Anticipating The Lightning Seeds’ return to Cardiff after what feels like a lifetime, the Tramshed was filled to capacity with fans of the 80s rock band. Kicking off the night was a delightfully calming set from indie musician Badly Drawn Boy, creating a chill vibe throughout the entire venue. He was alone onstage but his gorgeous voice filled the room and was a great choice … Continue reading Review: The Lightning Seeds @ Tramshed 18/11/2022
The ÔÇÿBitchÔÇÖ is a constant and repetitive figure within the music industry. Whether she is being denounced as a perpetrator of promiscuity, discarded as money-hungry and manipulative, or paving her way through life on her own terms, the message is clear: It always comes back to the Bitch. Listeners are now immune to a word that, may we remind ourselves, was originally used in the … Continue reading Last Night a DJ Ruined My Night: Profanity in Music
Molly Openshaw On the 16th of November, Florence and the Machine kick-started their U.K. portion of the third leg of the Dance Fever tour at Cardiff International Arena. This is FlorenceÔÇÖs first tour back since the pandemic with their last tour being the High as Hope tour in 2018. Florence and the Machine released their fifth studio album, Dance Fever, in May 2022.┬á Despite the … Continue reading Review: Florence and the Machine @ CIA 16/11/22
Words and photos by Ashley Thieme The last time English alternative rock band Deaf Havana played in Cardiff was 2019, before live shows came to a standstill. However, this time around the previously four-piece band is now fronted by two brothers, James and Matthew Veck-Gilodi. In a statement put out by the band in November 2021 they revealed uncertainty surrounding the future of the band, … Continue reading Review: Deaf Havana @ Tramshed 08/11/2022
British rock giants Kasabian made an explosive return to Cardiff International Arena (formerly Motorpoint Arena), touring their new album The Alchemist’s Euphoria. Despite the awful weather that greeted us, we left the venue absolutely elated. Supporting Kasabian on this tour is The Lathums, a relatively young indie band hailing from Wigan; they were one of the best support acts I’ve ever seen. Their set was … Continue reading Review: Kasabian @ CIA 02/11/2022
Written by Elliot Morgan 25/10/2022 It has been four years since Arctic Monkeys divided their fan base with the drastic left-turn that was Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino. Whilst some loved the record, which took influences from lounge pop and psychedelia, many were disappointed with the departure from the MonkeysÔÇÖ traditional guitar-driven music. Their newest record, The Car, is no different. Retaining some elements of … Continue reading Arctic Monkeys – The Car Album Review
Words and photos by Billy Edwards The audience at the Students’ Union waited with bated breath for The Feeling’s first appearance in Cardiff in some years. This was responded to very well on stage ÔÇô it began with a special harmony-laden fanfare of Fill My Little World rich with atmosphere. It sounded like an off cut from The Beach BoysÔÇÖ Smile Sessions, a piece of … Continue reading Review: The Feeling @ Cardiff Students’ Union 21/10/2022
Words and photos by Harry Taylor A chilly night in Cardiff is felt most bitterly when standing, waiting for the doors of the wonderfully intimate Clwb Ifor Bach to open. Descending upon these doors, equally eager and expectant, were fifteen to twenty people, displaying their identification with this music scene through various skull t-shirts, chains, hats, piercings and badges. I felt like the odd one … Continue reading Ocean Grove @ Clwb Ifor Bach 18/10/2022
Written by Harry Taylor Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert Little Simz released her ground-breaking album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (SIMBI) in September 2021, seeing her receive the second Mercury Prize nomination of her career. After she finally broke into the consciousness of music fans with her 5th album Grey Area in 2019, SIMBI sees her express similar themes through a wider … Continue reading The Mercury Prize Award 2022: Who Should Take It Home?
Words and photos by Tabitha Murrell TW: Mental Health, Suicide Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls’ performance was as potent as it was political. Kicking into gear the consciousness of the onlookers, the band invited the audience to join the anarchy not for just one night, but indefinitely. The sound of Frank Turner is composed not only from heavy drums fused with head-banging melodies, but folksier … Continue reading Review: Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Tramshed 12/10/22
Written by Lily Croft Pale Waves have released their 3rd studio album titled ÔÇÿUnwantedÔÇÖ. An album which is the antithesis of its title as fans were yearning for new music. After 2 successful albums, Pale Waves are back with their melodies fuelled with anger and angst, as their 13-track album transports you back to the 2000ÔÇÖs from the very first second. They leave you feeling … Continue reading Pale Waves: ‘Unwanted’ LP Review
Words by Rowan Davies. Back with a new body of work titled Beware Believers, band frontman James Cox and drummer Sam Lister kindly offered their time to chat with me about their brand new project and upcoming events. Along with a discussion about live music and the greatest country on Earth, Wales, itÔÇÖs safe to say our chat was less a serious interview and more … Continue reading Crows: James Cox and Sam Lister sit down to discuss their new album, new tour, and the joys of live music.
Words by Maddie Balcombe. ÔÇ£WhatÔÇÖs good on a Tuesday, Cardiff?ÔÇØ was the question that Yard ActÔÇÖs frontman James Smith posed to an energetic audience as he first took to the stage in CardiffÔÇÖs iconic Clwb Ifor Bach. The answer seemed obviousÔǪ ÔÇ£Yard Act!ÔÇØ shouted the audience, almost in unison. This answer was not only obvious, but it was also extremely true. Both Yard Act, and … Continue reading Yard Act @ Clwb Ifor Bach
Words by Francesca Manenti In December of 2021, Little Mix broke the news of their planned hiatus through an Instagram post published just a little over a year after former bandmate Jesy Nelson had left the band. Similarly, to Nelson, the group cited a desire to work on other projects as the reason behind their decision, yet they reassured their fans that this was not … Continue reading The Breaking up of the Band
Words and Images by Hope Docherty T.W: mention of sexual harassment, drug culture. The Snuts, a band of few words declaredÔÇÖ: ÔÇ£itÔÇÖs a f*cking WednesdayÔÇØ, whilst playing their second sold-out show of their tour at ÔÇÿThe GlobeÔÇÖ in Cardiff. Not that they had to say much to get the crowd ready, the music did that for itself. After an eager wait for the band to … Continue reading The Snuts @ The Globe – Live Review (03/ 11/21)
Words and Images by Octavia Graham Header Image by Elijah M Henderson The soft, or sometimes not-so-soft, lull of music accompanies each and every memory I hold close. Every essential encounter and every experience. From the CDÔÇÖs spinning around my stereo at night to the slight sound of lessons taking place downstairs. The gigs of parents and friends of parents or busking in the street. … Continue reading For the love of instruments
Words Anonymous As we access our favourite songs through YouTube or streaming services such as Spotify, it is very hard to avoid songs associated with the themes of love, heartbreak, desire or passion. Love songs have sold millions of copies worldwide over the decades, and even today, the most popular songs in the charts often explore what it means to be in love, or at … Continue reading ‘If Music be the food of Love, play on’
Thinkin Bout You by Frank Ocean Words by Suraya Rumbold-Kazzuz Considering his relative ostracization and avoidance of the spotlight, it feels all the more important to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Frank OceanÔÇÖs album Channel Orange and perhaps the most well-known song from the album: Thinkin Bout You. The song has become one of OceanÔÇÖs most well-known and the album itself is now a staple … Continue reading A decade on: The songs that turn ten in 2022
Words and Images by Billy Edwards Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark showed little nerves in their first show in Cardiff in twelve years, commanding an eager audience of devoted fans through a breathless flurry of pioneering eighties synth-pop. The showÔÇÖs dramatic opening event matched the weather outside with a chillingly-steely video of clanging shipyards and metalworks to the tune of Architecture and Morality, the title … Continue reading OMD @ Motorpoint Arena- Live Review (10/11/21)
Words and Interview by Rubie Barker ItÔÇÖs 6 pm in a slightly dingy and drizzly Cardiff for me as I log on to a zoom call with Pale WavesÔÇÖ Heather Baron-Gracie, who is in a far brighter and warmer LA. ÔÇ£The weather is great!ÔÇØ she tells me, ÔÇ£different to Northern England, so that is a massive appeal to me.ÔÇØ Having announced back in July on … Continue reading An Interview with Pale Waves
