The Mic's Dominic Allum headed to Rescue Rooms a mere couple of days before Halloween to catch Unknown Era's live set, even though he missed the memo about the spooky dress code. Read his thoughts below. As spooky season takes over Rescue Rooms, pumpkins and skeletons line the stage, whilst cobwebs and decorations hang from the ceiling. Encouraged via social media to come to the gig in fancy dress, the audience don’t disappoint, a collection of ghosts, vampires and zombies ma

The Mic's James Peutherer shares his thoughts on Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' 'Raise The Roof'.

Caradoc Gayer explores Fred again..'s second solo effort, 'Actual Life 2 (February 2 - October 15 2021)'

Rhianna Greensmith breaks down Holly Humberstone's ‘The Walls Are Way Too Thin’.

Following the release of his most recent album Good Morning It’s Now Tomorrow, Matt Maltese sat down on Zoom with The Mic's Matty Hill to talk about the inspirations behind the album, how it differs from his past work, and - most surprisingly - peanut butter preferences. Riddled with the worst fresher’s flu to plague Nottingham since the Forbidden Cough of ’97, I stare at the empty Zoom call waiting for Matt to join. As the seconds tick by the battle between my throat and its

IDLES return in 2021 with their long awaited 4th album, ‘CRAWLER’. The Mic’s releases editor Elliot Fox offers his thoughts.

Oxford band, Glass Animals, took to the Rock City stage in Nottingham. Phoebe Millard reviews.

Nottingham’s own Jalle rocked an intimate show for his I’m Sorry EP launch - Millie Hopcott reviews.

Britpop legend Jarvis Cocker graced the iconic Roundhouse in Camden with his new band JARV IS. Alexander Melnikov reviews.

Following the October release of their highly anticipated fourth album Sticky, Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes took Rock City (proclaimed on the night by Carter himself as his ''favourite venue'') by storm. Well renowned to be an exhilarating live act, Carter and his Rattlesnakes brought their quintessential swagger and high-octane energy on the second night of their first tour since the pandemic. Jodie Averis reviews. Their set list was the perfect combination of old favouri

Jonathan Hague reviews Gang Of Youths' show at Nottingham's Rescue Rooms.

Caradoc Gayer reviews London Grammar's show at Alexandra Palace.

Kid Kapichi have been storming up and down the UK, with a short stop at Nottingham’s Bodega. Jake Longhurst reviews the show for The Mic.

It’s the 45th anniversary of the George Harrison album you wish an Irish person would pronounce, Thirty Three & 1/3, so it seemed like the perfect time for Maia Gibbs to look back on what some consider The Beatles’ member’s strongest collection. The seventh studio album by the English musician contains US top 30 singles such This Song and Crackerbox Palace, and stands as one of the many triumphs in Harrison’s career. Many music critics recognised Thirty Three & 1/3 as a retur

In the run-up to their biggest Nottingham show to date, The Mic sat down with Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods for a candid dissection of the band’s legacy, and the state of modern life. If you go to Sleaford Mods’ Spotify page, where you might expect a biography of the band, you instead find the following: “We ushered in a new way for indie bands to sing and approach their music, and now we regret it.” It’s a perfect encapsulation of their relentless efforts over the past d

The Mic's Maia Gibbs accounts her experience of Damon Albarn's 4th solo album, 'The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows'.

With the COP26 summit in Glasgow having wrapped up last week, the time we have to drastically reduce human contributions to climate change keeps on passing us by. Whilst conversation generally focuses on the personal and national impact on the environment, industries (including the music industry) need to hold themselves accountable. But in order to enact change, there first needs to be a diagnosis of the issues. James Pusey explores how the music industry has responded to th

35 years ago, a trio of teens dropped an album on a relatively new record company with a producer whose name was relatively obscure. Today, that group, Beastie Boys, label Def Jam, and producer Rick Rubin, are often lauded for their influence and importance to the hip-hop/rap genre. And it all started with Licenced to Ill. James Pusey revisits the album on its anniversary. There’s a reason why this record is so successful, having gone diamond in 2015: its endless, genre-defin

From a shimmering new EP from TikTok's latest breakthrough artist PinkPantheress which was released a few weeks ago, to a reimagined version of one of Lucy Dacus' tracks, there have been some interesting and unique releases lately. Topped off by a return from Avril Lavigne, who is now working alongside pop punk legend Travis Barker, and a promising glimpse into the future of pop music from ELIO, check out the best new music that has been released recently in this week's The M

Thanks in part to her soothing, slacker rock sarcasm and part to her expert song crafting, over the last five years Courtney Barnett has become one of the biggest names in indie music. Having conquered the hearts of both fans and critics in 2018 with 'Tell Me How You Really Feel', anticipation is sky high for Barnett's long awaited 2021 offering. The Mic's Nieve O'Donnell breaks down Courtney Barnett's latest project, 'Things Take Time, Take Time'. Waking, moving, watching, t