Tuesday, Oct 13, 2026
Documenting the madness
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Festivals, Reviews
It felt almost too late, but equally reassuring. Sat on the hill over at the Terminal stage, KOKOROKO echoing over the chatter, the sun taking rest after beating everyone up all day, Cross the Tracks made perfect sense. The day before, we'd taken the gruelling journey to Alexandr
Reviews, Film, Live Reviews
It’s haunting. No one can quite put their finger on it, yet nearly everyone has felt it. It touches you, making the touch of everything else feel significant. You don’t notice the slight breeze on your face from the air conditioning until the first notes start playing. Your breat
Reviews
It was that rain that’s so torrential it makes you look ridiculous being outside, even with an umbrella. And especially with a broken pink one. But missing the final CHROMA launch to stay dry would be hard to justify later. Bicep’s CHROMA send-off with Goodhood didn’t feel like a
Live Reviews, Reviews
Getdown Services call themselves “Britain’s best band,” and honestly, after last night, I’m not arguing. The Minehead-born, Bristol-based lads turned Camden’s Electric Ballroom into a sweaty, chaotic sermon of sarcasm, funk, and full-throttle weirdness. The kind of gig where you
Reviews
I’m not the only one. I know I’m not because I’ve Googled it before. Interstellar is the most spellbinding voodoo ever created. Interstellar can change a man. Numerous messages, lessons, and inspirations in this film keep your whole body tensed for its nearly 3-hour runtime. The
Reviews
“H… Hi, I don’t suppose you’ve got any unused guestlist tickets going?” “Erm, no. Sorry” “Ah, okay… Not even for four good-looking people like us?” “What?” “Don’t worry.” It was the 3rd of August, and four of us were feeling the overbearing weight of missing out on Oasis tickets.
Festivals, Reviews
Field Day wasn’t exempt from any of the Bank Holiday uncertainty. In fact, it took the brunt of it. Following the revelation that Superstruct, the festival’s owners who owned and operated over 80 music festivals in Europe and Australia, including Cross the Tracks, was a subsidiar
Live Photos, Live Reviews, Photos, Reviews
Before the chaos erupted, Swedish support band Boko Yout set the tone with something entirely unhinged. Clad in Boy Scout-style uniforms and led by a frontman wearing a head torch like some deranged forest guide, they delivered a frenetic, psych-tinged assault that felt like
Live Reviews, Reviews
You’d think Neon 194 was primed for absolute carnage. A couple next to us looked like they’d reached the pinnacle of their come-up, a shot girl wobbling under a tray of Jägerbombs that could’ve doubled as a buffet spread, a bar in the back, and a crowd so rammed it felt like a t
Reviews, Live Reviews
The curtains were hoisted up to a Kraftwerk-style Franc Moody. On their straight-edge, LED-lined pedestals, surrounded by light smoke, the only thing missing was robotic movements. Those moves weren’t just absent; they’d be impossible with the sheer clout of the bass drum that pu
Reviews, Live Reviews
At first sip, Girl Tones hits the palate with an unfiltered burst of raw energy—zesty, unpredictable, and unapologetically youthful. This is not a polished vintage; rather, it’s the kind of rebellious table wine that stains your lips and lingers just long enough to make an impres
Reviews, Live Reviews
It’s as though they’d just heard that the first impression is the most important. Win that, and you win the crowd. If you Google Cage the Elephant, you’ll be presented with a feed of esteemed gentlemen—well-tailored Kentucky rockers. So it’d be safe to say my preconception was cl
Reviews
It was already whimsical. Walking up the steps to St Pancras Old Church, which has stood there for over 1000 years, to attend the very first unveiling of Arliston’s new album, Disappointment Machine. It’s fitting for an album that explores the resilience of persistence through th
Live Reviews, Reviews
It felt nostalgic, but in a manufactured sense. The 80s representation of the future: bright lights, streamlined cars, and flying things watched through a VHS-style screen with a nod to the 00s through TRUE MAGIC. All carefully concocted in a way that you’d be struggling to find
Live Reviews, Reviews
It’s October which means it’s time to return to the darkside! (spooky gig reviewing). This time round, it's a three-piece sibling rock band from Oklahoma, Skating Polly. Skating Polly (SP) formed as a sibling duo, Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse, when they were just 9 and 14 years
Live Reviews, Reviews
How do duos sound larger than a five-piece band? For Ghostwoman, there’s an argument that Ille Van Dessel’s drums fill any space left in the room. Or that it’s Evan Uschenko’s evaporating, gritty guitar riffs that fuzz right through your chest. Certainly, the combination of both
Festivals, Live Reviews, Reviews
CHROMA, the evil twin of Bicep - which comprises a record label, a series of curated events, a brand new and constantly evolving Bicep AV/DJ show, and a unique visual identity - brought the show to Finsbury Park on 2nd August. The quiet, leafy park retained its wholesome charm bu
Live Reviews, Reviews
I almost felt like a voyeur. We were sat in complete darkness watching Nils Frahm, with his back to the audience, scurry around his behemoth custom setup as if it was just him and his tools in the room and not with the nearly 2000 people watching in awe. With one small spotlight
Reviews, Festivals
It’s 5 am and the big lights have rudely hit your eyes, the first time they’ve been exposed to anything other than lasers, causing you to scurry to the closest exit to sleep off the feeling of regret. Wait, what? Somehow it’s actually two o'clock in the afternoon, but the people
Reviews
Tl;dr - go see that small band in the small venue - accordions are the new keyboards It’s not often you buy tickets to see a gig from an artist you don’t know after hearing 2 songs. However, that was the case with Cardinals. As the Spotify algorithm jolts me out of my mundane w
Reviews
“It stinks of Radio 6 in here.” There’s a smirk on Callum’s face as he says it. It’s become somewhat of a lighthearted taunt in the industry, but it’s an unmistakable smell to be fair. That of a dad. And when he says it stinks, I think he’s referring to the aura. Well, it was Dad
Reviews, Live Reviews
I knew we were in for an interesting night as soon as we walked into the EartH theatre. A wooden amphitheatre layout with hundreds of seated people fixed toward the smokey stage; a terrifying prospect for even the most established bands. Now amassing an ever-climbing peak of over
Live Reviews, Reviews
DragonForce, the power metal sensation known for their blazing guitar solos and epic anthems, recently embarked on their latest tour for their new album “Warp Speed Warriors”. Now I’m not going to lie, power metal is not my usual jam. But I’d heard through a good few others that
Live Reviews, Reviews
Did you know there’s a psychological bias that states people who put effort into creating or acquiring something value it more highly? It’s called the IKEA effect. And Drumsheds isn’t short of it. First, it’s literally an old IKEA. But most of all for the long journey you embar
