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Image description: many different Smiths albums scattered over each other CW: xenophobia, transphobia, Holocaust denial A dreaded sunny day So I meet you at the cemetry [sic] gates Keats and Yeats are on your side While Wilde is on mine Cemetry Gates, The Queen Is Dead (1986) A few months ago I was […]
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Image description: Nirvana’s album cover for Nevermind, a baby in a swimming pool reaching for a dollar bill on a hook In 1991, one of the best selling albums of all time was released into the world. Through Nevermind, the follow up to their debut album Bleach, Nirvana both commercialised their sound and brought grunge […]
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Who would come up in your mind when you think about rock bands? Queen, Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bring Me the Horizon, Vampire Weekend… All those big names from Europe and America that have thrilled generations and have dominated the global rock music industry, in which we can hardly find any Asian faces. Can you […]
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“So, you have one section of the farm there, one section of the farm there, one here and one here and one here…and then there’s ropes that are over-hanging on the water that are buoyed down and they go on forever…bangbangbangbangbang…” The Australian-born Ruby Boots has just finished her set at the Oxford O2 Academy […]
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MANIA, the seventh LP from Chicago rockers Fall Out Boy, is only 10 tracks long, but has spawned 5 singles and features 6 credited producers. It is more of a commercial proposition than an album, a collection of songs designed for stadium-goers seeking visceral, physical experiences, not for the headphones of a music geek sat […]
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2018 is upon us, and it promises to be a great year for music. However, it seems a shame to move into a new year without considering the records that capped off our last one. Here, then, is a musical miscellany taken from the last month that may have passed under your radar, and that […]
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‘Like a silver ring thrown into the flood of my heart / With the moon high above the motorway / I have searched for all your fragrance in the silent dark / Is that okay?’ Picturesque and breathlessly romantic, the lyrical climax to The Clientele’s 2000 single ‘We Could Walk Together’ sums up The Clientele’s […]
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‘Welcome to the void’, it proclaimed, slurring its words and beckoning with an unsteady hand: Psychedelia first captivated British music in the 60s with vivid and immersive soundscapes, exploring the known and unknown alike. However, it’s a mistake to think of the psychedelic heyday as a bygone era, as ambition and evolution continue to characterise […]
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An unaffectedly relaxed aura hovers in the air above Witney musician Chris Barker. Maybe it’s the long hair, or the burbling lo-fi guitars on his latest song ‘Gold Tunes’, or just the effects of his burgeoning success, about to play his biggest venue yet, Shepherd’s Bush Empire. When I met him, Chris was mid-tour as […]
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You might not have realised it, but right now, you’re living through an era that in future times will be called The Reign of the Beanie. Experts are struggling to pinpoint the precise moment when it became the official headwear of the indie-kid, but suspect that it’s the nineties screwing with us again. Last Friday […]
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While I’m sure we all appreciate the important (well, self-interested and money-grubbing) work of musicians that like to convey hard-hitting political messages through their songs, can’t we also admit that it’s sometimes nice listening to music that’s just…pleasant? The kind of music that, rather than sticking it to the man, ignores the man completely and […]
Continue ReadingIf you’re looking for some inspiration to beat the leftover melancholy thrust upon you by the blues of fifth week, congratulations, the universe has heard you! Make a little room in your life for Tom Grennan, a breezy yet deeply self-motivated musician who has been listed on the BBC Sound of 2017. Grennan performed at […]
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There is an incredible amount of crazy energy brewing in a lesser-known corner of the local LA garage rock music scene – and it’s being led by girls. Being an LA-native myself, I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to witness first hand the impressive female empowerment fests exploding out of those sweaty pockets of clubs and […]
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Local Natives, an indie rock band originally formed in Southern California, opened the UK leg of their “Sunlit Youth” tour at the O2 Academy, Oxford 1 November. The insistence of their call for social awareness equalled the high quality of their live music. They struck a nice balance between past hits and recent releases, making […]
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There seems to be a recent trend toward criticising musicians for evoking cultures that ‘don’t belong to them’. Popular artists such as the rapper Iggy Azalea have earned the ire of an ever-increasing mob online who accuse her of appropriating African-American culture. But regardless of whether her music warrants this backlash, the idea of appropriating […]
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When Ezra Furman laughs that the crowd is ‘starting to get the hang of it’ three songs into his frenetic, marathon set, the crowd understand exactly what he’s talking about. Resplendent in a pink shirt, skirt, red lipstick and pearls, Ezra Furman is by no means a typical rockstar. Raising money on Kickstarter for his […]
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As I saunter through the gates into the entrance hall of Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena, one thing becomes abundantly clear to me. Tonight, this humble Arena is host, not merely to nostalgia set to guitar, bass and drums, but to a gathering of the former, or, in some cases, not so former devotees of a […]
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What would the perfect debut album be like? Well, it would have to have a couple of slow ones, a couple of heavier ones, two or three catchy ones and the ‘One That Everyone Knows’. There would be variety, but also a distinctive flavour that you can recognise in each song. It would be well […]
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Despite only having been around for all of six months, four-piece garage-rock band Circa Waves are already making, ahem, waves with their bold, poppy new releases. Taking us back to the indie-rock This Is It era of The Strokes, their sound is familiar yet fresh; brash, fun and unpolished.
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