strand

The four-piece (Jimmy Bradbury, Reuben Haycocks, Aoife Anson-O’Connell and Paddy Murphy) are currently one of those bands that you simply cannot seem to escape. In the best possible way, every music publication appears to be bartering for a feature, and for good reason.

Photo by Taro Zaine In an era defined by constant notifications, algorithmic playlists, and music consumed in fragments, Pitchblack Playback offers something radically simple: sit down, switch off, and listen. No phones. No talking. No distractions. Just an album played loud, in full, in the dark. Founded in 2016 by London-based DJ and producer Ben Gomori , the project has grown into a global phenomenon, hosting events across the UK, Europe, North America and beyond. Whether

Photo by Charlie Hardy Emerging from Newcastle, Australia, dust have built a reputation for intense, unpredictable music that blends jagged post-punk with elements of experimental jazz and electronics. Formed in 2020 by drummer Kye Cherry, bassist Liam Smith, saxophonist Adam Ridgway and dual vocalists and guitarists Justin Teale and Gabriel Stove, the band first came together during lockdown, using the time to shape a sound that is as confrontational as it is cathartic. Sev

State College 1996 - Photo by Elissa Zurbuchen In the early 1990s, long before streaming platforms or digital recording made independent music widely accessible, Should emerged from a small circle of home studios and tape machines. Formed in Austin, Texas by songwriter and producer Marc Ostermeier, alongside vocalist Tanya Maus and guitarist Eric Ostermeier, the project began as an experiment in sound rather than a conventional band. Originally recording under the name shiFt,

Photo by Sadie Martin For more than three decades, Starflyer 59 has built one of the most enduring catalogues in American alternative music. Founded in Riverside, California by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jason Martin, the project began in the early 1990s as a hazy outgrowth of the shoegaze movement before gradually transforming into something far broader and harder to categorise. The band’s beginnings came almost by chance. In 1993, Martin handed a demo to

Photo by Page Swanson Led by Vermont based composer, multi instrumentalist, and recording engineer Henry Birdsey, Old Saw operates less like a traditional band and more like a quietly shifting collective. Described as a ‘network of New England string pluckers, organ drivers and bell ringers,’ the project brings together Bob Driftwood on banjo, Ira Dorset on fiddle, Rev. Clarence Lewis on pipe organ, Harper Reed on resonator and nylon string guitars, Ann Rowlis on orchestral b

Photo by Ian Maxwell in Edmonton’s Whitemud Ravine Morning Coyote is an Edmonton-based collective fronted by singer-songwriter Sawyer Begg, weaving mercurial arrangements that draw from classic folk-jazz traditions while firmly existing in a modern indie space. Fluid and improvisational by design, the project shifts shape from show to show, balancing intimacy with unpredictability. Begg first began releasing music in 2019 under the name Bedroom Drum, a project that found an a

Writer Lara Walsh reviews Of Monsters and Men's latest concert from their 2026 tour titled The Mouse Parade

Writer Hannah Breen reviews Only The Poets' £1 sold-out concert at the O2 Academy Brixton while also discussing the importance of keeping music accessible to audiences and musicians.

Writer Tamara Wanja shares her narrative review documenting her experience at The Others for the Champion Trees headline performance.