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Single Review: LoveButter – ‘Nothing’

Bristling with fiery energy and a distinct cheekiness, LoveButter’s debut single Nothing is a welcome breath of fresh air. Where many musicians might address the theme of twenty-something ennui with the introspective or the edgy, LoveButter have taken these feelings and created a masterclass in good, old-fashioned rock and roll.

Archive: Lacuna Common Preview

Wednesday 24th July will see Lacuna Common make their Bristol debut at Hy-Brasil. You might even say they’ll be filling up a Lacuna-Common-shaped ‘lacuna’ in Bristol… Ouch. All jokes aside, the city’s indie crowd ought to be excited for Lacuna Common’s first gig here. With singles described as ‘A full steam ahead, bouncer of a track’ by So Young Magazine, and ‘an indie banger through and through’ by DIY Mag, the band’s instinctive ‘write quickly and not think about it too deeply’ songwriting method has evidently worked so far. This rather suits the likeable childhood-mates-who-started-an-indie-band image they have too. Very indie.

Archive: Swim Deep Preview

There seems to be a common theme across the reviews for Swim Deep’s third album Emerald Classics: how miraculous a comeback the band has made. Since the release of Mothers, the Birmingham group has been dropped by their record label, lost two band members and even found themselves on the dole. Again. It’s safe to say Swim Deep’s recent history has been pretty turbulent.

Archive: Airways Preview

Airways are another very English-sounding band that seem to be gathering steam in the indie sphere.
Although the band has only an EP and a handful of singles out, they’ve racked up an impressive number of plays across streaming platforms and have opened for the likes of Nothing But Thieves, Deaf Havana and Razorlight.

Archive: Deerhunter Preview

“I’m the closest thing that our age has to a Bowie. Take it or leave it.” That’s one bold statement. But an unsurprising one, given it was made by Bradford Cox. The eccentric frontman of Deerhunter is nothing if not bold.

Archive: YONAKA Preview

Yonaka is a clever band. They project a trendy, sellable image of being a rock ‘n’ roll band, but, behind the leather jackets and studs, they very much fit in with contemporary pop.

LIVE: Deerhunter at SWX – 05/11/19

Bradford Cox is known for several reasons. The first, of course, is for being the frontman and creative force behind Deerhunter – one of the most imaginative bands to emerge from the turn of the century. The next reason is probably his tendency to take whatever opportunity he finds to mess with people. He’s been known to unleash plenty of signature light-hearted jibes onto his audience over the years. Cox is a man who likes maintaining his status as an artistic dissident.

Temples Live at Rough Trade – 29/09/19

Luckily for Temples, criticism of the record proved itself to be irrelevant in a live setting. The album had only been out for two days before the band’s gig in Bristol, but those huddled at the front already knew the words to most of the songs. The audience was so immersed that they spent much of the show with their eyes closed anyway, solving any problems that the band’s caricature-like image might cause.

Single Review: Kite Thief – ‘Pinky Promise’

Kite Thief is a band that proves ’emo’ music doesn’t have to be naff. They’re a bit pop-punk, a bit thrashy, and a bit prog: a blend of genres that can be very unforgiving if you don’t get it quite right. Luckily for Kite Thief, though, they have managed to pull this off, and not just by the skin of their teeth.

Belishas at The Louisiana – 06/07/2019

One of Belishas’ clear selling points is the extreme air of Englishness they emit in both their sound and image. Ewan Ferguson’s vocal delivery is in that archetypal half-singing-half-talking drawl of early 2000s indie rock n’ roll, similar to Carl Barât and Pete Doherty. The lyrics are a mix of being entertainingly to-the-point – almost childish at times – and poetic. ‘You’re so boring!’ in ‘Chlorine Maureen’, and ‘You’re like a grapefruit way after it’s ripe’ in ‘Dorian Grey’ are candid, a bit bitchy, and very funny indeed.