Music Archives

STEREOPHONICS headline Welsh show of epic proportions at the Principality

June 20, 2022

In an evening bursting with Welsh spirit, Stereophonics headlined their mega-gig at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Friday & Saturday.

Category: Live, Reviews Region: South Wales

FIRST FLIGHT OF THE WHITE RAVEN fails to take flight on new WARDRUNA offering

June 17, 2022

Norwegian band Wardruna’s latest offering reshapes their early 2021 studio album Kvitravn, and the results fall between two stools, neither relaxing nor rousing.

Category: Albums, Reviews

Elven-voiced ELIZABETH FRASER back on top ethereal form with SUN’S SIGNATURE

June 17, 2022

To describe Elizabeth Fraser’s voice as ‘ethereal’ doesn’t do it justice when many others labelled as such pale into earthly comparison.

Category: Albums, Reviews

BARTEES STRANGE takes a reflective, emotional journey on luscious second album

June 17, 2022

In a time when ‘genre-less’ music seems to be thriving Bartees Strange is a shapeshifter with genuine grit, girth and emotionality.

Category: Albums, Reviews

FOALS kick festival season off with their most joyous album yet

June 17, 2022

An intensely summery, optimistic return for Foals, Life Is Yours encourages listeners to grab hold of life and keep dancing through festival season and beyond.

Category: Albums, Reviews

“I’ve written for MABEL & DIANA ROSS but the music I do best is my own” – songwriter VIOLET SKIES is finally taking centre stage

June 16, 2022

Chepstow alt-pop musician Hannah Berney has found success as a songwriter to stars including Mabel and Diana Ross – now, as Violet Skies, she’s launching her debut album this month in Cardiff.

Category: Interviews, Live, Music Region: South Wales

GLC, BASEMENT JAXX & STIFF LITTLE FINGERS head up energetic 2022 MERTHYR RISING fest

June 16, 2022

Taking place for the fifth time this year, Merthyr Rising is slowly becoming a vital part of the Welsh festival calendar.

Category: Festivals, Reviews Region: South Wales

MOONAGE DAYDREAM: 20 years old and still an unparalleled BOWIE guide

June 15, 2022

Twenty years after its initial publication, this unparalleled visual guide to the cultural phenomenon that was Ziggy Stardust has been revamped to celebrate the half-century since the Spiders From Mars crashlanded into British living rooms.

Category: Books, Music, Reviews

“People keep me abreast of what’s good – it invigorates me” – GEORGE BENSON looks back on 70 years of music

June 14, 2022

Approaching his 80th birthday, George Benson is a force of nature that's consistently blurred the lines between jazz, blues and soul. Carl Marsh spoke to the guitar-slinging bossman ahead of a Cardiff show.

Category: Interviews, Music Region: South Wales

MIDDING’s rebrand gets off to boisterous start at lively Cardiff gig

June 14, 2022

“Clwb Fuzz are dead – long live Midding!” grins Joe Woodward, the guitarist clearly relishing the opportunity to celebrate his band’s rebranding in the company of a lively Friday night crowd in Cardiff.

Category: Live, Reviews Region: South Wales

KATE BUSH: the bonkers and the beautiful

June 14, 2022

There’s a lot more to Kate Bush than the Netflix-fuelled boomerang hit of the moment Running Up That Hill. Chris Williams presents a guide to some deep cuts from her remarkable discography.

Category: Features, Music

50 years of Ziggy Stardust – Bowie collaborator DANA GILLESPIE looks back to 1972 at Cardiff weekender

June 13, 2022

Marking five decades since the release of one of David Bowie’s most iconic albums, singer and formative confidante of his Dana Gillespie will be in Cardiff for an intimate celebratory weekend.

Category: Interviews, Music Region: South Wales

Beloved by the Internet, alt-pop’s TV GIRL are now Welsh faves too

June 13, 2022

After much anticipation and two venue changes, Californian indie group TV Girl made their Welsh debut to a sold-out Tramshed.

Category: Live, Reviews Region: South Wales

THE UTOPIA STRONG: snooker legend Steve Davis flexes his (surprising) prog muscles

June 13, 2022

Steve Davis – a six-time world champion snooker player who earned a reputation for being boring – is an enormous prog fan who, at the age of 64, is now composing his own out-there music.

Category: Albums, Reviews

ROXANNE DE BASTION’s intimate tour kicks off in tiny Cardiff venue – but her talent is anything but

June 10, 2022

Roxanne de Bastion may recall the friendly crowd of 25 in Cardiff as she prepares to play to a sold-out arena of thousands.

Category: Live, Reviews Region: South Wales

NICK MULVEY seeps under the skin with sweet summer mantras on NEW MYTHOLOGY

June 10, 2022

On this third album, Nick Mulvey gets further under the skin, coming across as the thinking person’s George Ezra (no bad thing) or a more energetic Mac DeMarco.

Category: Albums, Reviews

Rising R’n’B sensation MAHALIA exudes grounded positivity live in Cardiff

June 10, 2022

Leicester-born R'n'B singer Mahalia exuded positive energy during her showstopping performance at Cardiff’s Tramshed.

Category: Live, Reviews Region: South Wales

Grime pioneer LETHAL BIZZLE’s back-to-basics return is short but sweet

June 10, 2022

Lethal B vs. Lethal Bizzle, comprising seven mostly short tracks and an interlude, might end up making you hungry for more because it’s a lot of fun.

Category: Albums, Reviews

ANGEL OLSEN’s sixth LP is stacked with instant timeless classics

June 10, 2022

As with its predecessors, the cover of Angel Olsen’s new LP Big Time is a photo of its creator, instantly establishing it as the third in a trilogy of epic personal dramas.

Category: Albums, Reviews

Indie-pop golden boy GEORGE EZRA returns with melancholy summer album

June 10, 2022

Fun and playful as Gold Rush Kid is, there don't seem to be any further bangers with summer mega-repeat potential from George Ezra here.

Category: Albums, Reviews

Celebrate 60 years of THE ROLLING STONES with fly-on-the-wall 1972 tour journal

June 8, 2022

A rather grand anniversary edition of Jim Marshall’s photobook The Rolling Stones 1972 – updated to include contact sheets, enhanced photos - has been released to mark their 60th anniversary.

Category: Books, Music, Reviews

Pride 2022 in Wales: 10 fabulous events of celebration & protest

June 7, 2022

2022 marks 50 years since the first-ever UK Pride took place. And with health restrictions eased, festivities are back in full swing for this historic year in Wales.

Category: Culture, Festivals, Outdoors, Roundups Region: Wales-Wide

Post-apocalyptic synthpop trio HEAD NOISE deliver energetic electronics in Cardiff’s Moon

June 6, 2022

Head Noise, a trio from the south Wales Valleys, delivered a dynamic, oddball and theatrical performance on the last Friday of May.

Category: Live, Reviews Region: South Wales

Metal “scumdogs” GWAR usher in THE NEW DARK AGE on genre-mashing concept album

June 3, 2022

GWAR frontman The Berserker Blóthar tells us: “This is the greatest rock record of all time. These are the songs for a new age, a New Dark Age, when men live by the dimming light of technology destined to betray them.”

Category: Albums, Reviews

STEREOPHONICS headline Welsh show of epic proportions at the Principality

FIRST FLIGHT OF THE WHITE RAVEN fails to take flight on new WARDRUNA offering

Elven-voiced ELIZABETH FRASER back on top ethereal form with SUN’S SIGNATURE

BARTEES STRANGE takes a reflective, emotional journey on luscious second album

FOALS kick festival season off with their most joyous album yet

“I’ve written for MABEL & DIANA ROSS but the music I do best is my own” – songwriter VIOLET SKIES is finally taking centre stage

GLC, BASEMENT JAXX & STIFF LITTLE FINGERS head up energetic 2022 MERTHYR RISING fest

MOONAGE DAYDREAM: 20 years old and still an unparalleled BOWIE guide

“People keep me abreast of what’s good – it invigorates me” – GEORGE BENSON looks back on 70 years of music

MIDDING’s rebrand gets off to boisterous start at lively Cardiff gig

KATE BUSH: the bonkers and the beautiful

50 years of Ziggy Stardust – Bowie collaborator DANA GILLESPIE looks back to 1972 at Cardiff weekender

Beloved by the Internet, alt-pop’s TV GIRL are now Welsh faves too

THE UTOPIA STRONG: snooker legend Steve Davis flexes his (surprising) prog muscles

ROXANNE DE BASTION’s intimate tour kicks off in tiny Cardiff venue – but her talent is anything but

NICK MULVEY seeps under the skin with sweet summer mantras on NEW MYTHOLOGY

Rising R’n’B sensation MAHALIA exudes grounded positivity live in Cardiff

Grime pioneer LETHAL BIZZLE’s back-to-basics return is short but sweet

ANGEL OLSEN’s sixth LP is stacked with instant timeless classics

Indie-pop golden boy GEORGE EZRA returns with melancholy summer album

Celebrate 60 years of THE ROLLING STONES with fly-on-the-wall 1972 tour journal

Pride 2022 in Wales: 10 fabulous events of celebration & protest

Post-apocalyptic synthpop trio HEAD NOISE deliver energetic electronics in Cardiff’s Moon

Metal “scumdogs” GWAR usher in THE NEW DARK AGE on genre-mashing concept album

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