Fine Live Music • Open Til Late
Rising Welsh alt. rock band Estrons have unveiled the brand new video for latest single ‘Strobe Lights’. Shot in one take at the band’s own rehearsal space in Cardiff – the video nods to the caustic track content: a reflection of jealousy and personal conflict.
It’s been a lively ride for London 4 piece Island who announced themselves with debut EP Girl at the back end of 2015 which saw debut single ‘Stargazer’ hit no. 7 of the UK Spotify viral chart. After just a handful of shows, the band headlined 800 capacity Scala last November and more recently took the step up to Heaven, the target venue for the top crop of major label guitar acts launching their debut albums.
Distorted, childlike, energetic, excitable, mischievous; quite simply Francobollo is everything you ever wanted for Christmas, but were too afraid to ask.
Some artists go on feeling like secrets long after they’ve started being told. Leif Vollebekk, who released his third album in February 2017, is one of these treasures. Born in Ottawa in 1985, he taught himself music using instruments inherited from his grandfather: harmonica, guitar, piano, an old fiddle.
Croydon’s Bellevue Days recalls The Xcerts at their most boisterous, Manchester Orchestra at their most anthemic, and Weezer at their perfect-pop-crunch best. The self-proclaimed “sludge-pop” four-piece have plans to release new material before the summer, and they’re hoping that their new songs – the follow-up to last year’s Sad Boy EP – will give them enough momentum to justify plenty of time on tour. Unsurprisingly, given the EP’s name, there’s a hefty amount of emo on show on Sad Boy, but it’s laced with pop hooks and lashings of indie coolness which make the band stick-out from the UK’s burgeoning DIY scene.
QUJAKU are a Japanese psychedelic band formed in 2013 and based in Shizuoka, Japan. Their music is described as “gothic dark shoegaze”, bringing to mind the likes of The Horrors, but with hints of Scandinavian post rock a la Sigur Ros, noise rock and psychedelia.
Will And The People are back on the road following a live hiatus, and the band are doing a string of UK and Europe shows this summer, all acoustic, but with a twist. See them in their rawest of forms testing new material as they prepare for their fourth studio album.
The five piece Sydney band, Gang of Youths, is considered as one of Australia’s most impressive live acts. Comprising members David Le’Aupepe, Joji Malani, Maxwell Dunn, Jung Kim and Dominik Borzestowski; their combined musical talents, ambition and diligence has seen the band receive critical acclaim from Australia and around the globe.
Warped guitars, groove-bodied bass, hypnotic drums and emphatic dual vocals collectively spanning a layered cinematic soundscape – this is the majestic sound of The Sundowners. Made up of Niamh Rowe (Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Fiona Skelly (Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Alfie Skelly (Lead Guitar), Tim Cunningham (Bass) and Jim Sharrock (Drums) the Liverpool quintet are all set to announce details of their second album, the keenly anticipated follow-up to their lauded self-titled debut, appearing on Skeleton Key Records.
Vicky Speedboat, the two-piece punk rock outfit from Philadelphia, is the drunken creative brainchild of Sean Huber (Modern Baseball, Steady Hands) and Will Lindsay (W. C. Lindsay, Steady Hands). Their songs are allegories of the road, tales of restlessness and staying on the run. Bathed in feedback, contrasts of intoxicating glee and gut wrenching loss span their debut EP Two Years No Basement. The EP was written across the map and recorded in 2015 at Kennedy Studios in Burlington, MA by Steve Aliperta and Chris LaRoque (The Color and Sound).
