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Monday, 17 February 2025

One True Pairing 2025 UK tour in support of ‘Endless Rain’

Photo Credit: Jennifer Lane

Following the release of his introspective, ethereally empowered second solo album, Endless Rain, out now via Domino, former Wild Beasts songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Tom Fleming will play three dates in support. Under his One True Pairing Moniker, the record was formed in Dublin in 2022 with producer John ‘Spud’ Murphy (Lankum, black midi, caroline) at Dublin’s Hellfire studios and serves to be a stunning body of work, one that thrives in its vulnerability across indie, pop, and alt-folk spectrums. “It was off the back of a lot of personal difficulties, a loss of income, a loss of house, everything. I didn’t write anything for ages and then it all happened at once,” says Fleming of the remarkable burst of creativity that first led to Endless Rain, “that hasn’t happened before. “Frozen Food Centre” has possibly been in my head for about seven years and I couldn’t find a way to get it out. But “Be Strong”, “Tunnelling”, they were fifteen minute jobs.Endless Rain is available now. Catch One True Pairing at one of the three dates below - tickets available here.

Live Dates - March 2025
13 Band On The Wall, Manchester
14 Alphabet, Brighton
15 Cube Cinema, Bristol

i: https://www.instagram.com/1trupairing

GIRLBAND! - Not Like The Rest (Official Music Video)

Last week saw GIRLBAND! share their latest video to their single ‘Not Like The Rest’ which was shot in and around the same Nottingham streets and places that the band grew up. Filled with euphoric melodies, catchy hooks and an aspirant drive the track showcases the three-piece at their very best. The video is a deeply personal project for the band, as Georgie explains “This video embodies everything the song is about and everything that I felt at the time of writing this song. So knowing there’s a visual representation of that aligning with the song and meaning is amazing. The video delivers all the things we could have wanted and makes that feeling not so scary like it was when I was afraid to be me but to be important and humbly celebrated in the exact way it should be. We just want this to make things a little less scary for other young people.” Take a listen/watch for yourselves below. 



Live Dates
18 Feb - Munster, Sputnikhalle
19 Feb - Cologne, LUXOR
28 March - Paris, Supersonic Club
29 March - Sion, Le Port Franc
20 April - Manchester Punk Festival
24 April - London, Oslo
25 April - Leeds, Wardrobe
2 May - Loop Festival
23 May - Bearded Theory Festival
24 May - Dot To Dot, Bristol
25 May - Dot To Dot, Nottingham


GIRLBAND! Released their debut EP ‘Heartbreak Town’ last year via Soul Kitchen / EMI North.

 

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

Luvcat - Love & Money (Official Music Video)

Credit: Barnaby Fairley

Exploring the raunchier side of a relationship, all in the name of funding their lifestyle, Luvcat's Love & Money is a hedonistic indulgence of pure pop pleasure. “Love & Money is a love letter to a Pam and Tommy-style passionate, all-consuming romance in the city,” Luvcat says of the Valentines Day release. “I wrote it after meeting a bartender at a pub, falling in love at first sight and having a never-ending night of mischief in London.” The accompanying music video sees Luvcat starring alongside a real-life former flame, recreating scenes from her past alongside nods to classic romantic movies like Candy, Notting Hill and Once. “We filmed in all my old haunts and tried to capture the chaos of two naive scousers living a beautiful, sleazy love story in London”. Take a watch/listen for yourselves below.



Luvcat live dates - tickets available here
10.2 Exchange, Bristol
11.2 Heartbreakers, Southampton
13.2 Hoxton Hall, London
14.2 Hoxton Hall, London
15.2 Hoxton Hall, London
18.2 Hare and Hounds, Birmingham
19.2 King Tut’s, Glasgow
21.2 Academy 3, Manchester
22.2 Arts Club Loft, Liverpool
10.4-12.4 Zermatt Unplugged, Switzerland
19.4 Momo Festival, NL
20.4 Artheater, Cologne
21.4 Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam
23.4 La Maroquinerie, Paris
24.2 Le Botanique, Bruxelles
26.4 Privatclub, Berlin
28.4 Klub Hydrozagadka, Warszawa
15.5 The Great Escape, Brighton
23.5 Wide Awake, London
24.5 Live at Leeds in The Park, Leeds
25.5 Neighbourhood Weekender, Warrington
3.6 Primavera A La Ciutat, Barcelona
21.6 Bludfest, Milton Keynes
26.7 Mad Cool, Madrid
26.7 Truck Festival, Oxford
27.7 Tramlines, Sheffield
1.8 Kendal Calling, Kendal
2.8 Y Not, Derbyshire
9.8 Boardmasters, Newquay
11.8 Sziget, Budapest
16.8 Winterthurer, Switzerland
20.8 Rock en Seine, Paris
22.8 Leeds Festival, Leeds
23.8 Victorious, Portsmouth
24.8 Reading Festival, Reading

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

CVC - Bonnie & Clyde (Official Visualiser)

Credit - Trigger Happy Creative

Making their excellent return, South-Wales based outfit CVC have unveiled their disco-tinged new single Bonnie & Clyde. Following their acclaimed 2023 debut album, Get Real, the band have stepped up to the plate to deliver a tantalising blend pop perfected soul as they delivery catchy hooks and electrifying riffs. “The music for Bonnie & Clyde was originally constructed as a theme song for a CVC original film,” says Orsi. “I found inspiration for the lyrics after watching the film ‘Queen & Slim’. The song centres around two characters who are willing to risk it all for the love they share.Weused synthesisers to form the engine of the song, chasing the feeling of haste and anxious anticipation, as if being in a car chase.” Take a listen for yourselves below.

Live Dates
Fri 21 Feb – Aberystwyth, University Arts Centre w/ Trawsnewid: Transform Festival
Fri 28 Mar – Newport, The Corn Exchange w/ Music Trail
Sat 29 Mar – Bristol, Ritual Union Festival
Fri 4 Apr – London, Oslo
Sat 5 Apr – London, Oslo
Thu 10 Apr - Blackpool, Bootleg Social
Fri 11 Apr – Coventry, Kasbah
Sat 12 Apr – Bedford, Esquires
Thu 1 May - Tunbridge Wells, Forum
Fri 2 May – Portsmouth, Kola
Sat 3 May – Southampton,1865 w/ Wanderlust Festival
Thu 8 May – Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire
Fri 9 May – Aberdeen, Café Drummonds
Sat 10 May – Sunderland, The Independent

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

The Amazons - Love Is A Dog From Hell

Artwork - Credit: Chris Alderton

Released ahead of the weekend, The Amazons unveiled their brilliant new single Love Is A Dog From Hell, taken from their forthcoming album 21st Century Fiction, which comes May 9th. Coinciding with Valentines day, the track depicts tumultuous relationships as its towering Americana sound rains down through infectious guitar riffs, acoustic melodies and high tempo percussion. “It's rare for us to be able to pinpoint an exact time and place that inspired a song but, this time it's easy. Skylight Books, Los Angeles. That’s where Dolly Parton’s ‘Mule Skinner Blues’ first floated in through my ear canals and burrowed into my brain, to live happily forever.” lead singer Matt Thomson said of the track. “‘Love is a Dog From Hell’ is a song of temptation, self-sabotage and how fun the ride can be just moments before it hurdles over a cliff edge.” 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/


Daffo - Absence Makes the Heart Grow

Photo: Nolan Knight

Brooklyn-based artist Daffo has returned with the brilliant new single Absence Makes the Heart Grow. Filled with grungy melodies that swell to almighty highs, the track's scuzzy sound and propulsive delivery serves to be another exciting introduction to the year ahead as we get a fine taste of what's to come. “I wrote the song at the end of a relationship, and in my pain, I felt as though the cliche about distance making the heart grow fonder was a sham,” says Gamberg. “It made everything harder, the waves of emotion that accompanied reuniting and separating were too intense to navigate. So, I decided to twist the saying into something that felt more real to me.” Take a listen for yourselves below.



Tour Dates
Feb  20th | Los Angeles, CA - El Cid
May  13th | London, UK - The George Tavern
May  16th | Brighton, UK - The Great Escape Festival
May  30th | South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground ^
May  31st | Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz PDB ^
June 02nd | Toronto, ON - Velvet Underground ^
June 03rd | Lakewood, OH - Mahall’s ^
June 05th | Detroit, MI - El Club ^
June 07th | Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line ^
June 08th | Milwaukee, WI - Vivarium ^
June 10th | St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway ^
June 19th | Boston, MA - Royale *
June 20th | Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel *
June 21st | Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer *
June 24th | Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
June 26th | Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel *
June 27th | Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse *
June 28th | Nashville, TN - The Basement East *


^ w/ Annie DiRusso
* w/ Blondshell

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

Sunday, 16 February 2025

The Pale White - Lost In The Moment (Official Music Video)

Photo credit: Saint Sophie

Newcastle alt-rock trio The Pale White have recently returned with their new music video for their latest single ‘Lost in The Moment’. Directed by Chris Kirtley the clip sees the band perform at their best showcasing their electrifying live shows in blistering detail. Speaking on the video for ‘Lost in The Moment’, frontman Adam Hope says, “We shot the video at Wallsend 'MEM', the town's Memorial Hall. A true hidden gem right around the corner from where we all live in the heart of Wallsend. It means a lot to us to keep this campaign at home, and from our doorstep we managed to capture something that visually matches the ethereal sonics of 'Lost In The Moment' perfectly.” Take a watch for yourselves below.

THE PALE WHITE 2025 LIVE DATES
Headline Tour:
06 March: Deaf Institute, Manchester
07 March: King Tut’s, Glasgow
08 March: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
10 March: Dead Wax, Birmingham
11 March: Louisiana, Bristol [SOLD OUT]
13 March: Green Door Store, Brighton
14 March: Oslo, London
15 March: Northumbria Uni, Newcastle
21 March: The Workman’s Club, Dublin
22 March: Limelight 2, Belfast

Supporting PIXIES:
23 April: Den Atelier, Luxembourg [SOLD OUT]
25 April: TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht [SOLD OUT]
26 April: Lotto Arena, Antwerp
28 April: Oosterpoort, Groningen [SOLD OUT]
29 April: 013, Tilburg [SOLD OUT]
01 May: Tempodrom, Berlin [SOLD OUT]
02 May: Palladium, Cologne [SOLD OUT]
03 May: Tonhalle, Munich
06 May: Arkea Arena, Bordeaux
07 May: Zenith, Nantes
09 May: Palacio de los Deportes de Granada, Granada
10 May: Sagres Campo, Lisbon

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

Cloth – Golden (Official Music Video)

Photo credit: Sandra Ebert

Glasgow-based twin-sibling duo Cloth (Rachael and Paul Swinton) returned ahead of the weekend with the announcement of their new album Pink Silence, set for release on April 25th via Rock Action. Coinciding with the news, the pair have shared the record's latest single Golden which sees soft vocals meet its dainty guitar melodies to form a dream-like soundscape. Paul Swinton comments on the new single: "I remember writing the main chorus guitar hook of this song, Rachael adding a chord accompaniment, and me saying to her “this songs needs to sound like Talking Heads!” I think that plan of action maybe got a bit lost along the way, but it’s still one of the album’s most musically upbeat moments, with a great hi-hat-driven beat in the chorus and a bridge which might be my favourite of any Cloth song. The song deals with the tough breakdown of a relationship, and the feeling of that loss being so difficult to reconcile with you’d rather have never fallen in love at all. There’s a line in the song, ‘that scar on my wall, where all of those photographs remembered us falling” which came from me staring at my bedroom wall and seeing the faint outlines - the ‘scars’ - of where photos of really meaningful memories used to be stuck on. That seemed to me to be a really powerful image, even though, in a sense, there’s nothing to look at anymore." Take a listen for yourselves below. 

Cloth - 2025 tour dates

February 20th - O2 Academy Brixton, London, UK **
February 22nd - O2 Academy, Leeds, UK **
February 23rd - Usher Hall, Edinburgh, UK **
March 4th - Forum, Tunbridge Wells, UK
March 5th - Boiler Room, Guildford, UK
March 6th - Esquires, Bedford, UK
March 7th - The Gregson Community & Arts Centre, Lancaster, UK
March 8th - Sugarmill, Stoke, UK
March 10th-17th - SXSW, USA
March 22nd - Mac Arts Centre, Galashiels, UK
March 29th - Tunnels, Aberdeen, UK
May 17th - Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, UK **

** = Supporting Mogwai

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

Friday, 14 February 2025

Album Review: The Wombats - Oh! The Ocean


The Wombats - Oh! The Ocean Tracklist:
01. Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want To Come 02. Can't Say No
03. Blood On The Hospital Floor 04. Kate Moss 05. Gut Punch
06. My Head Is Not My Friend 07. I Love America And She Hates Me
08. The World's Not Out To Get Me, I Am 09. Grim Reaper 10. Reality Is A Wild Ride
11. Swerve (101) 12. Lobster

The Wombats' sixth studio album, Oh! The Ocean, released on February 14, 2025, marks a significant evolution in their sound, blending indie rock, pop, and electronic elements in the carefree way they only know how. With such a prolific career spanning over a decade, the band have stamped their name on the scene for a long time, and this latest effort goes to show they're not out of ideas yet.

The album opens with "Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want To Come," featuring Murphy's dynamic falsetto and harmonious backing vocals, setting the tone for the record's introspective yet upbeat nature. 

Tracks like "Can't Say No" and "Blood On the Hospital Floor" follow and showcase the band's knack for crafting anthemic choruses, whilst "Kate Moss" evokes atmospheric qualities through its subdued synth basslines and disconsolate vocal delivery. 

Speaking on the experience, Murph says: “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? How am I conscious? That’s why I called album 6 ‘Oh! The Ocean”.

What makes Oh! The Ocean so compelling is the band’s ability to seamlessly weave reflection with infectious, high-energy tunes. With their sixth outing, the band have readily explored new sonic territories and it's paid dividends. "Swerve (101)" delivers a dance-punk vibe reminiscent of Gang of Four, and "Grim Reaper" juxtaposes its infectious melody with darkly humorous lyrics about mortality. The album concludes with "Lobster," a contemplative track reflecting on simplicity and peace. Something Matthew “Murph” Murphy has seemingly managed to find as the record serves to be their most rejuvenated thus far in their illustrious career. 

Oh! The Ocean is an album that demands your attention, offering both sonic depth and emotional breadth. It is a celebration of The Wombats’ ability to grow without losing their identity—showcasing a band that has mastered the balance between catchy hooks and a meaningful indie-pop classic.

The Wombats - UK Tour Dates:
18 March - Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
19 March - London, The O2
21 March - Cardiff, Utilita Arena
22 March - Manchester, AO Aren
23 March - Hull, Connexin Live
25 March - Glasgow, OVO Hydro
26 March - Leeds, First Direct Arena
19 June - Liverpool, Pier Head

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 

Thursday, 13 February 2025

Mên An Tol - Set In Stone

Photo credit: Cole Flynn Quirke

Taken from the band's newly announced debut EP ‘The Country’, released 14th March on ADA, Mên An Tol have this week unveiled their brilliant new single Set In Stone. Filled with soaring vocal swells and the band's signature breezy melodies the track serves as another euphoric effort and an exciting taster of what's to come. Frontman Bill Jefferson talks about the track - "Written by Tom and I in our kitchen above the pub, Set in Stone served as an anchor amidst a time of uncertainty. Finding its feet in the rehearsal room it became a touchstone for the band's energy and purpose." Take a listen for yourselves below. The band have announced they’ll be appearing at The Great Escape in Brighton this year for the first time with more live dates in the pipeline.

Mên An Tol are Bill Jefferson (Guitar, Vocals), Felix Knox (Mandolin), Max Silvey (Bass), Robert Wiseman (Guitar) and Tom Stevens (Drums).

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