The Indie Scene

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...

May it be artists you already know and love that are gearing up to release a much anticipated album, an artist you've yet to delve into but have heard plenty about, or an artist whom you have never heard of before, this list should - and hopefully will - be an accumulation of the sorts.  This past year has been, well, a shit one and it's only getting worse as 2021 gets into full flow. Throughout the dark, dreary and lonesome days of 2020 there has been one constant, and that is the music we have been treated to in light of such a devastating time. With some spectacular albums from many different artists, to comebacks, and to albums that provided us with some light-hearted entertainment, it leaves a lot for 2021 to live up to. With the recent dismissal of the arts from the Government (obviously, the Tories have never consumed a bit of media in their life and, when Matt Hancock said he listened to Grime , that was clearly nothing but a fabrication) and the recent Brexit revelatio...

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...

This gig was no different from the others; as soon as I looked at the nearest venues by my university and saw a gig that fell on my second day, I was sold. Although, we had to stay in Sheffield till 5am to get the next train (the last train was at 7pm, when the gig hadn't started yet), we would definitely do it all over again. It's insane how good the prices are for bands who should be on the main stage at festivals and it's always good when you don't have to travel that far. We'd never actually been to Sheffield before but we knew it was renowned for it's venues; Plug, The Leadmill and many more. It's safe to say I was excited, especially when I found out that Get Inuit (now Indoor Pets) would be supporting and I had recently discovered them. Thankfully, just like we had done before, we managed to get to the front after both grabbing a drink and waited patiently for the first act, Babe Punch, to arrive on the stage. Neither of us had heard any of their mu...

Although The Magic Gang weren't playing in our usual gig spot, knowing they would be playing only an hour away from us in such an intimate venue wasn't something we could let slip through our fingers. I knew I had to see them live and, most importantly, nab myself some funky Magic Gang merchandise. They were, and still are, the band I had on a constant loop and one of the bands high-up on my must-see list. The first band we were saw were an all-male band from Liverpool (which we could tell by lead singer Kevin's very strong Liverpudlian accent) and they impressed us with their stage presence and intriguing lyrics. Personally, my favourite song was (and still is) 'Losing Your Love' for it's relatable lyrics and a beat you can't help but nod your head to. However, all the songs were performed amazingly and Paris Youth Foundation is a band I definitely recommend seeing live. They remind me of Circa Waves mixed with a little bit of The Night Cafe due to their...

After releasing their debut single 'Lost and Found' on the 14th April, the second single to come from Sheffield indie (self-proclaimed as 'indie glitter' - they're not wrong) six-piece The Seamonsters is aptly titled 'Wonderland.' Since coming together as a band in 2013 to selling their own merchandise, you can clearly tell all of their best efforts have gone into this invigorating summer soundtrack. As I have had this on repeat since Sunday and have familiarised myself with the lyrics, not to mention the rip-roaring riff that makes the song that certified summer anthem, I've had the catchy hook stuck in my head all week. Even when you listen to this once, you're definitely going to have the enigmatic chorus "baby, baby, take me to wonderland / show me crazy things I don't understand" stuck in your head someway and somehow. This new tune is definitely a massive step in affirming the groups place in the current indie scene, creat...