Spectral Nights favourites Tugboat Captain celebrate the (not so?) most wonderful time of the year with ‘Commercial Christmas Song’, a strings-laden song about seasonal despair and heartbreak: ‘I wish I felt better, in my winter sweater. I’ve worn it so long, why do I feel so wrong hearing Christmas commercial songs?’. The genteel piano notes…
Glasgow-based twin sibling duo Cloth return with ‘Polaroid’. The band’s first new music since 2023’s ‘Secret Measure’ album, it’s produced by Ali Chant (Perfume Genius, PJ Harvey) and features a string arrangement by Owen Pallett. The song itself has touching lyrics that deal with the ‘gradual loss of a friendship which used to burn very…
Hitchin’s queercore punks Brutalligators return with ‘Get Better’, an ode to coming out and finding your chosen family – the ones who love you for who you are – that will feature on the four-piece’s upcoming second album. Self-recorded and produced by drummer Rhys Kirkman, ‘Get Better’ is already a live favourite and you can…
Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter Haley Heynderickx follows up 2018’s sublime ‘I Need to Start a Garden’ with ‘Seed of a Seed’, an album that – you can see this from the title – again takes inspiration from nature and our surroundings. It’s a record that Haley says honours everything from flowers and friends to forests and…
Doves have made a welcome return with ‘Renegade’, the first single to be taken from upcoming sixth album ‘Constellations for the Lonely’ (out, appropriately enough, on Valentine’s Day, 2025). Described by drummer Andy Williams as ‘’Blade Runner’ set in our home city’ (Manchester), there is a cinematic and – at times – dystopian quality to…
With influences ranging from the Breeders and Broadcast to Dolly Parton and ‘Kristen Stewart’ already on its way to becoming a queer anthem, Sassyhiya’s debut record ‘Take You Somewhere’ promises to be a glorious celebration of modern life. The wonky, woozy pop melodies of opener ‘Boat Called Predator’ bring back memories of indie legends Bearsuit,…
Thank release their second – and first via Big Scary Monsters – album ‘I Have a Physical Body That Can Be Harmed’ on 8 November. The album promises to offer a satirical overview of the modern world and all its foibles, delivered against a noisy backdrop of techno squelch, smashed drums and intense riffs. Stabbed…
2000trees Festival has announced their first wave of bands for 2025’s festival – including five headliners. Kneecap, PVRIS will co-headline the Thursday 10 July while Taking Back Sunday and Coheed and Cambria appear on Friday 11 July. Alexisonfire will close the festival on 12 July. Other exciting acts are the newly reformed Million Dead, La…
Sophie Allison, aka Soccer Mommy, returns with ‘Evergreen’, an album she informed and inspired by loss with the goal of making ‘a snapshot of a moment’s feelings, to portray the sadness or beauty, survival or hope that bobs there’. Breezy and gentle acoustic sadpop strums signal the start of album opener ‘Lost’, a song that…
Bristol-based Lifter – a group featuring former Modern Rituals guitarist Harry Fanshawe and bassist and producer Miles Ward – release their lovingly self-produced debut album ‘Clasping Hands with the Moribund’ on 25 October. ‘The Consul Drinks’ opens the album with gorgeous, crisp guitar tones that have a twinkly emo edge. This laid-back and subtle yet…
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