can listen to above. The track will feature on new album, ‘Tales From Six Feet Under Vol II’, which is out October 7th.
On ‘Toxic’, Charlotte says: “‘Toxic’ is a direct response to the populism, greed, misogyny and victim blaming that come screaming from our screens on a daily basis, and with the recent overturning of Roe v Wade, it has sadly become only more relevant since its initial release on Patreon. I hope you like the song but I mostly hope the issues it deals with will be a thing of the past before I am.”
Doom trap pioneer Mimi Barks has announced her highly anticipated upcoming mixtape âDEADGIRLâ which is set for release in December 2022. She has also dropped a new offering in the form of defying single ânihilâ.
âânihilâ is the first track I wrote after having my entire music collection and visuals wiped off all DSPâs including YouTube in 2020. And just when I entered the void, thinking this is it, my brother KOEN sent this beat, which lead me to writing the first song for what would later become the DEADGIRL Mixtape. I needed to move forward from this, and ânihilâ be my reboot in a paradoxical way.ââThere lies great power in resistanceâ – Mimi Barks
Sunsleeper – ‘Quitter’
Indie rock band Sunsleeper have shared their new single ‘Quitter’.
ââQuitterâ is about the pains and joys of being a band,â says vocalist Jeffery Mudgett. âHow touring is both incredibly fulfilling while also being a detriment to normalcy and comfortability. Poking fun at the comparison game. The realization that creating music in a live scenario is often the place I feel the most present, when I allow myself to be.â
noyou – ‘Same Old Story’
Having recently exploded onto the scene, Synthetic Pop-Rock band noyou have dropped their new single âSame Old Storyâ.
“Same Old Story explores the anxieties and stresses that come with adult life. Are we ‘on track’ with where we’re supposed to be for our age? The track deals with the repetition and monotony of the everyday and the struggles of wanting to be released from it. The train never stops, but what is our destination?â – noyou front man Connor Jobes.
Keep an eye on our Socials this week for the latest episode of the ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast with guests noyou!
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report, where we roundup the best news from the past week. We start this week with the latest tour announcements, including the above from The Hunna!
Having just revealed the details of their upcoming new self-titled album, the band have now scheduled in a lengthy UK Tour for later this year. Support comes from Kid Kapichi and Lucy Deakin.
‘Trash’, the lead single from the new album kicks things off by giving the music industry both barrels, taking pot-shots at the execs who told them âTikTok, TikTok or else you get droppedâ.
âWeâre not calling anyone specific out,â explains Ryan. âitâs just overall industry suckiness. It highlights things weâve experienced in the industry over the years and things we see going on and hear about now. Thereâs a lot of bad shit that still goes on in the industry and a lot of it gets swept under the rug. But weâre in the position where weâre on our fourth album, we feel refreshed and confident and this is what weâre going to say. You either like it or you donât, itâs cool either way. We are who we are.â
Speaking of lengthy tours, Blossoms will truly be putting the work in at the end of this year with the above trek around the UK. With shows already starting to sell out, these aren’t ones to sit on.
Nile Rodgers & Chic announces End of Summer Parties
The legendary Nile Rodgers and Chic have announced two massive concert appearances at the iconic London venue O2 Academy Brixton, on Monday 19th September 2022 as well as a second show at O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester on the 21st of September.
Nile Rodgers said, âAfter the blues of Covid weâve had an incredible summer in the UK getting up front and close with all of our incredible fans. What better way to celebrate the last day of summer and the first day of autumn than with our final UK shows of the year at Brixton and Manchester. We want to invite all the Lionesses whoâve made the whole country so proud to get up on stage for what will truly be Good Times!â
Black Honey this week announced a special one-off show at OMEARA in London. The band has teased the show as the beginning of their new era. Tickets have already sold out, for more info check here.
Another band with new tour dates to reveal as we continue our News Report is none other than The Wonder Years, who will hit the UK this November!
Speaking of the tour, frontman Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell, says “Fun Fact: Weâve been touring the UK longer than anywhere in the world, including the US. This year marks 15 years since our first UK tour and the memories weâve madeâfrom playing literal basements up to Alexandria Palaceâhave been and continue to be some of our most treasured. So itâs with an immeasurable joy that we get to tell you today that, for the first time since 2019, weâre doing a headlining UK tour this November. We canât wait to play everything for youânew stuff from THGOF, old favourites, the whole damn thing.”
A single piece of festival news in our News Report this week and it comes from Manchester event Neighbourhood Festival.
The festival has revealed a second wave of acts including Pastel, Himalayas, Michael Gallagher, Planet, Rats, Rosellas, and Youth Sector.
They join the already announced The Snuts, Everything Everything, Sundara Karma, Baby Queen, Lauran Hibberd, Louis Dunford, Stone, Ten Tonnes, The Goa Express, The Royston Club, The Skinner Brothers and Courting!
We move our News Report onwards now to the best new releases from the past week and we begin with Slipknot.
The band continue to prepare for their upcoming album, ‘The End, So Far’, which is out September 30th. This week the band debuted new track, ‘Yen’, which you can listen to above.
Another massive rock act with new music this past week is Alter Bridge. The band shared their latest track, ‘Silver Tongue’, which you can listen to above.
The song will feature on upcoming album, ‘Pawns & Kings’, which is out October 14th.
This week also saw IDLES debut the video for their track, ‘Stockholm Syndrome’.
Speaking on the video, directors Charlotte Gosch and the bandâs own Lee Kiernan explain, âThe process of making the video was very fulfilling for the both of us as we were able to physically create what we were imagining. Both the masks and shapes were handmade and painted by ourselves and friends.
Working with our DOP Rob French we were also able to realise the long shots of each verse and the opening scene of the dancers. We both love the exhaustive and immediate feeling that a long shot can convey, like in Gus Van Santâs Gerry, which we referenced quite literally.
The initial idea of the video was to try and visualise the monotony hell of having to work to survive and how the âmachineâ eventually engulfs you and strips you of your freedoms. But we wanted to achieve this in a metaphorical way that kept the meaning as open as possible. So it becomes rather a visual representation that can be read in many different ways.”
There was also new music from LIFE this week as they debuted new single, ‘Duck Egg Blue’, which you can check out above.
The track will feature on new album, ‘North East Coastal Town’, which is out on August 19th.
Speaking on the new release vocalist Mez says: ââDuck Egg Blueâ is a realist’s love song. The journey of trying to navigate through each otherâs feelings and emotions, the strains of close quarters trapped in a tiny flat, the minutiae of everyday life. The overarching sentiment is that no matter what happens, after all that is said and done, we love each other, and we are there for each other.â
Pet Needs debut new single ‘Fear for the Whole Damn World’
Pet Needs – ‘Fear for the Whole Damn World’
‘Discover’ New Music Playlist alumni now, and Pet Needs have shared their brand new single, ‘Fear for the Whole Damn World’, which you can listen to above.
The track comes ahead of new album, ‘Primetime Entertainment’, which is out September 9th.
Fellow previous ‘Discover New Music Playlist members Oakman have also released new music this week. You can listen to new single, ‘All The Way Up’, above.
About the song, the band says, ââAll The Way Upârepresents this long journey in a life between fear, hesitation and the desire to never stop going further. Since we were born, we all have dreams that we never stop fighting for. For which we will always be regarded as an alien by others because we are often misunderstood and not supported. And when everything else gets in the way, it’s often psychologically hard to continue to find strength. But every day is a new day and every day brings a new strength to keep going all the way up.â
The Lounge Society have shared new track, ‘Upheaval’, the latest track to be taken from their upcoming debut album ‘Tired of Liberty’, out August 26th.
The band comments, “Upheaval has a calmer atmosphere than anything weâve done before and looking back on the album as a whole, it may in fact be one of the most important tracks on there. In the studio Dan [Carey, producer] really helped us bring a certain vintage feel to life – with deep textured acoustic guitars, heavily impacted by the ambient room mixing we focused on in the closing stages of the album. This song, more than anything else weâve ever done, feels like us together as four mates playing a song that we love.â
Grave Goods – ‘Source’
Grave Goods have shared their new single, âSourceâ, taken from debut album ‘TUESDAY. NOTHING EXISTS.’, which is out 9th September.
On the track, drummer Sarah Grimes said, âThis was the second song we wrote. It was written on drums and guitar first, we wanted it to be really minimal in the verse with drums and vocals and contrasted with louder choruses with the guitar and drums working together with bass added later. When we were structuring the song we took the guitar line from the chorus and used it as the intro to hook people in.
When we wrote the song initially, I had a mic set up beside me and I whispered âha haâ at the end of each bar during the verses. Those were dropped as we started to play the song live but while we were recording we decided to add it back in – me whispering âHa Haâ on my tiptoes trying to reach Loisâ mic.â
ENOLA – ‘Strange Comfort’
Melbourne-based singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist ENOLA, sharesnew single âStrange Comfortâ.
ENOLA says of the track, âThere is a comfort in knowing that suffering can be a universal experience. We are alone, yet together in our aloneness.â
On the accompanying video they say, âIn the film I am not playing a role or character & Iâm not playing myself as I am today. I am looking back at a past self and a time & place gone. A time of fearlessness, hopelessness & rebellion.â
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report, where we roundup the best news from the past week. This week we start off with tour announcements and the above run of dates from You Me At Six.
The band will be joined by Waterparks, The Maine and Bears In Trees for the tour that finishes up at Alexandra Palace in London.
The fantastic Beans On Toast this week revealed another lengthy trek around the UK for early next year.
Speaking about the upcoming tour Beans says:
âFolk music is an age-old art form, and itâs more relevant than ever in these wild and crazy modern times. You can expect an inspiring and entertaining gig, a relaxed and fun affair that leaves you feeling like you’ve met up with an old friend, and you’re all the better for it.â
Kodaline have announced a special intimate run of UK shows in support of their forthcoming stripped-back live album ‘Our Roots Run Deep’, out October 14th.
Speaking about the tour the band say, âWe canât wait to be back in the UK to bring you some super intimate shows to celebrate the release of Our Roots Run Deep with some of our favourite Independent Music stores around the country. These will be some of the smallest shows weâve done in a long time and we cannot wait to see you there.â
Marking the announcement they have also released the new single âWherever You Areâ taken from the album. You can check it our below.
Kodaline – ‘Wherever You Are’
Regarding âWherever You Areâ vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Steve Garrigan says, ââWherever You Areâ is a song I originally wrote as a present for my girlfriend. Itâs a newer song from our fourth album One Day At A Time. Itâs connected with a lot of people around the world and has been fun to play live at festivals and full band shows. It was great to hear the crowd singing along to this acoustic version in such an intimate setting. Itâs a moment we wonât forget.â
Continuing about the album the band say, âThis album is something weâve wanted to do for a very long time, itâs also something entirely new to us. Itâs a stripped-down acoustic show with no click, which basically means, itâs very raw and unfiltered. We wanted to try and capture the energy and atmosphere of the night as best we could. It was an intimate show recorded in one of our favourite venues in the world, in Dublin City at home in Ireland. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed playing it.â
Burn It Down Festival adds Wargasm as special guests
Our News Report turns now to festivals and Torquay event Burn It Down, who this week added Wargasm as special guests.
They join a stunning line-up featuring Trash Boat, Deaf Havana, Static Dress, Our Hollow Our Home, Cassyette, VUKOVI, Tigercub, Death Blooms, As December Falls, Salem, Haggard Cat, IOTA and many more!
Smith/Kotzen announce new release ‘Better Days… And Nights’
Smith/Kotzen – ‘Hate and Love’ (Live)
New music releases now as our News Report continues. We start with the Smith/Kotzen collaboration and their news this week that they will be releasing ‘Better Days… And Nights’ on September 16th!
The release will comprise five previously unreleased live tracks, plus for the first time ever on CD, the four studio tracks featured on their sold out, limited edition 12â vinyl EP, ‘Better Days’, released in conjunction with Record Store Day in November 2021.
Adrian Smith comments, âI think everyone in the band was extremely happy with how our very first tour turned out. We were all naturally a little anxious as weâd never played live together before but once we got out there, everything fell into place really easily and we all had a tremendous amount of fun. I canât wait until we can do it again and get to play in many more places next time round.â
Richie Kotzen adds, âWe spent a lot of time discussing which of the songs from the live show to include on this CD. We wanted to capture an accurate snapshot of the special vibe we all felt on the tour and I think weâve achieved this in the songs weâve selected, and hope our fans will agree. Weâre looking forward to seeing everybody again on future tours.â
The Hunna have announced their brand new self-titled album to be released on October 28th. The album is preceded by new single, ‘Trash’, which you can listen to above.
âWe had so much fun writing the lyrics,â recalls vocalist and guitarist Ryan Potter. âAll of us were together, joking around and letting loads out. Even though it has got an angst to it, we donât take life too seriously, weâre just having fun.
âWeâre not calling anyone specific out, itâs just overall industry suckiness. It highlights things weâve experienced in the industry over the years and things we see going on and hear about now. Thereâs a lot of bad shit that still goes on in the industry and a lot of it gets swept under the rug. But weâre in the position where weâre on our fourth album, we feel refreshed and confident and this is what weâre going to say. You either like it or you donât, itâs cool either way. We are who we are.â
Charlotte Wessels shares new single ‘Human To Ruin’
Charlotte Wessels – ‘Human To Ruin’
Charlotte Wessels will release her new album, ‘Tales From Six Feet Under Vol II’ on October 7th. This week saw Wessels share the second single from the album, ‘Human To Ruin’, which you can check out above.
On the song, Charlotte comments,
âWith ‘Human To Ruin’ I wanted to make a song that has an old school symphonic feel to it, but at the same time doesnât get too polished or âprettyâ to reflect the theme of the track. The vocal processing on the choruses is inspired by 90âs grunge and the instrumental middle part gives off something psychedelic, all in all itâs quite eclectic.
Thematically, the words in ‘Human To Ruin’ are the things you say to yourself when you feel undeserving of love, or when you feel like you want love just for selfish reasons. I felt compelled to indulge in this feeling without nuancing it, because when you exaggerate a feeling like that, or make it larger than life in a song, it allows you to shout out the frustration on the one hand but it also reminds you that it is probably not all THAT bad in reality.â
Next in our News Report, we head to The Wonder Years, who continue to build towards their new album, ‘The Hum Goes On Forever’, which is released on September 23rd.
This week the band shared their latest single, ‘Low Tide’, which you can listen to above.
“This is my pandemic depression song. I feel like everyone gets one.”. The Wonder Years vocalist Dan Campbell describes the band’s new song out today with unflinching honesty.
“Itâs searching for some semblance of normalcy through small, newly formed rituals. Itâs being unsure if Iâll ever get to do the thing I love again, if live music will ever come back. Itâs deciding to just give up and then deciding not to give up and then deciding to give up again in alternating intervals. Itâs watching old movies and unconsciously thinking âOh my god, where are your masks?â when people are in public places because a deep anxiety now exists within me that may never fully leave. You know, all the normal stuff.”
Glaswegian rockers Gun have this week released a brand new version of their seminal single, ‘Word Up’, which you can listen to above.
Itâs the latest track to be cut from their upcoming album, âThe Calton Songsâ, out 14th October.
Jools Gizzi says of the album:
âWhen the pandemic hit we realised that it was the perfect time to try and counteract the bleakness that was all around. It felt like we couldnât write anything, or of course tour. Out of that darkness came a desire to completely rework these songs that we know the fans love, and bring a different, stripped down vibeâ.
Whilst Dante Gizzi adds:
âItâs ironic that those feelings of negativity led to something so positive, a celebration of our career up to nowâ.
noyou have shared the first single, ‘The Way You See Me’, from their upcoming debut EP, ‘This Game We Started’!
“‘The Way You See Me’ tells a story of long lost relationships and their eventual reunion, from the perspective of a not so perfect person. Friends, Family & lovers, will things be the same after time has had its way with us? Or has the distance changed us too much?â- NOYOU front man Connor Jobes.
Final Stair – ‘Headgames’
Final Stair release their very intimate single, ‘Headgames’.
The band comments: âIstvan, the band’s singer, fell into a severe life crisis a few years ago and suffered from extreme panic attacks and an intense anxiety disorder that took complete control of his body, soul and everyday life. He was guided only by the fear of fear. This vicious circle ended in alcohol and depression and in mind games that made him a helpless person. He developed into a small, helpless boy who could no longer cope with his life.
This song tells the story of this disease on the one hand, but also contains the strength to overcome it and to learn to live with it. With this song, the band wants to draw attention to the fact that there are many people among us who suffer from depression and similar illnesses. With “Headgames” they want to say: you are not alone!â
Oxbowlake – ‘Louis Theroux’
Oxbowlake unleash their latest track, ‘Louis Theroux’, on the world.
“Our latest single âLouis Therouxâ was released Friday 22nd July.
We wrote it in lockdown 2020 and it was inspired by the thought of partners not coping spending too much time together and arguing over watching too much TV! When some of their most magical moments were probably snuggled up watching TV together!
Recorded and produced by George Marriot of Pet Needs and includes group chants of âTheroux Therouxâ by Johnny Marriot, their partners and ourselves.”
Welcome to another edition of our weekly music News Report, where we check out the best stories from the past week. We start this week with a host of huge tour announcements.
Up first, fresh from headlining Download Festival, are Biffy Clyro who have announced a huge Arena Tour for this November. Support comes from Architects.
About the tour, Biffy Clyro said â “It’s been way too long… we are so excited to announce our tour of UK/Ireland this November and over the moon to have Architects join us on what is going to be a very special tour. You will not want to miss itâ.
Black Stone Cherry & The Darkness team up for UK Tour
Another huge tour revealed this week will see Black Stone Cherry and The Darkness team up for seven arena shows early next year. They will be joined by Danko Jones for what promises to be a tour to remember.
Mr Justin Hawkins – âLegend tells of a night, some ten or more years ago, upon which The Darkness and Black Stone Cherry serenaded the nocturnal creatures of Thetford Forest, receiving generally favourable reviews in the woodland press. Like the owls and squirrels of that fabled evening, we give to you an opportunity to stand beaks and mouths a-gape in awe and wonder at the awesome power of power chords played by the very same fingers, but within the convenient shelter of an arena instead of in a moon-dappled forest clearing.
There may be some seating so you wonât have to sit on toadstools. Also, modern flushing toilet facilities, not just tree trunks and bushes. Remember what the Thetford fauna say – “The music of Black Stone Cherry and The Darkness is TREEmendous, and Never LEAVES you.”
Black Stone Cherry – “The rock n’ roll history books will tell you that on a summerâs night in 2012, tucked way back in the English countryside, two bands, from different parts of the world, came together to bring people a night of high energy, pedal to the metal, in your face unscripted rock ânâ roll. A bond was formed that could only have been blessed by the wizards of said forest.
While discussing each otherâs outfits and stage moves, a tour was spoken of, put into the galaxy if you will, and now we are honored to say the stars have finally aligned and we will be joining forces with The Darkness for what will be the UKâs most exciting tour of the season! We absolutely cannot wait to create more magic and release the lightning that both bands caught in a bottle so many years ago. Grab your friends, grab your family, but hold on to your asses because this tour is going to ROCK!”
More good news in our News Report this week as Bob Vylan have announced their largest headline show to date will take place this December at the Electric Ballroom in Camden!
Their was some bittersweet news for fans of ROAM this past week as the band announced their imminent split. Fans will however get one last chance to dance with the band as they also revealed their final shows.
Our News Report moves onwards now to the best new releases from the past week.
Up first are The Wonder Years who debuted their latest track, ‘Wyatt’s Song (Your Name)’, which you can listen to above. The song will feature on new album, ‘The Hum Goes On Forever’, which will arrive September 23rd.
The single is a song singer Dan Campbell wrote for his oldest son, Wyatt. “Itâs about the polarising forces of love and anxiety that come with being a new parentâsimultaneously being so overjoyed that theyâre here, about the miraculous nature of their existence, but afraid of all the ways you could fail them,” Dan explains.
“Itâs about raising children in a world that feels like itâs actively ending and how to make them feel safe and cared for despite that. It tries to breathe in the small, beautiful moments and exhale all of the invasive thoughts of despair.”
There was also more new music this week from Nothing More as they prepare to release their upcoming album, ‘SPIRITS’, on October 14th.
This week they debuted the title track, which you can listen to above.
âIsnât it interesting that we give the same name to something holy and something wholly intoxicating?â asks Nothing More frontman Jonny Hawkins.
âThe song âSPIRITSâ describes that very conundrum. When you drink liquor, it has been said that you are welcoming that pneuma (spirit) into your body. Most of us have seen and experienced how alcohol (or rather âal-ghawl,â which means demon/spirit) can make us feel. Itâs almost as if we turn into someone else when too much of the spirit has been consumed.Â
Sometimes itâs eye opening and can lead to wondrous life-changing conversations or bonds that would never normally happenâŠand sometimes it can lead to the exact opposite. It may turn us into Dr. Hydeâs Jekyll and cause us to do or say horrific things we would never normally do sober. Spirits are both a little bit heavenly and a little bit sick.âÂ
Ozzy Osbourne also had new music to share this week as he debuted his latest effort ‘Patient Number 9’. You can listen to the track above which will feature on a new album of the same name.
Lastly for our News Report this week we have Spiritbox, who debuted new music this week including the track, ‘Rotoscope’, which you can listen to above.
‘Happening’, the debut album from Launder arrives on July 15th, and this week saw the release of single, ‘Intake’.
On his new single âIntakeâ, Launder aimed to record something uplifting, he explains, ââIntakeâ carries the rhythm of someone and something new, anticipating all the best and all the worst. These themes inspired a faster tempo and ascending chords. I let this track be indulgent in all the best ways and really leaned into all of the cleaner guitar sounds and single note guitar interplay similar to the early Launder songs. For those reasons, this track is a total joy for me and was a lot of fun to rehearse and record.â
Blight Town – ‘Swerve’
Exploding onto the UK Alternative Scene is Nottingham based outfit Blight Town. The progressive post-hardcore band have today unleashed their infectious new single âSwerveâ to the world.
“Swerve is a reflection on how the difference between medicine and poison is often in the dosage. It plays with the idea that to be truly happy and content, you sometimes have to court the darkness a little. This single explores the idea that depression is something to be wallowed in, to allow it to wash over you completely. That you might feel the disparity all the more fiercely when you come out of the other side.â â Vocalist, Jake Hough.
Northern Captives – ‘Distraction Or Cure’
Continuing their sonic shift, Northern Captives have released a brand new single titled âDistraction Or Cureâ.
âDistraction or Cure is a song about how many of us find ourselves heavily lead by our own egoâs. How weâre viewed by others feels more important than anything, and influences our decisions and occupies a lot of our mental space. You spend your teens and a lot of your twenties assuming people are observing you and passing judgement a lot more than they really are.
Thereâs a huge satisfaction in the realisation that people are often far too preoccupied with themselves to notice you. âKill your egoâ is a chorus about living for yourself, not trying to project an image for those around you at the detriment of your well-being.â – Sam Cook, Vocalist
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report! We start out this week with a run through of this weeks best tour announcements, and first up is a huge European Tour for Sum 41.
The band will be celebrating 20+ years of both ‘All Killer No Filler’ and ‘Does This Look Infected?’ this Autumn. For UK fans, the show will be hitting Alexandra Palace in London, with support from Simple Plan!
âWe’ve been having such a great time on our tour with Simple Plan in the States and cannot wait to bring the party over to Europe,â shares vocalist Deryck Whibley. âWe’re so excited to celebrate the anniversaries of some of our favourite albums along with other hits and favourites with you on the “Does This Look All Killer No Filler” tour!â
Next up is Dub War who this week shared their latest single, ‘Vibes In The Place’, which you can listen to above.
Speaking on the track Benji Webbe says, “Vibes In The Place was one of the first songs we wrote when we got back in a room together. It features that old little Yamaha ha ha ha ha keyboard that we use live right up to this day. Whatâs particularly special about this song is that a massive friend and fan mixed this track – Mr Rick Will. Rick was down to mix the whole album but due to one thing or the other we went with Richard Jackson.  For me this song is inspired by Talking Heads – Iâm sure many will say âwhat are you on aboutâ, but for me itâs definitely got a flavour of David Byrne (I guess itâs the part where I say âhold the doorâ!)  âVibes In The Placeâ definitely captured Dub War from back in the day – this track is one of the songs we actually wrote with a drummer in the room, Mikee âKRUPA” Gregory.Â
This song captures the live element of Dub War and once itâs known by the âWar lovers, it will for sure be a live favourite..  Sadly after mixing this song, Rick Will past away⊠So this is a track that means so much to me, Jeff and Richie.â
The track will feature on new album, ‘Westgate Under Fire’, which is out August 5th.
There was also new music this week from Gun. The band debuted new single, ‘Backstreet Brothers’, which you can listen to above.
The band will be releasing a new album, ‘Calton Songs’ on October 14th.
Jools Gizzi says, âWhen the pandemic hit we realised that it was the perfect time to try and counteract the bleakness that was all around. It felt like we couldnât write anything, or of course tour. Out of that darkness came a desire to completely rework these songs that we know the fans love, and bring a different, stripped down vibe. âBetter Daysâ was the first one to get the treatment, and that really brought all our enthusiasm back and relit the creative firesâ.Â
Dante Gizzi added, âItâs ironic that those feelings of negativity led to something so positive, a celebration of our career up to now. It turned into something great, and “Backstreet Brothers” really sums up that unalloyed enthusiasm that has been brought back into the heart of the bandâ.
The Wonder Years share new single ‘Summer Clothes’
The Wonder Years – ‘Summer Clothes’
There is plenty of new music to share in our News Report this week and next up is The Wonder Years.
The group has shared new single, ‘Summer Clothes’, which you can check out above. The tracks comes ahead of a new album later this year.
Vocalist Dan Campbellexplains: “it’s a love letter to a time when your sadness was most conspicuous by its momentary absence, when the low hum quieted enough for you to realise it was nearly gone, when you did stupid, dangerous shit because, well, why not?”
Another band supporting My Chemical Romance on their UK Tour, is Witch Fever. The band have been building their reputation and recently featured on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist.
This week the band announced their debut album, ‘Congregation’, will be released October 21st. They also released the title track as a single, and you can listen above.
On the single, Amy Walpole said, âThis is Alishaâs personal fave! It marks a new step in our development as songwriters as itâs something different from what weâve done before. We allowed ourselves to experiment with space and dynamics and we love it!â
Walpole says on the album, âAs our first album weâre really excited to just get it out there. We feel that itâs a step above what weâve done before as we had a chance to experiment with sound and structure. It was our first opportunity to explore writing a body of work which was challenging but has been so rewarding!â
She continues, âIt pushed our creative process because we also had to think about the songs sitting side by side on an album! We tried to break out of what makes a typical âwitch feverâ song whilst still being true to what makes our sound what it is.â
Listen to ‘Fantasy’ above, and check out the band on our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast with the episode dropping on May 23rd!
âThe pandemic and the lockdown was a long period of questioning. When you try to realize your dreams, your projects, you put so much energy into it that nothing can stop you,â says the band. âBut when everything stops, it’s a hard blow. And this time, it was the whole world that stopped! So you start to question your life, your choices and even think about giving up and you say to yourself, âthat would only be proving the people who never believed in you right.â So when you finally realize that you can’t give up who you are, you start to find a new energy where this time you want to fight even harder to reach your goals because âthis time you want it all.ââ
Eli Hurts, the project from songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Eli Hirsch (courtship), has released a new single and music video for the song ‘Runts’.
“When I played this riff for the first time I was sure I stole it,â says Eli on the new song. âI donât think I did, but who knows. I love this song. I really wish I wasn’t a runt, and in some areas, Iâm not but in many I am. There’s not much to do about it except embrace it. and find other runts. and take over the world. I love you my runts”
Sunsleeper – ‘Currents’
Indie rock outfit Sunsleeper have a new music video for their track ‘Currents’.
âThe music video reflects the theme of feeling stuck in a routine. The character grows increasingly distraught with their mundane cyclical lifestyle, until a chance encounter helps push them out of their comfort zone,â shares vocalist Jeffery Mudgett.
âThe song is about feeling stuck in a cycle that we have no ability to break. Grappling with the fact that life is like currents, forever undulating from crests to troughs. Nothing is linear, especially not existence,â says Mudgett.
Mexican Dogs – ‘When It’s Gone’
‘When Itâs Gone’ is the latest offering from rambunctious Liverpool trio Mexican Dogs.
Frontman Gaz Wilcox explains of the track:
ââWhen Itâs Goneâ is about when you think you donât have enough in life, but then you lose what you had and realise you actually had everything you needed. The track shows a heavier, more alternative side to the band, and this gusty sound goes down well at our live shows. As a band we do try to make each song different from the next â itâs important to us as it keeps things fresh and makes writing music exciting.â
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes to headline Marshall Hootie
Welcome everyone to a special Easter edition of our weekly music News Report. We hope that you’re having a cracking weekend, and we have a cracking line-up for you as we begin with the latest festival announcements.
Marshall will be hosting a special celebration of their 60th anniversary this May. Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes will be headlining the Marshall Hootie in Viaduct Meadow, Hanwell.
They will be joined by Hot Milk, Crashface and Lyoness! Tickets are available here.
This week saw Bloodstock Festival revealed their updated line-up following a number of inevitable changes as live music continues to get back on its feet.
The line-up features the likes of Behemoth, Mercyful Fate, Lamb of God, Killing Joke, Bury Tomorrow, Jinjer, Butcher Babies, Sleep Token and Ferocious Dog.
We move quickly on to the best new tour announcements from the past week as our News Report continues. We start with some very special intimate shows from Bloc Party.
The album release shows take place this June in Brighton, Bristol and Norwich, and you can find more info here.
Fusion metal pioneers Dub War this week debuted their new single, ‘War Inna Babylon’ and you can listen above. The track features guest vocals from Roger Ranking of The Beat.
This song comes ahead of their new album, ‘Westgate Under Fire’ which arrives August 5th.
Speaking on the track and collaborating with Ranking Roger, Webbe says, “The original song by Max Romeo was in my family record collection as far back as I can remember. When meeting Ranking Roger, we discussed how punk rock and dub reggae had a massive influence on our lives. This song for us both was a massive hit, and we spoke about doing a collaboration and reviving the original with that Clash/The Ruts British punk rock energy to it.
Sadly, not long after we got to record the song with Roger, he passed away. But this song is one that we are very proud of, and we didnât just do a cover – we really made this unique cover of âWar Inna Babylonâ our own.â
As always we close out our News Report with the latest additions to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist on Spotify. This week we have doubled up on the additions to celebrate Easter with the best new music!
‘MIRRORS’ – JUST MUSTARD
Dundalk five-piece Just Mustard share new single, ‘Mirrors’ taken from upcoming album, ‘Heart Under’.
Guitarist and “Mirrors” co-vocalist David Noonan says of the single: â”Mirrors”” was one of the final songs to be written for Heart Under, the lyrics and music arrived together in what felt like one moment and we wanted to keep the feeling of one thought or moment constant throughout the songâ.
‘INSTRUCTION MANUAL’ – ALL BETTER
Brighton’s alt-punk trio All Better join the playlist with their single ‘Instruction Manual’. The song features on upcoming debut album, ‘How To Be Alone’ which arrives May 6th.
‘RESTITUTION’ – MODES
Kent metallers MODES feature with their new single, ‘Restitution’.
MODES frontman Ted Berry reveals that the new singleâis a song that stems from difficult times that we have seen our closest friends and loved ones go through. Needing to give them support and a shoulder to lean on, while feeling that we can’t explain how or why we know what itâs like to be there because in that moment it’s not about us ,it’s about helping themâ
‘BLESSED BE THY’ – WITCH FEVER
Witch Fever return with new single, ‘Blessed Be Thy’.
Bassist Alex Thompson says of the track, âit just goes heavy”, as it boasts a crunchy wall of noise akin to bands like Show Me The Body and Gilla Band
Alex adds, âit was literally the last song we wrote before we went into the studio but came together really quickly. I think it still has an essence of some of our older material, so itâs a good way to bridge the gap.â
‘I KNOW WHEN YOU LEAVE’ – GUISE
Ahead of the release of their debut album ‘Youngest Daughter’, ‘I Know When You leave’ is the latest offering from London-based GUISE is a dazzling, vocal harmony led track that sees the foursome joined by singer-songwriter Emily Barker.
Discussing the story behind the heartfelt new track Jessicaexplains âI wrote the words to âI Know When You Leaveâ on a bus in Italy, and the tune came to me later back in London, Separation from the person I love is a pretty normal part of my life, but that doesnât make it easy all the time; things are generally just a bit worse when weâre apart, and thatâs what this is about.â
‘BLACKMOSS’ – SCRUFFY BEAR
Playlist and Podcast alumni Scruffy Bear return with new single, ‘Blackmoss’.
âThe world is a proper heavy place. I hate that everything is spun so negatively and we are trained to look for the worst in people and situations. Blackmoss is trying to work through the mud of confusion that everything is in and not getting too bogged down with it, but also learning to be open to other peopleâs experiencesâ – Lead singer Georgy Eaton