The latest issue of the Full Pelt Magazine is here, and you can download your copy for free below!
Volume 15 features cover stars Slipknot as they announce a new tour celebrating their 25th Anniversary. We also catch PET NEEDS at their ‘Fractured Party III’ event and review Ocean Colour Scene on their current UK Tour!
We have our News Report rounding up new releases from Sum 41, Lauran Hibberd, Kid Kapichi, BLACKGOLD & Hyro The Hero, Kite Thief, Blackout Problems and The Intersphere!
Plus new live announcements from Takedown Festival, Outbreak Festival, Latitude Festival, Five Finger Death Punch, ZZ Top, Lottery Winners, Twin Atlantic, Ferocious Dog, Ugly Kid Joe, Bryan Adams, Microwave, The Dirty Nil, Editors and Sylosis!
Finally, we round up the latest additions to our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist with FLOYA, rlyblonde and State of You!
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
This week we begin with the best new releases of the past week and up first are Linkin Park.
The iconic group are celebrating the 20th Anniversary of their seminal album, ‘Meteora’. As part of these celebrations the band have now shared another unreleased track from that era. You can listen to that track, ‘Fighting Myself’, above!
Skindred returned this week with, ‘Set Fazers’, the second single from their upcoming new album, ‘Smile’, which is out August 4th. You can check out the video for the single above.
Lead singer Benji Webbe states, “Star date 22.3.23: With this song we’re boldly going where no ragga-metal has gone before. We come in peace, L.O.V.E and unity, to bring Skindred’s outergalactic sound-system to the infinite expanse of the cosmos.”
Skindred drummer Arya Goggin continues, “The idea with the ‘Set Fazers’ video was to make a Sci Fi meets Dancehall epic! Through TikTok we met an amazing dancer called Shin (whose dance to our song ‘Nobody’ went viral earlier this year) and he’s added his unique style to the video too. We had so much fun filming it and can’t wait to share it with everyone.”
Empire State Bastard, the new project from Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil and his long-time colleague Mike Vennart of Oceansize, have shared their debut single ‘Harvest’, which you can check out above.
The track features the legendary drummer Dave Lombardo and represents the first taste of what the project will offer with the band simply exclaiming “Empires fall, States rise, Bastards sing…it’s Harvest time motherfuckers!”.
British heavy metal legends Saxon have released their second album of influences, ‘More Inspirations’, this week. Alongside the album came a new single, ‘Razamanaz’, which you can check out above.
Frontman Biff Byford comments “In the seventies we’d go and see Nazareth they were one of the premier touring hard rock bands. We were lucky to tour with them in 1980, they used to open the show with this song, it’s about the audience performed to an audience… brilliant stuff!”
There was more new music on offer this week from The Pearl Harts also as the duo shared their new single, ‘Hypocritical’, which you can of course check out above!
The track is the third single to come from their upcoming album, ‘LOVE, CHAOS’, which arrives on April 21st!
Supergroup Generation Sex have added new shows to their summer schedule including a special one-off show at The Civic at the Halls in Wolverhampton this July.
Billy Bragg will once again be out on the road later this year for ‘The Roaring Forty Tour’.
A new collection of songs with the same name is also on it’s way with a release date of October 27th.
“Doesn’t seem like just that long ago that I was playing Thursday nights at the Tunnel in Greenwich, opening for whoever was headlining. I learned my chops there in late 82/early83 and I’m still putting those lessons to good use 40 years later. Hope to see some of you this autumn.” – Billy Bragg
The Darkness reveal first wave of ‘Permission to Land’ shows
The final tour announcement in our News Report this week comes from The Darkness who will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of seminal album ‘Permission To Land’ with a load of tour dates!
Initial dates take the band across Europe with further world and UK dates on the way.
Frontman Justin Hawkins comments, “When Permission to Land landed, twenty short years ago, we were bathed in shock and awe. As if by magic, Rock wasn’t dead! Fun wasn’t banned! And Spandex was almost acceptable again…
“Well, guess what? Twenty years on, the same rules apply. So please to squeeze yourselves into those inappropriate leggings, back-comb your mullet, splash on a big handful of attitude, and come celebrate with us! We promise everything and we deliver, every time. Bring on the next twenty!
As our News Report turns to festival announcements we head over to Neighbourhood Weekender who this week revealed the final wave of line-up additions for May.
New names include The View, Kula Shaker, Gaz Coombes and more. They join the likes of Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, The Kooks, Pulp, The Wombats, Self Esteem, Ocean Colour Scene, The Enemy and Lottery Winners.
Closing out our festival announcements in our News Report is the latest line-up additions from Bearded Theory.
This week saw the event reveal that Skindred, Kid Kapichi, Brix Smith, Loose Articles and more will join the line-up topped by Interpol, Primal Scream and Pretenders.
Brighton noise rock trio Staff Party reveal their new single. ‘Dread’, which is the title-track of their upcoming EP.
Commenting on the new single and themes on the EP, frontman Ed Lamb says: “I have tried—but am completely unable to—write happy songs. When I want to write about something, typically I take a look around and something which pisses me off, confuses me, or scares me, is usually what inspires me the most. It’s hard not to draw on the awful state and chaos the world is in at the moment, as well. Just browsing the Internet can be a rich and endless source of horror.”
“I also consider myself a fairly introspective, and potentially sentimental person, so much of what I write about is based on aspects of my own psyche and personality. It feels cathartic to articulate those thoughts in the form of loud, aggressive music. I enjoy the fact that ‘Dread’, with probably the most upbeat and bouncy sounding instrumental, still has these introspective dark lyrics to juxtapose it. I couldn’t even let the fun catchy song be nice.”
headcage – ‘nothing’
Newcastle Upon Tyne Alternative Post-Hardcore band headcage share their brand new single ‘nothing’.
“Lyrically the song details the struggle to overcome the feeling of uselessness and the everyday battles that come alongside living with ADHD and Anxiety. I wanted to state in layman’s terms the difficulty that I face to remain persistent or disciplined in many aspects of my life. The song itself acts as catharsis, a real and true personal expression of the negative aspects of these conditions that I have to face everyday”. – Vocalist – Leyum Pattinson
Civil Villains – ‘Mortuary Blue’
Brit alt-rockers Civil Villains have released their brand new single, ‘Mortuary Blue’, taken from upcoming album, ‘Motion Sick’.
The band remark about the record: “Like the nauseating sensory mismatch experienced from the passenger seat, ‘Motion Sick’ is largely about contradictory states and lost control. Born as a series of voice notes, written over webcam, developed via shared Logic Pro projects, and honed in snatched moments of lifted lockdowns, the album was recorded in the rolling countryside expanses of Oxfordshire.”
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
This week we begin with the best new releases from the past week and up first are the returning metal icons Avenged Sevenfold.
In a big news week, the group revealed that their new studio album, ‘Life Is But A Dream’, will be released on June 2nd. That release is preceded by their lead single, ‘Nobody’, which you can check out above.
The band stated, “We’re thrilled to announce our new album, Life Is But A Dream… available June 2, 2023. Written and recorded over the span of four years, the album was inspired by the writing and philosophy of Albert Camus. Our good friend and brilliant artist, Wes Lang, encapsulated our theme of existentialism through visual art for the album packaging.”
British metallers Bury Tomorrow have shared the latest taste of their upcoming album, ‘The Seventh Sun’. You can listen to new single, ‘Begin Again’, above now ahead of the album release date of March 31st.
Speaking on ‘Begin Again’, guitarist Kristan Dawson says the track is “representative of the change we have all faced in the past few years. It represents an element of renewal and appreciation of where we have been as a band and where we are yet to go. Musically, it serves as a contrast to the heaviness we have presented in the first three singles, but packs a punch in a more positive way.”
Australian punk rockers Trophy Eyes are back with new single, ‘Blue Eyed Boy’, a track particularly close to home.
Trophy Eyes’ John Floreani says the song “was written about a trip I took back to my hometown. One friend in particular, maybe my best friend, had recently moved back and regressed into their old ways. I’d mourned the death of this friend long ago, as did the rest of us in our small social circle. To see him again brought me great childhood joy yet simultaneously an overwhelming sense of dread.
I was reminded of something my mother told me as a young boy when my grandmother died; “if you see her now, like this, it’s the only way you’ll remember her. Best hold on to the good times, you’ll always have those.”
Far From Saints, the new project featuring Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones, have shared their latest single, ‘Take It Through The Night’, which you can listen to above.
The group also this week revealed the news that their self-titled debut album will be released on June 16th.
The members had the following to say:
“It took nine days to record and four years to get it to you! Your record collection will love it!” – Kelly
“It’s a labor of love to make a record these days, because you never know what’s going to happen with it frankly, and the outpouring of good vibes and comments, so far, has been really cool to watch.” – Dwight
“This is kind of the first time I’m anticipating not feeling somewhat sad around an album release. I’m comfortable with who I am now as a person, as an artist, and I hang my hat not on the praise I receive, but on the work itself. I’m proud of this record, and its part in the greater cycle of creativity and inspiration. I’m grateful to be part of that.” – Patty
‘Blackout’, the new album from From Ashes To New, is out on July 28th. This week though saw the band share the latest single from the album, ‘Hate Me Too’, which you can check out above.
“So many of us fall victim to the classic toxic relationship,” says vocalist Matt Brandyberry. “Feeling like you can’t live without someone but knowing you’d be better off if you could. Oftentimes these feelings are mutual, but neither of you can see it. Sometimes we just need an anthem to remind us that being stuck isn’t always the only option and violence never.”
Next in our News Report is ‘Blood In The Water’, the latest single from Ayron Jones, which you can check out above.
Jones announced this week that his second album, ‘Chronicles of the Kid’, will be released on June 23rd.
“As a child, I vividly remember sitting in church and hearing the preacher speak about generational curses,” Jones explains. “For me, the concept of the weight of trauma traveling through time and space, affecting many generations until treated is an idea I take seriously. ‘Blood in the Water’ is my way of actively choosing to heal and transform this trauma by creating new stories and identities for not only myself, but also my family’s future generations. I understand that energy can never be destroyed nor created anew; it can only be shifted. Therefore, while I cannot choose the life I have been given, I can strive forward and choose to take control of the future– to break these curses now and forevermore.”
“It was the height of the pandemic and like everyone else, I was stuck inside watching the world pass by while having no idea what the future held,” Jones remembers. “Then it happened, the phone rang and I got the call telling me my song went No. 1. Just like that, I’d become one of the biggest names in rock and roll, but I couldn’t leave my couch. I had no idea how much my life had changed until August of ’21, when I went on tour for the first time since signing my first major record deal. That’s when it all hit me. ‘Chronicles of The Kid’ is the story of the truth – my truth. With my voice as my pen and my guitar as the page, the album is an audio journal of self-discovery told through tales of, temptations, triumphs, failures, sacrifice and the price of fame.”
We move our News Report on now to the biggest and best festival announcements from the past week and we get started with Bingley Weekender!
The event revealed their first wave of acts this week including headliners Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Ian Brown and Travis.
They’ll be joined over the weekend by the likes of Jake Bugg, Razorlight, James Bay, The Zutons, Kate Nash, Little Man Tate, Jealous Nostril, King No-One, New Model Army, Lottery Winners and BERRIES.
The inaugural Maid of Stone Festival takes place this July and this week the event confirmed Glenn Hughes as headlining the event alongside Airbourne.
Orange Goblin have also joined the likes of Skindred, The Hunna, Kris Barras Band, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons, Elles Bailey and Florence Black on the linup.
Plus The Treatment and The Hot Damn! will be playing a special opening party on the Friday of the event.
Liverpool get ready for No Play Festival this August!
The stunning line-up revealed this week includes Yonaka, VUKOVI, Higher Power, Conjurer, Graphic Nature, Lizzy Farrall, Gen & The Degenerates and more!
Our News Report now turns its attention to the best tour announcements from the past week and up first is the above run of dates from Ocean Colour Scene.
Alongside their August dates, the group will now also be out on the road this December including a date at the Eventim Apollo in London.
MAN WITH A MISSION are next up in our News Report as the group reveal a brand new tour including three stops in the UK this June.
Regarding the tour MAN WITH A MISSION’s Jean-Ken Johnny (guitar / vocals / rap) says, “We are so excited to announce our WOLVES ON PARADE TOUR is coming to the UK, Europe and North America in May & June! It’s been years since we last toured internationally and we’ve missed playing for you all so much! Can’t wait to catch up with you all!”
Brighton based Electronic Post-Hardcore duo fakeyourdeath have dropped their sophomore single ‘consume’.
“consume explores the idea of materialistic greed and how, as a society, we are fed this idea that without things we cannot be happy. but ultimately that’s a lie. it’s a narrative spun by the powers that be and consume was written to see the truth and challenge that way of thinking. consume depicts our disgust at a materialistic culture we all hate and yet want to be a part of.” – Vocalist, Candi Underwood
Northern Captives – ‘Anxiety Dreams’
UK Alternative Rock outfit Northern Captives release their brand-new single titled ‘Anxiety Dreams’.
“It’s written as an internal monologue battling anxiety by accepting its existence and not allowing it to direct your decisions or impact what you do day to day. We often speak to ourselves in ways we’d never dream of talking to anyone else. It’s important to check in with yourself and make sure your internal dialogue is positive.” – Vocalist, Sam Cook.
JACKALS – ‘DIG IN’
Northern noise hounds JACKALS have unveiled their new single ‘DIG IN’.
“Dig in is based on the idea of drug addiction but narrated by the drug itself, the song personifies the drug and its direct effects on a person. When you let drugs into your life they can sort of take on a whole persona unto themselves and we wanted to shine a light on that and show how destructive these can be. Like that one toxic friend you’ve had that keeps trying to worm their way back into your life.” –JACKALS
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report, and happy Halloween 🎃!
It’s that time of the year where it’s not just the ghosts and ghouls haunting our News Report but also festival announcements for next Summer!
We start with Suffolk staple Latitude Festival which returns to Henham Park next July. This week saw the organisers reveal Pulp, Paolo Nutini and George Ezra will be headlining in the new year.
They’ll be joined on the bill by the likes of The Kooks, Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, The Big Moon, Lightning Seeds, The Proclaimers and The Beths!
Yes, we have plenty of festival announcements in our News Report this week and next up is Neighbourhood Weekender!
Headlining the event will be Pulp, The Kooks and Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott. They’ll be joined by the likes of The Wombats, Ocean Colour Scene, The Enemy, Self Esteem, Sea Girls and Lottery Winners.
Scotland’s TRNSMT will return to Glasgow Green in July with the reformed Pulp also topping their bill. Also at the top of the line-up will be Sam Fender, The 1975, George Ezra, Kasabian and Royal Blood.
Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott and The Kooks are on this one too, as are Inhaler and others, with many more to come.
Following a successful debut this year, Live At Leeds will once again hold an ‘In The Park’ event at Temple Newsam Park in May.
The line-up includes headliners Two Door Cinema Club plus The Lathums, Everything Everything, The Big Moon, Black Honey, The Beths, Low Hummer and many more.
Speaking about their headline show at Live At Leeds: In The Park, Two Door Cinema Club said: “Excited to say we’ll be coming to Live At Leeds in the park next year for the first time! Yoooooooooooorkshire!”
Everything Everything said: “Always a pleasure to play in Yorkshire, always special to play Leeds, and where better than at this stalwart event? Come and see us Live At Leeds: In The Park!”
Brooke Combe said: “Can’t wait for next year to be a part of Live at Leeds. See you all there for a boogie and a sing song 🥰”
Panic Shack said: “We can’t wait to play Live at Leeds in The Park!! Leeds has a special place in our hearts, we spent a few late nights here on our first ever tour with The Wytches. We’re excited to bring back our new and improved dance routine and to just have a bit of a laugh with everyone really!”
Hannah Wilson from Dolores Forever said: “We can’t wait to play Leeds. It’s my home town, so it will be mega special. It will be our first time playing Leeds in 2023 and we want to bring big energy vibes!”
Dan Mawer from Low Hummer said: “We’re chuffed to be a part of Live at Leeds: In The Park! The festival has a brilliant mix of well established names alongside exciting new artists, all taking place in a truly beautiful setting.
We loved attending last year’s event so we’re honoured to get the chance to play it in 2023. It’ll be really rewarding to take part in an event that will emulate the lovely sense of community we witnessed at this year’s festival.”
Speaking about Live At Leeds: In The Park 2023, Festival Promoter Joe Hubbard said:
“After such an incredible first year in 2022, we’re delighted to be returning to Temple Newsam for Live At Leeds: In The Park 2023! Bringing together bonafide festival headliners such as Two Door Cinema Club alongside some of the best in modern indie/alternative music – it’s going to be an unforgettable day and the perfect summer party not only full of singalongs left, right and centre but also loads of opportunities to discover your next favourite artist.
It’s what we do best at Live At Leeds and we can’t wait to welcome everyone back for an even bigger and even better Live At Leeds: In The Park in May. Catch ya down the front!”
Lytham Festival also returns in 2023 and this week organisers shared the line-up including headliners Jamiroquai, George Ezra, Sting, Lionel Ritchie, Motley Crue and Def Leppard.
Also on the bill are the likes of Blondie and Kaiser Chiefs.
The run of festival announcements in our News Report gets a little heavier now with the 5th Anniversary of Stonedead Festival set to host headliners Blue Oyster Cult.
Also playing will be Therapy?, The Answer, King King, Mason Hill and more.
Following a successful inaugural event this year, Firestorm Festival is back in Manchester next year with a line-up including Royal Republic, Kris Barras Band, Black Spiders, The Virginmarys, Hollowstar, Scruffy Bear and many more!
Bowling For Soup frontman Jaret Reddick will bring his new country project to the UK in December with shows announced this week in London and Birmingham.
Hundred Reasons return with new single ‘Glorious Sunset’
We move our News Report on now to the best new releases from the past week and we start off with the spectacular return of Hundred Reasons.
The band this week announced their first new album in 15 years! ‘Glorious Sunset’ will be released on February 24th, and you can check out the title track above.
Lead singer Colin Doran says of the first writing session; “I came away from that session not just feeling closer to the other guys, having not seen them for some time, but thinking the music was f****** awesome. We all looked at each other and knew it was a go.”
He continues about the single: “When we started writing again it was really important that we did not go back to any material that had been cut previously. It all had to be completely new. We started writing just before Covid and got together sporadically as and when we could to write and demo which was not our usual way. We would normally be in a room together for the most part but this time it was not always possible. Larry and I would write, The Andy and Larry would write and then I would join the session later in the day (I have a day job) but we were all super happy with what was coming out. This was a deal breaker for all as if we were putting out new material it had to be amazing.
Glorious Sunset came about from an instrumental idea from The Andy which was nearly complete minus any vocal ideas. The lyrics for the song completely changed from the demo version to the recorded version as within that space of time my mother passed away after a 4-year battle with cancer. She had gone into remission twice previously and it come back again but this time it would be terminal. The title of the song took on a new meaning as the song talks about being relieved that someone you love is no longer suffering. The sunset refers to the light that many people say they see when they die.
During recording, Larry started playing around with synths and effects that added more to the song but by the time all of the music was recorded, no one in the band knew that the lyrics had changed so it ended up being an emotionally draining session in the studio that day. In all lots of lyrics changed during that time period as it brought on a new perspective which shaped the narrative of the material.”
“This album isn’t something we felt we had to do. We simply arrived at a position where the music was so good that it was something we needed to do.”
Following the release of their latest album, ‘I Don’t Belong Anywhere’, October Drift this week shared the video for ‘Lost Without You’, which you can of course check out above.
Regarding ‘Lost Without You’ frontman Kiran Roy says, “It’s a song about heartbreak and helplessness. Inspired by a long-distance relationship, with my girlfriend living over 400 miles away in Scotland. It’s about missing loved ones and the struggle of being apart.”
Book news closes out our News Report this week as Idlewild have announced details of a new limited edition publication entitled ‘Passing Places’.
Roddy Woomble says:
“Initially, we had an idea of putting something together to commemorate The Remote Part tour dates – a programme or a journal, something fans of the band would love to read and have. It would be made in a similar style to Tom’s beautifully designed journal Gold Flake Paint, somewhere between a magazine, a journal, a novella and a photo book. Something different and personal.
The journal acts almost like a souvenir programme for the 20th Anniversary Remote Part shows, particularly for those who travelled up to Ullapool in September, as primarily that is where the journal is set.
This idea appealed to me enormously, so Tom accompanied the band up to the Highlands for our The Remote Part show in Ullapool, close to where the album was written. As we got chatting on the journey, at the gig and the following day driving around the Highlands, it became clear to both of us that this writing collaboration could be explored in many different ways, not necessarily just about one album.
This is a great writing project for me, working with an experienced writer like Tom, making something special for Idlewild fans all about an album that means a great deal to me, but also to Tom – a journey from two different perspectives.”
Ahead of their tour supporting Pussy Riot, Brighton’s ĠENN have shared their new single, ‘Rohmeresse’.
On the song, vocalist Leona Farrugia said, “I’ve often felt a pressure running through everyday life: a pressure to be productive whilst being true to oneself. Modern life can be very dissociative and small tasks become a real burden to uphold. I wanted to capture these thoughts through the track, whereby these emotions gradually build to a point of ecstasy.”
MOSKITO – ‘Sweet Fruit’
Following the breath-taking launch of MOSKITO towards the end of 2021, they now return with their brand-new single ‘Sweet Fruit’.
“Sweet Fruits lyrics portray how easy it is to play away in a relationship, with all the distractions in today’s society. It’s unwieldy temptation at the push of a button. Is it too sweet? What a waste it is.” – Front man Jake Rudd.
Pollyanna Blue – ‘Haunted’
Bristol-based alt-rock two-piece Pollyanna Blue reveal their latest single ‘Haunted’.
Speaking of the inspiration for the song, lyricist and vocalist Zoe Collins says, “In this song trauma is depicted as an unforgiving evil spirit that will come at you at night and relentlessly try to tear you down. The impactful delivery of the lyrics harnesses the real range of emotions of someone experiencing immense feelings of emptiness, sadness and anger.
The lyric ‘like a headache’ depicts the side effects of dealing with large and repetitive amounts of trauma and stress to the brain, painting an unpleasant experience for the person being Haunted by their own predicament.”
Welcome to another edition of our weekly music News Report! We are starting off this week with the latest tour announcements including the above from Fontaines D.C..
Yes, it was a busy news week for the band as they revealed a lengthy trek around the UK and Ireland including a huge show at London’s Eventim Apollo.
Not just that, they also debuted their new single, ‘Skinty Fia’, from their upcoming album of the same name which arrives April 22nd. Check out the track below.
The legendary Nine Inch Nails this week added 3 additional shows to their UK stopover in June. The band will now play Glasgow, Manchester and London in addition to their already announced dates at The Eden Project.
The Amazons announce UK Tour and debut new single ‘Bloodrush’
Another band having a big news week was The Amazons. The band revealed a UK Tour, including a date at the Roundhouse in Camden, taking place this Autumn.
They also had a new single to debut, and you can listen to ‘Bloodrush’ below. The track will feature on their upcoming new album, ‘How Will I Know If Heaven Will Find Me?’.
Maximo Park announce the Sïngular Tour and new single ‘Great Art’
This week saw Maximo Park announce the ‘Sïngular Tour’ featuring only singles that will take place this coming Autumn.
Coinciding with the announcement, the band debuted new single, ‘Great Art’, which you can check out below.
Singer Paul Smith comments on the new single:
“The song is about the insidious nature of Conservative ideology, and a response to people who say, “at least we’ll get some great art out of it!” We’re excited to have new material to play alongside our other singles on the Sïngular tour – we’ve always written songs crammed full of hooks, so that’s our ideal medium in some ways.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers debut new track ‘Not The One’
We move on now to the latest new music releases from the past week as out News Report continues. First up is the latest track from Red Hot Chili Peppers ahead of their upcoming album ‘Unlimited Love’.
That album arrives April 1st, but you can listen to new track ‘Not The One’ above.
Nothing More also had new music on offer this week with their latest single, ‘Turn It Up Like’. You can listen to the track above, which will feature on their upcoming new album.
Frontman Jonny Hawkins spoke about the inspiration behind the song in a statement, saying, “This song is a reflection of how we all felt for the last two years, online. Fear and hate have become our god.”
Reef debuted their new single, ‘Best of Me’ this week, and you can listen above. The track will feature on their new album, ‘Shoot Me Your Ace’, which is released April 29th.
“We want this album to make people just feel good about living, to appreciate life, to give them inspiration to play guitar or drums or sing or whatever they’ve got going on right now,” comments bassist Jack Bessant. “We’ve made a killer rock’n’roll record. And we want to go out and rock.”
We head across to Standon Calling now as our News Report switches focus to the weeks festival announcements.
This week saw the day and stage splits for the event plus 40+ new acts such as Declan McKenna, Razorlight, The Mysterines, Crawlers, Snapped Ankles and more.
They join the already announced Madness, The Subways, Yard Act, Primal Scream and Bob Vylan.
Another festival adding additional acts this past week was Victorious Festival.
New acts include Bombay Bicycle Club, The Longest Johns, Embrace and Bessie Turner.
They join an already packed line-up including Stereophonics, James, Primal Scream, Paolo Nutini, The Wombats, Ocean Colour Scene, Kula Shaker, White Lies, The Subways, We Are Scientists and Editors.
Splendour Festival will return to Wollaton Park in Nottingham this July, and this week the event finalised its line-up with new additions including We Are Scientists, Coach Party, The Skinner Brothers and Deco.
They join the likes of Richard Ashcroft, Supergrass, Razorlight, Ocean Colour Scene, and The Magic Numbers.
First up is ‘This Is For You’ the new single from young rockers Classless Act. The single guest features The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins.
Classless Act’s lead singer Derek Day expressed his excitement over the band’s latest single, saying, “It’s a dream come true for Classless Act to be a part of the Better Noise family. And the boys and I have been working really hard to give you something to shake your ass to. Now, summer’s here and the time is right for a couple of guitars, some bass and drums and a whole buncha me. Let’s get to it!!”
Collaborator Justin Hawkins shared his thoughts about hopping on the track, “One Tuesday night in February I gazed up onto the Swiss night sky. There, to my surprise I witnessed the beaming of The Hawk signal onto a passing cloud. After months of inactivity, I was called into action. My mission? To provide a face melting guitar solo to Classless Act’s ‘This is For You.’ I grasped my Gibson 335, headed into the hawk cave and within 24 hours the solo was born.”
‘JENNY’ – RATS
Next we have ‘Jenny’ the latest single from young indie starlets RATS.
Frontman Joe Maddocks says, “‘Jenny’ is a story about a student who is forced to go to uni by her parents, but she has bigger dreams that soon turn sour.”
‘STARTING OVER’ – THE LAZY EYES
Finally is ‘Starting Over’ from Aussie psych-rock four-piece The Lazy Eyes.
In their own words, the band explain, “This song was written back in our high school days like the other songs are on the album. I remember having an inkling for the verse on acoustic guitar and thinking “meh” so I just left it be. After a while though, the song came back to me after jamming on the piano. I fleshed it out (admittedly with some pretty cringey lyrics back then) and whipped up a GarageBand demo for the boys. After that, we put it on Soundcloud and it was building some traction… soon after we wiped everything in the search for a new start, you could say we were ‘Starting Over’.”
Welcome to a bumper edition of our weekly music News Report! A plethora of festival announcements to get through this week, so let’s get start with Download Festival!
New additions this week included Skindred, SKYND, Dirty Honey, Kid Brunswick, The Velveteers and the incredible Yonaka.
They join a massive line-up headlined by Kiss, Iron Maiden and Biffy Clyro. Other highlights include A Day To Remember, Korn, Shinedown, Volbeat, Rise Against, The Pretty Reckless, Airbourne, The Darkness, Funeral For A Friend, Creeper, Boston Manor, Trash Boat, Holding Absence and many more.
This week also saw Y Not Festival reveal their second wave of acts including Thursday headliners The Kooks!
Also added this week were Jake Bugg, The Hunna, We Are Scientists, Blood Red Shoes, The Mysterines, Noisy, Daytime TV, MarthaGunn and more.
They’ll join the likes of Stereophonics, Manic Street Preachers, Nothing But Thieves, Levellers, Pale Waves, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Black Honey, Yard Act, The Futureheads, Dream Wife, Beans On Toast, Lauran Hibberd, REWS and many more.
Slam Dunk Festival updated their line-up this week following a couple of drop-outs. Joining the bill are Streetlight Manifesto, Stand Atlantic, Cassyette, MC Lars and more.
The event will also feature Sum 41, Alexisonfire, Neck Deep, Dropkick Murphys, Beartooth, The Used, Deaf Havana, Hot Milk, Cancer Bats, Nova Twins and many more.
Nottingham’s Splendour Festival this week revealed the event will stretch to two days this year with acts including Richard Ashcroft, Supergrass, Razorlight, The Magic Numbers, Ocean Colour Scene and Happy Mondays.
New festival Wide Skies & Butterflies set for North Norfolk
A brand new music festival is heading to the Raynham Estate in North Norfolk. Taking place this August, Wide Skies & Butterflies will feature headline sets from The Vaccines, Hot Chip and James!
They’ll be joined by the likes of Editors, Everything Everything, Levellers, Scouting For Girls, Natalie Imbruglia, Toploader, Lauran Hibberd and MarthaGunn.
Our smorgasbord of festival goodness continues with Gateways Festival who revealed their line-up this week including headliners Jake Bugg and The Charlatans.
Also onboard for the event are The Subways, Ash, The Sherlocks, Dream Wife, Lottery Winners and many more.
Bowling For Soup debut ‘I Wanna Be Brad Pitt’ and announce new album
Another band releasing new music this week was Bowling For Soup, who returned with new single ‘I Wanna Be Brad Pitt’.
That’s not it though, as the band also revealed that new album ‘Pop Drunk Snot Bread’ will arrive April 22nd!
Listen to the single above, and pre-order your album here.
Fatherson debut ‘Better Friend’
Fatherson continue to build towards new album, ‘Normal Fears’, which arrives April 1st with new single, ‘Better Friend’.
Speaking on the single, frontman Ross Leighton says, “”Better friend is about losing touch with people when you’re growing up and wishing you were better at staying in touch. Sometimes life gets in the way, but if the last few years has taught me anything life is better with the people you love.
It’s an anthem about friendship and an apology for letting it slip. It was the first song that I wrote for Normal Fears in my old bedroom in Kilmarnock and it really felt like the first normal fear I had going into the record. It became this reference point for melody and groove that the rest of the record built on.
I think everybody has felt a bit out of sorts before and gotten themselves into a space where they lose touch with people that are close to them. This song for me is a reminder to just get back in touch and start to rebuild. I love it!”
Listen to the track above and pre-order your album here.
One of the most important artists emerging over the last couple of years Bob Vylan have continued to preview their upcoming album ‘Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life’.
The album arrives April 22nd and can be pre-ordered here. Before then you can check out the latest single, ‘Health Is Wealth’ above.
North London singer/songwriter Louis Dunford shares brand new single ‘The Angel’ from his forthcoming second EP ‘The Popham’.
Speaking about the track Louis says: ‘I wrote this song about my home town. Anyone who’s lived in North London as long as I have will recognise the people and the places I’m talking about in the lyrics. Some that are still here and some that are not. It’s my family and friends favourite song I’ve ever written. Everyone’s London is different. I tried my best to capture ours’ .
‘GIVE IT TO ME’ – CLASSLESS ACT
Los Angeles rockers Classless Act will be joining huge tours with both Dorothy and the Motley Crue/Def Leppard/Poison/Joan Jett Stadium US Tour on their schedule. Check out recent single ‘Give It To Me’ on our Playlist.
‘IT’S ART’ – BLACKGOLD
Described as masked misfits bringing nu-metal vibes, the mysterious Blackgold emerged from the shadows this week with debut single, ‘It’s Art’.
Check out all tracks on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist’, and remember to also check out our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast wherever you listen to or watch your Podcasts. We have multiple Episodes coming this week and just talked with recent Playlisted acts Youth Illusion and Scruffy Bear!
Welcome to another edition of our weekly music News Report! We start this week of with a rundown of the latest festival line-up announcements including the above beauty from Victorious Festival!
Heading Portsmouth way this August will be a stellar line-up featuring Stereophonics, Paolo Nutini and Sam Fender in the headline slots.
They will be joined across the weekend by the likes of James, Primal Scream, Bastille, The Wombats, Ocean Colour Scene, Kula Shaker, White Lies, Sports Team, The Subways, We Are Scientists, Nothing But Thieves, Editors, Little Man Tate and Turin Breaks!
Slam Dunk Festival is really taking shape now with the additions of Beartooth, Counterparts, Set It Off, Nova Twins and With Confidence this past week.
They join the likes of Sum 41, Alexisonfire, Neck Deep, Dropkick Murphys, The Used, Deaf Havana, Cancer Bats, Hot Milk and Dream State playing the twin events this June.
Another festival revealing their line-up this week was Deer Shed Festival who will feature Nadine Shah, Self Esteem, Yard Act, Snapped Ankles and Billy Nomates towards the top of their bill.
Also featuring will be Pip Blom, The Mysterines, Du Blonde, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard and more.
A single tour announcement in our News Report this week and it comes from Puppy! The band have just revealed an extended run around the UK for this May.
We move now onto the new music release section of the News Report and start this week with the latest from Japanese genre-blenders Crossfaith. The band has just debuted their latest track, ‘Gimme Danger’, which you can check out above.
Speaking of the song, frontman Kenta Koie says: “We decided to write new music to heal people and boost their minds. We still can’t play live, but we can deliver new music to our fans and I’m pretty sure that is our role under these circumstances,”, adding that the vocal feature of grime-inspired local rapper ralph brought both an energy, intensity and chemistry to the song.
“On ‘Gimme Danger’ we welcome ralph, an upcoming rapper who has the essence of grime. We feel a real chemistry, and our fans can catch new feelings with it. Those moments where people have a new experience are more important than just making music – we want to achieve something which we haven’t figured out already, so our exploring will keep going.”
This week also saw Killing Joke return with their first new music in 7 years. ‘Lord of Chaos’ is the title-track for a new 4 song EP due out March 25th. You can pre order your copy now here.
Speaking on the new music Dr Jaz Coleman had the following to say – “I’ve never known anything like the time we are living in now; not since the Cuban Missile crisis but now in comparison we have multiple flash points. ‘Lord of Chaos’ is about complex systems failure, when technology overloads and A.I. misreads the enemies intentions.”
The band will also be playing a UK Tour in March and April finishing up with a show at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith which is set to be filmed.
Sunflower Bean announce new album ‘Headful of Sugar’
There is new music on the way from New York trio Sunflower Bean with the announcement that their third album, ‘Headful of Sugar’ will arrive on May 6th.
Said to be fuelled by the agony and ecstasy of contemporary American life. guitarist/vocalist Nick Kivlen says “We wanted to write about the lived experience of late capitalism, how it feels every day, the mundanity of not knowing where every construct is supposed to ultimately lead you. The message is in the title: this is about fast pleasures, the sugar of life, the joy that comes with letting go of everything you thought mattered.”
Bassist/vocalist Julia Cumming adds “Tomorrow is not promised, no tour is promised, no popularity is promised, no health or money is promised. Why not make what you want to make on your own terms? Why not make a record that makes you want to dance? Why not make a record that makes you want to scream?”.
Ahead of the release of the album, the band this week debuted new single, ‘Who Put You Up to This?’, which you can check out above.
The band says of the track, “Are you satisfied? Who put you up to do things that you do? Was it your own choice? Questioning your life is the first step to taking the agency to change it. Sometimes you have to let go of who you have been so that you can become who you want to be.”
Thumper to release debut album ‘Delusions of Grandeur’
Finally this week we finish our News Report with the latest from Thumper who we’ve previously featured on our ‘Discover’ New Music Playlist.
The band will be releasing their debut album, ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ on March 18th! They have also previewed the album with new track ‘Overbite’ which you can listen to above.