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Originally published in Uncut Take232 (September 2016 issue)… “We were all walking through Macy’s to a local mall,” remembers MC and producer Dave Jolicoeur, “and I saw a Mickey-Mouse T-shirt with a big daisy on it. It just looked great, and I was like, ‘How could I incorporate something that looks so cool to me into what we’re doing? What could daisy mean and be really cool?’” With that revelation, Dave (then known as Trugoy) invented the ‘DAISY Age’ – ‘Da Inner Sound, Y’All’ – the concept that would embody De La Soul’s intelligent, sensitive lyrics, colourful style and sly…

Cable Boy: Forever (Self Release)Out NowDublin five-piece Cable Boy arrive with their long-awaited debut Forever, a record that feels both like a culmination of the band’s work so far and, more so, a clear statement of intent.Having steadily built a reputation among Ireland’s emerging acts, the band lean confidently into that momentum here, delivering a project that balances atmosphere with urgency, borrowing from dreampop, shoegaze and indie on a 13-track album which captures moments of all three.Album opener, PLCD, sets the tone gradually unravelling from the dotted sprawl of field recordings and fuzzy guitar squeals into a tight soundscape of…

Biff Byford recalled it as the moment when “the dam began to burst”. In May 1979, Saxon, the Yorkshire-based heavy metal band fronted by the foghorn-voiced Byford, released their debut album.In the same month, in a Sounds review of a London show with three other young bands on the bill – Angel Witch, Samson and Iron Maiden – the phrase ‘New Wave Of British Heavy Metal’ was printed for the first time.Change was in the air, a vibrant grass-roots rock scene was developing. As Byford said: “We were in the right place at the right time.”Article continues below You may…

For our latest Headline Act, we’re heading down to Northampton to catch up with Headswitcher, a four-piece who’ve been busy making a name for themselves on the local circuit over the last couple of years, and who recently released their EP Out of Reach (review here). Channelling the raw energy of the likes of Soundgarden and Black Sabbath, the guys have already notched up fifty gigs and aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. We had a chat with the band to talk about their “drywall” guitars, the Bruce Dickinson track that inspired their name, and why they reckon their…

Credit: Jeff FasanoJim Lauderdale must be doing something right because he keeps doing it. He has recently released two albums, Country Super Hits Volume 2 and The Birds Know with The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, which maintain his phenomenal release rate. Both albums don’t show any slip in quality control, and together they represent both sides of Jim Lauderdale, songwriter. Country Super Hits Volume 2 follows Volume 1 after twenty years and contains country songs in the classic mould, while The Birds Know is his second album with The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, one of the new leading traditional bluegrass bands who…

Single Review and Video PremiereNeovenator The Air Raid Siren RepairmanFlicknife RecordsDL / limited edition 7″ vinylOut nowAs I said before… Olde English Peculiar they may be, or Steampunk Psych if you prefer, but fans of the Stranglers, Damned, Cardiacs, David Devant etc are well-advised to check out Neovenator, as there is much here to take to your heart. And this is their leanest, catchiest single yet, says Ged BabeySteampunk will never go mainstream or ‘overground’ because it’s just too smart, clever and cryptic for the masses (who are asses for the most part). It is the domain of the well-read,…

‘Hey! Ho! Let’s go!’Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop contains one of the most instantly recognisable chants in all of rock music history, all revved up and ready to go. Two-minutes-and-21-seconds blast of pure punk perfection, the song also served as the majority of people’s introduction to the New York quartet, kicking off their classic self-titled 1976 debut in glorious fashion and helping light the blue touchpaper on the whole punk movement.While the main songwriters of the original Ramones were thought to be Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee, it was in fact drummer Tommy Ramone (real name Tommy Erdelyi) who wrote the majority of Blitzkrieg Bop by…

Ana Saia introduces Besos & Despedidas. A five-track debut shaping love, loss, and cultural duality into a tight, genre-fluid frame. Clarity-first: bilingual toplines, front-facing vocals, clean Latin pop/reggaeton transitions. Hooks land fast; open production keeps the vocal central. High-energy cuts and stripped moments hold range without drift.At concept level, the EP tracks love, fallout, and release through a bicultural lens. Direct writing, English–Spanish interplay. No filler, just forward motion. Ana Saia explains:‘Besos & Despedidas’taught me so much about myself as an artist. I wrote it after coming out of a three-year relationship, and it really captures that full emotional cycle—from…

KAROBELA step forward with Love Letter To No One. A hook-driven opener shaping emotional fallout into a multi-part narrative. Fast-moving. Tight riffs, driving rhythms, and a clear vocal lead. Alt-rock at the core, with pop/dance lift, lean structure, and a chorus that sticks.Concept-led, Love Letter To No One opens a four-part arc, tracking ghosting through a “pink” protagonist moving between denial and anger. The topline stays direct, with minimal expansion in the arrangement to support the shifts without overcomplicating the narrative.An absolutely fearsome live session from KAROBELA in the BBC Introducing Live Lounge” — BBC Introducing (Melita Dennett)The release sets…

Here’s our weekly overview of Hip-Hop and R&B album sales in the U.S., along with an update on where each album ranks on the Billboard 200 chart – this time for week 17 of 2026. No new debuts this week, but Justin Bieber still dominates the Top 50 with multiple albums after his viral Coachella show. Source: HITS Daily Double Chart # Artist(s) Album title Sales Sales + Streams 5 Justin Bieber SWAG 1,402 60,499 7 Don Toliver OCTANE 616 42,525 14 Bruno Mars The Romantic 6,973 35,782 15 SZA SOS 1,37 33,869 16 Kanye West BULLY 12,477 33,774 22…

In this new entry in our ‘Diamonds In The Rough’ category, we would like to introduce you to upcoming artist KING L(a^3)ZY and his brand new EP titled The 6Ix, Vol. 1. Emerging South African artist King L(a^3)ZY has officially released his powerful new EP, The 6Ix, Vol. 1, a gripping six-track hip-hop project that places his hometown of Maokeng at the center of the story. Now available on all major streaming platforms, the EP is a raw, vivid, and deeply personal introduction to a township outside Kroonstad that locals proudly refer to as “the 6.” More than just a…

Lynn Harty photoDavid Wilcox makes records that are masterful in the way they prompt people to feel things deeply and heal themselves. To put it another way, his songs act as chicken soup for the soul. His music invokes the tantalising concept of getting “out beyond ideas” to a place we can all meet, so beyond ideas and language that even the phrase “each other” doesn’t make any sense. His voice is sadder, deeper, fuller, more knowing as life goes by with all its happiness and sadness.Wilcox planted the seed from which whole songs would be sprouting in a few…