Formed of members Chris Anderson, Gareth Hughes, Taran Ali, Ellie Richards, Nic Bowde and Joe Richards, the Sheffield collective forgo the notion of genre in order to create art that stretches well beyond the frivolous parameters of genre. Whilst it would be easy and awfully too convenient to allocate tags such as dream-pop, post-rock, shoegaze, prog-rock, chamber-pop and shoegaze to the band’s sound, to even describe New Ghost’s output with such inconsistent tags would be limiting to to the point of being insulting. As seen within the act’s extended plays Recifity and Future Is Dead alongside their debut LP New Ghost Orchestra, New Ghost are a band that bound across the lines etched in the dirt by purists that divide genres to warmly coalescence sounds and musical motifs incorrectly thought to be mutually exclusive. However, it’s the band’s new single ‘The Wolf Of Allendale’ that make’s this statement cinematically tangible.
Essentially an eight plus minute prog-pop opus, ‘The Wolf Of Allendale’ is a magnificent musical beast of a track that gracefully leaps across those aforementioned faded lines as it explores the human condition. In fact, as the track’s mood transmogrifies from buoyant whimsy, to tender apprehension to optimistic despair, the single unfurls as a tapestry not just of emotion, but of sound, with so many textures, motifs and sounds intertwining in way seamless and majestically gorgeous. The creation may have mad a painfully laboured birth – as New Ghost detail below – but with the track now released into the wilds, ‘The Wolf Of Allendale’ is a musical creation heralding one of the most creative and skilled band’s in the UK.
With that in mind, we got in touch with Chris to learn about the track’s creation, the band’s ethos and more.
“We are an art-rock band from Sheffield/UK, who basically incorporates anything that excites them when putting together new music. Chiefly this involves mashing together lots of different genres, like shoegaze, chamber-pop, grunge, post-rock, dream-pop, electronica. There are some crazy talented musicians in New Ghost (I must stress – NOT me), so whatever we set our hearts on, we chase down until we create something we love.
The “band” originally, was a purely studio based thing. I’d built a great relationship with the producer of something I was working on at the time, which was the cause of a great deal of heartache and stress, and so he suggested we work on something separate. We just started recording things (the first being a Christmas song dedicated to my dog!), I sent these early demos to a couple of friends – one of whom (Ari – now of Hidden Mothers fame), sent them to a bunch more friends, and from there we started putting together a wishlist of people to help finish up the recordings. Those initial recordings were quite heavily reliant on guest spots – the lineup of the band is more cemented now.”
The last three years have been a challenge for anyone involved in the music industry, and Svalbard are no exception to this. 2020 was primed to be their breakout year, their album When I Die, Will I Get Better? finished recording before the word “lockdown” crossed anyone’s mind. Now three years later, a lot has changed for both Serena and Svalbard, as she exclaims, “the last three years have been an absolute whirlwind. I saw a post on social media the other day that was like: When I Die… is now three years old. How?! How is it three years old. That’s crazy!”
Its easy to forget how precarious the situation surrounding When I Die… was. Mere weeks away from releasing, their label at the time Holy Roar Records collapsed, some of the surviving crew went on to establish Church Road Records and scrambled to ensure release dates were honoured. “Everything that happened with the collapse of Holy Roar was pretty hectic time, obviously. Sammy and Justine did such an amazing job releasing the album on Church Road Records. They managed to somehow get that album out on time, despite everything happened with Holy Roar maybe the week before. So I think Justine and Sammy and Church Road records in general a real credit to the UK scene,” she smiles.
Whirlwind may have been a bit of an understatement, now on the other side of a global pandemic, Serena has also released her own signature guitar with Jackson and a solo black metal record under the name Noctule. “[Church Road Records] released Noctule as well. So it’s a really, really nice working relationship that I have with them”. Fortunately, When I Die… still released to widespread critical acclaim landing high up on several album of the year lists and continuing to raise the band’s profile and garnered attention from the wider industry, too. As she explains, “since then, being signed to Church Road Records with the sort of reception and the success of When I Die…, then going into talks with Nuclear Blast and sort of catching their attention from that was absolutely surreal. It still doesn’t feel real to me that our album is coming out on Nuclear Blast Records. That’s a record label that holds all my favourite bands and a lot of my favourite albums so just absolutely over the moon to be part of it.”
First teasing the prospect of new material all the way back in February with “Eternal Spirits”, a touching tribute to musical heroes who have passed away too soon, it wasn’t until July when Svalbard revealed their upcoming album The Weight Of The Mask alongside the single ‘Faking It’. “[Faking It] definitely meets a lot of expectations of what I think people would hope for from a Svalbard song,” she states. This is also true of the album closer “To Wilt Beneath The Weight”, with the album bookended either side with more ‘traditional’ Svalbard compositions, Serena explains: “‘Faking It’ and ‘To Wilt Beneath the Weight’ are basically the bread of the album. Then all the weird, interesting flavours are in between, which is when it gets interesting. It was a very deliberate choice to kind of bookend the album that way.”
Headlining next year’s festival is none other than The Gaslight Anthem, a band 2000 Trees and fans alike have been requesting for years now. Confirmed to be headlining the Thursday night, the band’s appearance at Upcote Farm next July will be the band’s only UK appearance for 2024 and will come following the release of their forthcoming record History Books.
“We’ve tried to book The Gaslight Anthem pretty much every year for the last 10 years, so we’re super stoked to have them joining us at Upcote Farm – we think they’re a perfect 2000 Trees headliner”, states festival head honcho James Scarlett. “The ’59 Sound in particular was a really important album to me so to finally have the band at 2000trees is going to be something special.”
The announcement comes just months after this year’s edition of the festival, which stands as the most successful edition of the festival to date. Topped by Bullet For My Valentine, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and Soft Play, this year’s edition of 2000 Trees was a complete sellout, and next year’s edition is set to be no different. At the current time, Four Day tickets are already sold out, and if current predictions are anything to go by, it looks like the fesival may be well and truly sold out by Christmas.
2000 Trees Festival 2024 will take place at Upcote Farm, Cheltenham, between July 10th – 13th. Further information and tickets can be found here.
Delaware metallic hardcore quartet Year Of The Knife have are making the most incredible comeback; after a horrific van crash while on tour in June this year, the quartet are still very much recovering but determined to release the music they’d been working on together before the accident. Taken from upcoming album No Love Lost, which features former bassist Madi Watkins’ first full-length as their new vocalist, it’s a triumphant, electrifying return in two parts. ‘Wish’ features Sanguisugabogg‘s Devin Swank in a brutalising 85 seconds that flirts with death metal far more than before without losing their trademark hardcore fury, while ‘Last Laugh’ brings in Full Of Hell‘s Dylan Walker for an unhinged aural assault that clocks in at a hectic 47 seconds of animalistic screeches and ends on a the kind of gurgling “blegh” that sounds like the band retching up something foul – which isn’t inaccurate. A phenomenal return, and one hell of a teaser for their new record. – Will Marshall
A new era of Frank and The Rattlesnakes has dawned. The first track to be taken from the band’s newly announced record Dark Rainbow, released January 26th via Death Cult International / AWAL, ‘Main Of The Hour’ isn’t as much an abandonment of the band’s sound as it is a natural evolution. Forgoing the pompous punk rock agro in favour of pensive southern gothic modernism, ‘Man Of The Hour’ see’s Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes reflecting and their career, sound and standing in the scene’s hierarchy as a whole to reflect on stardom and the long dated notion of ‘rockstars’. It’s an inspired and driven act, one well aware of it’s existence in the industry, and whilst some fans may decry Frank Carter’s move into more pacifying sounds, ‘Man Of The Hour’ truly showcases this band’s natural evolution and idealogical growth. – Dan Hiller
The alt metallers have announced their first release, debut EP Post-Genesis for October 27 and along it, released their brand new single ‘Mitsuko’. It takes the hyperpop and electronic influences and fuses breakbeat verses into savage howls of rage. The duo describe it as “the pissed off love child of Linkin Park and Pendulum” and that’s very much audible, the nu metal riff work and skittering drums soundtracking a dark, viciously cathartic anthem. Vocalist Alice Guala and guitarist/producer Blake Cornwall say of the song’s themes, Mitsuko is a deeply personal and intense torrent of ‘full-on rage’, dealing with the complexities of family values, and raw emotions of a fragmented childhood. The title takes inspiration from the original ‘Battle Royale’ manga, where the character Mitsuko shares a similar struggle of family heartbreak and abandonment.” – Will Marshall
Oddball post metal / rockers Briqueville are about to release their fourth album IIII and they seem to be showing no signs of slowing down their headlong hurtling towards musical oblivion. The latest single ‘Akte XVII’ is a hellscape of eclectic synth driven instrumental music, replete with fuzzed out guitar and bass work, and a pacing that never quite reaches full speed, but nevertheless drags you along for the ride into the eldritch. There’s even occult chanting for a section of the song. Couple this with the latest track from Surgeon for a truly evil listen. – Rob Bown
Portland metalcore quintet Dying Wish have unveiled the fourth and final single from their upcoming second album Symptoms of Survival, ‘Path To Your Grave’. Those with keen ears will notice a recurring vocal motif that ties it to the title track from their debut Fragments of a Bitter Memory, which is very much the case. Musically it draws on their furious metalcore assault early on but its chorus is triumphant, more than a little reminiscent of Killswitch Engage. Lyrically, though it ends on the same “I would bury you if I could” as Fragments, vocalist Emma Boster explains of the song that though it deals with trauma they deal with, that “I have grown to a new level of acceptance with my trauma and this song is about that acceptance. The anger and the hurt is still there, but now, it just stings a little less. It has a much more triumphant expression.” – Will Marshall
After releasing their debut EP Weaponised Youth Pt. 1 and storming events such as Download, 2000 Trees, The Great Escape, Teddy Rocks and pretty much every other festival under the cold English sun, one would be forgiven in thinking Snayx would take some well deserved time off this coming Winter. However, anyone assuming this truly aren’t familiar with the South West punk trio’s ethos to non stop movement. Releasing just prior to their extensive tour this month is the title track of the band’s forthcoming second EP, Better Days. Another combative and concussive blast of righteous modern punk, ‘Better Days’ once again reinforces this brilliant band’s ability to amplify the energy of the original punk sound whilst forgoing the stale conventions associated with the sound. With the EP dropping February 4th and with the band most likely visiting a venue near you this month, we fully endorse catching the band this October to witness this track how it was intended to be experienced; loudly, and right in your face. – Dan Hillier
We caught up with the Bristolians’ head honcho and now permanent fixture in noise ridden legends mclusky, Damien Sayell, to discuss the history and importance of ArcTanGent and the ‘normal weirdos’ that tread its sacred ground.
As ArcTanGent officially hits 10 years in 2024 and sister festival 2000 Trees just turning that voice-breaking 15th year this summer (excluding those two festival-less years) a band that has certainly been helped by the growth of such excellent spaces is The St. Pierre Snake Invasion. Even with multiple changes in line ups, huge delays between records and a self-professed curse, Damien and Co. have continued to plough on and step up in regards to quality of song writing and performances.
When you thought they could not top Caprice Enchanté, the quintet crafted Galore, now arguably a contender for some Album of the Year lists. With an electronic injection and an earnest view on love, family, and the world around us, it has brought a new edge to the band most did not expect. In recent months the band have intensely readjusted their live set up to fit in new material accordingly, with addition of more samples, vocal effects and some garish suits (most notably worn by bass wielding Sanjay Patel). We ask Damien how the new material went down at their ‘hometown’ festival.
‘It was very nice. We have basically played here every year and there’s only so many times you can play the same set and get away with it…I feel like [the new songs] got a better reception than the old ones which was unexpected. Apart from Rock ‘n’ Roll Workshops of course which is, for some reason, everyone’s favourite.’ A humoured grimace here backed by the continued onstage joke about how it is very much their ‘worst song’; and maybe Damien is right here. Their evolution from formulaic post hardcore to more complex rhythms and textures developed over the years is evident.
Mere weeks away from her massive UK tour, Scene Queen is seemingly unstoppable, dropping new single ‘Pink Push Up Bra’ to drive anticipation to a fever pitch. Opening to what sounds like a nod to a certain Mick Gordon soundtrack about demon bludgeoning, ‘Pink Push Up Bra’ explodes into what might be her most unhinged performance yet. Groovy djent riffs and a fast-paced driving beat, Scene Queen herself with ferocious deliveries, occasionally breaking into an electronic bridge before exploding back to life. Once again channeling a rebellious intensity and no-fucks-given attitude to call out the age old excuse for abhorrent behaviour, “boys will be boys”, but also lyrically drawing attention to the shameful statistic of “one in six, that shit makes me sick”. ‘Pink Push Up Bra’ is an empowerment anthem, continuing to juxtapose pink imagery with music and lyricism that goes for the jugular. – Harry Shiels
It’s been a good long while since we’ve had some new music from Chelsea Wolfe. Despite releasing a film soundtrack in 2022 and being a major contributing factor to the widely acclaimed Bloodmoon: I by Converge, Wolfe’s last project proper came in 2019, the dark Americana and folk influenced Birth Of Violence. New single ‘Dusk’ sees Wolfe return to the goth industrial and post-metal influences of earlier albums with a new twist. Channeling a stronger alt-rock and electronic energy, the track almost feels like a somber take on Imogen Heap style alt-pop with its catchy lead hook. The swaying vocals and low-key instrumental bubbles away with noise slowly creeping in for the inevitable crescendo of wall of noise guitars to overwhelm ears. ‘Dusk’ is certainly leaning in an interesting new direction for the celebrated alternative artist, leading us to ponder what else may be on the horizon. – Harry Shiels
The first track to be taken from the band’s forthcoming second record Managed Decline, released November 24th via Church Road Records, the latest single from post-black metal exemplars Underdark bears witness to the group’s phenomenal ability to marry animated storytelling with adventurous extremism. Introducing the record’s concept of retelling the tale of a post-industrial town’s decline through Thatcherite policies, ‘Enterprise (1st November 2004)’ is a bleak and horrific black metal tale of despair that’s devastating both emotionally and audibly – something not surprising given its subject. “Enterprise is the most aggressive song on the album so it’s fitting that it’s the darkest part of the story; a father and daughter are earning money – by pimping the kid to buy dope,” states vocalist Abi Vasquez. “I wrote it to also serve as a metaphor for the fetishisation of entrepreneurship in neoliberal society.” – Dan Hillier
Atlanta, Georgia based, genre-blending mathcore darlings The Callous Daoboys have dropped their new single ‘Pushing the Pink Envelope’ and it’s maybe their most chaotic to date. With a nudge and a wink to cheesy 2010s metalcore tropes alongside their usual hectic exploration of genre, flying between dance-pop synths, mathcore breakdowns with multiple different time signatures, catchy clean vocals and even an unexpected bossa nova bridge, “Pushing the Pink Envelope” is certainly an experience. Don’t worry if all of this sounds like a frenzied fever dream; that’s the Daoboys’ signature move, smashing together different styles of music into an unholy cacophony of sound that, by some miracle, manages to sound like a coherent single. – Tom Bruce
The second snippet – we hesitate to say single, given the band’s predilection for playing the piece in full live – taken from upcoming release Truth Or Consequences, Neu Mexico, ‘Consequences’ is, as the band describe it, “like stepping into the eye of a particularly lengthy storm.” Rather than the doomy fury they often bring to bear, it showcases the other side of them, an almost airy melancholia with cleanly sung vocals. The band describe the lyrics as the catharsis of art; the ability of an artist to take pain, hurt or just a really bad day and create something beautiful. That’s exactly what ‘Consequences’ is; a reprieve, and the finding of beauty in the eye of that heaving storm. – Will Marshall
Interlaker would no doubt reject the notion that they’re a supergroup. After all, such a term has become synonymous with characters radiating pompous arrogance. However, given the members’ musical merits and just how damn good this track this, it feels like there’s just no other tag available. The first track taken from the new project formed of original Lonely The Brave frontman David Jakes and Arcane Roots / Jamie Lenman drummer Jack Wrench, ‘Bottomless Pit’ is an airy, pine-scented and heart-swelling alt-rock lament void of any of the lingering feelings of doom associated with the track’s namesake. Truly, it’s wonderful to hear Jakes’ immaculate vocals again in a fully electric context, and with the chemistry between him and Wrench tangible and delicate, Interlaker are poised to be one of next year’s biggest success stories. – Dan Hillier
Ontario hardcore’s Rust are back. The Canadian powerhouse have dropped their newest single ‘Facedown’, which was written by the entire quartet and marks the first single to feature drummer Dillon Forret behind the kit. This happens to also be the first track in Rust’s impressive catalog to be produced by vocalist Tommy Wood themselves. A person of many musical talents, it’s evident they put a lot of time and effort into their craft. Explaining the track’s meaning, Wood states “give and take, life and death, everything has a balance. Disrupting it through dishonest acts will result in a correction to the balance.” Rust are cementing themselves as Ontario’s best and realest act today, and Facedown further cements that. – Nathaniel Maure
