Volbeat have continued doing what they do best - writing songs that rip, sing, swing, and soar, with their ninth studio album 'God of Angels Trust', which they delivered with a confidence that only comes from a band who know exactly who they are.
'The Painful Truth' has to be one of the most anticipated album releases of the year, after Skunk Anansie geared up fans during their very successful tour in April. Now their seventh album is finally here, marking their first since 2016's 'Anarchytecture'.
Here is a band that has a lot to offer: beautiful vocals from Paige Turner, backed up with shimmering guitar work from real life partner Lee Newell, with lyrics that are always on the edge with some really clever thinking behind them.
Sam Fender has put Newcastle back on the music map with his high-energy indie-rock style, paving the way for many other up and coming artists from the city. Andrew Cushin is a great example of this, who has just released his second album 'Love Is For Everyone' following on from 2023 debut 'Waiting For The Rain'.
2024 turned out to be the biggest year yet for Galway, Ireland band NewDad, with the release of their debut album MADRA at the beginning of the year followed by a tour and numerous festival dates. Earlier this year the band saw the departure of bassist Cara Joshi and now, down to three official members in Julie Dawson (vocals & guitar), Sean O’Dowd (lead guitar) and Fiachra Parslow (drums), they release their brand new EP 'Safe'.
Even in its weakest moments, Sleep Theory’s debut album, 'Afterglow', is nothing less than stellar. If these guys keep delivering material of this quality, there'll be nowhere to go but upwards.
Three years removed from Wood’s departure, Black Country, New Road offers the studio debut of their second life. ‘Forever Howlong’ is an ambitious, folky, and pastoral affair – replete with recorders, mandolins, and winding prog-folk odysseys. Yet despite its grandeur, it hums with warmth and communal resilience, the same force that carried the Cambridge six-piece through turbulent reinvention. This is music unabashed in its twee heart, lavished with baroque melodies.
On her fifth album as SPELLLING, Bay Area artist Chrystia Cabral holds up a mirror to her own emotions. ‘Portrait of My Heart’ abandons the allegorical distance of her earlier avant pop for lyrics that confront love, intimacy, anxiety, and alienation head on. Musically, the arrangements follow suit – this is SPELLLING at its most incisive and immediate.
We've been following Stereophonics since the early days (did they really form in 1992!) and they always seem to come up with a fresh approach to their music. Here's what we thought of their new album, 'Make ‘em Laugh, Make ‘em Cry, Make ‘em Wait'.
Averse to the stereotypical tropes of progressive music, Istanbul-hailed Siyah Tavsan delivers instead a succinct and fresh outlook of how they visualise progressive music to be. While fans of Western post-punk and progressive rock will find familiar elements, ‘Metropolites’ offers a distinct lens of where Turkish underground music is headed – globally aware, genre-fluid, and emotionally fearless, this is a voice speaking from the overlooked alleys of Istanbul, but resonating far beyond.