Celebrating 10 years in supporting grass-roots music and nurturing talent in Wales, today sees Horizons unveil their 34 acts to watch in 2025. Playing a pivotal role in supporting Welsh artists over the last decade, the Horizons Launchpad Fund, part of Horizons – a partnership between BBC Cymru Wales and the Arts Council of Wales has helped hundreds of band's and artist excel in their field, and this year looks set to be another bumper edition. Bethan Elfyn, Project Manager with Horizons said: “After celebrating a decade of Horizons recently, it’s wonderful to start this new year celebrating and discovering a whole host of new talent. It feels like an incredibly exciting time for music in Wales and we’re delighted to be able to support this group of artists this year in a practical, tangible way. As always our gratitude to our partners at BBC Cymru Wales and the Arts Council of Wales who encourage such early stages of creativity in the arts through this fund, and have supported Horizons for the last incredible 10 years of talent development.”

Lisa Matthews, Portfolio Manager with Arts Council of Wales added: “It’s been a privilege to continue to collaborate with BBC Cymru Wales to support such a strong, diverse, and exciting range of music creators in Wales this year through Launchpad and the broader work of Horizons. This has been made possible thanks to the funding received from the National  Lottery. We look forward to seeing and hearing the results of this investment in new creative talent.”

The 34 recipients of the Horizons Launchpad 2025 fund are:
Bau Cat: Prestatyn, Denbighshire
Ben Ellis: Llanishen, Cardiff
Blue Amber: Cardiff
Bruna Garcia: Cardiff
Buddug: Brynrefail, Gwynedd
Charlie J: Bridgend
Cyn Cwsg: Cardiff
Dan's People: Cardiff
em koko: Cardiff
Freyja Elsy: Cardiff
Guilty Party: Bedwas, Caerphilly
Jessika kay: Cardiff
Klust / UNTRO: Cardiff
Korrupted: Wrexham
lemongel: Cardiff
LICO: Merthyr Tydfil
Llinos Emanuel: Carmarthen
LOYD: Barry
LUVLY: Cardiff
Małgola, No: Cardiff
Malika blu: Cardiff
Marged: Cardiff
Moletrap: Beulah, Powys
Monet: Cardiff
Nancy Williams: Merthyr Tydfil
Nathan Misra: Barry
Ofnus: Cardiff
Plastic Estate: Cardiff
Pseudo Cool: Cardiff
Shale: Cardiff
SHLUG: Cardiff
Sleep Outside: Cardiff
Source: Cardiff
Talulah: Llangollen, Denbighshire

Each will get a share of funding to help develop their careers, enabling them to spend time in studios, promote releases, purchase equipment and produce music videos.

w: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5ZXDgkxvdrFtZ8DCrMPsS02/launchpad-fund-2025

Photo Credit: Lauren Luxemberg

The Amazons made their very welcomed returned ahead of the weekend with the latest taste of their forthcoming album '21st Century Fiction' as the band team up with Royal Blood to deliver the almighty My Blood. Produced by Mike Kerr and featuring Ben Thatcher on drums, the track's pummelled percussion and soaring vocals create a driving force of euphoric energy as the band continue to raise the roof. “Why do we carry on when the chips are down and all we hear is ‘stop’?,” lead singer Matt Thomson asks. “‘My Blood is an exploration into why, when you truly believe in something, you can push yourself past the point of pain. It’s not something you can intellectualise, it’s something you feel. With age comes more responsibilities, obstacles, reasons to quit. But in ‘My Blood’ I wanted to illustrate a force out of our control, deep inside of us, that forsakes that rational thinking.” Talking about working with Royal Blood, Thomson says "Mike was one of the first people I spoke to about collaborating on 21st Century Fiction. He’s become somewhat of a mentor over the years. He’s one of the few in the industry I can pick up the phone to and sink away the hours. I felt this album and ‘My Blood’ was the right time to dig deeper into the shared language I feel we have. And any opportunity to work with artists we respect and admire is one we want to take." Take a listen for yourselves below.

The Amazons' new album 21st Century Fiction will be out May 9th, 2025.

21st Century Fiction Track Listing
1. Living A Lie
2. Night After Night
3. (Panic) (Interlude)
4. Pitch Black
5. My Blood
6. (Shake Me Down) (Interlude)
7. Wake Me Up
8. (Intermission) (Interlude)
9. Joe Bought A Gun
10. Love Is A Dog From Hell
11. The Heat! pt.2
12. Heaven Now
13. Go All The Way

i: https://www.instagram.com/theamazons/

Photo credit / Alex Lake

As iconic Welsh outfit Manic Street Preachers prepare the release of their forthcoming fifteenth album Critical Thinking on 31st January 2025, the band have recently unveiled the record's third single, People Ruin Paintings. Described as “musically the three of us playing telepathically, referencing thirty plus years of playing together instinctively”, with Classic Rock hailing it to be “Stadium Jazz”, the new single continues to see the band deliver euphoric swelling choruses and cult classic guitar melodies as they bring their 90's influenced sounds to the modern day. Take a listen for yourselves below.

The record is available on LP, CD, hardbook CD and cassette with two brand new songs available on a limited 7”, a remix of ‘Decline & Fall’ by Steven Wilson and demo versions of all the new album tracks on an extended CD. See the bands official store to see all the versions available. https://ManicStreetPreachers.lnk.to/store

UK Tour Dates - Sold Out
April 11th - Glasgow Barrowland
April 12th - Glasgow Barrowland
April 18th - London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
April 19th - London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
April 25th - Wolverhampton The Civic at the Halls
April 26th - Bristol Beacon
May 2nd - Manchester O2 Apollo
May 3rd - Manchester O2 Apollo
May 9th - Swansea Arena
May 10th - Swansea Arena

 f: https://www.facebook.com/manicstreetpreachers

Photo credit: Flower Up & Rosie Sco

As we enter the year of 'Drive to Goldenhammer', Nottingham's Divorce have excitedly unveiled their latest single Pill, beautifully depicting the trials and tribulations of a long-distance relationship. Through a dazzling and snarling 5 minute escapade, the track's jarring guitar riffs and free-forming melodies soon give way to a change in pace as Tiger Cohen-Towell's velveteen vocals take lead before closing out on its playful outro. Sharing more detail they go on to say, "'Pill' was written on not my piano at not my flat in not my city; Glasgow to be specific. It’s about sexual awakenings and the absolute thrill of feeling seen properly. It’s also about a long-term long-distance relationship that turned my life upside down (and continues to), and my relationship with a new place alongside that. It’s one of the queerest songs on the record, all three sections highlight a different realm of my queer experience. It’s also potentially the most unconventionally arranged song on the record and making it was a very playful and light-hearted process. From the get-go I wanted it to have three very different sections in this song, the rest of the band trusted that instinct and we all threw ourselves into making it work, so it was nice to feel professionally seen whilst making a song about feeling personally seen!" Take a listen for yourselves below.

As anticipation continues to grow for Divorce's debut album Drive to Goldenhammer (March 7th via Gravity/Capitol) the band are also looking forward to a headline run of shows in the UK. Full details are below. Tickets are available from the band's website here.

Divorce UK & Ireland headline tour dates 2025

Mar 27 - The Bullingdon, Oxford, UK
Mar 28 - Strange Brew, Bristol, UK - SOLD OUT
Mar 29 - The Castle & Falcon, Birmingham, UK
Mar 31 - Ulster Sports Club, Belfast, UK
Apr 01 - The Workman's Club, Dublin, IE
Apr 03 - Gorilla, Manchester, UK
Apr 04 - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, UK - SOLD OUT
Apr 05 - Stereo, Glasgow, UK
Apr 08 - Chalk, Brighton, UK
Apr 09 - KOKO, London, UK

 f: https://www.facebook.com/divorcehq/

Photo credit: Ryan Bakerink

Marking his brilliant return with the announcement of a long-awaited new studio album, American artist Bob Mould has unveiled 'Here We Go Crazy', due out Friday, March 7th via Granary Music/BMG Records. Sharing the title track taken from the forthcoming record, Mould draws on an expansive inspiration as swirling guitars and driving vocal hooks lead up the charge. “I’ve been spending time in the Southern California desert over the past few years, and the video was shot there. Chilly wilderness atop a mountain, expansive vistas below the hills, distant places to escape life’s routines,” Mould says, “’Going crazy’ can be many different things. The joy of reckless abandon, the uncertainty of the world's future, the silence of solitude.” Giving more detail about the new record he goes on to say, “On the surface, this is a group of straightforward guitar pop songs. I’m refining my primary sound and style through simplicity, brevity, and clarity, Under the hood, there’s a number of contrasting themes. Control and chaos, hypervigilance and helplessness, uncertainly and unconditional love.” Take a listen to the new single below.

Tour dates:
Apr 1st | San Diego, CA – Music Box*
Apr 2nd | Pioneertown, CA – Pappy & Harriet’s*
Apr 4th | Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom*
Apr 5th | San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore*
Apr 7th | Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre*
Apr 8th | Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom*
Apr 9th | Boise, ID – Knitting Factory*
Apr 11th | Denver, CO – Marquis Theater*
Apr 12th | Fort Collins, CO – Washington’s*
Apr 14th | Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room*
Apr 15th | Maquoketa, IA – Codfish Hollow Barn*
Apr 16th | Madison WI – Majestic Theatre*
Apr 18th | Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall*
Apr 19th | St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
Apr 25th | Chicago, IL – Metro
Apr 26th | Chicago, IL – Metro
Apr 27th | Detroit, MI – El Club
Apr 29th | Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
Apr 30th | Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre
May 2nd | Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
May 3rd | New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
May 4th | Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
May 7th | Washington DC – Black Cat
May 9th | Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall
May 10th | Indianapolis, IN – HI–FI Indy
May 11th | Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s Beer Garden w/ Winged Wheel
 
* = support from Craig Finn

i: https://www.instagram.com/bobmouldmusic/

Photo: Julia Godfrey

Returning, just in time for a Christmas treat, The Wombats have shared a third offering from their forthcoming sixth studio album Oh! The Ocean, out 21st February 2025 via AWAL unveiling the deeply relatable My Head Is Not My Friend. Speaking on the track Murph says, “'My Head Is Not My Friend' is a song about the idea that maybe I don't actually have my best interests at heart.” The track itself serves as another exciting taste of what's to come with catchy guitar melodies and soaring choruses. Sharing more details on the recording of the new album he goes on to say: “I’ve been to many beaches and seas and coasts over the years but for some reason it felt like the first time I had ever seen it and was truly present. There was this revelation that I had been living a life caught up in my own head, or in some kind of racing helmet or with blinkers on. It was really a potent experience. I felt like I saw everything new for the first time, and was aware that I had been so selfish to not take in how crazy the world and life is. I’d been caught up in my own BS for way too long. The album offers up some internal questions like: why are my head and body disconnected all the time? Why am I incapable at times of seeing any form of beauty in the world or in others? Why do I expect the world to conform to my will? Why do I never stop and smell the flowers?” Take a listen to the new single below.

The Wombats - Oh! The Ocean Tracklist: 

1. Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want To Come

2. Can't Say No

3. Blood On The Hospital Floor

4. Kate Moss

5. Gut Punch

6. My Head Is Not My Friend

7. I Love America And She Hates Me

8. The World's Not Out To Get Me, I Am

9. Grim Reaper

10. Reality Is A Wild Ride

11. Swerve (101)

12. Lobster

The Wombats - UK Tour Dates: 

18 March - Nottingham Motorpoint Arena

19 March - London The O2

21 March - Cardiff Utilita Arena

23 March - Manchester AO Arena

25 March - Glasgow OVO Hydro

26 March - Leeds First Direct Arena

 

The Wombats - EU Tour Dates

28 March - France, Paris, Le Trabendo

30 March - Netherlands, Tilburg, 013 Tilburg

31 March - Netherlands, Amsterdam, Paradiso

01 April - Germany, Cologne, E-Werk

03 April - Germany, Munich, Theaterfabrik

04 April - Switzerland, Zurich, Komplex 457

05 April - Czech Republic, Prague, Archa +

07 April - Germany, Berlin, Columbiahalle 

08 April - Germany, Munster, Jovel Music Hall

10 April - Norway, Oslo, Rockefeller Music Hall

11 April - Denmark, Copenhagen, Pumpehuset

12 April - Sweden, Stockholm, Vasateatern

15 April- Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Den Atelier

16 April - Belgium, Brussels, Botanique

Photo: Malthe Ivarsson

Copenhagen based dream-pop duo Dreamstruck returned ahead of the weekend with their latest single, Moon. Taken from the bands forthcoming self-titled debut album, due out January 10th on Rough Trade, the track sees the pair conjure up mystical sounds through their expansive guitar melodies and glacial vocals. “To write so openly about our relationship and share my innermost thoughts with Jonas obviously sparked confrontations when the core of our conflicts was framed in our music. Eventually, the whole process turned out to have an almost therapeutic effect on us. Love is about communication, facing differences and difficulties, and dealing with them. I guess that’s what Dreamstruck is about: a shared declaration of love,” says Karen Krogshøj. Beautifully put, the track is about reaching for the moon in the darkest of times, something we can all yearn to do from time to time. Take a listen for yourselves below.

i: https://www.instagram.com/dreamstruck__

As the crowd picked out their gloomiest attire and and began to huddle closely together as they packed out the sold-out venue, The Horrors certainly gave fans something to remember them by as they delivered a spellbinding performance at Strange Brew in Bristol, showcasing their bold new chapter.

Kicking off with the industrial, face-melting "Whiplash", the band wasted no time in getting things moving. The venue's intimate and darkened atmosphere only amplified their hauntingly immersive sound, enhanced by their revamped line-up, including new members Amelia Kidd on keys and Jordan Cook making up the bank line on drums.

A mini tour of sorts as the band prepare to release their forthcoming sixth studio album ‘Night Life’, out March 21st via Fiction Records, the set-list is peppered with new offerings which seamlessly fit in-between their almost 20 year back catalogue of hits - "The Silence That Remains" proving to be a propulsive effort that saw fans already shouting back the lyrics at the top of their lungs.

Combined with the band’s signature blend of gothic and post-punk styling which brought both nostalgia and reinvention, their new sound brings with it new ideas and "Trial By Fire" is another sprawling, wall of sound that transcended in to the crowd who were only quick to oblige with a readily formed mosh pit. 

From brooding, slow-burning anthems to explosive, noise-filled climaxes, embodying the "melancholy and euphoria" themes the new album promises to explore, the band showed little let up as they drove through their set-list with a euphoric energy. 

Elsewhere of notable mention, front man Faris Badwan was the undeniable focal point as his haunting and enigmatic stage presence pulled the audience deeper into their performance as lights flashed and skittered in strobe effect. With his vocals alternating between anguished crooning and impassioned outbursts, particularly during fan-favourite tracks like "Still Life" he brought their dark, cinematic sound to essence in the largest of ways.

Sadly though, all good things must come to an end. 

As the band returned to the stage following a triumphant adulation from eager fans who chanted "one more song", the evening was brought full circle with their synth kaleidoscopic closer, "Something To Remember Me By". 

There's no denying tonight's performance demonstrated their commitment to reinvention, as they embraced a rawer, more reflective direction whilst maintaining the dark allure that has defined their career. It's safe to say fans in the audience left Strange Brew eagerly anticipating the release of their forthcoming LP - an impressive feat for a band closing in on two decades. 

The Horrors are back, and in a big way!

*****

i: https://www.instagram.com/thehorrors/

Photo: Polocho

Following on from last months trailblazing effort, American Dream, taken from their forthcoming new album Death & Love Pt.1 out Jan 31st 2025 via PIAS, Liverpool's Circa Waves have shared the record's latest cut, Like You Did Before. Channelling influence from the 2000s New York scene with its distinct fast paced guitar riffs and catchy melodies, the track continues to push their boundaries as songwriters and musicians as they bring in a fresh new sound to their repertoire. Frontman Kieran Shudall shares further; “This song is a reminder of a moment in my life that many people don’t know about. Just before my heart operation lying in hospital when life felt uncertain and fragile, I would imagine myself in a packed sweaty indie club, dancing like my life depended on it. It was a daydream, a form of escape and this song fits perfectly into that vision.” Take a listen/watch for yourselves below.

Live Dates
February 2025
14th Birmingham, O2 Academy
15th Nottingham, Rock City
16th Glasgow, Barrowland Ballroom
18th Cambridge, Junction
19th Norwich, UEA
21st Newcastle, NX
22nd Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse
23rd Bristol, Beacon
25th Leeds, O2 Academy
26th London, 02 Academy Brixton
27th Southampton, The 1865

March 2025
1st Liverpool, Olympia

Death & Love Pt. 1 - Track Listing
1. American Dream
2. Like You Did Before
3. We Made It
4. Le Bateau
5. Hold It Steady
6. Let;s Leave Together
7. Blue Damselfly
8. Everything Changed
9. Bad Guys Always Win 

i: https://www.instagram.com/circawaves

As part of the Pinterest Predicts 2025 series, Mercury Prize winning Leeds outfit English Teacher perform their song “Not Everybody Gets To Go To Space” as they bow out on a brilliant year that's seen them go strength to strength. Directed by Simon Lane, the video is inspired by the Fisherman Aesthetic which Pinterest predicts will be one of the style trends for 2025. On the video, director Simon Lane says: “The aim was to create a fisherman aesthetic for Pinterest, letting that guide every creative decision from the epic dockyard location, through styling you can see Lily’s lobster knitwear and art direction with lobster pots, buoys and fishing nets, we had a lot of fun making it!” Take a watch for yourselves below. 

Live Dates
21st Dec - Bedford Esquire - Music Venue, Bedford, UK
20th Jan - Shibuya, WWW, X, JP
3rd May - Heartbreakers Southampton, UK
17th May - Get Together Festival, Sheffield, UK
23rd May - Wide Awake Festival 2025, UK
13 July - Exhibition Park, Newcastle, UK * Fontaines D.C.
31 July - All Together Now Festival 2025, Portlaw, IE
15th August - Wythenshawe Park, Sale, UK * Fontaines D.C.

f: https://www.facebook.com/EnglishTeacherBand/