“Tonight I heard I haven’t been nominated for a @MercuryPrize and that The 1975 have,” Nadine Shah tweeted two days ago (July 22). It was the first in a series of missives about the awards show, which takes place...
The tracks you need to hear this week
The pandemic, in many ways, has stripped life back to its simplest form. The maximalist, luxury trappings of capitalist life are no longer necessary (why buy that designer fit when you can barely go outside?) and instead we’ve been reminded...
What makes a meme? In definition, a meme is a mode of image-based communication usually used for humour, to evoke a sense of familiarity and shared pop-cultural reference amongst those who receive and understand it. Memes have become a...
As polarising as country music can be, it’s hard to find a better companion to heartbreak when it’s done well. Kacey Musgraves’ ’Space Cowboy’, Lucinda Williams’ ’Steal Your Love’, ‘Rebel Heart’ by First Aid Kit: these are all country...
Lianne La Havas is blessed with a voice that can instantly awe entire arenas into silence. With a smoky lower register and silvery upper range, she doesn’t so much deliver lines as caress each individual syllable, wringing emotion out...
The industry is struggling right now, but despite release delays, gig cancellations and other difficulties, there are a lot of artists putting out really exciting music in the midst of the chaos. With the first half of the year...
The tracks you need to hear this week
There’s always been something strangely soothing about Jarvis Cocker. It’s more than just familiarity, though the 30-odd years he spent fronting Pulp certainly cemented him in the public consciousness. Yes, it’s that balmy baritone with its warm notes of...
Anybody who has experienced domestic violence, whether personally or as witness, will know that it's an experience that never truly leaves you. Unless you have been there yourself, it is difficult to truly understand how it feels to deal...