“I’m stepping inside a universe designed against my own beliefs,” announces Clairo at the very start of ‘Sling’. It’s her second album – and this time she knows exactly what she’s getting herself into. After the heady rush of...
Following on from a year of cancelled festivals, seeing some of this summer’s line-ups might make you want to take another year off. With many boasting the same yawn-inducing male-dominated bills, you'd be forgiven for thinking that COVID had...
Imagine the thrill as a notification pops up on your phone from one of your musical heroes. They’ve posted your latest promo shots on Instagram with the hashtag #twinning and you – naturally – treat it as sincere (“love...
Self Esteem – 'Prioritise Pleasure'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viabXU-cQq8
Every Self Esteem release feels like a capital E Event of late. From music to visuals to pure sentiment, the title track from her second record, ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ is instantly anthemic, making for a perfect...
This column might be called subtweets, but we’d be missing a serious trick if we didn’t recognize just how much fan-led activity and important pop-cultural discussion goes down on TikTok. Whether you downloaded it just to pass time in...
“I’m really quiet tonight, I think I have stage fright,” Celeste murmurs midway through her second of five nights at London’s Union Chapel. “But it’s really nice to sing for other people and not just for myself in my...
“Are you from London? … Y'all eat crumpets and stuff?” The queen, bad teeth, rain: British collective Sault have fun playing with the capital’s tropes on fifth album ‘Nine’ – but only after painting a starker truth about the...
San Francisco’s Pearl Harbour and The Explosions were a pretty neat new wave band; all sharp shoulders and tight riffs and with one minor US hit, 1979’s chippy 'Drivin’', under their skinny belts. But it’s the fabulous frontwoman’s punked-up...
Breaking up by email is never an okay thing to do. In 2017, British singer Laura Mvula found herself on the receiving end of such an unwelcome missive – not from a cowardly ex-lover, but from her record label....
BIG RED MACHINE – ‘RENEGADE (FEAT. TAYLOR SWIFT)’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_wr-9X47ao
In the three days since Big Red Machine – aka The National’s Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon – announced their second album, they’ve already shared three songs from it. All are, of...