DOn’t panic – for your consideration – album review
Pennsylvanian rockers Don’t Panic unleash their fourth album in five and a bit years – ‘For Your Consideration’.
The record finds the band in contemplative mood as they navigate that period between being young upstarts and a nostalgia act. With a sound that incorporates their pop punk beginnings with their more matured rock style, this is an album that challenges pre-conceived notions of what Don’t Panic need to be.
You’ve got songs that you can sing along to and a noise that you can mosh with as the album materialises into perhaps the definitive sound of a band who clearly have much to offer.
As the nostalgic renaissance for early 2000’s rock continues, you can’t help but feel that this collection would’ve fit in nicely at the time. The key here though is that the album also manages to feel of its time and that’s a sweet spot to be in.
If you’ve enjoyed the likes of singles, ‘Conscience’, ‘Lifetime Away’, ‘Calls From Home’ or the heartfelt ‘Honest’ then you’ll find the album itself much to your liking.
At a time when a lot of new music can feel forced, this album just feels… well… honest!
The continued growth of Canadian group Arkells has been a lovely thing to see. A difficult band to pigeonhole, they’ve presented an ever-evolving sound since their arrival in the mid-2000’s.
Indie, folk, rock, soul, dance, there’s a bit of it all in there somewhere and more. Led by the charismatic Max Kerman, their live shows have earned a big following in their homeland and a growing underground fanbase here in the UK.
Since touring with Frank Turner in 2018, the band has continued to build momentum and now with new album, ‘Between Us’, they feel ready to explode.
That’s because they sound bigger, bolder and braver than ever. Their consummate charm pours from each track and their infectious pop sensibilities ensure that you can’t help but dance and sing along.
The album kicks off with a big run of pre-release singles, ‘Next Summer’, ‘What Good?’, ‘Ride’ and ‘Money’ and that big energy simply continues as the album beds in. With guest appearances from GROUPLOVE, Portugal. The Man and Poolside, you can’t help but feel the party atmosphere on what is an uplifting collection.
So if you’re looking for a pick-me-up whilst the world loses its mind then look no further than this elegant latest offering from a band everyone needs to get onboard with!
Twenty-one years after the release of their debut album, Skindred released their eighth record, ‘Smile’, in 2023 and it was a huge one for the band. Challenging at the top the chart, seeing the band headline Wembley Arena and being generally accepted amongst their very best.
That of course creates a pressure to match the level of success and that pressure (pressure, pressure – sorry!), would also have ramped up with the departure of founding member, bassist Dan Pugsley last year.
The thing with Skindred though is that they’ve always done things their own way with little care for industry expectation or pressure. As they return now with their ninth studio album, ‘You Got This’, you can hear this freedom shine through.
Yes, you’ve got big singles like the ‘You Got This’ and ‘This Is The Sound’, but across the ten tracks and thirty-three minutes this is largely just the sound of a band doing their thing and having fun.
Afterall Skindred are a band that know what works, they know what they do well and they stick to their guns with dangerous precision. The name of the album feels like a confident self-acknowledgement that as they move into this next phase of their career, they just need to remain unflinchingly Skindred!
‘Smile’ marked a real moment in time for the band, and whilst this album likely won’t garner that same attention, it’s more than just a stock Skindred record.
It’s an album that breathes and simply oozes good times which is what the bands reputation was built upon. Fans will have a good time with this album and when the band inevitably hit the road again, there are songs here that will fit in to their set with ease.
Known and loved as the drummer of Ash for the past three decades, 2026 finds Rick McMurray entering uncharted territory as he launches his new solo project Burned As Witches.
Initially a way of dealing with the loss of his long-time agent and good friend Steve Strange in 2021, the album is inspired by Strange’s love of heavy music and sees McMurray exploring a sound very different from the pop rock elegance of Ash.
This self-titled debut album instead is dark, doomy and loud as hell… it’s also bloody good! As soon as you hear opening track ‘Scapegoats’ and pre-release single ‘Hold Your Nerve’ you realise that this record is better than it has any right to be.
With McMurray playing every note of every instrument and singing every song this is the literal definition of a solo album. Whilst his drumming talents are evident from his iconic day job, it’s somewhat striking how adept McMurray is with a guitar or bass in hand.
With beefy riffs and thunderous rhythm, these eight tracks are born from a period of mourning but built with love and affection and some heavy Sabbath and Zeppelin influences to boot.
Each track brings its own qualities and purpose to the collection but its in epic finale ‘To The Sky’ that the enormity of the record truly sinks in.
The album will no doubt receive attention due to McMurray’s name but the biggest complement you can pay is that if you hit play on this without knowing the origins you’d be left desperately wanting to find out who this incredible new band are.
After they announced an intimate live date in Manchester, whispers were in the wind that a new album was on the way from St. Albans finest Enter Shikari. Well, fans didn’t have to wait long!
Come midnight the band surprise dropped their eighth studio album, ‘Lose Your Self’, but given the state of the world right now it should surprise nobody that the record takes aim and holds no punches.
Shikari have always been a band who are at their best with the bit between their teeth and there isn’t exactly a lack of inspiration at present. Whilst being willing and able to eloquently lyricise their thoughts on the world, what the band also do well is ensure that a glimmer of hope remains that together we can heal the pain.
These tracks all conceptualise from a point of despair and desperation and whilst this manifests in anger it also offers the hopeful perspective in such as way that stops you from heading into full on depression (as understandable as that would be watching the news).
The ever-uplifting sonic exploration that only Enter Shikari can create also helps with that. This is after all a band never lacking in musical ambition and ‘Lose Your Self’ feels like their most ambitious project yet – both in terms of the content and the unusual type of release.
With no singles to steal your attention, you’ll need to indulge the album as designed and that has to be the biggest plus of the surprise drop.
The album flows superbly and builds to a captivating crescendo in the shape of the album closing ‘Spaceship Earth’ trilogy. There are no real dips in quality and it’s great to know that even at this stage of their career the band can still surprise us!
Los Angeles indie rock ensemble Lavalove bring a little bit of Southern Californian sunshine to the world as they follow their 2023 debut album, ‘Love Sick’, with their sophomore collection, ‘Tan Lines’!
The album is again a product of its environment with a heavy surf culture influence and a vibe that will make you feel the sun on the back of your neck, even whilst the UK waits to fully leave the cold months in the rearview mirror.
The album sees singer and guitarist Tealarose Coy lead us through songs that acknowledge the negatives of modern living but do so in a manner that chooses joy over despair. They do so with a genre and era defying sound that displays a wide range of musical influences.
At ten songs and just shy of thirty minutes, this is a short, sharp shock of bubblegum indie punk that can’t help but lift your mood. Simply a good old fashioned fun record. So, if you’re in the need of the musical equivalent of a sugar rush then look no further than this sweet treat of an album!
In the midst of a world gone crazy, Lavalove are here to remind you that not all music needs to embrace the darkness and there’s nothing wrong with just having a good time.
Thirteen months on from their second EP, Bristolians Masca are here to deliver the big one – their debut album! The trio have quietly been making a name for themselves with impressive singles and live shows and now comes that always important statement record, ‘Love Letters’.
If the band have been making a statement thus far it’s certainly been that they are here to be the first Masca rather than trying to shoehorn themselves into any existing scene. They are fiercely unique and that has identified them as a band worth investing in.
There will be many therefore looking forward to this first full-length collection and its evident as soon as you begin your first listen that the record is everything fans will want it to be.
Operating succinctly in the intersection between rock and pop in a gripping sonic Venn diagram, the band have crafted a sound that you can easily consume but also allows for deeper inspection for those wishing to.
With frank and insightful lyrics tackling both the bigger problems facing the world in 2026 and the more personal concerns present as a musician in the modern industry, there is certainly plenty to dissect on this intricate record.
Backed by simmering guitar work and a hazy aesthetic, these tracks feel made for big festival sets and showcase perfectly the body of work that the trio have generated.
Given debut albums are such a big introduction for bands, ‘Love Letters’ is the perfect place for new fans to get engaged with a band who clearly have plenty to give.
MAllavora – What If Better Never Comes? – Album Review
It’s debut album time for Mallavora!
The band have been making a loud noise for a few years now and that noise has made people take notice. This is a band with a vision and an engrained belief system. This is a band that strives to do things their way; so why would their debut record be any different?
The Bristolian four-piece have developed an alt-metal sound which is deeply engaging and a lyrical identity that is emotively captivating. With an album giving them more space to explore themselves, it’s no surprise that over the course of the thirteen tracks and near fifty minutes they are able to truly bring their vision to life.
This is a record that is packed full of vulnerability and defiance in equal measure. Personal experiences and the overarching need to navigate the modern world loom large and are delivered in an immediate and relatable manner.
Considering the shortness of attention spans these days and the noted length of the record, perhaps an argument could be made to trim the record down slightly, but that’s not the Mallavora way.
This is grandiose by design and that’s demonstrated best by the nine-minute closing epic that is the title-track of the album, ‘What If Better Never Comes?’. The band wants you to live this record with them, to feel it with them and as far as first attempts go you have to say that this is a great opening salvo.
Make note of the name, because for Mallavora this is only the beginning!
The Pale white – Inanimate Objects of the 21st Century – album review
Newcastle alt-rock brothers The Pale White aren’t afraid to plough their own furrow. Over the past decade they’ve honed their craft, dabbling with various styles all connected via the rock family tree.
Unafraid to try something new and experiment with their sound, the duo has already released two uniquely curated albums and are now back with another effort which is very much of it’s time both lyrically and within the context of their continued sonic evolution.
‘Inanimate Objects of the 21st Century’, is a largely conceptual take on the fact that the world continues to embrace technological advances in lieu of human connection and experience.
Take standout single, ‘Absolute Cinema’ as exhibit A with the track taking aim at our lazy consumption of film via streaming platforms as apposed to the full experience of going to an actual cinema.
The band want us to smell the popcorn, to switch our phones to silent, take in the art in all of its glory and then exit the venue like newly risen zombies as our eyes acclimatise to the light. And that’s exactly what this album does!
There is a rich vein of textures across these carefully crafted songs that ache for you to lock yourself in a dark room away from distraction and actively connect to the music.
Like any good film, the opening introduces you to the subject matter, the aesthetic and the character. The middle of the album then gives you the depth and real story before you are sent home with a big finale.
The end credits of the album come in the shape of a superbly melancholic take on The Everly Brothers’ classic ‘All I Have To Do Is Dream’. While our connection to what makes us human may be disappearing, there are still artists like The Pale White able to make us feel something real!
Nobody can accuse Bedford’s Don Broco of being overnight sensations. Their steady rise began with the release of their debut album fourteen years ago, but following another huge arena tour and prominent festival appearances, nobody can disagree that their stock has never been higher.
Each of their previous four albums has brought about another sonic push and an attached hype increase. The pre-release singles for their fifth effort, ‘Nightmare Tripping’, have again generated much anticipation for the record as a whole and now it’s time for fans to dive in!
Two of those singles, ‘Cellophane’ and ‘Disappear’ kickstart the eleven track album and introduce what is another evolution of their sound. This album is the heaviest of their career so far and is very inline with the on-trend renaissance of nu-metal stylings.
The band have always had their fingers on the pulse and have often been ahead of the curve, so this probably shouldn’t be a surprise. There are obvious influences on this album with a modern Bring Me The Horizon aura blending with a droning Deftones aesthetic to good effect.
This is an album that compared to its predecessor, ‘Amazing Things’, is lacking in standout singles but instead is more of a complete package. This is in contrast to the way bands tend to move as their careers deepen, but if you need a big single then the title-track has you covered!
‘Nightmare Tripping’ as a song is simply Don Broco’s signature sound on steroids with Nickelback of all people pushing them to embrace their maniacal side. It’s up there with the best the band have produced, even if the album doesn’t quite pull off the same.
‘True Believers’, featuring Sam Carter of Architects, is another memorable moment, but this is an album that is greater than the sum of its parts. Fans will enjoy exploring this side of the band in greater depth whilst retaining much needed familiarity.
With much of the old guard retiring, the next wave of festival headliners is needed and what this album does for Don Broco is give them more bangers for the setlist but also demonstrates that there is more to them than just catchy singles.
The deeper the band head into their career, the more weight they add to the argument that they got next!
