This Friday (21st June) sees the return of Hot Chip with their seventh studio album ‘A Bath Full of Ecstasy,’ their first since 2015. The London-based indie-tronica quintet famed for earlier songs such as ‘Over and Over’ and ‘Ready for the Floor,’ deliver an album celebrating joy and happiness while pursuing the melancholic approach of pain and toil which it takes to get there. A Bath Full of Ecstasy is also notable as it is the first time that Hot Chip have not self-produced

‘Doom Days’ pretty much sums up the feeling that most of us hold about the world in its current state. Headlines are turning ever bleaker and the world is seemingly a darker place than it has been in a long time. This is ultimately what Bastille’s third album is trying to capture. However, in a time of sadness and madness, Bastille have been able to offer a more optimistic snapshot of reality. Personally, I don’t think anything will top ‘Pompeii’ (a song that it definitely st

The National. The umbrella that stops the hail from hitting your head, the first sip of water the morning after a heavy night of drinking, the woolly jumper that shields you from a bitter winter frost, you get the drift from this obsessional fan. The National are great, and they’re back with their eighth studio album at the perfect time. As I settle down after another arduous day of masters degree assignment writing, the stress-ridden short term future all of a sudden appears

Following the release of the hit song ‘Prune you Talk Funny’, Gus Dapperton is back with his debut album ‘Where Polly People go to Read’. Comprising 10 songs, Dapperton continues to maintain his characteristic bedroom visionary vibe by combining components of different musical eras to his latest piece of work. Gus intertwines elements of 60’s soft rock, 70’s psychedelic and 80’s new wave whilst including more modern notes of R&B. The title of the album comes from Dapperton’s

Rising London-based indie outfit Anteros offer an enjoyable but all too familiar collection of dreamy guitar-based pop on their long-awaited debut record. Given the dire status of British indie rock, aside from a handful of artists in the first decade of the twenty-first century, it feels almost as if the genre has been both resurrected and repaired to its prime and glory over the last six or seven years. Bands like The Magic Gang, Blaenavon and The Big Moon have all provided

Foals are the best version of themselves in this instance of momentary bliss, reflecting the anxiety of the world’s current climate. Foals truly foregrounded the 8th March, stamping their return across the music scene and rising from their hiatus surrounded by rose-red palms and flora. ‘Part 1: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost’, the half-dose of their double release, is all that you expect from the Oxford band, with the benefit of a contemporary perspective: this album encap

Having released 4 EPs between 2015 and 2017 the artistic vision that is the Japanese House celebrated the most recent release of ‘Good at Falling’ by gracing Nottingham’s Rough Trade with its indie-pop and dreamy presence, at one of three intimate gigs to celebrate the debut album with an acoustic performance. With a bar right next to the stage, it was pretty easy to cop yourself a bev or take a quick browse at the vinyl on display; I joined the crowd that had attracted peopl

Irish singer-songwriter offers a soulful, blues-rock extravaganza emblazoned with rich, gold-tinged poeticism Andrew Hozier-Byrne’s salient poeticism first caused an ethereal storm within the music industry in 2013 following the release of debut EP ‘Take Me To Church’, the title-track of which became a religious-damning sensation. A year later, his self-titled debut record stormed into the charts across the world, establishing the folk-rock singer-songwriter as one of music’s

Reading indie-rock idols offer a majestically grander adventure into unchartered territories for a sophomore record emblazoned with emotional intelligence and obsessive hook-laden offerings A spiritual awakening has swept across Reading’s budding music scene since Sundara Karma’s foundation in 2013. Following the release of three sublime EPs, the four-piece brought out debut record ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect’ to widespread acclaim, establishing the band as a breat

Just 6 months after ‘Sweetener’, Ariana Grande follows it up with an effortless blend of pop and R&B, proving she has every right to be the biggest female artist in the world in 2019. The announcement of a new full-length Ariana Grande album so soon after the triumphant and incredibly charming ‘Sweetener’ seemed to many to be a quick cash-grab, capitalising on the monumental success of her recent singles. This may be true, but if so, it’s stacked way too high with bangers to

Amber Bain, otherwise known as The Japanese House is back with the debut album ‘Good at Falling’ which is being realised on the 1st March 2019. To celebrate, Bain has said she will be visiting 3 Rough Trade stores across the UK and will be giving an acoustic performance. Notts locals will be pleased to know that The Japanese House will be blessing our ears at Nottingham’s Rough Trade on the 5th March. “Went to Meet Her” opens the album. The song begins with an electronic ins

Drenge’s 3rd studio album, Strange Creatures, due for release on the 22nd February is a thoroughly rambunctious affair characterised by loud, clunky guitars and an intelligent lyrical wit. It’s a record which demands your attention with a smorgasbord of sounds for your earholes: there’s the glitchy, ‘80’s-disco-gone-wrong’ bass-lines, the purgative guitar solos and vocalist Eoin loveless’ unforgiving Derbyshire twang to name but a few examples. Following on from 2015’s Undert

Saturday night saw Rough Trade graced with the presence of Durand Jones & The Indications- a soulful five-piece from across the pond who were visiting Notts as part of a mini European tour ahead of the release of their second LP, ‘American Love Call’. The band met as students at Indiana University and originally didn’t expect to pursue music as a legitimate career, but changed their minds when their dynamic live shows and the extensive playing of their 2016 self-titled debut

Indie folk champion Jay ‘Beans on Toast’ released his 10th studio album ‘A Bird in the Hand’ on the 1st December (an annual birthday tradition). A sweet and honest record about family, growing up and the bright side of life, you can read my thoughts on it here. This year, he marks the occasion this year with a performance of the record in full at Rough Trade Nottingham and a launch show in Nuneaton. I was lucky enough to catch up with Jay on release day. First things first –

On Friday 30th November- The 1975 released their third studio album ‘A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships’. The album takes the listener on a journey of deep and powerful emotion intermixed with fun, catchy pop songs as well as demonstrating the bands musical expertise. Opening the album is self-titled “The 1975” which is a short piano piece with some highly synthesised lyrics. It’s an odd opener to the album but oddly sets the scene for the rest of the album. Then comes

I sat down with Clean Cut Kid (minus Mike due to a sore throat, so being on vocal rest!) ahead of their sold-out show at the Bodega to chat about going independent and taking complete creative control over their new music. So you’ve just started the UK tour, how’s it going so far? Absolutely amazing. It’s been a year since we last toured, so we were excited to get back on the road. It’s just been class, amazing crowds, sold out each night. It’s nice to be able to play all the

While the classic Beans on Toast formula is alive and well on ‘A Bird in the Hand,’ indie folk stalwart Jay McAllister’s latest record is at its best when it trades his trademark political jibes for honest confessionals. A stalwart of the British indie folk scene, Jay ‘Beans on Toast’ made his name from delivering brutally direct political statements (see: ‘A Whole Lot of Loving’) and humorous anecdotes on drugs and sex (see: ‘M. D. M. Amazing’) over a plucked acoustic guitar

Still jet-lagged, but fueled by ample amounts of coffee, I sat down with Barns Courtney ahead of his sold-out gig at The Maze. So, you’ve just finished touring with the Wombats over in America, how was that? Oh man it was a lot of fun, the dates were really solid, one after another. I always really love playing support gigs, because you really cut your showmanship teeth on those kinda things. They’re gigs where you really have to win a crowd over, as opposed to ones where peo

The Mic's Arthur and Emily caught up with the rising duo. Arthur: It’s great to meet you, How’s the tour going so far? Callum: It’s been great, hands down the best tour we’ve ever done, I think mainly because we’re touring with our friends; Indoor Pets and Dylan Cartilage- bands that we genuinely like. It’s just been really fun and all the audiences have been really up for it. Emily: On social media the live shows have looked insane so far, do you feel you’ve developed your s

Scottish alt rock band Fatherson have toured with bands such as Biffy Clyro, Panic! At the Disco and Interpol. Only three weeks after the release of their third album ‘Sum of All Your Parts”, I caught up with them for a quick chat about becoming celebrity chefs, being prophesied sons, and everything in between. I walked into the dressing room to be greeted by the band watching ‘$2 Vs. $200 sushi’ videos, which really set the scene for the interview, and Fatherson in general a