Prior to the release of The Wombats’ fifth studio album and this week's Official UK Number 1 album Fix Yourself, Not the World, Adam Goriparthi spoke to drummer Dan Haggis about recording new music, the impact of the pandemic, album expectations and the prospect of live shows. After an initial conversation on comprising baking playlists and university degrees, a clear question to ask was how Haggis was feeling ahead of the release of Fix Yourself, Not the World. Unsurprisingl

I spent my walk over to Rock City feeling pensive, writes Hattie Kilner. Sports Team, albeit a very juvenile version of them, were officially the first ever band I saw in Nottingham. This was way back when they supported The Magic Gang in late 2018, and the thought of them now headlining a show filled me with nothing but a warm sense of pride. On stepping into the (extremely crowded) floor of Rock City, my reminiscing was very quickly replaced with only two thoughts: ‘fucking

With the anniversary tour for Mayday Parade’s 2011 self-titled album scheduled for May, Gemma Cockrell looks back at why the album became a staple of pop punk playlists over the years. In my opinion, the best pop punk music strikes a balance between energy and emotion. And that’s exactly what Mayday Parade does. Album opener Oh Well, Oh Well demonstrates this immediately; it starts off as a gentle and emotional piano ballad, before the full band burst into life to transform t

Fickle Friends have returned with their sophomore effort 'Are We Gonna Be Alright?'. Gemma Cockrell offers her thoughts.

The Mic’s Dominic Allum and Maddie Craig were in attendance of Madness' show as they entered into an arena of fun, flamboyancy and fezzes.

What better way to start the New Year, with a refreshing reflection on Self Esteem's visit to our fine city a few months back. Rebecca Lucy Taylor and her wonderful ensemble graced the stages of Nottingham's Metronome and Rough Trade- Freya Saulsbury Martin and Joe Hughes relive two very different performances. Self Esteem @ Metronome Self Esteem, a.k.a. Rebecca Lucy Taylor, is an artist who promises you a show, and she certainly delivered. Kicking off her set at Metronome wi

As an album that has only just reached two years old, this is not a traditional ‘classic’ by any means, and may not be considered as such by most readers. But for Jake Longhurst, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes' End Of Suffering is a modern masterpiece, and he's here to convince you that in a matter of years it shall be considered a classic album. The sheer strength of this whole release, from track one through to track thirteen, is unbelievable, and Frank Carter & The Rattle

Gemma Cockrell counts down her top ten emo rap songs, a subgenre which originated on SoundCloud with artists like the late Lil Peep and Juice WRLD, fusing the guitar instrumentation of pop punk and rock music with the flows of modern hip hop to form unique and revolutionary new sounds. Star Shopping – Lil Peep I had to start the list with the pioneer of emo rap himself, Lil Peep. It was so difficult to pick which Lil Peep song to put on this list since he has so many iconic o

Maia Gibbs shares her thoughts on The Twang's performance at Nottingham's Rescue Rooms.

Abi Kara-Fernandes reviews Everyone You Know's performance at Nottingham's Rescue Rooms.

The Mic's Maia Gibbs gives her take on Paul Weller's 'An Orchestrated Songbook'

We've almost reached the end of 2021, which means it's the perfect time to look back at some of the musical highlights of the year. So, The Mic's writers have each picked an album to form a collective list of our Albums of the Year! In no particular order, you can read a bit about each album here. Enjoy! Glow - Alice Phoebe Lou I didn’t have to think twice about my favourite album of the year. I instantly knew it would be Alice Phoebe Lou’s Glow. As with all of her albums, sh

Max Harries reviews The Hives' take on Rock City.

After interviewing overpass, Millie Hopcott was very excited to see them play live at The Chameleon, as she shares her thoughts.

After interviewing Zuzu back in September and reviewing her album in November, Gemma Cockrell headed to The Bodega review Zuzu's show.

Millie Hopcott reviews Cavetown's take on Nottingham's Rock City.

In the last instalment of The Mic's Albums Of The Year 2021 before the full list is unveiled, we dive into albums from Indigo De Souza, Injury Reserve, Olivia Rodrigo, Dave, Måneskin and deathcrash. Any Shape You Take - Indigo De Souza Hold U is a stand-out track on Indigo De Souza's sublime grunge, pop, indie love potion of a record. “You are a good thing, I’ve noticed, I’ve seen it” is so wholesome and pure as a lyric, it sparks a Wizard-Of-Oz-like colouring in of the grays

Our resident barman Jake Longhurst caught Eagles Of Death Metal's live set at Rock City at the start of December, and despite only being a casual fan of the Californian rock band, here are his thoughts on the show. As a very, very, and I cannot emphasise this enough, very, casual fan of the Eagles Of Death Metal, I was quite happy to be working this shift, as whilst I wouldn’t have paid for a ticket to see them, I was excited to see what kind of a show this band would put on.

A few hours before their sold-out Nottingham show, Millie Hopcott had the pleasure of interviewing Overpass in The Chameleon’s tiny bar, her first interview for The Mic. It is safe to say I was very nervous for this interview, with it being my first. However, as soon as I spoke to the band and heard their familiar Brummie accents, I was instantly calmed. Even from first impressions, I could tell that the band were a very chilled and lovely bunch, so I knew it would be an enjo