The latest issue of the Full Pelt Magazine is here, and you can download your copy for free below!
Volume 27 features our cover stars 2000trees as unveil their stunning 2024 line-up! We also catch last week’s cover stars Lake Malice live in Norwich and review the new album from Grace Petrie!
Our News Report has all the latest music news including live announcements from Garbage, The Black Keys, BERRIES, Another Sky, Seasick Steve, Himalayas, Editors, Dream Wife, Oakman, InMe, Indoor Pets, Twin Atlantic, Crushed By Waves, Future Static, Brighten the Corners, Y Not Festival, Make A Scene and RADAR Festival!
Plus all the best new releases including Creeper, Seasick Steve, Delilah Bon, Like Moths To Flames, Pillow Queens, FM, Smash Into Pieces, The Pearl Harts, Twin Atlantic, Saxon, Robert Jon & The Wreck, The Commoners, Jinjer, Hockey Dad, Slash, Marisa and the Moths and Dream Wife!
Finally, we round up the latest additions to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist including Young Fatigue, QUEEN LAYA and LOVELOST!
The latest issue of the Full Pelt Magazine is here, and you can download your copy for free below!
Volume 26 features our cover stars Lake Malice as they prepare for their debut headline tour! We also review new albums from Yard Act, Bruce Dickinson, Kaiser Chiefs, Noah and the Loners and Liam Gallagher & John Squire!
Our News Report has all the latest music news including live announcements from Paul Weller, Electric Six, Blood Red Shoes, Black Water County, SOiL, Journey, Blackout Problems, Gen and the Degenerates, Latitude Festival, British Summer Time, Bearded Theory, Tramlines, Cro Cro Land and Attitude Festival!
Plus all the best new releases including Bob Vylan, Twenty One Pilots, Hell Is For Heroes, Oakman, Another Sky, Kid Kapichi, Unpeople, LostAlone, VENUES, One Step Closer, Accept, Chris Shiflett, Kelly Jones, Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties, Black Country Communion, halflives, The Zutons, Troy Redfern, Fangclub, James, The K’s, Ho99o9, PJ Harvey and CLT DRP!
Finally, we round up the latest additions to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist including Hunter Oliveri, ANIIMALIA and Gamblers!
The latest issue of the Full Pelt Magazine is here, and you can download your copy for free below!
Volume 13 features cover stars Holding Absence as they hit the road in support of ‘The Noble Art of Self Destruction’. We also catch Skinny Lister as they take ‘Shanty Punk’ to the stage. Plus we review the latest album from Beans On Toast!
We have our News Report rounding up new releases from Bruce Dickinson, CJ Wildheart, Alkaline Trio, Trash Boat, P.O.D., Atreyu, Normandie, Oakman, Chelsea Wolfe and LØLØ.
Plus new live announcements from Lytham Festival, Slam Dunk, Wild Fields Festival, The Killers, As December Falls, Pet Needs, Indoor Pets, Nickelback, IDLES, Avril Lavigne, You Me At Six, Taking Back Sunday, Don’t Panic and Thomas Nicholas Band!
Finally, we round up the latest additions to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist with Where Oceans Burn, Break Fifty and fakeyourdeath!
Our weekly music News Report has evolved into the Full Pelt Magazine, and you can download the eighth issue now for free!
Volume eight includes an update from cover stars Skindred, reviews of Rival Sons and Philip Seth Campbell live, album reviews for Skinny Lister, Rival Sons, The Rolling Stones, Chris Shifflet, Blink 182, Within Temptation and a load more!
We have our News Report rounding up new releases from YUNGBLUD, IDLES, Alkaline Trio, Lonely The Brave, Lambrini Girls, Black Water County, SCALER, Oakman, Blackout Problems, The Struts, The Cadillac Three, LostAlone, DragonForce, Royal Tusk, Dream State and The Cruel Knives.
Plus new live announcements from As Everything Unfolds, Slam Dunk, Grace Petrie, Black Orchid Empire, Slash, Liam Gallagher, The Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Punk Rock Factory, When Rivers Meet, Kris Barras Band and LostAlone!
Finally, we round up the latest additions to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist with Jarki Monno, headcage and The Klittens!
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
“Finding ‘Lost’ was like finding a favorite photo you had forgotten you’d taken, like it was waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.” – Mike Shinoda
Linkin Park will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of their seminal ‘Meteora’ album with a special edition out April 7th.
This week the band shared a previously unreleased track that will feature in the new collection. You can listen to ‘Lost’ above now.
Enter Shikari recently announced their upcoming new album, ‘A Kiss For The Whole World’, will be out April 21st, and this week saw the band share the latest taste.
You can listen to new track, ‘It Hurts’ above. Of the track, Lead vocalist and producer Rou Reynolds explains:
“It Hurts came to me in a dream. Literally. Melody, chords, and fully-formulated chorus were all part of a dream that, thankfully, remained with me when I woke up. I was hiding under the duvet at 3AM, singing it into my phone, much to the bewilderment of my girlfriend.
Lyrically, It Hurts is about perseverance, and the importance of reframing failure as a fruitful and, in fact, pivotal route to progress. Society teaches us we should avoid and criticise failure, when defeat and honest mistakes can actually present us with insights that light our way forward.
In reality, we should be taught that simply to try makes us more than enough.”
This week saw the return of Gengahr as the band shared their brand new single, ‘A Ladder’, which you can listen to above.
Frontman Felix Bushe comments: “A Ladder is a fun, trippy little song soaked in cartoon-like imagery. Essentially it’s about the power of true love and its ability to not only change the way we feel but also the way we see and interact with the whole world around us.”
Dream Wife have announced details of their next studio album with ‘Social Lubrication’ set to be released on June 9th.
This week the group preceded the release with new single, ‘Hot (Don’t Date A Musician)’, which you can check out above.
‘Social Lubrication’, in the band’s words, is “Hyper lusty rock and roll with a political punch, exploring the alchemy of attraction, the lust for life, embracing community and calling out the patriarchy. With a healthy dose of playfulness and fun thrown in.”
Vocalist Rakel says, “Dating musicians is a nightmare. Evoking imagery of late night make-outs with fuckboy/girl/ambiguously-gendered musicians on their mattress after being seduced by song-writing chat. The roles being equally reversed. Having a laugh together and being able to poke fun at ourselves is very much at the heart of this band. This song encapsulates our shared sense of humour. Sonically it is the lovechild of CSS and Motorhead. It has our hard, live, rock edge combined with cheeky and playful vocals.”
“Music is one of the only forms of people experiencing an emotion together in a visceral, physical, real way,” says Alice. “It’s cathartic to the systemic issues that are being called out across the board in the record. Music isn’t the cure, but it’s the remedy. Calling the record Social Lubrication harks to that. It’s the positive glue that can create solidarity and community.”
“The album is speaking to systemic problems that cannot be glossed over by lube,” says Bella. “The things named in the songs are symptoms of f-ed up structures. And you can’t fix that. You need to pull it apart.”
We move our News Report on now to the best tour announcements from the past week and of course we have to start with the above dates from Fall Out Boy!
The group will make their way to the UK and Europe this Autumn with five UK Arena shows in scope finishing up at The O2 in London.
Support for the tour comes from both PVRIS and nothing,nowhere.
The tour will follow the release of their upcoming new album, ‘So Much (For) Stardust’, which is out March 24th.
Our News Report looks now at the best festival announcements made over the past week and we start by the coast with Portsmouth’s Victorious Festival.
Jamiroquai and Kasabian are already announced to headline with one more headliner yet to be revealed.
They will now be joined in August by the likes of The Charlatans, Jake Bugg, Circa Waves, The View, Newton Faulkner, Blossoms,Alt-J, Kaiser Chiefs, Amyl & The Sniffers, The Coral, Pale Waves, Shame, The Vaccines, Sea Girls, Johnny Marr, The Enemy and Hard-Fi!
Steelhouse Festival this week confirmed that Those Damn Crows will be heading up the mountain as Saturday’s Special Guests. Also added this week was Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners.
They join the likes of Airbourne, Black Stone Cherry, Kris Barras Band, The Answer, Blues Pills, Florence Black and many more.
UK metallers, Electron, draw a line in the sand with their explosive new single, ‘Sick and Wrong’, which is out now!
On the single, frontman Jason Payne discusses: “The track symbolises solitude, melancholy, madness, anxiety and fear. The persona in this song (inspired by “The Scream, E. Munch”) is suffering a lot of pain. In the beginning, this person has hope that they will escape from the terror of its own mind – however, as the song evolves, they grow aware that the melancholy is eternal, and revolt with their agony.”
This Dying Hour – ‘Age of the Coward’
Modern metalcore 4-piece This Dying Hour have shared their blistering new single ‘Age Of The Coward’.
“‘Age of the Coward’ challenges the way we see ourselves – how we can either perpetuate or abolish the feelings of nihilism and guilt through the way we understand personal accountability. Over the years I have personally battled with self-identity and purpose. I don’t think these things are exclusive to me, but a journey we all must take. This is why we shouldn’t settle with your shortcomings, but instead with discipline and hard work we can lace their linings with gold. You can’t make the world a more meaningful place, until you see through who you truly are.” – Vocalist Steve Kerr.
Creature Cult – ‘poster boy’
With just one single out in the world – the powerful and rousing, ‘ughly’ – Creature Cult have shared new single ‘poster boy’ – another message delivered loud and clear: in the face of bigotry and hatred, be uncompromising in your self-expression.
Commenting on the new single, Connar says: “Poster boy is my hate letter to homophobia. It takes all the disgust and discrimination from vicious people and spits it right back at them. It’s basically saying I’m going to be the fucking biggest and loudest version of all the things you hate about me because I really don’t care what you think and I know that scares you. Being able to express yourself and love who you want to love should be treated by everyone as the basic human right that it is.”
It’s been another big revival year for the music industry following the pandemic years, and it’s been another year of growth for us at Full Pelt Music! We’ve reviewed 67 albums, 7 EP’s, 6 festivals and 38 gigs in 2022 as some level of normality or even stability has returned to our industry.
That said, there are still many issues facing the industry with livelihoods, venues and organisations at risk for a plethora of reasons. Whilst government action is required in many places, what we as fans can do is support the industry with our money. Times are tough for us all, but purchasing an album, buying a t-shirt, nabbing a ticket and grabbing a drink whilst at a gig does so much to support the industry that we love.
In our now annual end of year awards we’ll be giving out seven hotly contested awards looking at both the recorded and live sides of the industry. Adding to our well established Album of the Year award this year will be the new EP of the Year award. We’ll also once again be revealing our Single of the Year. All awards have seen fierce competition, as once again it’s been a high quality year for new releases.
On the live side of things, we’ll announce both our Gig and Festival of the Year awards. This year of course provided our first full calendar of music since 2019! We were able to witness many great performances this year and we can’t wait to share with you are favourites.
Lastly we’ll look at the artists who’ve had special years as we award our Artist and ‘Discover’ New Artist of the Year awards. So without further ado, let’s work through those award catagories!
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
It has been a truly magnificent year for album releases and getting a spot anywhere in our Top 50 was hard enough but in particular the Top 10 was incredibly tightly fought. You can read the full list here.
‘IMPERA’ from Ghost was able to take the crown this year but any of the top 10 could’ve taken that spot. ‘Reeling’ from The Mysterines in particular would likely have won in any other year, but the majesty and magnificence of ‘IMPERA’ proved unbeatable.
Winner:
‘Impera’ by Ghost
The contenders:
‘Reeling’ by The Mysterines, ‘FTHC’ by Frank Turner, ‘Skinty Fia’ by Fontaines D.C. & ‘The Price of Life’ by Bob Vylan
Previous Winners:
2021 – ‘Blue Weekend’ by Wolf Alice 2020 – ‘Ultra Mono’ by IDLES
EP OF THE YEAR
For the first time this year, we are separating EP’s out of our main award and giving them their own pedestal. That alone is the truest compliment to the quality of EP’s on offer this year.
Again, all EP’s in our top 5 are worthy of the number one spot, but it’s ‘coming of (r)age’ from As Sirens Fall that pips it. Catchy as hell single, ‘heaven (spat us back out)’, helps elevate the release to be crowed our first ever EP of the Year.
Winner:
‘coming of (r)age’ by As Sirens Fall
The contenders:
‘False Start’ by James and the Cold Gun, ‘SCP’ by Oakman, ‘Tyrants’ by IOTA and ‘BLACKGOLD’ by BLACKGOLD
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
We look now at our Single or Song of the Year. In considering the award this year we’ve considered the ear worms that have stayed with us after live performances. We’ve also pondered which songs instantly struck a chord and created a buzz of excitement for the albums and live shows that would follow.
Songs which fell into both of these considerations competed for the award and it was again a tight decision, but ultimately for us this year ‘Dangerous’ from The Mysterines has not just ticked both boxes but also remained on heavy rotation throughout the year despite being an early arrival in 2022. That’s why that track is our 2022 Single of the Year!
Check out the winning single below:
The Mysterines – ‘Dangerous’
Winner:
‘Dangerous’ by The Mysterines
The contenders:
‘Talk Hard’ by Jamie Lenman, ‘Compliance’ by Muse, ‘Wicked Ways’ by Halestorm, ‘Spillways’ by Ghost
Previous Winners:
2021 – ‘Test of our Resolve’ from Press To MECO 2020 – ‘Obey’ by Bring Me The Horizon feat. Yungblud
FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR
2022 was the first full festival season since 2019 and what a return it was. All eyes were on Glastonbury once again, British Summer Time curated a stunning line-up, Download Festival breathed fire and 2000trees was able to remind everyone what’s so great about smaller festivals.
Our winner this year though is Reading & Leeds who went big, sold out and delivered an action packed weekend even with the huge loss of Rage Against The Machine amongst others. Always a perennial contender for this award, 2022 felt like the year the event reclaimed its identity.
Glastonbury Festival, British Summer Time, Download Festival, 2000trees Festival
Previous Winners:
2021 – Download Pilot Festival 2020 – Wild Fields Festival
GIG OF THE YEAR
We’ve reviewed many gigs this year but in reality there could only ever be one winner. Rammstein’s tour is less of a concert and more of an experience; one that everyone, fan of the band or not, should experience at least once.
Beyond that there was still some incredible, top tier gigs in 2022 and our contenders are all worthy of glory, but Rammstein are currently on a whole different level.
Royal Blood @ O2 Arena, London, Ghost @ Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, Muse @ Eventim Apollo Hammersmith, London, The Killers @ Carrow Road, Norwich, The Hella Mega Tour @ London Stadium, London, Creeper @ Roundhouse, London, Idlewild @ O2 Kentish Town Forum, London
Previous Winners:
2021 – Bring Me The Horizon @ O2 Arena, London 2020 – Frank Turner @ Arboretum, Nottingham
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Artist of the Year now and for this award we look for somebody who has had a huge, perhaps even career-defining year. Previous winners Frank Turner and Biffy Clyro have done so by delivering incredible feats, far above the norm.
This year was a big year for many acts, but we’ve gone for Bring Me The Horizon as a band that have had a career-defining twelve months. Long tipped as festival headliners at a major event, many felt that the time would never come for one of the best live bands on the planet. Big releases, sold-out tours, no matter what the group did they never seemed to be given that torch, that is until this year!
Watching Bring Me The Horizon step up and headline at Reading & Leeds this summer felt like a real moment, not just for the band but for the whole scene. For any metal band, let alone one once considered so unfashionable to headline the biggest festivals in the UK is massive.
Already announced to finally headline Download Festival in 2023, 2022 will forever be linked for Bring Me The Horizon to taking that final career-defining set. Throw in their genre-defying collaboration with Ed Sheeran, 2022’s Artist of the Year had to be Bring Me The Horizon.
Winner:
Bring Me The Horizon
The contenders:
Ghost, Rammstein, Biffy Clyro, Muse
Previous Winners:
2021 – Biffy Clyro 2020 – Frank Turner
‘DISCOVER’ NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
As a publication we always want to put new music at the heart of what we do, and that’s why our final award is perhaps our most important! Our ‘Discover’ New Artist of the Year is awarded to the act we’ve chosen to highlight on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist and Podcast who we feel has made the biggest impact this year.
At the beginning of 2022 we put the spotlight on new Colchester act PET NEEDS as they continued to promote their debut album, ‘Fractured Party Music’. From that point on the band never looked back with a world tour, a second album (‘Primtime Entertainment’) and a sold out hometown show all under their belts.
They even found the time to become the first (and only at the time of writing) band to progress from our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast and appear on The Full Pelt Music Podcast! Yes, fighting off some stiff competition for the ‘Discover’ New Artist of the Year award in 2022 is PET NEEDS!
Winners:
PET NEEDS
The Contenders:
BERRIES, As Sirens Fall, Oakman, James and the Cold Gun, Daytime TV, MOSKITO
Previous Winners:
2020 – Miss Vincent
So, that’s it! Another year in the record books, it’s been another difficult year and it has again been particularly tough on the music industry. That said, we’ve had a full year of live music for the first time since 2019 and the creative juices remain flowing with some absolutely stunning new releases over the past twelve months.
Below you can enjoy some of our favourite gig photos of the year courtesy of our wonderful photographer Denis!
All 📸 (c) Denis Gorbatov / Full Pelt Music
We hope you’ve enjoyed our The Year in Review 2022 and we wish you a very Happy New Year. Here’s hoping 2023 is a good one!
The evolution of Oakman in recent years has culminated with the release of their third EP, ‘SCP’. The French pop-punk trio have given deeper exploration of the pop element of the genre and the outcome is majestic.
Opening with the statement dancefloor filler ‘Night’, the six track record is an uplifting yet brutally honest and personal collection.
‘Murder’ and ‘Fantasy’ knuckle down on this formula and exude vulnerability and strength in equal measure.
Oakman sound natural on this EP and are able to showcase their superb songwriting skills with freedom. Their pop-punk roots remain, but the band appear ready to elevate themselves both artistically and professionally with their new sound.
Welcome everybody to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
We are starting this week with the best tour announcements from the past week and we begin with a special treat for Pendulum fans.
Yes, after their secret sets at Reading & Leeds Festivals, Pendulum revealed not one but two dates at the legendary O2 Academy Brixton for March next year.
Pet Needs have just released their sophomore album, ‘Primetime Entertainment’, and this week they announced the obligatory headlining tour to accompany the release.
Support for these shows comes variously from Tundra and Bridget..
The tour finishes in their hometown Colchester on December 16th with special guest Sean McGowan plus Ecto Peach and Oxbowlake!
Speaking about the show, Johnny says: “We’re headlining a 400-capacity venue in our hometown Colchester at Christmas. I moved here 7-8 years ago now. For local bands, if you play Colchester Arts Centre, you’ve got credibility. I never thought we’d headline that venue and If we can sell it out, that’d be incredible.”
We move our News Report now onwards to the best new releases from the past week and we start off with the return of Nickelback!
Yes the Canadians returned this week with new single, ‘San Quentin’, which you can listen to above. The track will feature on new album, ‘Get Rollin’, which will be released 31st March.
This week Black Star Riders shared the latest look at new album, ‘Wrong Side Of Paradise’, which is out January 20th. You can check out new single, ‘Pay Dirt’, above.
Frontman Ricky Warwick comments: “Rock’n’Roll is my lover, friend, enemy, ally, religion and saviour. Rock’n’Roll is my life.Christian Martucci and the late Todd Youth wrote the music for this. And when I heard it, it stank with defiance and attitude. It didn’t need changing, just some words to echo the power of the chords.It’s an ode to Rock’n’Roll… But also a dig at those that don’t learn their art and don’t play from the heart!”
About the album Ricky adds: “I am very proud of this record, Black Star Riders’ fifth release and the first with our new and exciting relationship with Earache Records. As with all BSR albums, ‘Wrong Side Of Paradise’ is an anthemic statement of intent, driven by ferocious guitars and thundering drums. I can only write about my own personal experiences, my families, my friends and how I see a world that is unraveling and changing faster than we can comprehend. That being said, I’m a firm believer in the power of positivity, something that echoes throughout this album”
In addition to the new record, Black Star Riders will embark on their 10th Anniversary tour, starting from 13th February 2023.
Ricky Warwick further comments: “Can you believe 2023 is 10 years of Black Star Riders? … How time flies while you are having fun! We decided to do something special to commemorate this occasion. For the UK tour only, to coincide with the album’s release, we will be bringing back the legendary Scott Gorham (guitar) and Jimmy DeGrasso (drums) for the dates to make them extra special!”
Our News Report continues with the latest single from The Cult, ‘A Cut Inside’, which you can listen to above.
The track comes from new album, ‘Under The Midnight Sun’, which is out on October 7th.
Leading to 2020, The Cult had been on a rolling cycle of releasing albums, touring, and recording. As the world shut down and everyone was forced to reprioritise the way they approached life and work. “When the world stopped, I had this moment to write in real time, to calculate,” says Ian Astbury.
When lockdown lifted and the group could meet to record, they teamed up with Dalgety. “I was compelled by this vision, this anomaly, this memory, of being under the midnight sun. Tom helped us bring a new musical shape and frequency to our process.”
Pixies up next in our News Report as they shared new track, ‘Dregs of the Wine’, this week, which you can listen to above.
The track comes from upcoming new album, ‘Doggerel’, which is out September 30th.
BlackFrancis says the song is about, “Living in Los Angeles in the ‘90s with my then-wife, hanging out with Joey and his ex-wife, lots of trips to Las Vegas, a lot of drinking, little bit drug taking, some genuine good times.”
Flashforward to the present day. Joey Santiago was jamming at home on his guitar and the initial idea behind the song may well have been lost to the moment.
He recalls, “I guess I was in kind of a zombie state, just playing. After I stopped playing I put it down and went, ‘Well, that was a fucking waste of time, what a piece of shit I am.’ I beat myself up a lot, but my girlfriend, unbeknownst to me, was recording me. She played it back to me and I go, ‘Fuck! Hold on a second here! This stuff is good!’”
Smith/Kotzen release ‘Got A Hold On Me’ live video
Smith/Kotzen – ‘Got A Hold On Me (live)’
The duo of Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen will release ‘Better Days… And Nights’ on September 16th.
This week they shared the live video for ‘Got A Hold On Me’, which you can check out above.
Adrian Smith comments, “I think everyone in the band was extremely happy with how our very first tour turned out. We were all naturally a little anxious as we’d 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 can’t wait until we can do it again and get to play in many more places next time round.”
Richie Kotzen adds, “We 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 we’ve achieved this in the songs we’ve selected, and hope our fans will agree. We’re looking forward to seeing everybody again on future tours.”
This week also saw Maximo Park share their latest single, ‘Merging Into You’, which you can check out above.
Singer Paul Smith comments on the song:
“Merging Into You’s organ sound reminds me of some of our early songs, which ended up on the flipside of our first singles. The song is a romantic look at the first, tentative moments of a relationship, enhanced by Du Blonde’s brilliant voice. We’re all fans of Beth’s music and she added a different texture to our sound, along with Faye MacCalman’s swooning sax that carries the song to its close.”
Stray From The Path share video for ‘Needful Things’
Stray From The Path – ‘Needful Things’
Stray From The Path celebrate the release of new album, ‘Euthanasia’, with the debut of the video for ‘Needful Things’.
The band will shortly play an intimate UK Tour to celebrate the album release even further.
Speaking of tour, guitarist, Tom Williams, says “We are stoked to return back to the UK and mainland Europe to do some small and intimate album release shows for our new record, ‘Euthanasia’. By the time we get there, it will be almost three years since we’ve been back. We’ve dropped ‘Guillotine’ and ‘III’ and our UK/EU people have been wanting us back ASAP, I’m glad we can get back there for them. We’re bringing with us a brand new album, two amazing up and coming bands in Vatican and Guilt Trip, and three years of too much time spent away from some of our favourite places on earth.”
As our News Report continues we look towards Wednesday 13 who this week debuted new single, ‘Insides Out’, which you can check out above.
The track comes ahead of 9th album, ‘Horrifier’, which is out October 7th.
About the track, Wednesday 13 says: “Our latest single ‘Insides Out’ is a very heavy song, so it only made sense to make a video to match the sound! Torture and violence is the main theme of this song, and we continue along the lines of the last music video with another horror movie theme here too.”
Beth Orton is another artist with an imminent album release. Her latest effort, ‘Weather Alive’ is out September 23rd, and this week she released her latest single. You can check out ‘Fractals’ above.
Orton says of the song, “The track is a beautiful example of the nature of collaboration, where people come in as they are,” she says. “You’re hearing the first take. I would never have been able to conjure that music without these musicians.”
Oakman have announced that their new EP, ‘SCP’, will be out September 30th. This week also saw the band share the video for the title track, which you can watch above.
“It is finally the end of a period. We are very excited to be able to give you the last pieces of this new baby,” says lead singer, Marine, about the new EP. “The last few months have gone by quickly and have been quite intense but it’s also a relief because we cannot wait to get our heads into what will be the next part of Oakman. We hope you enjoy this EP and we hope you can feel the sincerity of the emotions we wanted to share with you. Soon, this EP will belong to you.”
About the song, the band says, “Marine was watching a show during lockdown called “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”. The main character reminded her of a character she had played when she was doing theater. After the foundation of ‘SCP’ was written, she wrote the lyrics about these two characters. ‘SCP’ is a sarcastic and second degree track about the fear of loneliness and not being loved at all costs with a neurotic side.”
Grave Goods share the song ‘Die’ from their debut album, ‘Tuesday. Nothing Exists’, out now!
Speaking of the single, drummer Sarah Grimes said, “Lois sent us the idea for DIE as a sort of electronic track, and when we were all together we worked out how to make it into a live band sound and add our own stamp to it. Whilst recording at Invada we felt that the build up towards the end of DIE needed more layers, so Lois and Phil tried out a couple of synths and settled on a sound that worked – it’s the only song that has synth.
During the last 15 minutes of our recording time Phil added extra layers by messing around with some guitar feedback – the final sound to be recorded on the album, which is kind of special when you think about it especially as DIE is the closing track of the album.”
Harpy – ‘Medicine’
Harpy is back to share her brand new single, ‘Medicine’!
“Sometimes we don’t want to be saved. Sometimes we want to feel the pain, to revel in the misery. We do things that are bad for us, because sometimes they feel good… so good that we go back to them again, and again, and again. That’s what Medicine is about.” – Harpy
Creature Cult – ‘ughly’
Creature Cult are a duo from Colchester, Essex consisting of Connar Ridd (vocals/guitar) and Jonn Downham (synths/backing vocals). The present their latest single, ‘ughly’.
Explaining the track further, Connar said, “I had to leave a job recently because I was told I didn’t dress the way they wanted me to when I was dressed perfectly fine. If someone without piercings and tattoos and bleached hair would have worn the same thing I doubt there would have been an issue. I’m bored of being made to feel like an alien for just trying to be who I am, this song is exactly about it. It’s about paranoia to leave the f*cking house because you’re thinking about what homophobic comment someone is gunna say when you’re queuing in the corner shop. About feeling exhausted to be yourself because people try and make it hard for you to be. But there is a community for people who stick together and stand tall, a community where difference is celebrated and we are all ‘freaks’ together, and this song is a f*ck you to the people who try to take that away.”
Jonn adds, “I was recently sitting at a bus stop and had a group of guys hurling the foulest homophobic comments at me simply because I was wearing makeup and dressed in a faux-fur coat. It’s both crazy and sad that there are people who still have these sorts of views towards others simply for being or looking different to what’s considered ‘normal’. It’s not okay”
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 “TikTok, TikTok or else you get dropped”.
“We’re not calling anyone specific out,“ explains Ryan. “it’s just overall industry suckiness. It highlights things we’ve experienced in the industry over the years and things we see going on and hear about now. There’s a lot of bad shit that still goes on in the industry and a lot of it gets swept under the rug. But we’re in the position where we’re on our fourth album, we feel refreshed and confident and this is what we’re going to say. You either like it or you don’t, it’s cool either way. We are who we are.”
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, “After the blues of Covid we’ve 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 who’ve made the whole country so proud to get up on stage for what will truly be Good Times!”
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: We’ve 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 we’ve made—from playing literal basements up to Alexandria Palace—have been and continue to be some of our most treasured. So it’s with an immeasurable joy that we get to tell you today that, for the first time since 2019, we’re doing a headlining UK tour this November. We can’t wait to play everything for you—new 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 band’s own Lee Kiernan explain, “The 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 Sant’s 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 ‘machine’ 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: “‘Duck Egg Blue’ is a realist’s love song. The journey of trying to navigate through each other’s 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.”
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, “‘All The Way Up’represents 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.”
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 we’ve 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 we’ve ever done, feels like us together as four mates playing a song that we love.”
Grave Goods – ‘Source’
Grave Goods have shared their new single, ‘Source’, taken from debut album ‘TUESDAY. NOTHING EXISTS.’, which is out 9th September.
On the track, drummer Sarah Grimes said, “This 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 “ha ha” 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 “Ha Ha” on my tiptoes trying to reach Lois’ mic.”
ENOLA – ‘Strange Comfort’
Melbourne-based singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist ENOLA, sharesnew single ‘Strange Comfort’.
ENOLA says of the track, “There is a comfort in knowing that suffering can be a universal experience. We are alone, yet together in our aloneness.”
On the accompanying video they say, “In the film I am not playing a role or character & I’m 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.”
Welcome one and all to another edition of our weekly music News Report! This week we are starting with the latest tour announcements, so where else to begin, but with Volbeat!
This week saw the group announce a huge UK and European Tour that is set to take place later this year with the UK portion happening in December.
Volbeatcomment, “Finally, after so much time away, we’re thrilled to be able to bring a proper Volbeat headline tour to our friends across mainland Europe and the UK. We are so excited and cannot wait to see everyone out there! We’re extremely lucky to be able to bring Skindred, Napalm Death, and Bad Wolves along for the ride and share this experience with three incredible bands that we are fortunate enough to call friends.”
Support for the UK dates comes from Skindred and Napalm Death.
Killing Joke announced this week that they will be taking over the Royal Albert Hall next March to play their first two albums live!
“We are living in the most dangerous period in human history in which extinction from nuclear war could happen in the next twelve months. If we make it, then Killing Joke at the Albert hall in 2023 will give great meaning and comfort to all of us. Come share a moment in history with the prophetic and legendary Killing Joke.” – Dr. Jaz Coleman
This week Yungblud revealed a special run of intimate dates to road test his new material. Those dates inevitably sold out instantaneously with a tease of more dates yet to materialise.
A singular festival announcement in our News Report this week, and it comes from Leicestershire event 110 Above.
The festival this week added The Pigeon Detectives, Lauran Hibberd, The Lottery Winners and more to their 2022 event.
Also playing are The Amazons, Everything Everything, Sea Girls, Vistas, Spector, The Mysterines, Deco, Cassyette, Noisy, The Royston Club, The Native and plenty more.
Next, we move onto the new releases section of our News Report, and this week we start with Bad Wolves.
The band have debuted their latest track, ‘The Body’, which you can listen to above.
“When we were writing this song we had a goal of trying new things,” said drummer John Boecklin. “The slap bass and clavichord instantly was new territory for Bad Wolves. It feels good to know this track sounds like nothing we have ever done before. It’s a fun track that feels like a mix of Faith no more with a dash of Daft Punk. Enjoy!”
Fusion metal pioneers Dub War have released a new single titled, ‘Get Back Up’, the fourth track to be taken from their first album of all-new material in over 25 years, ‘Westgate Under Fire’.
Speaking on the new single, Webbe says, “I’ve always wanted to empower and lift those who are going through a tough time, and in days like this, who isn’t.. This is what ‘Get Back Up’ was created for.
I called Mike Bordin about him playing on this particular Dub War track. Mike has been a Dub War fan from way back. He eventually called me back and, with passion, said “I’m in”…
Together with us, Mike really set the pace for all the other drummers on the album. The style and sound of Bordin strikes hard and shines though on ‘Get Back Up’.”
Also speaking on the track Mike Bordin says, “In this time of isolation/alienation, it was such a pleasure to be able to groove and flow with my old friend, the mighty Mr. Benji Webbe. Welcome back Dub War, and thanks for bringing me along on your ride.
Webbe’s lyrics are on time and strongly on point, encouraging and inspirational in a time when we can all use a lift. Being asked to play on this Dub War song ‘Get Back Up’ couldn’t have come at a better time. This album ‘Westgate Under Fire’ is truly bringing the fire…”
You can listen to the track above, and pre-order your album here.
The final new release in this week’s News Report comes from form Delain vocalist Charlotte Wessels. Wessels has debuted new single, ‘Against All Odds’, 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.
Wessels states: “Since May 2020, I’ve been writing and recording a new song every month down in my basement “Six Feet Under Studio”, fueled by – and released to – my tight-knit Patreon community. This album wouldn’t be there without them. I’m excited to team up with Napalm Records again to release a new collection of these tracks with a wider audience.
With ‘Tales From Six Feet Under’, I released my favorite tracks of the first year of this endeavor onto the world in 2021, and ‘Tales From Six Feet Under Vol II’ is its counterpart, with my favorite tracks from the second year. There are definitely differences between the two, with the second leaning more towards the heavier side, but they do belong together.
Together they represent a time of introspection and solitary songwriting in the basement. A time that has taught me a lot and has been very meaningful to me, but also a time that, as I started this project in the middle of Covid quarantine, has already – thankfully – started changing. Not because I won’t be writing and recording Six Feet Under anymore, but because as the world is opening up again, I too will come out of the basement and out of my shell again with live concerts, and collaborations are on the horizon.”
France based pop/rock trio, Oakman have shared their brand new single, ‘Murder’.
“The meaning of this song is deep and quite tricky to explain. It’s about sexual abuse and everything that is related to it,” says lead singer, Marine.
“I know that ‘Murder’ is a strong word, but I wanted to represent through it the hatred, anger and sadness that the trauma of rape or sexual abuse can leave on a life. The character in the song finds herself constantly imprisoned by her traumas, which end up killing her from the inside.
So in her dreams, she hopes to kill her abuser the same way that he ‘killed’ her. Very often, the extent of such acts is underestimated or even ignored for the abuser, while the victim will have to live with it all their life. I think this song can speak to anyone who has experienced a traumatic situation where they were the victim. The topic doesn’t matter. It’s your life, your experience. We all have dark times in our lives.”
CAT SFX – ‘Binman’
CAT SFX tread toward more infectious territory with their latest single ‘Binman’.
Of the new single, the band’s lead vocalist Cat Speranza explains:
“”Binman’ is about a toxic relationship: the one between me and alcohol. It’s about the fights that you have with your loved one because you’re so drunk again and have caused carnage, and you’re trying to pick up the pieces the next day. And you make up all these excuses, to yourself, to others. So I’m the Binman. I’m the trash that needs taking out.”
Grave Goods – ‘Come’
Grave Goods share new single ‘Come’ which is a song about revolution.
Singer Lois Macdonald says on the track, “This is one of the first tracks we wrote, and for me the one that helped to cement the feel of the music we make. I wanted to use the guitar in a percussive way, and I wanted the track to feel stressful and furious.
I felt frustrated at the time and had so much to express. I wanted the lyrics to reflect all this, and to come from the gut. The best noise I could imagine for this is ‘Ugh’ which I use towards the end – it represents frustration, disgust and sex.”
