Biffy Clyro had just announced a UK Arena Tour when the world shut up shop in March 2020. Since then they’ve released two albums, headlined Reading & Leeds and Download Festivals and played an intimate run of UK dates. Now, two and a half years later the band finally gets to grace again the largest indoor venues the country has to offer.
Tonight that places them at the monstrous O2 Arena in London in front of a packed Saturday night crowd. Anticipation is high, and not just for the Scottish heroes, but for special guests Architects fresh from an arena tour of their own back in May.
Both bands will be hoping the crosspollination of their audiences will earn new admirers and for Architects up first there is clearly is mixture of diehard fans and trepidatious unfamiliar audience members.
Focusing on their more accessible recent material is a clever move from the band and tracks such as ‘deep fake’ and ‘tear gas’ ease inhibitions and start to win over those starting out on the fence.
WATCH ‘ANIMALS’ ON FROM ARCHITECTS ON YOUTUBE
Architects – ‘Animals’
A smooth and effortless run through of the likes of ‘Dead Butterflies’, ‘Doomsday’, ‘when we were young’ and closer ‘Animals’ ensures many new fans will have been found tonight. A random introduction from Joel Dommett stated that Architects are one of the best bands in the UK, and whilst our headliners have a major stake in that argument, tonight our guests have ensured that they are in the conversation.
Anybody that has seen Biffy Clyro live however will know that they are one of the most consistently impressive live forces on the circuit. Tonight, to the surprise of nobody, they are once again a level above the competition.
WATCH ‘WHO’S GOT A MATCH?’ FROM BIFFY CLYRO ON YOUTUBE
Opening trio ‘DumDum’, ‘A Hunger In Your Haunt’ and ‘Tiny Indoor Fireworks’ perhaps provide a slow start to the set but from ‘Who’s Got A Match?’ onwards the venue comes alive as the band produce the proverbial banger after banger.
The composition of the setlist is well balanced with a good mix of new, old and the return of a couple of even older pre-mainstream Biffy Clyro numbers ‘57’ and ‘Glitter and Trauma’.
The stage is simple but effective with the music the focal point tonight, and with the likes of ‘Instant History’, ‘Mountains’, ‘Wolves of Winter’ and ‘Biblical’ on offer that’s all that is really needed.
Just watching the crowd reactions to the likes of ‘Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies’, ‘The Captain’, ‘Bubbles’ and ‘Many of Horror’ makes is so obvious that Biffy Clyro are now fully established as an elite tier act. Mon the Biff!
Download Festival reveals 20th Anniversary line-up
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
We start this week with festival announcements and where else could we start other than the monster 20th Anniversary line-up announcement from Download Festival!
Extended to four days this year the event will feature two unique headline sets from Metallica, the return of Donington icons Slipknot and a well deserved top billing for Bring Me The Horizon.
Other big slots are taken by the likes of Alexisonfire, Architects, The Distillers, Disturbed, Evanescence, Ghost, I Prevail, Parkway Drive, Pendulum, Placebo, Simple Plan, Ville Valo and Within Temptation.
It doesn’t stop there and also playing will be the likes of The Blackout, Fever 333, Kid Kapichi, Nova Twins, Seether and Witch Fever.
Welsh rock fans are in for a treat when Airbourne bring the party on Saturday night at next years Steelhouse Festival!
The Aussies will headline the event which also features The Answer, Blues Pills, Kris Barras Band, Florence Black, The Cruel Knives, Austin Gold and more, with plenty more to be announced.
Crystal Palace Bowl in London will once again host South Facing festival next summer and this week Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and more were amongst the first acts revealed.
Peter Gabriel announces first EU tour in nearly a decade!
We stay with the live side of things next as our News Report moves onto the best tour announcements from the past week!
Peter Gabriel has revealed his first European tour in nearly a decade including UK dates in Birmingham, London, Glasgow and Manchester.
Gabriel said of the tour: “It’s been a while and I am now surrounded by a whole lot of new songs and am excited to be taking them out on the road for a spin. Look forward to seeing you out there.”
Primal Scream & Happy Mondays to team up in Margate
We continue our News Report with news that Saturday 5th August will see Dreamland in Margate taken over be a co-headline show from Primal Scream and Happy Mondays.
In celebration of their 40th Anniversary, James have announced a new UK ‘James Lasted’ Tour complete with 22-piece orchestra and gospel choir!
Tim Booth says “There are a number of great bands who have been around for 40. But to get here and to be having the best time of our lives. To be part of a supportive loving family that still has something to say and new ways to say it. To be turned on by every gig and song. To fall in love over and over again, Groundhog Day, with our bandmates and audience. Damn. That’s time well spent.
We should have recorded the orchestra tour first time round, as many of you have reminded us. Well, we’ve done it now. And here comes the tour. The Orchestra and Gospel singers expand our palette, heighten the tenderness, heighten the celebration and, despite their numbers, somehow leave us feeling more naked and raw. It will be different, probably each night, because we are James and Joe knows how to dance with us. And because you are different, each night. Please leave your phones behind, come and play in the moment.”
Jim Glennie says “Has it really been 40 years? In some ways it feels like yesterday and in others, many lifetimes. I’ve lived a blessed existence, being in a band I’m supremely proud of with musicians that would grace any stage. A family of brothers and sisters, willing to support each other musically and emotionally. We are bloody minded and independent to the core. Uniquely challenging, always pushing ourselves into the new and taking risks collectively and individually, looking for transcendence. With love, trust, and acceptance we grow. Somewhere in a parallel universe, James are the biggest band on the planet. Here’s to another 40 years.”
Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris will once again be taking British Lion on the road in the UK next January. Joining them for these shows will be Coney Hatch and Airforce.
Steve Harris comments, “We’re excited to be touring the UK again especially as we’ll be visiting many places we’ve not had a chance to play before. It’s fantastic that we’ve got long-time friends Coney Hatch coming over from Canada to join us. We had great fun when they were our special guests on the British Lion Canadian shows in 2018. And we’re happy to have our old mates Airforce back out on the road with us too. Everyone is really looking forward to this tour and we can’t wait to see everyone.”
Rockers Dirty Honey have announced a UK/EU Tour taking place early next year.
Prior to the tour, in January 2023, the band are set to release a brand new, re-recorded version of album track ‘Heartbreaker’.
“Some songs really come to life after they’ve been performed a bunch of times. You can really see an audience react to a line being sung a certain way or a riff grooving that you didn’t think of while recording in the studio. Over time we realized the song took on a new life on the road in both North America and Europe and we wanted to capture that energy….” – Marc Labelle, vocalist of Dirty Honey, talking about Heartbreaker 2.0
We move our News Report on now to the best new releases from the past week and we begin with Skindred!
The group this week announced new album, ‘Smile’, will be released August 4th. The band also shared new single, ‘GIMME THAT BOOM’, which you can check out above.
The track is based on a frustrating encounter lead singer Benji Webbe had with an overfamiliar fan.
“I was out shopping one day and I could hear someone building up asking me for a picture,” Webbe recalls. “The person didn’t care who I was with or what I was doing – they just wanted their picture. In this day and age, people want you and they expect to get you on tap, constantly giving you that ‘boom’ so they can get their Instagram Likes up. It’s important to remember that people can’t give you that ‘boom’ all the time. People think because they follow you on social media, they own you.”
Ahead of their UK Tour next month, The Dead Daisies have released new single, ‘Born To Fly’, which you can listen to above.
“Doug & I got together in New York earlier in the year and worked on a riff that I had written previously. Doug had a chorus that just fitted, we messed around with the melody and came up with the name ‘Born To Fly’. This is a straight-up rock song. For me it’s literal, I was born to fly. However we’re all born to fly in our own way.” – David Lowy
This week saw REWS share new single, ‘The World That Left You Behind’, which you can check out above.
“Ah! I’m ecstatic about finally releasing this song!! It’s got so much energy, riff’s for days and a great message!! I wrote it with a great friend of mine from NI, Cahir O’Doherty (New Pagans). It is a song that journey’s through how we can support those people in our lives who get carried away with negative thoughts and feel utterly lost and alone. Hopefully the song will provide a nice audio net for people to fall into at times of need, so they know they aren’t alone!” – Shauna
Dissonants have shared their huge new single ‘Grave Mind’.
‘Lyrically, Grave Mind is more conceptual than our previous work. I wrote the track from the viewpoint of someone on their deathbed looking back on their life and wondering if, now that it’s over and coming to a close, they can be happy and at peace. For this track we wanted to draw less from our own experiences and look at concepts such as mortality and happiness, and how one can affect the other’. – Frontman Benjie Allen.
M(h)aol – ‘Asking For It’
M(h)aol will release debut album, ‘Attachment Styles’ on February 3rd. This week they shared new single, ‘Asking For It’.
On the track singer Róisín said, “I wrote it initially in 2016 then revisited it in 2020. I was shocked by how much internalised victim blaming there was in the lyrics. I rewrote it, then we recorded it and it was released to raise money for Women’s Aid in 2021. The album version is a lot angrier than the 2021 one and almost satirical insofar as it’s highlighting how ludicrous the notion of anyone ‘asking for it’ is.”
Chasing Kites – ‘Shiver’
Bath-based indie-rock four-piece Chasing Kites return with their fourth single ‘Shiver’.
Speaking about the writing process, vocalist and lyricist Matt Donnelly explains, ‘’Shiver came together extremely quickly. I’d had the lyrics lying around for a very long time and felt they fit perfectly with the sonic side of the track when the melody was written. As we built on the skeleton of the song, our aim was to take us back into the realms of indie rock through powerful injections of energy in the choruses, while maintaining our commercial sound throughout.’’
Watch Episode 21 of our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast with guests Dissonants
‘Discover’ New Music Podcast – Episode 21 – Dissonants
ARCHITECTS – THE CLASSIC SYMPTOMS OF A BROKEN SPIRIT – ALBUM REVIEW
Just 18 months removed from their stunning and evolutionary ninth album, ‘For Those That Wish To Exist’, Architects are back album with their tenth album, ‘the classic symptoms of a broken spirit’!
Momentum is certainly on the bands side, so striking while the iron is hot, the band are right to release their follow up so soon after such a well received record. This is borne out through the substantiated quality of this album.
A dud of an album at this point could be a momentum killer – see ‘Temper Temper’, so this is a calculated risk from the band. That calculation however was right with them clearly knowing the quality of the music they had.
The album is straight into the action on opener ‘deep fake’, and manages to keep a relentless pace throughout the next forty plus minutes. There is no dip in either ferocity or excellence as the likes of singles ‘tear gas’, ‘when we were young’ and ‘a new moral low ground’ demonstrate.
The depth on this album is truly impressive though as beyond the singles you still have tracks as good as ‘spit the bone’, doomscrolling’ and ‘all the love in the world’. In reality there isn’t a bad track on another superb offering from one of heavy music’s biggest hopes.
They may now be ten albums in, but over the past three, Architects are shown their development and progression to something much bigger than their beginnings. Their upcoming tour with Biffy Clyro will introduce them to an even more diverse audience, and as they continue to break the mainstream and pickup fans, the world very much is their oyster!
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
We start this week with the sensational news that Tom, Mark and Travis are reunited together again and Blink-182 will be heading out on a huge world tour in 2023!
In the UK that equates to an arena run taking in Glasgow, Belfast, Birmingham, Manchester and two shows in London. UK support comes from The Story So Far.
The trio also debuted new track, ‘Edging’, which you can check out below and revealed a new album is on the way.
Our News Report continues with news from the Yard Act camp. Bringing an end to their hugely successful campaign for debut album, ‘The Overload’, the group have revealed four special live dates next year.
The run will conclude with their biggest headline date so far at the legendary Brixton Academy!
Another band targeting some pretty intimate venues for their next UK tour are Stone Broken who this week announced details of their ‘Come Closer’ tour set for February next year.
The final tour announcement in our News Report this week comes from guitar slinger Kenny Wayne Shepherd! Shepherd and band will be celebrating the 25th Anniversary of ‘Trouble Is…’.
This week saw Rival Sons return with news that they will be releasing a new album, ‘Darkfighter’ on March 10th.
The group also debuted their brand new single, ‘Nobody Wants To Die’, which you can listen to above.
Regarding ‘Nobody Wants to Die’, vocalist Jay Buchanan shares, “You live your life knowing that the sword of Damocles is hanging over your head by a thread. You’re fully aware of the impermanence of your existence, but you can’t think about it all the time—or it’ll fuck your life up.
I used to work in a mortuary as a service advisor for a few years, driving and opening the hearses. I’d attend three funerals per day. Sometimes, they would be filled over capacity. Other times, it would just be me, a priest, and a hole in the ground. It doesn’t matter who you are; the great equalizer is coming. I was thinking of this because the music sounded like pursuit.”
Elaborating on the genesis of ‘Darkfighter’, Buchanan notes, “’Darkfighter’ represents the cultural mitosis of isolation, the Pandemic, and the national fabric of the US getting looser and looser. When I say ‘Cultural Mitosis’, there are lines being drawn constantly. We’re so divided, and you can’t step over the lines without offending someone. It certainly informed my writing.
We recognized a responsibility to put a good word on people’s ears so there’s a good word coming back on their tongues too. We missed the joy of the live show and that magical interaction. When it was taken from us, that made me want to sing about topics that were important. There are strong themes on this record of loss of identity, preservation of joy, and beholding light and shape again.”
Lead guitarist Scott Holiday added, “Records are a healthy form of escapism. I hope this one takes you as far away as possible. Our intent was to create a cinematic body of work. As soon as the doors shut behind you, you’re enveloped on the ride. This is the sound of us really coming into our own. We’ve gotten further from our influences and gotten closer to what we are. ‘Darkfighter’ sounds like the Rival Sons.”
This week saw Tigercub return with their new single, ‘The Perfume of Decay’, which you can listen to above.
The track marks Tigercub’s debut release for Loosegroove Records, the label co-founded by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, a longtime champion of the band.
“They say comparison is the thief of joy,” says Tigercub’s 7-foot frontman Jamie Hall,“and nowhere is this more acutely felt than on the internet; the public ledger where I must amend my social cv daily, to portray my life to others in the most rose tinted & ineffable way possible. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth of course, beneath this facade I am crumbling, cascading into despair and at odds with my emotions. ‘The Perfume of Decay’ is my expression of this feeling, an argument between affectation and naturalness. It marks the beginning of a new era for us – this is Tigercub at its heaviest, its most accomplished, and most unapologetic.” “Jamie Hall is not only an incredible songwriter, singer, and fucking wicked guitarist,” says Stone Gossard,“but he also has a deep understanding of art and music history. This guy dabbles in it all — visual arts, digital media, world history. This band is generational, and Jamie’s a natural star. Loosegroove couldn’t be happier working with Tigercub.”
“It’s all about opposites,” Jamie Hall says. “Sweet-and-salty popcorn tends to taste better than regular popcorn, even though those are two opposing forces. I wanted to nail that concept with our heavy guitars, softer-sung vocals, Can-style grooves, and a bit of shoegaze. Counterpoints can come together and make a powerful connection. I’ve crossed the threshold from my 20s to my 30s, so I’m getting older, but I’m also entering my prime. This record is a reflection of that.”
Pulled Apart By Horses share video for ‘Rinse & Repeat’
Pulled Apart By Horses – ‘Rinse & Repeat’
Pulled Apart By Horses this week shared the video for their single, ‘Rinse & Repeat’, which you can watch above. The track comes from new album, ‘Reality Cheques’, which is out now!
Commenting on the track, vocalist Tom Hudson says the single is “an ode to all that have found themselves trapped in the darker corners of the music industry. The repetitive whirring of the machine. A spanner in the works of the daily grind. A helping hand to break out of a vicious cycle. The realisation that they need you more than you need them. Inspired by seeing Ziggy Stardust stood in line at the jobcentre. More punk rock than Iggy advertising life insurance.”
There was also more new music this week from Witch Fever. The group debuted new single, ‘Beauty and Grace’, which you can check out above.
The track features on debut album, ‘Congregation’, which is out October 21st.
Singer Amy Walpole says of the track, “‘Beauty and Grace’ ended up being the dark horse of the record! Before we went into the studio it wasn’t one of our faves but Sam really brought it out of its shell! The song is about pushing back against oppressive feminine beauty standards whilst also finding a place for femininity that you enjoy and makes you feel powerful !! Femininity is not a weakness, as much as society may tell you it is! If it empowers you and brings you joy it’s a strength!”
Dream State return with new line-up and new single ‘Taunt Me’
Dream State – ‘Taunt Me’
Following a period of uncertainty, this week saw the spectacular return of Dream State! With a fresh line-up, the group debuted their brand new single, ‘Taunt Me’, which you can check out above.
The final new release in our News Report this week comes from The Sleeping Souls! Usually seen backing Frank Turner, the group have stepped out with touring buddy Cahir on vocals.
‘Liar Lover’ is the first sample of what to expect from the band in this guise, and you can check it out above.
Norwich-based post-hardcore outfit Other Half have debuted new track ‘Slab Thick’.
Commenting on the video, the band say: “BSM wanted a high-concept, high-production pop video to help shift some serious units so we wrangled the few dogs we know and the one cat we own to produce three and a half minutes of visual magic.”
“We like doing everything ourselves; for DIY punk kudos and because we’re tight and awkward, so it was fun figuring out how to make it look like we’re all playing in a room together even when one of us was filming the whole time.”
“For the second part of the video we had next to nothing and were filming some pretty shudder-inducing stuff in the local park when our friend’s Roya and Charlie walked past with their dogs; Daisy and Lily. Never one to miss a free opportunity for content, we scooped those dogs up, spun around a bit and sung at the camera. Rinse, repeat and the rest is history. Thanks to all the nice animals that starred alongside us.”
IOTA – ‘Ballet Box’
‘Ballet Box’, the latest single from Bristol-based rock five-piece IOTA is out now.
Explaining the inspiration behind the single, vocalist and lyricist Jodie Robinson explains, “Its about a ballerina inside of a jewellery box coming to life as the box closes. Inspired by the thought of the ‘object’ coming to life and how they’d never know what it was like to be outside of that box and nobody would ever know that they were alive. There was a play on the element of control and feeling trapped, fighting with that part of your mind. It’s very much a song about ‘Is there more to life and can we fulfil that void’.”
Blue Violet – ‘Favourite Jeans’
Blue Violet follow up debut album with new single, ‘Favourite Jeans’.
“For all of the chaos and hardships that Covid brought to the world it also provide ample time for people to be creative” reflects singer Sarah Gotley of the ‘Love, Hate & Forgiveness’ EP. “So although we only released our debut album in April this year we wanted to bring out some of the music that we’d been working on in that time”.
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:
“I’ve been intoxicated by the idea of headlining Slam Dunk again ever since our Take To The Skies celebration headline set back in 2017. It’s 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 “hometown” 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, it’s just such a raw, beautiful, and reifying thing.
Slam Dunk is a festival I try to attend every year regardless of whether we’re playing it. I love both the sites, and it’s always full of mates and has such a convivial vibe. (That’s my word of the week).
We’re already thinking about stage production ideas, we’re going to do everything we can to make this our biggest show yet.”
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: “After the incredible reaction to our first wave of names, we’re delighted to announce over 80 new artists joining us across Leeds City Centre this October. There’s 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 can’t wait to dive around the city catching set after set of must-see moments, and we’re sure that everyone will come away from the festival with countless new favourite artists”
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 ‘St Jude’ Heaton Park show, Liam Fray says: “They grow up so fast. Can’t believe our darling St. Jude is 15 next year. Think it’s time for a celebration and we all know that great things come in threes….The Star Wars Trilogy, Sooty, Sweep & Soo and now, here we are, with the third instalment of ‘Courteeners at Heaton Park’.
June 2015. June 2019 and now June 2023 …
This time, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its release we’ll be playing ST. JUDE (in full) PLUS (of course) THE HITS. I can’t think of any better way to celebrate than to make the pilgrimage to Heaton Park with like-minded souls and lose ourselves like it’s 2008. And, because we’re good like that, we’ve remastered the original album … GOD BLESS THE BAND. GOD BLESS THE FANS. OMNE TRIUM PERFECTUM.’
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 band’s sonic evolution for the new record, vocalist Tom Hudson says: “One major thing we all chatted about was the ‘less is more’ 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 ‘to the point’ 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.”
“Whilst we were working through writing and jamming, we also experimented with load of different recording techniques, an array of vintage microphones that we’d accumulated, trashed 70’s 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.”
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, “‘Waltzer’ 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. It’s 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.”
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 ‘DEADGIRL’ which is set for release in December 2022. She has also dropped a new offering in the form of defying single ‘nihil’.
“‘nihil’ is the first track I wrote after having my entire music collection and visuals wiped off all DSP’s 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 “nihil” be my reboot in a paradoxical way.”“There lies great power in resistance” – Mimi Barks
Sunsleeper – ‘Quitter’
Indie rock band Sunsleeper have shared their new single ‘Quitter’.
“’Quitter’ is about the pains and joys of being a band,” says vocalist Jeffery Mudgett. “How 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.”
noyou – ‘Same Old Story’
Having recently exploded onto the scene, Synthetic Pop-Rock band noyou have dropped their new single ‘Same Old Story’.
“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?” – 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!
Speaking also of special one off London shows, this week saw the return of We Are The Ocean who revealed that they will play at OMEARA in the capital this October!
Within Temptation debut video for ‘Don’t Pray For Me’
Within Temptation – ‘Don’t Pray For Me’
We move our News Report on now to the best music releases from the past week and begin with the new video from Within Tempation. You can check out ‘Don’t Pray For Me’, above.
Vocalist Sharon den Adel comments: “‘Don’t Pray For Me’ strives against forcing beliefs and fears onto others and bears witness to being acceptive of everyone’s own journey. It is an anthem about coming to terms with the fact that beliefs can be fluid, multiple or frankly: different. The song is about allowing people to pursue their own destiny.”
Bristol-based rock five-piece IOTA share their new single, ‘Take It’.
Speaking about the single, the band reveal, “Take It was inspired by the fight with yourself in a multitude of circumstances, work, relationships, socially and mentally. The continuum of holding yourself back and having this other side to yourself that is constantly telling you, “you aren’t good enough, you won’t make anything of yourself”.
The persistent reminder of how well everyone else is doing, social media controlling us and having a huge effect on us mentally. Constantly taking that push back and battling with your own mind as if it is a whole other person inside of you.
We wrote the song during and before lockdown with Lee Kiernan who helped us build on the track instrumentally and melodically.”
Rosen Bridge – ‘Watchers’
UK Metal outfit Rosen Bridge make their return with a punishing new offering titled ‘Watchers’. The Welsh originated 5-piece have teamed up with vocalist Jot Maxi of the formidable Hacktivist on the track.
“We were privileged to have Jot Maxi feature on the track having been huge fans of Hacktivist for some time. The song continues the sound we’ve established in our recent singles, pairing an intense heaviness with big melodic moments. We enjoyed experimenting with lots of dark electronic sounds in the track as well, with platinum producer Andrew Wade bringing the cohesiveness we needed in the final mix” – Alex Woodall, vocalist.
“It’s crazy that they (Rosen Bridge) approached me to feature on a song that’s about corruption within organised religion because I actually spent the first 26 years of my life in a cult! In fact, I didn’t find the true God of the bible until very recently… So, directing my verse against false, man-made and twisted religions that are designed to glorify humans instead of God was very natural for me, as I obviously have a lot of passion for the subject!” – Jot Maxi of Hacktivist.
Trashed – ‘Memories’
Bristol-based emo punk-rock three-piece Trashed have released their new single ‘Memories’, the third single taken from their debut full-length album due later this year.
Speaking about the single, the band state, “Memories came together very quickly. It’s about trying too hard to let go of someone while your brain clings tighter and tighter to them. Of course written during a dose of heartbreak Jimmy was going through, it’s relatable and sincere… and will probably stick in your head like heartache does.”
Watch Trashed on our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast
‘Discover’ New Music Podcast – Episode 20 – Trashed
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 – “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 it”.
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 – “Legend 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 won’t 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 summer’s 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 ‘n’ roll. A bond was formed that could only have been blessed by the wizards of said forest.
While discussing each other’s 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 UK’s 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. “It’s about the polarising forces of love and anxiety that come with being a new parent—simultaneously being so overjoyed that they’re here, about the miraculous nature of their existence, but afraid of all the ways you could fail them,” Dan explains.
“It’s about raising children in a world that feels like it’s 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.
“Isn’t it interesting that we give the same name to something holy and something wholly intoxicating?” asks Nothing More frontman Jonny Hawkins.
“The song ‘SPIRITS’ 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 ‘al-ghawl,’ which means demon/spirit) can make us feel. It’s almost as if we turn into someone else when too much of the spirit has been consumed.
Sometimes it’s eye opening and can lead to wondrous life-changing conversations or bonds that would never normally happen…and sometimes it can lead to the exact opposite. It may turn us into Dr. Hyde’s 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.”
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 ‘Intake’, Launder aimed to record something uplifting, he explains, “‘Intake’ 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.”
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 ‘Swerve’ 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.” – Vocalist, Jake Hough.
Northern Captives – ‘Distraction Or Cure’
Continuing their sonic shift, Northern Captives have released a brand new single titled ‘Distraction Or Cure’.
“Distraction or Cure is a song about how many of us find ourselves heavily lead by our own ego’s. How we’re 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.
There’s a huge satisfaction in the realisation that people are often far too preoccupied with themselves to notice you. ‘Kill your ego’ is a chorus about living for yourself, not trying to project an image for those around you at the detriment of your well-being.” – Sam Cook, Vocalist
Welcome all to another edition of our weekly music News Report! We start this week with a handful of festival announcements and leading the way is the above line-up from Download Festival.
The Donington event got a little bigger this week with the addition of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Napalm Death, Kris Barras Band, Pengshui and more joining.
The event will be headlined by Kiss, Iron Maiden & Biffy Clyro.
We move on now to the weeks new music releases as our News Report continues at pace.
Alongside the release of their new album, ‘Skinty Fia’, Fontaines D.C. this week shared their latest single, ‘Roman Holiday’. You can listen to the new track above.
Speaking on the single, frontman Grian Chatten says, “Roman Holiday makes me think of the wide streets of north London in the Summer and the urge to discover them at night time. The thrill of being a gang of Irish people in London with a bit of a secret language and my first flat with my girlfriend.”
The band has also added additional dates to their upcoming UK Tour!
There was also new music coming from the Boston Manor camp this past week as the band debuted new single ‘Foxglove’. You can listen to the track above.
Folk favourite Beans On Toast this week debuted his latest track, ‘Swimming In It’. The track is described as “A protest song about the heinous environmental crimes committed by Southern Water”. You can listen to the song above.
This week saw The Blinders release the video for their recent single, ‘Fight For It’. You can watch the video above.
Regarding the song vocalist and guitarist Thomas Hayward says, “It’s about waking up and seizing the day with both your hands firmly gripped round its neck, to the point where you know you’re a better person by the end of it.
“I had a lot to say about the matter, so subconsciously probably chose the song we’d worked on the least, in terms of seeing how far we could push it musically and made up for it lyrically.
“Usually, as a band, we’d rarely let a song exist in such a basic form… but upon writing the lyrics the tone was right. The words came very fast. When all was said and done it was probably over in about half an hour.
“It’s the lightest song we’ve done. Not something you’d usually expect from the band, and not necessarily a place where I’m particularly comfortable drawing from. Give me brick and barbed wire over sunshine any day. I’ve got a soft spot for it though.”
The last new release in our News Report this week comes from LIFE who have debuted their newest track, ‘Almost Home’. The track will feature on upcoming third album, ‘North East Coastal Town’.
Speaking on the new single vocalist Mez Green says: “Almost Home barks, jolts, jerks and spits with the theme of pining to be home and thus chimes with North East Coastal Town’s over-riding sense of belonging. ‘Taste the difference…feel significant…hold a lifeline, you’re almost home!” Almost Home is a song that wrestles with ego and love, with love winning; ”Recipe, I ain’t a cult recipe.”
As always we finish our News Report with the latest additions to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist! Featured this week are:
‘Night’ – Oakman
France based pop/rock trio, Oakman debut their brand new single, ‘Night’.
“This song was written in one day,” says the band. “Marine had just learned that she might have a serious health problem. Without knowing it, Geremia sent an idea for a riff to Marine that day, who was instantly inspired by the mood. It matched so well with what she was feeling at the time that the whole song was written in one go. She was in a very special mental state that day. It was a kind of happy-sad nostalgia of life. Between the reality of losing everything and the people that you love and the strong desire to just live and exist. We spend our time complaining but when life can suddenly stop, that’s when we realise how much the smallest thing is worth. This song was like a mourning, a last night before everything stops forever. It’s the first time we wrote such a personal song and it’s one of our favourite tracks. It allowed Marine to not sink that day.”
‘Halo’ – Blue Violet
‘Halo’ will feature on the upcoming album, ‘Late Night Calls’ from husband/wife duo Blue Violet.
Ahead of the forthcoming release of ‘Late Night Calls’ Sam and Sarah Gotley explain:
“All in all, the thing we enjoyed most while recording the album was the opportunity to be experimental with sound on top of the structures we had already put in place during the writing and pre-prod processes. We got very lucky to find a like-minded team of people to work with and a beautiful location to match. Coming off the back of a good couple of years in our previous band Broken Bones Matilda, we had no idea that our goals and choice of music we wanted to make would change, but it feels like this album is the start of something long and fruitful and that we’ve found out who we are and what we want to say.”
‘The Concrete of Moulded Men’ – Eat Your Own Head’
Norwich alt-rock newcomers Eat Your Own Head feature with new track ‘The Concrete of Moulded Men’.
Commenting on the track, vocalist Ash Woolnough said: “‘The Concrete of Moulded Men’ is a sledgehammer to the slab of toxic masculinity. When writing the track, we wanted it to be fierce, hard, and unrelenting to reflect the kind of feelings and pressures that are put on men.”
“I didn’t have any friends that played music when I was growing up, and It would feel embarrassing to say no to football or something like that because I wanted to play guitar and sing. I started making up reasons and hiding it, which was obviously not the right thing to be doing. This track is basically saying don’t worry about all that nonsense”
2021 has been another tough year to live through. There have been some signs of normal life, for example the return of live music, but we end it as we started with true normality a distant memory.
This year has however been a stunning year for new music releases. Yes, lockdown musicians and the odds are their creativity will take over. In Full Pelt Music’s first full year of existence we have reviewed 65 albums and the quality of those releases has been exceptional.
Last year we counted down our Top 20 albums of the year, with a special Advent Calendar countdown on our Twitter. This year we have expanded! Our 2021 countdown has taken place across all our social platforms, and has listed our Top 50 albums of the year!
With that social media countdown completed, it’s now time to compile our completed Top 50 in one place. So let’s get started!
What we said:
“there are stunning moments spread throughout the album”
Rob Zombie – ‘The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)’
What we said:
“was anybody craving a new album from The Offspring in 2021? Perhaps not, but actually in this messed up world we live in, maybe, just maybe, we needed it!”
“vitality shouldn’t be mistaken for relevance and whilst the band may have peaked commercially, they remain of utmost importance to a generation of music fans”
Check out:
Rise Against – ‘Nowhere Generation’
What we said:
“anybody that had any doubts about the natural talents of this group of musicians, they should now acknowledge a new force”
The quality of this year’s releases has been truly phenomenal as our opening 30 albums attests. The competition is extremely tight for the coveted top spot and that is clear throughout the prestigious Top 20 that follows.
What we said:
“a sublime collection of upbeat, heartfelt and powerful songs that is bound to be stuck on repeat for the foreseeable future”
“a rare talent that have now reinforced their passion and ability to create great music for anybody who wants to listen but without concession on their vision”
Well there you have it! What a truly magnificent year for new music 2021 has been. What will 2022 have in store? Remember to discover the best new acts by following our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist’!
Stay tuned for our 2021 Year in Review coming very soon.
We roundup the best music news from the past week!
Every week we roundup the best music news from the past week in our News Report. To stay up to date with the biggest news be sure to follow us on our social channels:
Welcome to another weekly News Report from Full Pelt Music where we roundup the best music news from the past week. We will get into new music releases and tour announcements but this week we start with a slew of festival reveals!
Up first is Slam Dunk Festival who this week revealed the first acts set to feature at the 2022 event. Alexisonfire and Rancid will be joined by The Used, The Wonder Years, Motion City Soundtrack, Hot Milk, Meet Me At The Altar and many more!
The event will take place on 3rd and 4th June at Leeds and Hatfield. Tickets are available here.
Teddy Rocks Festival takes place at Charisworth Farm in Blandford, Dorset and raises money towards research and direct support for children with cancer. So, already it’s worth the ticket price! Also on offer though is a great line-up of music.
Headlining the 2022 edition will be Eagles Of Death Metal and The Fratellis. They will be joined by Skindred, Newton Faulkner, Terrorvision, Dream State, The Skints, The Snuts, A, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Lauran Hibberd, The Bottom Line and Never Not Nothing among many more.
Many festivals are now gearing up for the 2022 season and this week also saw the first names revealed for Y Not Festival in Derbyshire.
Announced this week were Courteeners, Blossoms, Nothing But Thieves, Levellers, Pale Waves, Sports Team, Beans On Toast, Vistas, Lauran Hibberd and more.
We move on now in our News Report to tour announcements. This week saw Architects reveal a short run of intimate dates for next month. These come ahead of the band hitting arenas next year.
The last section of our News Report is dedicated to the latest new releases. We start this week with Volbeat who announced details of their latest studio album. The record will be called ‘Servant Of My Mind’ and will arrive December 3rd.
Ahead of that release the band has debuted the track ‘Shotgun Blues’, which you can check out above.
There was more new music this week from The Darkness ahead of their upcoming album. ‘Motorheart’ arrive on November 19th and now you can check out ‘Jussy’s Girl’, their latest single.
Finally this week in our News Report, the annual Beans On Toast album announcement. ‘Survival of the Friendliest’ will arrive December 1st and is preceded by the single ‘A Beautiful Place’.
