The Orchestra (For Now) – ‘Plan 76’ EP review


Self-described as ‘London prog’, The Orchestra (For Now)’s ‘Plan 76’ EP finds the seven piece attempting to ‘refine rather than complicate’ their distinctive fusion of baroque indie hooks, post hardcore breakdowns and touches of jazz. ‘Impatient’ opens the album in stop-start fashion before delving deep into the avant-garde orchestral dramatics that have served the band…

itoldyouiwouldeatyou – ‘Wonderful Life Pt. 1’


itoldyouiwouldeatyou have returned with ‘Wonderful Life Pt 1’, the first song to be taken from new EP ‘We Were Having Such a Nice Day’ (out on 28 November, 2025). There’s a touch of Delta Sleep in the intricate guitar work and slow-burning intro before Joey Ashworth pours their heart out to help a loved one…

The Cribs – ‘A Point Too Hard to Make’


The Jarman brothers have shared ‘A Point Too Hard to Make’, the second single to be taken from their upcoming new album ‘Selling A Vibe’ (released on 9 January, 2026) – complete with a Stars in Their Eyes/Cabaret-esque video. The song – which the trio say is about ‘All that 2000s damage, basically’ – features…

Hope of the States – ‘Billboard Mountain’


Hope of the States continue their unexpected but most welcome of combacks with the release of ‘Billboard Mountain’. While its opening minute is filled with typically cinematic strings and Morricone-esque tones as Sam Herlihy declares ‘This grief makes energy. Believe, believe, believe’, the song then harks back to ‘The Lost Riots’ favourite ‘George Washington’: ‘Set…

Brutalligators – ‘Hold Fast’


Hitchin’s queer indie-punk rockers Brutalligators have returned with ‘Hold Fast’, the first single to be taken from their upcoming second album ‘Hold Fast’ (to be released via Fika Recordings on 21 November, 2025). With the record described by the band as a ‘love letter to learning to accept all that life throws at you’, ‘it…

False Advertising – ‘The Sorry Window’


False Advertising have made a welcome return with ‘The Sorry Window’. Referencing Curb Your Enthusiasm in its title, the song finds the band lamenting lost opportunities over a swathe of emo-meets-new wave guitar: ‘I guess you’ve head enough. Is this just all too much?’ Blending the hooks of Guided by Voices with the emotional resonance…