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!
After a deeply personal debut album introduced Bristol-based alt-rockers Our Nameless Boy to the world in 2021, they return with a new EP taking aim at the state of this messed up world!
‘Thorns’ as a collection is designed to invoke empathy and understanding at a time when nobody seems to care and nothing seems to make any sense. As such these four tracks feel very immediate and demand your attention.
‘’38’ and ‘(Not In My Name)’ bring this passionate plea to life with great energy and a targeted dose of rage. The title-track and ‘Little Bird’ then introduce a more thoughtful and elegant ambience to the sound whilst maintaining the same sense of lyrical direction and dissection of the human element.
Considering that, it’s a grand achievement that once again the band deliver a record that is at its very core… human.
Watch Episode 84 of our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast with guests Our Nameless Boy
‘Discover’ New Music Podcast – Episode 84 – Our Nameless Boy
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.
Sometimes the world just seems to be against you. This must feel like one of those days for IST IST as the first date of their headline tour almost gets derailed due to a run in with the DVSA.
A long delay and an urgent van swap means that the band only make it to the venue less than an hour before the scheduled door time. The band even stating that they were minutes away from needing to cancel their date with The Waterfront here in Norwich.
THE YOUTH PLAY
Thankfully after a short delay for fans waiting outside, those doors do open and the show is good to go with our opening act The Youth Play soon arriving on stage.
‘Maybe This Was All For Us’ introduces the crowd to the set and a band with plenty to offer. Indeed, much like our headliners, The Youth Play are a band with a layered sound that makes them difficult to pigeonhole.
Their early releases have displayed a shoegazey aesthetic but with an ability to cut through with melodies akin to The Cure. This isn’t lost tonight despite the band making quite the noise during their time on stage.
Whilst it seemingly takes the crowd a little while to warm up (probably because of the extended wait in the chilly spring evening), by the time the band exit the likes of ‘Last Day On Earth’ and ‘If We Just Ever Were’ have effectively gained their respect.
IST IST
It does feel like the audience are waiting obsessively for IST IST to arrive and this is no surprise given the cultlike following that the band have cultivated since arriving just under a decade ago.
In that time, they have delivered five well received albums including their latest, ‘DAGGER’, in February. It’s that record which is centre stage this evening with the fantastic ‘I Am The Fear’ beginning their performance before ‘Warning Signs’ and ‘Burning’ settle us in.
The setlist is carefully prepared to showcase their back catalogue whilst giving ‘DAGGER’ the platform that it deserves. The album is a contender for Album of the Year and it’s delightful tonight to see these songs take flight on the live stage.
It’s a professional and concise performance from the band this evening with crowd interaction mainly revolving around their anger towards the DVSA, but it’s clear to see the fond connection that exists between band and audience.
‘The Echo’ and ‘Makes No Difference’ represent two more highlights from ‘DAGGER’ whilst the likes of ‘Fat Cats Drown in Milk’, ‘Emily’ and ‘Night’s Arm’ give their fanbase some good cuts from the past.
Previous album, ‘Light a Bigger Fire’, also gets a lot love and an encore comprising ‘Encouragement’ and ‘Stamp You Out’ ensures that the passionate fanbase is sent back into the cold night with warm hearts.
Considering how close to a disastrous cancellation we got, you can’t help but appreciate the effort put in by IST IST both in getting to the venue and then still delivering a great performance.
Having featured Blush Puppy in our 2026 ‘Ones to Watch’, we were excited to hit play on their five-song debut EP, ‘HERE YOU DREAM’. Such a release is always a big moment for new bands, and this EP gives listeners a great first impression of what this group are all about.
One of the things that stands out is that these songs feel truly collaborative. The tracks are cohesive and the vocal interchanges help to generate a communal sense of hope and togetherness.
Lyrically exploring the varied and shared challenges of life with an emotive connection, these tracks will offer a good degree of relatively and understanding to listeners. Musically these songs are as solid an example of how to do modern alt-rock as you could expect from any debut release.
With renowned producer Adrian Bushby steering the band through the recording, that shouldn’t be a surprise. Indeed, the rock is rocky and the pop is poppy. There are various genre’s merging together here and each adds fascinating textures to a well-rounded and expertly produced set of songs.
So enjoy this record and make sure that you do keep watch as we suggested, because on this evidence Blush Puppy are going to be making some positive noise!
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!
