#themicnotts

Jun 20, 2019
3 min

Festival Review: Download Festival 2019

Another drizzly Download Festival is now in the books but even the dismal weather and the mud couldn’t stop 90,000 metalheads from having a great time at Donnington Park at the weekend. With headliners as varied as Def Leppard, Slipknot and Tool’s first performance at Download in 12 years, there was something for everyone. Away from the main stage also saw headline performances from All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth and Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus as supergroup Simple Creatures, Enter

The Mic Magazine

Jun 19, 2019
5 min

EP Review: Exchecker – Exchecker

Cheshire-based hip-hop collective deliver an impenetrable statement of intent on their blossoming sophomore EP. Hip-hop has invariably been an illusive genre to conquer since the illustrious first golden age of the genre transformed music worldwide in the late 1980s. With its diversity, incalculable temperament and sweeping lyrical mindset, the brand has undergone more changes in its history than the presenters of Top Gear, yet at its core lies a primal set of foundations, a

Album Review: Hot Chip - 'A Bath Full of Ecstasy'

Alex Barston

Jun 16, 2019
2 min

Album Review: Hot Chip - 'A Bath Full of Ecstasy'

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

Album Review: Charlie Cunningham – 'Permanent Way'

The Mic Magazine

Jun 13, 2019
4 min

Album Review: Charlie Cunningham – 'Permanent Way'

The classically trained London singer-songwriter delivers a documentation of life’s uncertainties on his glowing sophomore record. The burgeoning mass of British singer-songwriters that have emerged in recent years has slowly moulded into a quagmire of similarity and simplicity, taking away some of the joy from acoustic guitar-based music due to its increasing predictability. However, when London-based Charlie Cunningham released his hugely successful debut album Lines in 201

Robyn Walford

Jun 12, 2019
2 min

Album Review: Bastille - 'Doom Days'

‘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

Single Review: Honey Gentry – 'Daydream Baby'

The Mic Magazine

Jun 12, 2019
2 min

Single Review: Honey Gentry – 'Daydream Baby'

Honey Gentry’s storm of ethereal, DIY enchantment provided poetic justice to those desiring artistic integrity when her debut EP Moonlight was released last year. Her passion for life’s non-tangible aspects alongside the adoption of the Honey Gentry alter ego have made the singer-songwriter an enticing prospect in a world dominated by predictable pop music. Despite a slight six-month gap in releasing music, Gentry’s latest euphoric and soul-stirring single is by far her most

Interview: Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari

Sean Hubbard

Jun 9, 2019
6 min

Interview: Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari

Enter Shikari frontman Rou Reynolds played a short acoustic set at Rough Trade on Sunday in support of his new book ‘Dear Future Historians,’ which is a collection of all the Shikari lyrics, including essays explaining them. This is the second edition of the book, and this time round includes the lyrics from the most recent Shikari album ‘The Spark.’ Rou performed several songs off ‘The Spark,’ including lead single ‘Live Outside,’ and also played ‘Constellations’ from 2012’s

Sean Hubbard

Jun 3, 2019
3 min

Review: All Points East, 31st May 2019

The second weekend of All Points East kicked off on Friday 31st May with a day that can only be described as an absolute triumph for British heavy music. Everything from Lotus Eater opening the North stage, all the way up to Bring Me the Horizon’s two-hour headline set was an exhibition of the best that British metal has to offer. Indeed it was clear that despite moving away from heavier music with their latest releases, BMTH still have a keen interest in promoting smaller ba

Album Review: Lewis Capaldi – 'Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent'

Cameron Chadwick

May 30, 2019
4 min

Album Review: Lewis Capaldi – 'Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent'

The Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of Twitter and most rapidly growing pop star to emerge from the UK since Adele surprises with a stripped-back debut which shows hints of greatness, but struggles to justify 12 songs of lethargic balladry. It’s a miracle I ever listened to this album. Its title is a top contender for The Mic’s ‘Worst Album Name of the Year Award,’ an accolade I’m considering setting up purely due to Divinely Uninspired’s existence, and the idea of yet anothe

Review: Slam Dunk Festival (South), 26th May 2019

Sean Hubbard

May 29, 2019
2 min

Review: Slam Dunk Festival (South), 26th May 2019

Another year, another Slam Dunk festival, but this year was the first fully outdoor one ever! Yes the weather was patchy at some points but the music shined through no matter what, and even a bit of rain couldn’t dampen the summery feeling that Seaway always bring to a show. The bands were all incredible, with a personal highlight of the afternoon being Gallows who utterly stormed their set on the Impericon stage, almost levelling the entire tent. Unfortunately, I was unable

The Mic Magazine

May 25, 2019
8 min

Interview: Lady Bird

The all-smiling, all-snarling, all-dancing punk trio caught up with The Mic backstage in Leeds to talk about their headline tour, a debut album and social evolution. Over the course of the past eighteen months, Tunbridge Wells trio Lady Bird have attempted to cause a perpetual shift within our social consciousness through the medium of brash, witty punk rock. Having worn the label of one of the UK’s brightest new sparks, the band are now putting plans into motion for what loo

The Mic Magazine

May 24, 2019
4 min

EP Review: Interpol – 'A Fine Mess'

Stoic alternative icons attempt to rejuvenate the spark of yesteryear on wavering new EP Despite being arguably one of the biggest rock bands on the planet, New York trio Interpol have forever felt destined to be heroes of the underground scene. Their first record Turn on the Bright Lights has been hailed as one of the greatest debuts to have ever graced the alternative world, and follow-up albums Antics and Our Love to Admire were met with critical acclaim and rapturous supp