Los Angeles quartet Exploding Flowers are heading back to the UK this August, carrying their jangling, harmony‑rich guitar‑pop across a run of dates that feel tailor‑made for fans of Big Star, The Soft Boys, and the Paisley Underground’s kaleidoscopic shimmer. It’s a tour that lands just ahead of their fourth album — due later this year via Meritorio Records — and arrives with the promise of new material, including the forthcoming single Spinning Carousel.
PRESIDENT have spent the last year building a cult-like following through anonymity, atmosphere, and a refusal to play by genre rules. Now, the UK-based collective finally step into the light with “dark heaven”, the latest glimpse into their debut album Blood Of Your Empire, arriving 4th September via Atlantic Records.
Stockton-on-Tees is gearing up for another year of organised chaos, the good kind, as The Gathering Sounds drops a heavyweight second wave of artists for its 2026 edition. If last year felt like a festival levelling up, this year feels like the moment it plants a flag in the ground and says: this is where the future starts.
Independent music was never meant to be a genre, it was a rebellion, a refusal, a way for artists to create outside the machinery of the major‑label world. Yet somewhere between the DIY spirit of early labels like Rough Trade and Factory, and the algorithm‑friendly playlists of today, “indie” has been flattened into a catch‑all term for almost any guitar‑based band with a hint of alternative edge.
This feature digs back into the roots of true independence, the labels, the ethos, the bands who shaped the movement, to explore what indie really means, how the term drifted, and whether it should ever have been treated as a genre at all.
Eli Paperboy Reed has never been one to chase trends — he’s spent the past two decades proving that soul music doesn’t need reinventing so much as it needs believing in. Now, with a brand‑new album produced by the legendary Swamp Dogg and a UK tour set for March 2027, Reed is stepping into the next chapter of a career built on grit, gospel fire, and a deep love for the roots of American music.
Los Bitchos have never been a band you could pin to one place, one tradition, or one tidy genre box — but their next chapter looks set to push that spirit even further. Fresh off the back of Let The Festivities Begin! and last year’s Talkie Talkie, the London‑based trio return with “Hang Up (Pt 2)”, the first glimpse of an upcoming studio album built around collaboration, vocalists and global musical exchange.
Ruud Dielen has spent the last decade shaping Glorious Wolf into one of the most quietly ambitious and emotionally resonant projects in modern prog. What began as a one‑man studio experiment has grown into a richly collaborative, ever‑evolving musical world — one driven by instinct, curiosity and a deep awareness of the times we’re living through.
In this Q&A, Ruud opens up about the origins of the Glorious Wolf name, the moment he committed to music full‑time, and the global challenges that inspired his latest album Elements Of Hope. From the impact of world events on young people to the joy of building a studio that finally matches his creative vision, this is a candid, thoughtful conversation with an artist who has never stopped growing.
Dead Defined has always been a project built from lived experience — the kind that leaves marks, reshapes you, and ultimately pushes you toward something stronger. In conversation with vocalist and songwriter Craig Ewan, it’s clear that the band’s latest chapter isn’t just about refining a sound, but about sharpening a message. With One Life, Craig leans fully into the emotional core of Dead Defined: hope, resilience, and the belief that the hardest moments don’t have to define who we become. What follows is a candid look at the journey behind the music, the intention driving the new release, and the vision shaping what comes next.
Some songs arrive quietly, almost by accident, and then end up defining a moment for a band. For Santa Barbara indie outfit exPorter, “Letting Go” has become exactly that — a track that started life as a loose collaboration with friends, evolved into a staple of their live set, and unexpectedly found an audience far beyond their hometown.
False Heads have never been a band to do things by halves. Whether it’s Jake Elliott locking in on bass even after going “arse over head” onstage, Charlie Gregory powering through drum takes with machine‑like precision, or Luke Griffiths pouring every ounce of energy into the songs he writes, the trio have carved out a reputation as one of the UK’s most fiercely committed alternative acts. With a decade of graft behind them, a charting second album, and a third record that Luke describes as their “best written and produced” yet, the band stand on the cusp of a new chapter — bigger, heavier, and more emotionally charged than anything they’ve done before. We sat down with Luke to talk origins, influences, chaos, growth, and the bleak beauty at the heart of Oldest Part of Hell.
Mark Chadwick has spent decades fronting Levellers with fire in his voice and politics in his pen — but his new solo album Ouse Dragon is something else entirely. It’s a drift into the uncanny. A headphone‑only expedition through forgotten corners of the South Downs, where folklore, tragedy and spectral beauty bleed into one another.
Released 21 August via On The Fiddle Recordings, Ouse Dragon is a six‑track suite of ambient storytelling, electronic drift and acoustic unease. It’s dreamlike, disorientating, and strangely intimate — the sound of a songwriter stepping away from the roar of the crowd and into the shadows of a place that has shaped him.
The idea of seeing Yard Act twice in one day felt mischievous, indulgent, and absolutely necessary. Once news broke of a matinee show at Rough Trade Bristol — freshly refurbished, buzzing with anticipation — the decision made itself. You’re Gonna Need a Little Music had already sunk its hooks in after a single listen, and its title couldn’t ring truer. We need live music. We need independent venues. And on this particular afternoon, Rough Trade was exactly the right place to be.
UNLUCKY are fast becoming one of London’s most compelling new acts, blending jagged electronic textures, distorted vocals and existential lyricism into a sound that feels both volatile and strangely intimate. Fresh off their Sebright Arms performance — and hinting at new material shaped by recent London studio sessions — the trio of Patrick James Fitzroy, Tamsin Wickens and Max Doohan channel a mix of industrial grit and emotional honesty that’s earning them a growing underground following.
With roots in a scene that’s currently buzzing with experimentation and cross‑pollination, UNLUCKY stand out for the sheer intent behind their music: raw, restless and unafraid to confront the darker corners of modern life. What follows is a conversation that digs into their origins, influences, creative process and future plans, plus a Come Dine With Me twist and their dream festival lineup featuring artists dead or alive.
A couple of years can change a person. For Sol, they changed everything — the music, the band, the way he sees himself, even the way he writes. What started as a teenage rebellion with a guitar has evolved into something sharper and more intentional, shaped by heavy break-ups, late-night doubts, and the kind of self-discovery you only get from stepping off a stage and knowing you were born for it. This interview captures BILK at the moment of reinvention: bruised, liberated, and finally sounding like the band they were always meant to be.
Some bands arrive fully formed; others claw their way out of the suburbs with a thirty‑buck guitar and a head full of Bowie. The Yummy Fur did the latter. Born in the early 90s and shaped by Blantyre’s brutalist edges, Televisions’ wiry guitars, and the feedback‑soaked mythology of East Kilbride, John McKeown’s cult Glasgow outfit has always operated at a strange, brilliant angle to the rest of the city’s scene.
Across the decades, The Yummy Fur have remained gloriously singular: a revolving crate of bass players, a core trio who never quite stopped, and a creative process that treats cultural detritus like treasure. Their influence has quietly rippled outward — future Franz Ferdinand members passed through their ranks — yet the band themselves have stayed defiantly off‑grid, powered by iPod Classics, Mac McNaughton paintings, and a worldview where social commentary is optional but absurdity is essential.
With renewed interest from younger listeners and a fresh run of releases, The Yummy Fur are once again bending the rules of what a Glasgow band can be. In this interview, McKeown reflects on dangerous suburbs, demented guitar lessons, the tyranny of looper pedals, and why his dream festival involves Chris Burden getting shot again — all delivered with the dry, surreal humour that has always made The Yummy Fur feel like their own self‑contained universe.
Brooklyn-based writer, performer, producer, and recording engineer Dan Fisher has carved out a cinematic, world‑building approach to music that feels less like a collection of songs and more like a fully realised environment. Raised between London and the United States, Fisher’s outsider perspective informs the emotional precision and textured production that define his debut EP, The Domino Accords, a six‑track release that invites listeners into a wide, atmospheric world built from curiosity, reinvention, and a refusal to settle into a single identity.
Working out of Parasol Studios, Fisher produces, records, mixes, and masters everything himself, shaping a tactile sound that favours grain, pressure, and physical detail over polish. Before stepping into his solo project, he completed three international tours as bassist for Sid Simons — an experience that sharpened his instincts and set the stage for the narrative‑driven work he’s now releasing.
With The Domino Accords out in the world, we sat down with Fisher to explore his influences, early musical beginnings, creative process, and what comes next.
Katy Perry is about to make pop history all over again. Fresh from its acclaimed debut at the Tribeca Festival, Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live from Paris is heading to cinemas across the globe this September, transforming one of the most ambitious pop tours of the decade into a full‑scale, immersive big‑screen event.
When Northern Exposure first landed in 1996, it marked a moment where the underground currents of progressive house, trance, ambient and American breakbeat collided, crystallising into something that felt less like a DJ compilation and more like a geographical document of club culture. Three decades later, Sasha and John Digweed return to the work that defined them, and defined an era, with Northern Exposure Redux, arriving September 25th via Late Night Tales/Night Time Stories.
If you’ve followed Jah Wobble’s journey — from PiL’s seismic early days to decades of dub‑soaked adventures — you’ll know he’s never been afraid to pull music apart and rebuild it in his own image. But his new project with his sons, Tian Qiyi, might be his most personal yet.
Teenage Fanclub have never rushed their evolution. Across nearly four decades, the Scottish indie institution have refined a sound that feels both timeless and lived-in, melodic guitars, warm harmonies, and songwriting that peers gently but honestly into the human condition. On 9 October, they’ll release their 13th studio album, Do Not Dare To Dream, via Merge Records, a record that finds the band embracing perspective, resilience, and the quiet power of simply carrying on.
A warm, muggy Thursday night at Sebright Arms, London turned into a packed showcase of rising alternative talent as Cam Davey, Unlucky, and Fan Girl delivered three distinct, high‑energy sets in the venue’s iconic basement room. With attendance higher than expected for a midweek show and a vibrant crowd spanning generations, the atmosphere was primed for a night of grunge, noise, math‑rock intricacy and explosive indie‑rock energy.
Delta Goodrem is stepping boldly into a new chapter, and she’s bringing it straight to Europe. Fresh off the release of her shimmering pop anthems “Hologram” and “Eclipse”, the Australian superstar has announced her PURE World Tour, a major UK and EU run taking place across February and March 2027. For an artist who has already sold over nine million albums worldwide and earned the title of ARIA Artist of the Decade, this tour marks something more than a victory lap. It’s the beginning of a new era powered by fresh music, renewed global momentum, and a creative spark that’s clearly burning bright.
Riley!’s new EP, To Live and Die in the American South, arrives as a defining moment for a band who have spent the last few years quietly becoming one of modern emo’s most compelling young voices. Their roots in South Texas have always shaped their sound, scrappy, heartfelt, and steeped in the realities of growing up somewhere far off the map, but this release marks a clear evolution. The five tracks feel more polished, more intentional, and more digestible than anything they’ve done before, without losing the wholesome EMO heart and edgy alternative bite that first endeared them to fans
Beabadoobee has entered her Pylon era with intent. Fresh from premiering the track with Zane Lowe on Apple’s New Music Daily, she’s released Switchblade, the second single from her forthcoming album Pylon, out 18 September via Dirty Hit and Interscope Records. It’s a release that sharpens the emotional edges of her songwriting while widening the sonic world she’s building around this new chapter.
Southern California post‑hardcore heavyweights Movements are entering a new chapter, one defined by emotional depth, sonic expansion, and a sharpened sense of identity. Their fourth album, Happier Now, lands 4th September 2026 via Fearless Records, and the band have marked the moment with the release of Separate, a brooding, slow‑burning track that closes the record with unexpected intensity.
Cornwall’s Eden Project has hosted countless unforgettable nights across its 25‑year history, but before a single chord rang out, the atmosphere inside the arena already told its own story. A sea of NOFX and Bowling for Soup T‑shirts stretched across the crowd, punctuated by a plethora of Frank Turner tees, especially the iconic Not Dead Yet design, worn proudly by fans who’ve followed him through every era. The ages were beautifully mixed: younger fans buzzing for their first taste of these bands, older die‑hards who’ve lived through the pop‑punk boom, and a huge contingent of middle‑aged folk who grew up on the very sounds that would soon be pouring from the speakers.
Trauma Party are one of those rare bands who manage to turn urgency into electricity. Born on Waiheke Island and sharpened by relentless touring across Aotearoa, the four‑piece have carved out a sound that fuses garage‑punk with post‑punk and a sly pop sensibility. Their latest single, Speak to Me, is a vivid example: a taut, motorik, chant‑driven wake‑up call that confronts loneliness, delusion, and the quiet slide toward society’s fringes. Its accompanying video, filmed at The Woolshed on the Waiheke Dirt Track, humanises those who feel unheard, pairing political tension with emotional honesty while still landing as an energetic live favourite. With their debut EP Because You’ve Been Good already making waves on student radio and a full‑length album on the horizon, Trauma Party are stepping into 2026 with momentum, conviction, and a sharpened sense of purpose, making now the perfect moment to sit down with them for a deeper conversation.
Westside Cowboy’s Bristol date at Electric on Friday 4 December arrives at a pivotal moment for a band whose ascent has been impossible to ignore. Their debut album It Goes On lands on 21 August, setting the tone for a breakthrough year that includes a run of intimate in‑store shows across August and September, a European tour in October and November, and their biggest UK headline tour to date through November and December. The Bristol show sits right in the heart of this momentum, offering fans the chance to catch a band in full stride as they step into the next phase of their rise.
There’s something quietly magical about a festival that knows exactly what it is, and refuses to become anything else. As the UK festival season edges toward its final hurrah, Mucky Weekender returns to Vicarage Farm, Winchester, from 10–12 September, once again proving that intimacy, community and a bit of glorious chaos can outshine any mega‑weekend with a million‑pound production budget.