Author: Admin
Theirs is the sort of shining, infectious joy only real hardcore lifers would have. It’s their home, and within that, Jem is conscious of emphasising the sanctuary it gave to him. “I came into hardcore feeling like a freak. I had a different part of me that didn’t connect with anyone else,” he says, nodding to his East Asian background, and the feeling of otherness coming “as a straight Chinese guy who plays the flute.” This is a space where difference is celebrated, perhaps most of all when he produces said flute for the monumental anthem THE FIRST TEST. It’s…
Robert Jon & The Wreck | Sam MorrowManchester Academy 216th April 2026Robert Jon & The Wreck evoke the sounds of the South at Manchester Academy as fifty years on from their heyday, the spirits of The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd et al are kept alive for lovers of classic American Southern Rock.There’s a long queue as I walk down Manchester’s Oxford Road. Gen Z’s clean cut kids are out in force; they’re mostly quiet with heads bowed, focused on their phones. There’s a K-pop act in town. Toward the back, another queue overlaps. They could be the K-Poppers ‘ unruly…
Tropic Gold (c) AC PhotographyOn Tuesday night, Wisconsin-based outfit Archers kicked off their UK tour at Audio in Glasgow. Opening the night were Tropic Gold, a band from Suffolk-via-Essex who were described as the “hottest new band” by Kerrang! back in 2023. As soon as the first vocals dropped, the message was clear: they did not come on stage to play dull. Instead, they delivered a powerful performance, blending electronic, metal, and more melodic tones.Described as a metalcore and pop-rock band, Archers took the stage at 9pm. For a little bit over an hour, they performed twelve songs, including their…
Josh Jones. CREDIT: JOSH FAITHI/PRESS Comedian Josh Jones is a self-described “Catholic teacher’s worst nightmare” (gay, dyslexic, and left-handed, as he often quips on stage). But, while he can – and does – poke fun at our cultural impulse to box tick, he’s no great fan of it. He’s out on his ‘I Haven’t Won The Lottery So Here’s Another Tour’ trek across the UK when we sit down, and when the class dimension of British comedy pops up, he says it actually didn’t occur to him that so few people in the scene were working class.“Everyone I know is…
One of an ongoing series of books published by Spenwood Books which invites fans and colleagues to share their memories and stories regarding a particular artist or act, Iain Matthews: A People’s History covers the sixty plus years of his career from his first band Pyramid in 1965 through his time with Fairport Convention, Matthews Southern Comfort, Plainsong and, of course, his lengthy solo career.Matthews should need no introduction to regular readers of Americana UK, as we have featured him in several articles. In the book’s forward (written by AUK contributor Rick Bayles), Bayles makes a case for considering him…
In the darkness of London’s Casino Cinerama, a 21-year-old David Bowie stared at the space embryo floating across the theatre’s huge, 70mm screen. It was summer 1968, and this was the third time the singer-songwriter had been to see 2001: A Space Odyssey, released in April that year.“It was the sense of isolation I related to,” Bowie said in 2003. “I found the whole thing amazing. I was out of my gourd, very stoned when I went to see it – several times – and it was really a revelation to me. It got the song flowing.”While Stanley Kubrick’s film…
Bristol trio Krooked Tongue introduce I Know A Place, their debut album landing April 24, 2026 on limited vinyl, built through an independent, fan-backed model. I Know A Place by Krooked TongueThe rollout is self-funded, partly offset by a £1,000 GoFundMe raised in two weeks, converting fan support into production capital.Pre-release traction includes Apple Music playlisting and sync placements. Nothing Ever Grows featured on DAZN’s Bivol vs Beterbiev, with Let ‘Em Loose and Blood Shark integrated into Progress Wrestling shows at London’s Electric Ballroom. Produced by Josh Gallop at Stage 2 Studios, the 10-track set locks sledgehammer choruses and direct…
Following Naked, Southampton artist Kenya Grace extends her catalogue with The One You Loved, a breakup-led release leaning deeper into cinematic drum & bass. Directed by Joel Palmer, the video lands in a night-shot London frame. Dark, digital, surveillance-coded, tightening the track’s locked-in mood. The track runs a loop-driven structure, hypnotic breakbeats, repetitive vocal chops, controlled lift, mirroring memory as a closed circuit. Emotion sits in the topline, while tension builds through repetition, not scale.The One You Loved explores the feeling of realising too late what something truly meant. Seeing every moment you would change, but being unable to change…
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 15 of 2026. No new debuts this week, but Justin Bieber re-enters the Top 50 with multiple albums after his viral Coachella show. Source: HITS Daily Double Chart # Artist(s) Album title Sales Sales + Streams 4 Don Toliver OCTANE 3,172 48,537 8 Justin Bieber SWAG 827 40,794 11 Bruno Mars The Romantic 6,614 37,776 12 Kanye West BULLY 2,254 34,370 13 SZA SOS 1,408 34,243 22 Post…
LTW new band faves, ‘Ishango Bone release new single – ‘The Agency’76 years after its discovery in Central Africa, the Ishango Bone is giving rise to a new wave of speculation in present-day Manchester.Ishango Bone are back with ‘The Agency’, the explosive follow-up to ‘Doughnuts Never Ending’, dropping Friday 24 April – a fast-moving, dancefloor-ready track built on pounding beats, warped samples and hooks that have already been setting off their live shows.A three-piece electronic alt-rock band, Ishango Bone were formed in 2024 by long-time collaborators Casey Bell, Sonny Baker Royleand Alec Waters.With grunge-inspired guitars, rich, cult-like vocal harmonies and…
Laya Lewis, known for her iconic role as Liv in “Skins,” leads the charge in “Debt Meat,” a daring new drama at the Drayton Arms Theatre. The production asks “When every ounce of your body is currency, what would you sacrifice to keep your loved ones alive?” Running for two nights only, May 17-18, “Debt Meat” plunges audiences into a world where human flesh is the only accepted currency. Don’t miss this bureaucratically terrifying performance. Actress Laya Lewis Writer and director Benji Edward notes, “This play was born from my time living in New York City, where I grappled with…
Film: Dreamland Awaits Director: Demeter Lóránt Writer: Demeter Lóránt Starring: Nicolas Hackenberg, Rebecka Johnston, Jonathan C. Nelson Josh, a hardened detective, faces his darkest case yet: his wife and daughters have been kidnapped. To save them, he must obey a mysterious captor, move into a desolate house, and complete disturbing tasks. But the house is no ordinary place; it’s a gateway to a dark dimension that warps reality and forces Josh to confront the nightmare within himself. In a new interview on Blazing Minds ahead of the Horror-On-Sea Takeover at the Southend Film Festival, I got a chance to ask…