Kississippi – Sunset Blush

Despite being named after a cheap box of wine, Sunset Blush is anything but throw away. On their debut album Kississippi, fronted by Zoe Reynolds, explore deeply personal themes which fully consume you into Reynolds’ world.

Blindwish – Good Excuses

It is a rare occurrence to come across a band that formed in a little over a year ago and already producing a large spectrum of solid sounds in a full-length album. But despite the rarity, that is exactly what Blindwish has gone and done. Hailing from Dallas, Texas and establishing themselves back in March 2016, they wasted no time in producing their debut album, set to be released on September 1^st. With a Rise Records relationship under their belts, there’s no stopping them now.

Ratboys – GN

Topshelf Records have put out some great records, by some great bands such as Braid, Enemies and toe. So listening to this record, having previously not known the band, I am instantly drawn into the rosters family. There’s a clear identity to the label and this fits nicely into the mould.

Goldfinger – The Knife

Returning with a new album after nearly a decade, Goldfinger are not the same band they once were. Now reduced down to a outlet for frontman (& mega producer) John Feldman, you’d be forgiven for expecting this to be straight in the trash can. However with a host of famous faces in tow, this album is a pleasant (if rather unoriginal) surprise and comes just in time for summer.

A Conversation With… Heartwork

In the days before the release of his long awaited debut album (which is a bloomin’ STONKER by the way – review here), we sent Dan Buckingham (@DanBuckingham_) to have a chat with his buddy Dan O’Dell AKA Heartwork to chat all things music.

Kamikaze Girls – Seafoam

With the 2016 release of their debut EP, Sad, punk duo Kamikaze Girls wanted people to know that it’s okay not to be okay, to struggle. Drawing on her experiences with addiction & depression, front woman Lucinda Livingstone’s startlingly honest lyrics  make the band stand out from a scene that is saturated in meaningless lyrics. Along with drummer Conor Dawson, 2017 and their new release Seafoam sees Lucinda & the band in a somewhat happier state of mind. Having signed to Big Scary Monsters for their debut album, Kamikaze Girls continue to build on their success & make huge progress at the same time.

Jamie Lenman @ Thekla, Bristol – 29/04/17

So you’ve fronted one of the most lauded over hardcore rock bands of the mid 2000’s, you’ve successfully kick started a solo career with a schizophrenic double album of crazy metal and random acoustic wizardry, and you’ve just left Xtra Mile Recordings in search of pastures new… Guess that calls for a tour then right?

Terror – Walls Will Fall

Never straying too far from the no frills, straight up hardcore / punk approach, Terror have returned with a new EP (& their Pure Noise debut) that despite hardly pushing the boundaries of hardcore, proves that even in an oversaturated genre, they still do it better than most.

…And The Hangnails – DOG

Fuzzmongering Indie Punk duo from York/London …And The Hangnails are set to release their fourth album “DOG” through Young Thugs Records on 12th May. Mirroring a classic punk sound while delivering a hard new level of noise, this record could be played pretty seamlessly aside their previous release, “Rut”, the only difference being a clear bar raise in production and overall sound.

Tricot – 3

Assuming my anticipated response to the genre of this review is correct I’d like to welcome the 4 people who decided to read it. But hoping that I’m wrong, I’d like to say that Tricot, the Japanese math-rock force from Kyoto, leapt into my lap and emptied a whole bucket of pleasant surprise. I was fully expecting a torrent of time signatures and anger akin to Rolo Tomassi, rather than an incredibly mainstream and polished sounding group of musicians.