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From Monday 15 May 2017

September Stories – ‘This House Was Never Home’

The combination of atmospheric instrumentals, deeply heartfelt lyrics and spoken word vocals has produced some superb results in the past; most notably Hotel Books, but Being as an Ocean and Casey are among other memorable bands that have used this to excellent effect. September Stories’ debut album

Wednesday 10 May 2017

A Lot Like Birds – ‘DIVISI’

Truly great pieces of art are direct translations of an artist’s soul and as a listener it can be painfully obvious when bands imitate emotion rather than transmitting what’s really dear to them. A Lot Like Birds’ 2013 release ‘No Place’ was definitely the former: a concept piece that recounted

Monday 08 May 2017

LIVE: StrangeForms 2017 @ Wharf Chambers, Leeds

StrangeForms is a celebration of math-rock, post-rock and clever instrumental music that sees eighteen bands perform over the course of two days in Leeds. Set in Wharf Chambers, a small venue that once again sold out this year at around 100 tickets, it’s an event that provides

Thursday 27 April 2017

Aswekeepsearching – ‘Zia’

How many post rock bands have you heard that sing in Hindi? If the answer is zero then I’m sure you’re not alone, but after hearing ‘Zia’, the latest album from India’s Aswekeepsearching, it’s an experience that’s well worth repeating. Beautiful instrumentals in interesting timings, overlaid with

Wednesday 26 April 2017

Tidelines – ‘Tidelines’

It doesn’t take long for Seattle-based Tidelines to demonstrate their obvious talent and potential on this debut self-titled record, but what does take a little longer is an appreciation for the many nuances lurking underneath the surface. If you’re looking for a quick fix, then this may not be the record for

Monday 24 April 2017

LIVE: Deference @ The Hairy Dog, Derby

Off the back of their impressive debut EP ‘False Awakening’, Southampton’s Deference set out on a UK tour to support the release and it hasn’t been without its difficulties so far. The previous night’s show in Worthing was cancelled for reasons outside the band’s control and tonight’s show in

Friday 21 April 2017

With a new name comes new opportunities for Alazka

German melodic hardcore band Burning Down Alaska took their sound to a new level in 2016 by bringing clean vocalist Kassim Auale into the mix. Auale’s soulful, R&B style not only gave the band differentiation, but also helped to grow their fanbase. So much so, that when the band cryptically posted “2012-2017”

Thursday 20 April 2017

The spoken-word of September Stories feels right at ‘Home’

Mixing together the ambient tones of melodic hardcore with spoken-word has served Being as an Ocean well in the past and adding more of a full-band feel to the latest Hotel Books album seemed to bring it alive more so than on previous records. September Stories continue this trend,

Donnie Willow are back with more beautiful chaos

Since the release of their excellent debut EP ‘Inhale, Exhale’ in 2016, I’ve been hotly anticipating more music from Donnie Willow. ‘Blessed Company’ takes all the chaos and melody that the Glaswegian three-piece created across the whole of their previous record and slams it together into one masterfully dynamic, hugely

Tuesday 18 April 2017

Eternity Forever – ‘Fantasy’

On the face of it, math rock and R&B seem like incompatible genres, but you never truly know until someone tries to merge them together. Former Dance Gavin Dance and A Lot Like Birds vocalist Kurt Travis, ex-Chon bassist Brandon Ewing and Strawberry Girls drummer Ben Rosett seem like an