The Indie Scene

OK, so hear us out... we moved on the 8th March but we've been so busy we forgot to let you know what's occurring. Well, exciting things are happening over on our flashy new site that's, like, ten times better—we promise!  I'll never forget what drove me to create this little blog at 15 in the hopes I could one day write for DIY or the NME, and my morals will always stay the same.  Since we made the big move into professionalism, we've been backlogged with music submissions, over 100 applications to write for us, and an overwhelming amount of support I never expected in a million years. It's funny what life throws at you when you work incredibly hard.  We have a  logo now; a team; almost 700 followers on Instagram; 4k unique visitors to the new website. Things that, if you had told me them 6 years ago, I'd have laughed at you. I didn't believe I could do these things and, yet, here I am doing them. Achieving everything 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 years o...

The well-versed indie veterans, who have been earning their stripes for the best part of a decade, premiered their latest offering on Annie Mac's Radio 1 show. For Wolf Alice fans alike - or anybody who has missed them just as much - it's been a three year wait (we're not counting Ellie's feature on Mura Masa's Teenage Headache Dreams ) that has felt drastically long, no thanks to the current pandemic.  PHOTO: JORDAN HEMINGWAY To no surprise at all, Ellie Rowsell once again proves how astounding she is when it comes to writing in such an effortlessly confessional and intimate way; giving a glimpse into her diary per se. Not to mention the accompanying sublime sounds of strings and the backtracking of Joel and Ellie's vocals layered to sound like a choir, The Last Man On Earth is an endearingly beautiful and harmonic introduction to a new era for the London rockers.  As if today couldn't get any more exciting, the announcement of a third album, Blue Wee...

We can all agree that 2020 has been a tumultuous journey from beginning to end, never failing to provide one disappointment after the other. Seemingly, the only rewarding thing about 2020 has been the music made in lockdown, the albums we've been blessed with or, for some people, it's Taylor Swift releasing not one but two full-length albums this year. Musicians have been unable to perform live, meaning The Night Cafe's 2019 tour is set to take place in 2030 if they're lucky.  I'll have to admit, I've been a bit behind. It'll take me a good few months to sit down and properly listen to an album unless a miracle happens and I listen to it the day it's released. You'll notice that the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Rina Sawayama aren't on here and, it isn't because I'm not a fan, I'm just the worst kind of procrastinator. I'm sure all of your favourites deserve a spot on here, so I'm going to cement my apology before I continue.  ...

Since I was first introduced to the rock outfit hailing from Swansea, I've been hooked on their incredibly good back catalogue so, naturally, I was pretty excited to hear they would be releasing a new song and a re-recording of an old favourite of mine.  'Rainbow Sands' is a step in the right direction, showing exactly why Taxi Rank are one of the most exciting young bands to come out of Wales since Stereophonics came to prominence. Not only is it a tangible, easily digestible alternative rock song, it goes hand in hand with the b-side: a re-recording of 'Handprint'.  The production level with the re-recordings and the brand new songs are impeccable; where you could perhaps notice tiny flaws beforehand with previous recordings, they've smoothed them over and showed their progression by giving 'Handprint' a crystal clear new spin.  It's not just the songs that are captivating, but the striking and vibrant artwork that goes along with it. However, thi...

After the release of their debut album ‘Dogrel’ last year, Dublin based indie rock band Fontaines D.C. had a lot of expectations to live up to with ‘A Hero’s Death,’ which they released on July 31st. Having studied at BIMM in Dublin, the five-piece band have gone on to achieve some incredible things, not to mention releasing two full-length albums and now being nominated for a Grammy (which, by the way, is quite a big deal, especially for these guys). First up is enigmatic and powerful ‘I Don’t Belong,’ that sets the mood for the rest of the album - it’s unforgiving, the statement they’re trying to display doesn’t struggle to be conceived. In my opinion, this is the perfect opener to the album and they couldn’t have chosen a better song to begin with. The music video to go along with it captures the dynamics of the song perfectly and leaves you wondering if there's anything this band can't do. Guaranteed, if you haven't already, this song will be stuck in your head by the e...

When writing critically about an album from a band whose previous offerings you’ve enjoyed quite a bit and have even had their faces on your wall at one point, you’re bound to feel some sort of affliction to be dishonest and please as many people as possible. After all, The 1975's fans are a scary bunch so, trust me, no one is blaming you. I’m hoping that I can be as truthful as possible and pick apart each song the way I perceive it and not simply give it a straight up 10/10 due to the band’s status.  Before I listen to Notes On A Conditional Form, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what I’ve heard so far. Mostly, what I have heard is that there are quite a few filler songs and that the stand out songs are simply the singles already released. This is often the case; it takes a skilled musician to make a completely flawless album from beginning to end and I can't say I've seen it done often.  Matty Healy is well-known for being controversial with his potty mout...