As one eagled-eyed Taylor Swift fan observes, each January does seem to embroil her in a new internet beef, defending herself from those who can’t seem to exclude her from their own narrative. 2022’s instalment, however, was probably not...
Warpaint - ‘Champion’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJznPy_iM4M
Revelling in the spaces between has always been Warpaint’s thing. Since emerging and defining a particular period of early ‘10s alternative guitar music, their greatest trick has always been to know that less is more: enthralling, aloof,...
A great big, flashy stadium show spectacle can be a glorious thing. Are we happy that we live in a world in which Taylor Swift can merrily schlep a 63-foot inflatable cobra into the belly of Wembley as a...
“I might never make another song,” Lana Del Rey told Vogue after she had finished recording her major-label debut. “What would I say? I feel like everything I wanted to say, I’ve said already.” Six more records and over...
Though many festivals hoped to see a full return in 2022, the further rise in COVID cases has once more scuppered plans across the board. But this hasn’t stopped organisers from getting the music out there someway, somehow; in...
When a band announces their hiatus, you expect the fanbase anguish; caps-locked quote tweets and nostalgia clips of past concerts, reposted with emoji tears. What you maybe don’t expect to see is relief. When news of Brockhampton’s "indefinite hiatus"...
Grae – 'Room In the Desert'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmEYQ3WNLDM
Toronto artist, Grae, has drawn inspiration from Cocteau Twins' 'Cherry-coloured Funk' on new single, 'Room In The Desert'. The enigmatic title, which actually had no meaning to Grae at the time of writing, is...
When Julien Baker, Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten, all tweeted ‘Monday’ in unison, it didn’t take a (girl)genius to figure out that something was afoot. For US folks, their luck was in; the announcement quickly revealed itself to...
CMAT - ‘Lonely’
https://open.spotify.com/album/6ASQcWTLlp5BwUosCUZOoe?si=3Yr-cYMhSem10r1QY0gaSw
Over the last couple of isolated years, you might have found yourself searching for companionship in unusual places. CMAT can relate: “Who needs God when I have Robbie Williams? / Who needs boys with these voices in...
New Order, Tolworth Recreation Centre, 12th March 1983
Tolworth Rec. was never exactly a hub for music and culture. It was an unremarkable suburban sports hall in a town notable for little other than a towering office block which was...