False Advertising’s ‘The Sorry Window’ is the Manchester band’s first full-length release in six years. It explores the tension between ambition and self-doubt with searing honesty… The fractured indie-pop of ‘Narrow’ kicks off the album with Jen’s voice front and centre: ‘Now it breaks and it takes my breath right from my lungs’. It finishes…
Recorded between the Albion Rooms in Margate and Jelly Studios in Ramsgate, spiritual five-piece Pigeon’s debut album ‘OUTTANATIONAL’ tackles subjects including belonging, migration and identity with a joyous enthusiasm. There’s an afrobeat intro on album opener ‘NRG’, a song that demands you give it its titles while Falle Nioke wards off evil spirits over a…
Truthpaste have shared ‘Friendship is the Truth’ ahead of the release of debut EP ‘I Don’t Know Either’ on 28 April, 2026 via Dirty Hit and Memorials of Distinction. Reminding us of Slow Club and the anti-folk classics of the early 2000s but combined with the complex chamber pop melodies of contemporaries like Black Country,…
Limerick newcomers Theatre have shared new single ‘The Fall’. This release follows shows with English Teacher, Westside Cowboy and Shame, and comes ahead of a performance at The Great Escape and tour support slot with Bleech 9:3. Deeply atmospheric from its opening moments, so much so you could imagine the band’s sound filling the Bang…
Life have shared ‘Turning In’ ahead of the release of upcoming fourth album ‘ABSTRACT/NATURAL’ via Launchpad+ and EMI North on 19 June, 2026. Showcasing a more restrained and reflective side to the Hull band, the song finds vocalist Mez Sanders-Green sharing his thoughts on fatherhood and how the most surprising comment from a child can…
The 113 have shared the video for ‘When I Leave’, a song that features on their recently released EP ‘The Hedonist’. Produced by Dom Richmond and mixed by Daniel Fox of Gilla Band, the song is an unsettlingly atmospheric slice of post-punk with aggressive riffs, powerful drums, hissing bass and pondering lyrics filled with observations:…
Man/Woman/Chainsaw have shared new single ‘Nosedive’ ahead of the release of their debut album ‘Cannonball’ via Fiction Records on 7 August. With their trademark violin front and centre, the six-minute track has a more synthy, toe-tapping sound that recalls LCD Soundsystem or St. Vincent’s more experimental and electronic stylings. A song about ‘longing for both…
The Strokes have made a welcome return with the release of ‘Going Shopping’ ahead of seventh studio album ‘Reality Awaits’ on 26 June via Cult Records/RCA Records. Opening in more mellow fashion than you may expect, there are some trademark scuzzily retro guitar hooks before Julian Casablancas starts to ramble – in the most delightful…
Manchester-based trio thistle. have shared ‘Pylon’ ahead of the release of their ‘Backflip’ EP via REX RECS on 29 May, 2026. They’ve also announced an extensive run of live dates, including slots at the Alternative Escape, Bearded Theory and 2000trees Festival. Powered by a glug load of Monster Energy drink, ‘Pylon’ is a wiry slice…
Singer-songwriter Daniel Bateman, also known as Frog, releases eight studio album ‘Frog for Sale’ on 17 April, 2026. An album about ‘how money sometimes gets in the way of love’, it finds Daniel taking inspiration from Buddy Holly and Paul McCartney . The album opens with ‘Bad Time to Fall in Love Again’, a subtle,…
Following shows with Sweet Pill and The Callous Daoboys, Leeds act Love Rarely are set to release their debut album ‘Pain Travels’ via Big Scary Monsters (BSM) on 10 April, 2026. ‘Will’, the opening track on the album mixes Minus the Bear-style guitar work with Tigers Jaw-esque melodies to start with before things take a…
Recorded over nine days at the world-famous Rockfield Studios in Wales, Tigercub’s new album ‘Nets to Catch the Wind’ finds the trio exploring a wider-ranging sound than ever before, with frontman Jamie Hall saying it’s ‘about learning to live in the light even when you know it will not last’. ‘Silver Smile’ opens the record…
Recorded in Los Angeles with John Congleton (Lana Del Rey, St. Vincent), Good Kid’s new album ‘Can We Hang Out Sometime?’ centres around the importance of connection and how anxiety, miscommunication and self-doubt can strain relationships with friends, lovers, family and yourself. ‘Rift’ opens the record in woozy and melodic fashion, the catchy hooks backing…
Masca – a Bristol trio made up of Christina Maynard (vocals, guitar), Jack Hamilton (drums, vocals) and Ben Holyoake (bass) – are all set to unleash their debut album ‘Love Letters’. It’s a record powered by love, belief and a refusal to stop creating, while also being a celebration of the power of love, music…
Norwich four-piece The Danphes have shared their debut single, ‘Heartbreak High’, a breezy slice of hook-laden indie-pop with a touch of romance – and fond memories of a Nissan – running through its Lemon Twigs-meets-Real Estate melodies and pining lyrics: ‘I don’t hear a single word they say, I check my watch and I just…
Spectral Nights - alternative music, indie music, music reviews, new music, music blog 