Both Sides Now: Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Llais Festival

As a well-publicised feature of this yearÔÇÖs Llais festival, an evening ÔÇ£celebrating Joni MitchellÔÇØ was in high attendance at Wales Millennium Centre. The evening boasted the first complete performance of 2001 album Both Sides Now in this country. It was undertaken by the talents of The BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, plus singers Charlotte Church, Laura Mvula, ESKA, Georgia Ruth and Olivia Chaney. With new … Continue reading Both Sides Now: Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Llais Festival

Study Soundtracks: What Gets You Through Deadline Season?

As deadline season of first semester swiftly approaches at Cardiff University, we asked some of our contributors what they listen to whilst typing away in the ASSL.    Words by Alice Lumley As someone with ADHD, it is essential for me to have music playing whilst I attempt to study. It must be music without lyrics, or there may end up being accidents (like the time … Continue reading Study Soundtracks: What Gets You Through Deadline Season?

Review: The Feeling @ Cardiff Students’ Union 21/10/2022

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

Ocean Grove @ Clwb Ifor Bach 18/10/2022

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

The Mercury Prize Award 2022: Who Should Take It Home?

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?

Bastille @ Motorpoint Arena Cardiff- Live Review (13/04/22)

Written and Images by Rhiannon Farr Celebrating the release of their fourth album Give Me The Future, Bastille made an explosive return to CardiffÔÇÖs Motorpoint Arena for the first time since 2016. Interestingly, the band made extensive use of a large screen onstage which absorbed us into the futuristic concepts of their new release, as well as using it to project lyrics and close-ups of … Continue reading Bastille @ Motorpoint Arena Cardiff- Live Review (13/04/22)

Yard Act @ Clwb Ifor Bach

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

Echo & The Bunnymen @ St Davids Hall – Live Review (05/02/22)

Words by Sophie Revell and Jasmine Jones (@jasminee_mae and @sophiethejourno) For Echo & The Bunnymen, their comeback tour has been a long time coming- even more so for their strong cult fanbase who have followed them for decades. Since their last Cardiff gig at the old student union in 2014, Echo & The Bunnymen have released 2 studio albums and performed countless highly anticipated festivals, … Continue reading Echo & The Bunnymen @ St Davids Hall – Live Review (05/02/22)

A Conversation with Alt-J’s Thom Sonny Green.

Words by Rowan Davies.  I wanted to start by saying welcome back! How does it feel to be back with a brand-new album? It feels uh, yeah it feels good. At the moment weÔÇÖre still doing everything at home you know, and we havenÔÇÖt played yet so weÔÇÖre promoting everything mostly on Zoom. We did rehearsals about a month ago for the tour. IÔÇÖm pretty … Continue reading A Conversation with Alt-J’s Thom Sonny Green.

The Return of Adele: 30 Review.

By Jasmine Jones. After a six-year hiatus from music and the public eye, Adele is finally back with her new, highly anticipated album 30, and it certainly delivered. Arguably AdeleÔÇÖs most powerful album to date, 30 is an ambitious and ferocious creation centred around ÔÇ£divorce, babe, divorceÔÇØ and the roller-coaster of emotions that came with ending her 8-year relationship to Simon Konecki. That being said, … Continue reading The Return of Adele: 30 Review.

Girli @ Clwb Ifor Bach- Live Review (8/11/21)

Words and Images by Francesca Ionescu Stepping through the door of Clwb Ifor Bach, the light suddenly disappears and is replaced by a dark pink hue and pink neon accents reminding you of who youÔÇÖre about to see. The crowd is young and chatty, itÔÇÖs full of pink hair, pink shirts, fishnets, and an amazing t-shirt that asks the age-old question: ÔÇÿWhy canÔÇÖt I be … Continue reading Girli @ Clwb Ifor Bach- Live Review (8/11/21)

Holly Humberstone @ Clwb Ifor Bach- Live Review (4/11/21)

Words and Image by Craig Strachan A frosty evening on Womanby street brings in a subdued crowd made quiet by the cold. Holly Humberstone soon expelled such frigidity, the natural warmth of her vocals seemingly bringing this room back to life. The 21-year-old is embarking on her first headline tour, originally scheduled for pre-Covid but (as with everything) was postponed. If anything that has played … Continue reading Holly Humberstone @ Clwb Ifor Bach- Live Review (4/11/21)

SOPHIE: 1986-2021: The Legacy Left Behind

Written By Phoebe Bowers, Image Courtesy of StayGolden PR Always the same and never the same Day by day, life after life Without my legs or my hair Without my genes or my blood With no name and with no type of story Where do I live?Tell me, where do I exist?We’re just… Im-ma-ma-material, immaterial. If you donÔÇÖt know who SOPHIE was you definitely have … Continue reading SOPHIE: 1986-2021: The Legacy Left Behind

Live Review: Royal Blood at Newport Centre, 10/8/19

By Emily Ricalton After breaking into the music scene in 2014 with their highly nominated album, ÔÇÿRoyal BloodÔÇÖ, which was released just a year after the duo had formed, Royal Blood have absolutely dominated the rock genre, showing original bands how simple, yet complex heavy music can be. They definitely proved this right when I was fortunate enough to see them live on August 10th … Continue reading Live Review: Royal Blood at Newport Centre, 10/8/19

Live Review: Sigrid at Motorpoint Arena, 13/03/19

Photo credit: Album cover for ‘Sucker Punch’ – Sigrid   by Camille Stanley Admittedly, I arrived at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff on the 13th March knowing not all that much about NorwayÔÇÖs newest pop star Sigrid. Of course I was familiar with the song Strangers, which IÔÇÖm sure has been stuck in many more heads than just mine for the past few months, however … Continue reading Live Review: Sigrid at Motorpoint Arena, 13/03/19

Album Review: ‘Stranger Creatures’ by Drenge

Photo credit: press photo as seen on DIY Mag   by Joe Cresswell It has been a long journey for Drenge; gone are the days of being under the radar (apart from being mentioned in a Labour MPs resignation letter in 2013) and merely being described as a ÔÇÿpunky indie racketÔÇÖ by the Guardian. For as Drenge let the dust settle from releasing their third … Continue reading Album Review: ‘Stranger Creatures’ by Drenge

The New Front of Country Music – Kacey Musgraves Live at the Bristol Hippodrome

By Josh Ong The U.K has always found itself in a difficult position when it comes to country music. ItÔÇÖs seemingly marmite relationship with the general populationÔÇÖs musical taste has never permitted the genre to fully integrate into the nation’s mainstream music scene. Granted, youÔÇÖve had the early works of Taylor Swift that managed to slip through the cracks but even then, they were almost … Continue reading The New Front of Country Music – Kacey Musgraves Live at the Bristol Hippodrome

Review: Drake – Scorpion

by Ellis Garamszegi The release of DrakeÔÇÖs latest album, Scorpion, broke all sorts of records – hardly surprising considering the excitement a Drake album release generates these days. In terms of streaming records, it was the first album ever to reach one billion streams in a week. Yet, I certainly canÔÇÖt recall a Drake album dividing opinion as Scorpion has. I for one found it … Continue reading Review: Drake – Scorpion

Review: Ed Sheeran – x

Following up Ed Sheeran’s chart topping album ‘+,’┬á the highly anticipated ‘x’ is set to be just as huge. Expressing his emotions of love, hurt, the pressures of stardom and of course, inebriation, we see Sheeran’s true lyrical talent in his ability to construct depth and meaning whilst keeping each track delightfully poppy. Opening track ‘One,’ whilst a seemingly bleak start to the album, is … Continue reading Review: Ed Sheeran – x