Tag: rock
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jasmine.4.t live at the Deaf Institute review – triumph and world-weariness from unbreakable trans singer
Returning to her hometown of Manchester after a breakout year, the Boygenius collaborator was let down by poor acoustics in an understandably tired-feeling performance. Still, she can dig into a thrashing System of a Down cover like the best of ’em.
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‘Often the first thought you have is the best one’: Divorce on their instinctive, brilliant debut album
Felix and Kasper from Divorce discuss their critically acclaimed new album and the key to its occasionally baffling lyrics.
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Welly: Big In The Suburbs review – puts the fun back in British indie rock
Welly’s debut album is winningly silly, although its political satire feels a little too safe, and the comedy in Elliot Hall’s cartoonish vocals wears thin quickly.
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Courting: Lust for Life review – overwrought concept album pulls its punches
The Liverpool band’s drive for creative risk-taking is admirable, but the experiment doesn’t pay off on this messy, underwritten third album.
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Divorce: Drive to Goldenhammer review – endearing, open-hearted folk-rock
Framed around a quest to the fictional place of ‘Goldenhammer’, the Nottingham indie band’s impressive debut is packed with one gorgeous duet after another, plus a wealth of plaintive melodic earworms.
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Sam Fender: People Watching review – the Geordie Springsteen delivers a classic
Valorised Geordie hero Sam Fender paints a vivid picture of ordinary working-class life in this extraordinary third record. Never has Fender’s trademark brand of melancholic beauty sounded so potent.
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Undertone’s best songs of 2024
From era-defining pop hits to indie rock gems, vocal jazz to death metal, it’s time to look back on the very best songs that came out in 2024.
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Maruja live at the Cluny review – an extraordinary plunge into hell
The Manchester noise merchants provided all the expected thrills – tempestuous drumming, atmospheric saxophone, sharp-tongued poetry – and added sweeping improvisations and stupendous operatic climaxes. This tepid Newcastle crowd was spoiled rotten.
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Fat Dog live at Project House review – barking mad dance-rock is a treat
The much-hyped band crowned a breakout year with a bangers-only 45 minute blitz in Leeds, packed with mammoth riffs and thunderous bass lines. Even the band’s photographer couldn’t resist the pull of a vintage mosh pit.
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The Last Dinner Party live at O2 City Hall review – red hot girl group come off the boil
Five piece indie rockers The Last Dinner Party were Britain’s most talked-about band during their meteoric rise last winter. The strength of the songwriting remains undeniable, but frontwoman Abigail Morris gave a noncommittal performance on a faintly disappointing Monday night in Newcastle.

