After some years in the shadows, Cultdreams are back bearing the light. Taken from their freshly announced double record Love Won’t Let Me Go & Death Consumes Me – released November 15th via Big Scary Monsters – ‘Want It More’ is a synth-blessed dream-pop antidote to the fuzzy darkness that has longed defined this brilliant act. However, in true Cultdreams fashion, the track still retains the shoegazing delivery that was inherent to their previous record Things That Hurt and harkens towards the darker side of the aforementioned double record coming in late autumn. “The song is about being held back by people and things in your life that don’t serve you anymore”, states Lucinda Livingstone. “You’ve become detached from someone or something and it doesn’t feel the same. You feel like you’re in a different place, and you have to let go of those people or environments in order to move on. It’s triumphant but also just a big serving of getting real with yourself and setting better boundaries.” – Dan Hillier
When the mysterious hardcore collective known only as The Armed release new music only two things can be known for certain; it’ll be loud and it’ll be weird as hell. Coming clean about their identities before their last full length record Perfect Saviors, released last August, has done little to dispel the mystique around The Armed with their ferocious blend of post-hardcore noise and crooning melodies remaining as intense as ever on their latest single ‘NEW! Christianity’. Released in anticipation of the band’s upcoming Everlasting Gaze EP, a companion piece to Perfect Saviors, ‘NEW! Christianity’ is an explosion of fuzzed-out blast beats and overlapping vocals for a confusing yet addictive experience. – Tom Bruce
Arriving just after Mogwai‘s headline set at ArcTanGent and heralding their forthcoming world tour and possible new age, ‘God Gets You Back’ sees the post rock legends once again doing what they do best – whatever they want. While the track stands somewhere between the colossal sound of 2021’s As The Love Continues and the contemplative electronica that bounded 2014’s Rave Tapes, ‘God Gets You Back’, in true Mogwai fashion it would be utterly redundant to even compare this track to other works. It’s the sound of an act that not only knows how to effortlessly bend the parameters of post rock to their will, but the sound of an entity that essentially forms the sound of an entire genre for an age to come. – Dan Hillier
If you claim to “get” Imperial Triumphant, stop lying. The bewildering extreme metal trio are a sonic onslaught of free jazz, death metal, black metal and more. New standalone single ‘Eye of Mars’ might actually be one of the most straightforward things they’ve done to date, but don’t let that fool you. It’s still a mind-bending assault on the senses, weird time signatures, samples and all, unfurling over 5 mystifying minutes. From its ambient opening, it descends into madness with stabbing guitars, gutturals and even a brass section just to disorientate further. Weird? Yes. One of the most fascinating avant-garde bands going? Also yes. – Will Marshall
Ahead of her US headline tour, A.A. Williams has released a standalone single ‘Splinter’ through Robot Needs Home. It might not be a hint of a new album, but it does hint at her continued evolution as a musician and songwriter. Delving into melodramatic goth and even more doom than last album As The Moon Rests, ‘Splinter’ is a haunting song that deals with the challengss of change in life, particularly those necessary for someone to move on. At points A.A. Williams even channels a little Electric Wizard, but her arresting, yearning vocal performance marks this out as uniquely her. She explains, “Splinter is a song of realisation, of recognising that things have gone too far, of seeing that we finally need to acknowledge how we feel in order to grow.” – Will Marshall
Fresh off their collaborative Ashes of Leviathan tour, metal titans Mastodon and Lamb of God have come together once more with the riotous ‘Floods of Triton’. The track definitely leans harder towards the prog-tinged, sludgy Mastodon brand, but Randy Blythe’s iconic vocals offer a fresh and brutal cherry on top of some classic Mastodon riffs that at times seems to be playfully nudging us in the ribs with its callbacks to classic tracks from both band’s back catalogues. The duelling guitar solo is classic metal collab flexing at its finest, and while being a relatively tame sub 5 minutes in runtime there’s plenty of meat on the bones for repeat listens. – Tim Dorning
Yvette Young returns with her first true solo release since 2019’s Piano EP. ‘Always’ marks a new direction in Young’s already-storied career, breaking free of her math rock past to embrace her undeniable talent for hazy, melodic nostalgia. The perfect soundtrack to the slow retreat of summer as the leaves turn and the nights draw in, ‘Always’ is slathered in ear candy and beautifully arranged – undeniably pop, but unafraid to explore into lo-fi and take instrumental tangents along the way. This sounds like a form of artistic bloodletting, a phenomenally gifted artist bleeding directly onto tape and transforming her demons and hardships into a gorgeously optimistic piece of art. – Tim Dorning
Fresh off the back of their superb set at ArcTanGent, Leeds noisey troupe THANK announce their upcoming album “I Have A Physical Body That Can Be Harmed” and release single “Do It Badly”. It’s just over three minutes of abounding energy and top notch racket bouncing off the walls. A song about completing tasks at least to some standard rather than nothing at all or ‘malicious compliance’ as vocalist and guitarist Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe describes, which to some degree is a descriptor of THANK’s sound at times, chaotic, all over the place but still bloody good. – Adam Vallely
A track that bridges the band’s June-released EP and their upcoming LP How To Be Hopeful – released just next Friday via Alcopop! Records – ‘Their Shining Path’ isn’t really what one call a ‘proper’ Johnny Foreigner song. By that, what we mean it’s optimistic, rosy and joyful; far cries from the understandable cynicism that have long defined this band. However, it’s still the same Johnny Foreigner we have loved for all these years. Plus, it may or may not be inspired by a chance encounter with the paranormal. A joyous and giddy guitar-pop tune born from newfound love and 3am conversations with spectres in hotel smoking areas, ‘Their Shining Path’, like it’s name implies, is a wide-eyed burst of optimism from a band that long laced their pop with venom. It’s simply one of those tracks that are impossible to dislike in thanks to it’s buoyant, infections energy, and whilst the world may be teetering on the edge of oblivion right now, Johnny Foreigner here prove that there’s still joy in this word to be had. – Dan Hillier
The latest single from New York death metallers Undeath, ‘Disputatious Malignancy’ is everything fans have come to expect from, and love about, their take on the genre. Singer Alexander Jones says of it, “thematically, it’s got kind of a Pierced From Within-era Suffocation meets Bloodborne lore vibe, and it’s definitely the closest thing we have lyrically to a “fuck god/religion” song, which is kind of new territory for us. It’s fast as shit, bouncy, and has a killer duelling squeal-y solo part that I absolutely love.” He’s not wrong; at barely three minutes, it’s a ripper of a track with that classic chainsaw guitar tone, a main riff that switches back and forth from frantic speed to hellacious groove and blistering drum patterns. More Insane is certainly an apt album title from the two singles so far. – Will Marshall
New Church Road signees Hidden Mothers have gone through a sea change since their formation, with a tweak in lineup and taking a sometimes seemingly longer road to get to this point of putting out a debut full length, due finally in November. But along this winding path they have shown that their sound is positively evolving into new arenas. ‘Still Sickness’ promotes members Luke Scrivens & Liam Knowles to shared lead vocal duties, showing the light vs. the darker tones of this defining era for the band. The opening section leaning into the sounds more associated with the likes of Thrice, Luke’s vocals shimmering over ethereal tones, before returning to a more familiar blackened hardcore as Liam belts out his lines over deeper tones. – Adam Vallely
The third single from Lowen‘s upcoming album Do Not Go to War with the Demons of Mazandaran, ‘Waging War Against God’ is a haunting, psychedelic ride of towering vocals from Nina Saeidi and thunderous, Bolt Thrower-meets-Baroness riffs. It’s a rallying cry against tyranny, particularly racist and misogynist oppression, taking its name from one of the legal terms used by the Iranian government to persecute and execute individuals who stand up to the regime. Saeidi says of the song, “as someone who has grown up between two cultures struggling with oppression and racism, this song is a stand against the intolerance that has been ever present. It champions the strength of women, especially those who despite the threat of death have been carrying forward the Woman Life Freedom movement inside and outside of Iran.” – Will Marshall
The culmination of three extended plays worth of effort from the Birmingham quartet, A Fading Future is a brilliant record that once again shows how strong and versatile the uk post rock scene is. The sound of metallic post rock marred with sombre emotion delivered via musically airtight interplay, this record stands as an articulation of the looming fear, subtle resentment and lingering sadness that has come to embody modern living. In pretty much every way at times, the record is certainly a heavy listen, one that reminiscences thoughts of Russian Circles and Toundra in terms of it’s approach to post-metal, Din Of Celestial Birds and If These Trees Could Talk in regards to it’s emotional sensibilities.
However, A Fading Future is more than just another languishing Orwellian warning. With a focus on forgoing standard lifeless post-rock structures in favour of spirited energy that that pumps through it’s choppy riffs, Solars sound urgent here, inspired and authentically spontaneous. This record isn’t just a string of predictable crescendos and a rehashing of the work from band’s that have come before them; A Fading Future is a genuine outpouring of unease that’s articulated with frantic riffs, pummelling groove and a sense of tense unease that just mirrors living in 2024.
A Fading Future is released September 6th via Ripcord Records. Pre-order the record here and stream the record exclusively below.
Better Lovers are back with an insanely catchy and hard hitting new single titled ‘Future Myopia’. The newest single off the much anticipated new album Highly Irresponsible; the nearly 4 minute track consists of incredible guitars fitting for the duo of Will Putney and Jordan Buckley. Vocalist Greg Puciato also delivers in full behind the mic with some excellent vocal deliveries. From screams to melodies; he simply did not miss the entire track. This track has it all and more which comes to no surprise to anyone. Better Lovers are managing to age like fine wine, dropping nothing but good song after good song. – Nathaniel Maure
The latest single to be taken from the upcoming record Voyce – released September 13th via Human Worth – ‘Hum Hotline’ see’s the nine-piece collective Joyce looking through a kaleidoscopic mirage of turn-of-the-century indie, spoken word and granulating noise rock. Fronted by former olympian and OG running punk Jimmy Watkins, ‘Hum Hotline’ is a brilliant introduction to a band that just seems to defy convention and exception, even in a genre and scene where experimentation is expected. Whilst many may be drawn to this band out of curiosity, it’s impossible not to be excited by this project with songs like this. – Dan Hillier
Everyone’s favorite cockney masked scamps The Hell have been getting more and more active over the last few months, with new tracks and shows letting everyone know they ain’t dead. Announced in classic The Hell fashion (a rambling, sweary Instagram video) their newest slab of cheeky, chunky hardcore is Name Yer Poison and it’s – naturally – about booze. If you don’t know what to expect from The Hell by now, it’s short, to the point and contains as much groove as Elvis Presley shaking those damn hips of his at a Machine Head show. It’s an anthem about getting absolutely sloshed with lines like “We’ll be fucked by the end of the night”, it’s the perfect pre-beverage hype up tune. With a new EP containing even more laverrly jubbly tracks coming out just next week, it feels facking cushty to be a The Hell fan right now. – Chris Earl
Fit For An Autopsy‘s second single from their highly-anticipated upcoming full length shows off the band’s talent for balancing beauty and brutality. Similar to the previous single ‘Hostage’, ‘Savior of None/Ashes of All’ leans into metalcore while staying true to the Gojira-esque sound that put the band on the map. Gorgeous cleans stack up against a backdrop of melodic guitar passages rapid drums; a fantastic atmosphere washing over the listener. You may even be lulled into a false sense of security, but don’t think the danger has gone away – a meaty breakdown awaits in the middle of the track, guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Fans of all subgenres unite – one of the most exciting bands in metal is at it again. – Jude Bennett
Oklahoma City noise masters Chat Pile are ramping up to the release of their highly anticipated sophomore record with new single ‘Masc’. Delivering one of their most emotionally driven tracks yet, ‘Masc’ refuses to shy away from the horrors of intimacy with other people and anxieties around opening up around even those closest to you with frontman Raygun Busch practically having a psychotic break in front of the microphone. The genius of Chat Pile has always been their ability to use both tropes of traditional rock alongside harsh noise to drag the listener down to their level emotionally; ‘Masc’ combines a punchy rhythm section groove with layered, complex guitar lines to reel the audience in before the deranged vocal performance delivers the emotional killing blow. – Tom Bruce
New single ‘Bad Cop’ from the heavy hitting quartet Every Hell comes along with the announcement of their eagerly awaited debut EP Vertebrate. The new track tells a story of two gunslingers battling for a town, a reflection of vocalist Will Gardner’s life when fighting for attention within his family. The Wild Western tale is backed by riffs shot from the hip and showcases Gardner’s vocal range. This is rock and roll at its best, soaring guitar licks, thunderous drums, rumbling bass, a song you can move your desert boots to in the dirt. – Adam Vallely
After signing to Big Scary Monsters and not only getting called up to ArcTanGent festival late in the day but playing to a packed out tent, it’s hardly a bad time to have stock in Bicurious. The second single from upcoming album Your Life Is Over Now… is another solid statement of the duo’s ability to push to the next level and not stand still (much like their energetic performances). This new material touches new areas of musical influence like post hardcore legends such as Thrice and Biffy Clyro whilst still holding onto their mathy roots. With the positivity of this new era for the band comes the underlying emotional message of this track, written with difficult family situations in mind and ended with a voice note from a dear friend who is no longer with them, Taran and Gavin want to try to deliver even an ounce of positivity to people going through a rough time and remind them “You’ll never be alone.” – Adam Vallely
A collaboration that UK emo dreams are made of, ‘Burn The Leaves’ is the first tantalising taste of For Joy, the new collaborative EP from adored scene staples Soot Sprite and Muttering. A wonderful and positively seamless fusion of Soot Sprite’s introspective shoegazing with Muttering’s unfiltered emo qualities, ‘Burn The Leaves’ takes the best parts of these two acts and just compounds them. Bounded by the beautiful harmonies and delicate yearning that characterises each of these acts, ‘Burn The Leaves’ takes the best parts of these two respective bands and amalgamates them beautifully and organically, ultimately ensuring that the final product is one that’s complimentary towards both band’s unique approaches to emo. Collaborative projects can often be bloated and shoehorned messes, but judging from this wonderful track, For Joy is set to be one of the most promising emo records of this year come it’s release on September 6th via Specialist Subject. – Dan Hillier
An indie-pop epic in the key of closure that’s delivered with a sense of restless abandon, ‘No Souvenirs’ see’s Fightmilk tenderly toeing the line between remembrance and moving-on. It’s also the sound of the indie-pop foursome rediscovering their spark amidst tragedy. The title track of their forthcoming record – released November 15h via Fika Records and INH Records – ‘No Souvenirs’ is an indie-pop epic in the key of closure that’s delivered with a sense of restless abandon and the kind of bold and steadfast determination that can only come from confidence in one’s work and knowing how to proceed. It’s definitely a total heartbreaker, especially given the heartfelt wit running inherent, but with Fightmilk’s love for life apparent, this a track that just feels life affirming. – Dan Hillier
We’re now just a month shy of Heriot releasing their hotly-anticipated debut album Devoured By the Mouth of Hell, and latest single ‘At the Fortress Gate’ is another bruising slab of industrial metalcore following earlier singles ‘Foul Void’ and ‘Soul Chasm’. The band say of the song, “’At the Fortress Gate’ explores the experience of being trapped within a regime, battling against overwhelming forces, feeling powerless, and reflecting on the immense suffering endured by humanity.” That’s reflected in their ever-uncompromising sonic approach, doling out furious death metal riffs with a beefy, chainsaw guitar tone while vocalist/guitarist Debbie Gough’s mosh call “the devouring mouth of hell demands your forgiveness” has already been whipping up pits across the summer festival season. You shouldn’t need any more telling that Heriot are onto something special indeed, but ‘At the Fortress Gate’ is a violent reminder. – Will Marshall
