Ian Bareham, the Yorkshire-based indie-folk singer-songwriter, returns with his poignant new single ‘Afraid To Bleed’. Following his recent success on a UK tour with Ché Aimee Dorval and notable airplay on BBC Radio 6 and BBC Introducing, this track marks a heartfelt tribute to those experiencing loss. Delving into the raw emotions associated with grief, ‘Afraid To Bleed’ showcases Bareham's ability to transform personal pain into universally resonant music.
Read More
LISTEN: SABINA finds the power within in recent single 'Somebody Else'....
SABINA’s latest single, 'Somebody Else,' signifies a remarkable evolution in her musical career. This new track is not just a song but a powerful message to those weary of seeking external validation, emphasizing the importance of self-love and inner strength. Written during a pivotal chapter in SABINA's life, 'Somebody Else' encapsulates her journey of self-discovery and personal growth.
Read More
LISTEN: Chicago based GOLDY drops dynamic rap single 'Donald Glover' from debut album 'ORO'....
“I wrote ‘Donald Glover’ a while ago and just felt like it had to be released in the summer. I made the beat for it and wrote the lyrics on the same day. I call the song, ‘Donald Glover’ because he is one of my main inspirations. He’s one of the reasons why I started making music and acting, and I felt it made sense to include his name in the song.”
Read More
LISTEN: Swedish trio FRANK FOLLOWS explore new realms of their indie-rock sound with new single 'Hey!'....
“No stand-alone genre can categorise Frank Follows as a whole, and…listener’s can make their own definition of the sound they hear based on their personal music background” - MELODIC Magazine
“With such a debut single ‘Like You’, we can't wait to discover what's next! Frank Follows is definitely a band you're can rely on” - Indie Music Centre
Read More
LISTEN/WATCH/NEWS: THE SOAPGIRLS reflect on the success of their grunge anthem 'Breathe' ahead of US tour....
“The Soapgirls grace stages all over the world with insane outfits, catchy tunes, and a “We don’t give a f**k” attitude to anyone that tries to stand in their way. This is the very ethos of grunge, staying true to what you believe in and not giving a f**k about what anyone else thinks of you” - Raw Music
Read More
NEWS: To celebrate 40 years of PURPLE RAIN, NPG Records and Paisley Park Enterprises release new Dolby ATMOS mix....
NPG RECORDS AND PAISLEY PARK ENTERPRISES, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WARNER RECORDS, CELEBRATE THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION’S LANDMARK ALBUM, PURPLE RAIN, WITH NEW IMMERSIVE AUDIO MIX
Read More
LIVE: Former KASABIAN frontman TOM MEIGHAN announces extensive solo tour this Autumn
WATCH: REMI WOLF releases new single and video for 'Motorcycle' - Sophomore album due July 12 via EMI
REMI WOLF
RELEASES NEW SINGLE & VIDEO 'MOTORCYCLE'
HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SOPHOMORE ALBUM BIG IDEAS OUT JULY 12TH VIA EMI RECORDS
LISTEN/WATCH: New York upstart THE DARE shares new single 'Perfume' - Debut album due September 6
WATCH: SELF ESTEEM returns with new single 'Big Man' with Moonchild Sanelly - Watch the video HERE
Self Esteem returns with her first new music since the release of her wildly acclaimed BRIT and Mercury Prize-nominated 2021 album Prioritise Pleasure. Her new single ‘Big Man’ is a collaboration with South African trailblazer Moonchild Sanelly and explores the nuances of modern masculinity and gender roles. ‘Big Man’ was premiered as Hottest Record In The World on BBC Radio 1 and arrives with Self Esteem’s brightest and boldest music video yet; concept by Self Esteem, directed by Piers Dennis and produced by Ayomide Alli and Precious Mahaga. Opening with a nod to Queen’s iconic ‘I Want To Break Free’ visuals, it sees the duo take on household chores historically regarded as ‘women's work’ in style.
One of the UK’s most exciting breakout stars of the past decade, Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem emerged from cult favourite status to mainstream hero across a whirlwind year following the huge success of her empowering, truth-telling 2021 single ‘I Do This All The Time’. The song resonated intensely as a perfect example of Taylor’s affectionately termed ‘trojan horse’ or ‘salad and chips’ approach, fearlessly packing important, emotive messages into witty, resonant pop music.
Self Esteem’s wildly acclaimed second album Prioritise Pleasure quickly followed, tackling the hypocrisies and joys found in her experiences of modern day womanhood across dating, friendship, comparison culture, self love, women’s safety and sexual assault and much more. Prioritise Pleasure received Mercury Prize, BRIT Award, Sky Arts and NME Award nominations, was crowned The Guardian and Sunday Times Culture’s Album of the Year, and ‘I Do This All The Time’ was also named The Guardian’s #1 song of 2021.
KEEP UP WITH SELF ESTEEM: Website / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / TikTok
NEWS: GRACIE ABRAMS makes Billboard Hot 100 solo debut with 'Close to You' this week....
GRACIE ABRAMS’ SOPHOMORE ALBUM THE SECRET OF US OUT NOW
LISTEN: THE MYSTERINES release their long awaited sophomore album 'Afraid of Tomorrows' - OUT NOW
Formed in Liverpool, The Mysterines – frontwoman Lia Metcalfe, drummer Paul Crilly, bassist George Favager and guitarist Callum Thompson – have undergone a radical transformation over the past few years. Fresh with new purpose and reinvigorated from songwriting sessions while secluded away in the countryside (in between playing to 60,000-strong crowds while on tour with the Arctic Monkeys), the band have now just released the best music of their career with their new album Afraid of Tomorrows, the highly-anticipated follow up to their critically-acclaimed Top 10 debut album Reeling.
Read More
NEWS/TOUR: MILLIE MANDERS AND THE SHUTUP to release new album on 2 August - Festival & Tour dates announced
The sophomore album Wake Up, Shut Up, Work from Millie Manders and The Shutup which will be self-released on 2 August and follows their debut Telling Truths, Breaking Ties from 2020.
Read More
RADIO: MUSOMUSOFM 14 June 2024 features some incredible acts including IDLE TONGUES, KING HANNAH, JOSEPH SIMON and more....
The latest instalment of the musomusofm new music radio show landed on 14 June 2024.
We were sent many new tracks to check out ahead of the show and what you see listed below are the lucky bands and artists that made the grade, the competition was fierce but we managed to whittle the list down to a manageable but somewhat 90 minutes which left less time for the usual 'bantz' between Dickie and I.
Read More
WATCH/TOUR: DELILAH BON announces release of her new album and headline Euro/UK tour
EVIL, HATE FILLED FEMALE // TITLE TRACK VIDEO
EVIL, HATE FILLED FEMALE LP // 13 SEPTEMBER
HEADLINE UK TOUR // OCTOBER & NOVEMBER
Read More
REVIEW: SLEEPER treat Exeter to an evening of stripped back, re-worked tracks, chat and plenty of laughter...
Having seen them play a few times in the past, once back in the heyday of Britpop where they supported an even bigger band from the Britpop camp, in Bristol on their 2022 tour where they celebrated 25 years of ‘The IT Girl’ and last year at the ‘SHIIINE ON’ festival in Minehead (Butlins has never looked so alive in mid November!) The thought of watching them play a paired back set containing many of their classics that had been pushed through the re-work sonic sausage machine was enticing, so much so, I trudged up to The Phoenix in the heart of Exeter city to have a gander.
Read More
PHOTO CREDIT: GABE LONG
NEWS/LISTEN/TOUR: BEEN STELLAR new long player 'SCREAM FROM NEW YORK, NY' is out now - UK Headline tour in Nov/Dec
“A raw and magnetic sound that strikes mercilessly” PASTE MAGAZINE
“Angsty, gritty, sultry indie rock territory that recalls Gentleman-era Afghan Whigs” BROOKLYN VEGAN
“A glowing, crackling set of songs that balances frenzied melancholy with moments of chaos and urgency” ALT PRESS
“Develops perfectly on the post-punk ethos from which the band hails, but infuses it with a spaciness and shoegaze vibe” CONSEQUENCE
“Post-punk has lately been inundated to the point of oversaturation but Been Stellar prove that this subgenre hasn’t lost its lustre quite yet” UPROXX
“White-hot and ferocious, an impassioned, emotionally charged indie fever dream” ALTWOOD MAGAZINE
Read More
REVIEW: Nocturne at Blenheim Palace featuring Sheryl Crow, Crowded House and Turin Brakes
The historic grounds of Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, provided a majestic backdrop for Nocturne 2024, an event featuring the stellar lineup of Crowded House, Sheryl Crow, and Turin Brakes.
Read More
LIVE: Catch SLEEPER performing an acoustic evening at Exeter's Phoenix on Friday 21 June....
SLEEPER to perform an evening of acoustic hits at Exeter’s Phoenix on Friday 21 June.
Read More
REVIEW: The Mysterines showcase a stripped back offering of their forthcoming long player at Rough Trade Bristol on 12 June 2024
It’s not often you get to go to a gig and hear new songs for the first time before an album has been released. Today, The Mysterines performed a sold-out show at Bristol’s Rough Trade, to give a glimpse of new material from their forthcoming sophomore album Afraid of Tomorrows, set for release on the 21st June.
It turned out to be way more than just a glimpse of the new material you usually get at these mini gigs as we were treated to the new album in its entirety! In the lead up to the show, I had been busy listening to The Mysterines and my excitement levels rose at the thought of seeing them in such an intimate venue (200 capacity).
The Mysterines are a band that I've only seen in passing at festivals, so I was keen to get to know their songs in more depth. I managed to get the best view possible (stage left), I was so close, I spotted one of the band members bank cards on the floor and duly let them know. The band took to the stage slightly later than billed, rumours of a meal that had gone on past their curfew were confirmed in my head by seeing the singer and writer Lia Metcalfe, nipping to the washrooms with a toothbrush and toothpaste in hand, best to be fresh for such an intimate gig!
After taking a photo of the setlist for some eager fans behind me, they appeared and kicked off the show. They opened with ‘Stray’ a single that’s familiar to most due to radio play, and a song that picqued my interest in this show. Tonight’s show is stripped back and running at an altogether slower tempo, the band are sat on stools and the stripped back nature of the show sees Lia’s voice take centre stage. It hits me straight away, what a stunning voice she has! Her performance grabs me from the get go. The song has a real groove to it, a bass line that hooks you in. The first new track to drop is The Last Dance, I look to my left and see a fan with their eyes closed, singing along, word for word. The song has a ‘waltz’ feel to it, and I imagine doing a little slow dance to it as my mind starts to wonder.
Lyrically the new album seems to go deep, with Goodbye Sunshine and Junk Yard Angel hitting the hardest, there is clear heartbreak as the lyrics appear to address loss and desperation of being in a place of unease and uncertainty. It feels like we are seeing the songs at their rawest, seeing how they originally came together before being embellished, to create the final offerings. This makes me wish that the gig had been recorded so that it could be released as a stripped back version of the album in the future.
Hearing the lyrics to So Long, they were so pronounced and clear, it left me wanting to sit down with Lia and discuss them to get to the essence and the root of the subject matter, she’s the type of performer that stops you in your tracks. I was reminded of the Nirvana ‘Unplugged’ album that they did for MTV, high praise indeed and it had NOTHING to do with bass player George Favager’s Nirvana t-shirt at all.
These are stripped back rock songs, which are fierce, powerful and guitar heavy. They are lyrically personal, succinct and sublime. I'm now also left eager to find out more about the background of the incredible, intense lyrics and what the songs will sound like performed loud at a full show. This happens so much, but The Mysterines have changed on my list from a ‘maybe’ to a ‘definite’ to catch in the future.
Current Single Sink Ya Teeth sounds so gloriously polished, like a hit single should. The set closer Afraid of Tomorrows (also the album closer) is an up-tempo, tambourine fuelled toe-tapper of a tune which makes you feel a wide range of contradicting emotions all in one go.
I left the gig intrigued, excited and looking forward to the album’s release next week, and for Y Not Festival where I will now choose them ahead of Snow Patrol for sure! Another show, another new band to look forward to seeing in the future. Thanks also to the band for signing my Take That ticket as if they were Take That, I’ve always wanted to meet Gary, Howard and Mark!
Review by Matthew Barnes
Photos by Lydia Cashmore Photography ©
