Posts Tagged ‘DIY’

That Hidden Promise – Lifeform

Posted: 22 June 2026 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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5th June 2026

Christopher Nosnibor

There’s a lot of music out there now. Eighteen months ago, it circulated in the news that there is now more music released daily than there was during the entirety of 1989. The research was conducted by MiDiA Research, and while I’ve not delved enough to uncover precisely how they reached the comparative volumes – there were DIY vinyl and cassette releases happening in 1989, and, while by no means commonplace, CD-R arrived on the market around 1988, arguably representing a significant step in the journey towards artists taking hold of the means of production for their work. Granted, these things are small-scale releases, but then so are the majority of those being released now: the point of the report is that artists no longer need management or a label or any of the more historical industry mechanisms to release their music, and now they have the potential for global reach.

‘It’s Breaking the Industry!’ was how Headphonesty reported the news. Well, fuck the industry. The industry are the main reason artists choose the DIY route – and not necessarily because they can’t get signed, but because they don’t want their production and sound and release schedule to be dictated, or to be bottom of the pile when it comes to the cut of the earnings from their work. ‘The Industry’ has changed, but while Spotify et al have been major players in terms of direct-to-platform releases by artists, they’re still very much industry in the sense that the last ones to get paid in their colossal operation are those who create the content.

Swerving the art vs content issue so soon after only last night’s piece, I would say out concern and sympathy should be with the artists and the listeners. Listeners are simply swamped, and artists risk sinking in an ocean of noise without reaching a fraction of the audience they deserve. And the algorithms do not help, which is why I personally take recommendations from people I know and trust, be they friends or trusted PR folks. Even then, there’s some sifting involved, and what’s more, it’s so easy to feel overwhelmed, or to simply switch off and let all this music congeal into a sonic wallpaper that provides a backdrop while you’re doomscrolling social media and news sites, wondering if the world will end tomorrow, or piling shit you don’t need into your basket on Amazon.

But sometimes, something will leap out from the hum and make you prick up your ears. And ‘Lifeform’ is one of those songs.

It’s That Hidden Promise’s first release in three years. The subject matter is weighty – and relatable – enough, an exposition of how we’re all part of the machine, cogs in the wheels of capitalism, with not just every hour of your waking life controlled by work (or the punitive benefits system if you don’t have work for whatever reason, including disability) but even how your waking / sleep patterns are not a matter of choice. Think that’s an exaggeration? How many times have you heard ‘I can’t come out tonight / stay out late because I’ve got work in the morning’? That is nothing short of total control, and the first verse is on point:

You’re not seeing, or thinking, just doing,

As a lifeform

Taking orders, cos that’s what you do,

Just a lifeform

Getting drained by the lies of the state,

Good little lifeform

Pushed around like atoms in the Hydron,

Cos you’ve just got to do what the system dictates

But what made me prick up my ears initially with ‘Lifeform’ was the delivery. It’s got a very strong 80s vibe, but it’s crossed with an early 90s indie feel – bright, choppy guitars and crisp drum machine dominate the mix, and the guitars layer up with some busy lead work. In places I’m reminded of Carter USM, but there’s more swagger and more groove, and the energy here is kinda sneery without being Oasis, with maybe more a feel of the early days of The Cooper Temple Clause. It’s also motorik, insistent, and catchy. And it’s 100% DIY.

This recommendation was brought to you not by an algorithm, but by a real living person who sifts through dozens of releases a day. No need to thank me…

AA

That Hidden Promise Promo1

Meno-pause for thought: Jo Dale talks about bands, DIY gig promotion, activism, and all things Fuzzled

Posted: 22 June 2026 in Interviews
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Interview by Christopher Nosnibor

Images supplied by Jo

The last year or so has seen Utterly Fuzzled nights become established as a notable feature of the live scene in York. I’ve written about a few of them in recent months. The lineups are invariably of a high standard, and always offer something different, with a mix of local acts and those from further afield – often the North East. Hosted at a working men’s club just over a mile or so to the south of the city centre – and just along the road from the renowned grass roots venue The Fulford Arms – they’re curated by Jo Dale and Pete Dale (who play together in Knitting Circle, and recently-added offshoot, Chaffinch, as well as Pete being a co-founder of lo-fi indie act Milky Wimpshake).

Being fresh from a triumphant tenth event – an outstanding two-dayer which saw Objections, Dragged Up, Silk Cuts (Exeter), and Count Florida (Glasgow) feature alongside some favourite York acts – I wanted to catch up with Jo to find out more about their operations, motivations, and plans.

CN for AA: What was the genesis of the Utterly Fuzzled nights, and is there any broad concept or ethos behind them?

JD: Pete and I moved to York in July 2022 and both had put on many gigs before. We just really wanted to put on some DIY bands who we love, so we put on a one-off called From the Vaults at the old Victoria Vaults venue in York. We know lots of bands from around the country and for both From the Vaults and Utterly Fuzzled, we have often made contact with old friends in bands to ask them to play – but equally we wanted to get to know new bands, that constant search for new bands, we wanted to create a platform to make that possible for ourselves and others, simple really.

In terms of ethos: treating bands well with a hot meal; paying them what we can, taking no money for ourselves but covering room hire, flyers, food for the bands, etc. before paying bands everything else; platforming female-identifying artists because we are fucking bored of seeing all-male bills, what else? I mean, just, putting on bands that we love and then curating events is fun, like, we like to create things that loosely go together but at the same time are quite different from each other. It’s become a community and something we really look forward to and we know others do and just about every event someone says ‘we really love this space and the people here, we feel like we fit into this space’. More than once, people have told us that it has made them feel at home in the City of York where they didn’t feel quite at home, where they found their space. Really it’s about diversity and community, if there is an ethos.

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Pete and Jo Dale with the Utterly Fuzzled stage banner

You’ve made The Fulfordgate WMC the home of your nights – a place hardly anyone even knew existed before your first event there. How did you come across it, and what made you choose it?

After From the Vaults, the Vaults unfortunately closed, we searched methodically our new home city of York for somewhere else to put gigs on and when we’d almost given up hope we stumbled across the Fulfordgate which also happens to be 10 minutes walk from our house! When Pete and I first walked in and met the super-lovely manager Christine and saw the octagonal dance floor and the disco ball, we knew we’d stumbled across somewhere very special.

How do you go about curating your lineups? Is there a formula?

Absolutely no all-male line-ups! We actively search out bands with female-identifying musicians in. We listen to all music that’s sent to us. We’re not genre specific, between us we have very wide musical tastes. Basically, if it excites us then we want to put it on, simple as that really.

What’s your assessment of the health of the York music scene right now? And from your experience, how does it compare to elsewhere?

York compares very well with Stoke where we were living for a few years. There was a tiny (but perfectly formed and friendly) music scene in Stoke but gigs were only occasional. In York there’s a lot more going on and it’s been great seeing and getting to know stalwart bands like Percy, Soma Crew, etc, and newer bands like the Bricks and Fat Spatula. It was great giving a debut platform for Flat Lights’ first show, we felt that was a real privilege, and we look forward to doing more of that in the future – support your local scene, it will support you!

Two things which always stand out about your events is a) the quality of the acts b) the diversity of the acts – and some, like Troutflies and Kar Pouzi, have been strongly experimental. Do you ever feel there’s a risk in showcasing more leftfield acts?

Putting on an Utterly Fuzzled gig is really hard work. There’s lots of behind the scenes work that goes on. For example, constant social media, running around putting up posters and fliers in your lunchbreak, designing those posters, flyering at gigs, liaising with bands and venue, all as a volunteer. So we feel very strongly that the bands that play Utterly Fuzzled must excite us, they must really make us want to put them on because otherwise what’s the point in doing all that hard work? If we’re going to ask people to spend hard-earned money coming to one of our gigs, we are determined that it’s going to be worth coming out for. When you’re watching a band, for that moment you’re just absolutely with that band, on an absolute high because they’re incredible, that’s the thing that we’re searching for, that moment of ‘Oh my god, they’re unbelievable!’

We do showcase quite leftfield things but we always mix it up, adding more accessible things in so there’s something for everyone. We don’t want to become niche: we’re very outward looking, we actively don’t want to have a niche. We’re always on the search for things that excite us, we’re not deliberately thinking ‘Ooh, that’ll shock them’, if we think we’re going to enjoy it then we’re going to put it on, if we think that we’ve heard it before then, no.

There’s been much debate of late – particularly in the US – about whether artists, particularly musicians – should involve themselves in politics. It’s clear where you stand on the topic, but would you like to detail your stance on it?

My activism comes out in my music, it’s not really a choice, it’s just who I am. Having been an animal rights, social justice and environmental campaigner since my teens, activism is always close by.

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Knitting Circle

With songs about immigration and fox hunting – among other things – is it fair to describe Knitting Circle as an ‘issues’ band?

Yes, but we do have songs that aren’t just about ‘issues’, we’re not just an issues band.

AA

You recently received some significant coverage for your song ‘Losing My Eggs’, which is about the menopause – something which remains severely misunderstood and its impact on women severely underappreciated. Did you feel as if you’d accomplished something beyond the music itself in being able to raise awareness and further the discussion of the topic in this way?

If it’s adding to the conversation about the menopause or helps someone’s partner or child to understand what someone’s going through, to be able to support somebody then yeah. If it helps women going through menopause to be seen then yeah. Pretty much every single Knitting Circle gig, someone will collar me after the set to talk to me about that song.

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Jo Dale

What’s in the pipeline for Knitting Circle, and what can we look forward to from future Utterly Fuzzled events?

For Knitting Circle, our album is recorded and mixed and will be out in the Autumn, probably November, we are working with two different amazing DIY record labels to make this happen. We are very excited to share it. We have 3 Utterly Fuzzled dates booked for the Autumn and we are curating the line-ups at the moment, the first of these dates being Saturday 19th September at the Fulfordgate  – expect full but wonky line-ups!

You can keep up to date with Utterly Fuzzled events and activities here …and Knitting Circle here.

Utterly Fuzzled #10 – Objections / Knitting Circle / Count Florida / The Bricks / Pope Joan / Dragged Up – Fulfordgte WMC, York, 6 June 2026

Posted: 9 June 2026 in Live, Reviews
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Christopher Nosnibor

I’ve been frothing about the Utterly Fuzzled events for a while now, as being an absolute cornerstone of the remarkably vibrant York scene of the moment, and similarly, I’ve commented variously on the sense of community and the way the promoters support one another rather than compete. It’s perhaps a byproduct of these challenging times – noted from the stage by Objections during their set – whereby putting on gigs at this level is bloody hard work and largely a thankless task – and not without financial risk, either, which means that those who do it do so because first and foremost they’re passionate about music.

Times have certainly changed: back in the 80s and 90s, often regarded as a golden age for independent venues and new music, smaller places such as York were under the monopoly of greedy promoters who would operate pay to play and other unscrupulous policies which largely ensured that the bands – who had no money to begin with – took the risk while they got paid regardless. At least now there’s a certain sense of equality in that no-one gets paid.

This is their tenth event, which expanded into a two-nighter (A Fuzzlefest, if you will), of which this is the second, and the lineup is stacked – a veritable ‘Best of Utterly Fuzzled’, with four of tonight’s acts making a return (if we include Objections who played a pre-Fuzzled event before the name was formalised).

The fact that former headliners Dragged Up are late additions and opening proceedings, hitting the stage at 5:30 before hauling up to Newcastle (after playing Middlesborough the night before), is quite the coup, and testament to the strength of the connections organisers Jo and Pete have with the bands they put on.

Future single ‘Rapunzel’ lands mid set with guests vocals from Mel Whittle of fellow Glasgow act Count Florida – who are on later – and slides onto the chord sequence of Bauhaus’ ‘Dark Entries’ in the mid section. They close with a sprawling eight-minute monster about leopard print, which lands with far more impact in the room than it ever could on paper.

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Dragged Up

Pope Joan’s performance exemplifies everything that’s brilliant about the Fuzzled events – the spread of genres and the willing ness to showcase the oddball and experimental electronica amidst the guitar-based indie and post-punk and beyond. Pope Joan – formerly of Leeds act Casino Volante – brings a host of elements together with some quirky humour and a dash of strange. Initially, we get Stereolab meets Kraftwerk, evolving into some experimental synthy hip-hop with some mutant disco going on. Then at times it gets a but noisy, a bit DAF, a bit Cabaret Voltaire. The bants are awkward, and this seems to be part of the act, too. There’s a Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover that sounds more like Suicide – the band, that is.

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Pope Joan

Two weeks on from the last time I saw them, The Bricks are relaxed and on fine form. It’s a very different setting, and the fact they’re every bit as good playing through their backline as through a PA – and seem as comfortable – is an indication of just how well meshed they are as a unit. Gemma installs herself in front of the stage, and, with all the room, she makes the most of the space, charging about, radiating electric energy. And once again, she hollers her fucking lungs out, to the extent that she’s visibly and audibly spent every grain of her guts by the end of the set. It wouldn’t work if the band behind her weren’t the pinnacle of precision, though, and while they have lengthy debates about what song’s next and how it goes, once the first bar happens, they’re in the zone.

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The Bricks

Second Glasgow band of the night, Count Florida espouse vintage jangly indie, hinting at the sound of C86, but perhaps more pertinently that of the Postcard Label – something which is uniquely Scottish (despite their releasing a single by The Go-Betweens, who were Australian). They’re perhaps a little under rehearsed for a few of the songs, and while not necessarily performed to peak level, I couldn’t help but feel the effect of some of their deeply personal songs about death and about loss and needed to breathe for a couple of minutes after their set.

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Count Florida

Knitting Circle just get better, tighter, more confident, more comfortable with every performance. They might not think so, but they do. Even when looking tense and debating the set list, the way they react to audience call-outs and situations more generally shows an assurance that’s a measure of a band becoming truly established. They throw in the risky new material in early, and the second half of the set is, as ever, a showcase in choppy, issues-based post punk. On the subject of issues, Jo (vocals, bass) recently posted on Facebook how a recent review had made a deal of her choice of dress in contrast to the rest of the band, highlighting how deep sexism runs in all aspects of our culture – it’s particularly glaring in context of Pete’s remarkable shirt collection. When asking of the audience how the mix was, there was a call for him to turn his guitar up – fair enough, but equally, he might have turned his shirt down. Anyway, needless to say, they sound great.

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Knitting Circle

Objections are also well-liked around these parts, and further afield. I made precisely no notes during their set: I was simply hypnotised by the fretwork. They’re by no means a wanky band, but they are incredibly technical, and totally kinetic in their performance. They’re not exactly in the domains of Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica, but there is very much a sense of the three bandmembers each playing different tunes – but it all comes together, miraculously. Claire Adams’ bass switches between stop/start and booming groove, and it melds perfectly with the precision, jazz-style drumming of Neil Turpin, while Joseph O’Sullivan goes nuts in his own world making noise never before wrung from an electric twelve string. They’re completely unprepared when hassled for an encore, but after some debate, we get one. This is real, spontaneous. And it’s ace.

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Objections

This is live music at its best. Six bands for the price of a takeaway. Four have travelled: all six are worth the entrance fee. But it’s more than just about seeing some decent bands. It’s about the vibe, and the people, too. This is the very core of the live music scene.

Argonaut – Interrupted

Posted: 29 May 2026 in Albums, Reviews
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Criminal Records – 12th June 2026

Christopher Nosnibor

It’s a pretty bold move to open an album with a slow-paced and pretty bleak-sounding song which is more about dolorous atmosphere than chorus or hook. But then, Argonaut’s latest offering is pretty bold – albeit in an understated sort of a way. That likely sounds oxymoronic, so let me unpack it a bit.

After something of a purple patch, with the prolific spate of post-lockdown output which, over the course of a year and a bit and a new song each month saw the development of open-ended album Songs from the Black Hat (which ended up with a total of twenty tracks, with the inclusion of a couple of remixes), Argonaut were forced to make a change of pace. Life has a way of doing that – and events also resulted in a change of focus. The result is Interrupted – an album two years in the making, and by far the darkest and most introspective set of songs they’ve released. It’s not that the London DIY trio have always skirted darkness or introspection, but historically, it’s been balanced by lighter, poppier indie tunes. Now, though, they’ve embraced what one may call the therapeutic benefits of creativity, channelling – and coming to terms with – real-life issues and even trauma through those outlets.

As the accompanying notes lay things out quite plainly, Interrupted offers ‘Ten songs from the past year’s abyss, documenting breakdown, burnout, dementia, depression, memory, hope and healing’. This in itself is bold. Again and again, the conversation is ‘we need to talk about these things’, but the moment we do, there’s a sort of collective wince in society, on social media, among our friends even. We’re still not societally conditioned to deal with the difficult stuff. I can speak from experience here: following the loss of my wife at the age of 44, and finding myself as a single parent, I’ve had enough ‘well, I could be worse’ type responses to articulations of struggle to fill a book. And now, while witnessing the mental and physical decline of one of my parents, I’m finding a similar reluctance among friends to engage on a meaningful level on the subject.

Thankfully, there are always artists who are – not necessarily willing, but perhaps more compelled – to pour all of this into their work, perhaps because those in immediate proximity are found wonting when it comes to conversation, meaning that creative channels are the only channels available. The Twilight Sad’s latest album, The Long Goodbye is perhaps the most harrowing thing I’ve heard in years, but James Graham’s dealing with the loss of his mother to dementia through the songs is powerful beyond belief.

Interrupted, too, confronts real-life anguish. And so, after some digression, we return to that opening track. ‘We’re Not Hungry Anymore’ is a remarkable hybrid of jangly indie and post-grunge – the heavily chorused guitar carrying hints of Soundgarden’s ‘Black Hole Sun’, but mournful strings bring a different shade of melancholy, and Lorna’s vocal somehow manages to be cutesie and scared, giving vibes of Alison Shaw of Cranes. It culminates in a monumental crescendo.

Lead single ‘Leaves’ – which lands towards the end of the album – is similarly bleak, particularly Cure-esque and direct in its addressing emotional distress, here specifically on the topic of dementia. As Lorna writes on the single’s video, “I was thinking about the moon cycle and the new moon and wanted to incorporate that feeling into the music. The lyrics are about somebody who is getting older and their mind is starting to deteriorate. They can remember the past more than the present. I had the image of being lost in the woods and trapped inside their memories. It’s quite a personal song.”

AA

And in the personal lies the universal, the relatable. The last few times I’ve seen my mother, she’s talked mostly about her school days and her job. She’s 79, and has nothing much to talk about, and actually seems to recall very little, from any time since. She gets lost going to the village shop, despite having lived in the same village for a good twenty-five years. So yes, this resonates, and increasingly, friends – or friends of friends – tell of relatives – no longer just grandparents, but parents suffering a painful mental unravelling.

‘Hats Off’ lands in the region of Daisy Chainsaw remixed by The Cure, with a bassline that’s got the vibe of ‘Let’s Go to Bed’ while casting a nod to the niggly guitar bit in Prince’s ‘Kiss’ which fits with the post-punk pop funk vibe which goes some way to break the tension, and ‘I’m Not Getting Up After This’ is the perfect summary of a depressive episode, the encapsulation of both physical and mental exhaustion. ‘Sugarfree’ is one of the songs closest to what we’re familiar with from Argonaut, with Nathan’s gravelly, weary-sounding monotone providing a magnificent contrast to Lorna’s sweet, flighty tones, but something about it feels leaden, weighted – not in a lethargic way, but as if pulled by an emotional drag. ‘This Means Something, This is Important’, released a year ago while the album was still evolving, is another of the more upbeat, fizzy indie moments we’re used to, and ‘Unpredictable’ showcases their irrepressible pop penchant. The final track, ‘Rewind’ is heavy, Siouxsue and The Banshees gone sluge – it makes for a hard-hitting, climactic  finale.

AA

Interrupted is often dark, bleak, intense, and incredibly sad, but still packs its fair share of poppy punk tunes to provide some balance. It’s a difficult album, and rightly so. It’s not meant to be easy listening. It’s taut, its pop moments propelled by a thunking bass and motorik grooves. It’s also an album with many depths. It’s perhaps not an album we’d have expected from Argonaut, and it’s likely not an album they themselves expected, or would have wanted to make. But it’s emotionally honest, and that is bold. It’s also probably their strongest release yet.

AA

Argonaut, Interrupted Album_ Front

Irked / JUKU / Chaffinch / Duck – Fulfordgate WMC, York, 9th May 2026

Posted: 10 May 2026 in Live, Reviews
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Christopher Nosnibor

One measure of how much I’ve enjoyed a night is by volume the notes I’ve made. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but fewer notes tend to indicate that I’ve been too immersed in the performances – and likely being social in between – to write much. And so it is that I returned home tonight with a bunch of blurry photos and the grand total of fifty-four words.

Yes, for their one-year anniversary gig, Utterly Fuzzled have laid on a truly top-class lineup – and it’s drawn a deservedly significant crowd. And the gong is back! A feature of the early events, it’s a welcome return for this signature piece of instrumentation, which variously heralds the opening of a set, or otherwise

Sheffield’s Duck are making their Fuzzled debut, and showcase a northern post-punk style that emanates authenticity, due in no small part to their vintage drum machine and synths which define the sound. They had issues with their levels throughout the set, taking a song or two before the drum machine cut through some particularly murky, bassy guitar and the dominant synths, only to sink back beneath the waves two-thirds of the way through. But then the tide was in their favour, they were ace, with a crisp pop edge and some nice harmonies. In places, they reminded me of short-lived and criminally underrated goth-pop act Sunshot (whose guitarist, Toby Bricheno, is the brother of Tim Bricheno, formerly of All About Eve and The Sisters of Mercy).

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Duck

It wouldn’t be an Utterly Fuzzled event without one of the various projects of the organisers on the bill, and tonight we get a – comparatively rare – outing from Chaffinch, which in terms of lineup is essentially Knitting Circle plus an additional guitarist. Sonically, they are somewhat different. Precisely what they sound like seems to be a topic for debate, with different people hearing different things, and with no recordings, it’s impossible to verify. To my ear, it’s a cocktail of mathy post-punk with some c.86 indie jangle and a dash of shoegaze, which is perhaps best summarised as ‘chaffinchous’ (there you go, Jamie, the royalties from the coinage are in the post).

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Chaffinch

The aforementioned additional guitarist is a towering presence – both physically and sonically, and requires a lot of space for his expressive playing, playing in front of the stage, trading angular chords with Pete Dale, while Jo knocks out chunky, solid basslines by way of balance. Considering they’re debuting some new and recently revised material, they manage to keep it tight, and by the end of the set, all bar drummer Marc are in front of the stage.

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Chaffinch

Riff behemoths JUKU never disappoint, and tonight they’re fully pumped-up and giving 110%. They bring maximum riffs, and maximum rock ‘n’ roll, at maximum volume. On paper, comparatively primitive song structures, based around, repetitive chords hammered out hard is cool and all, but hardly a revelation. It’s not so much what they do, then, but how they do it: propelled by powerhouse percussion and blasting bass, the twin guitar assault forges a ferocious wall of sound. It’s not volume simply for its own sake, but with the function of rendering a visceral physicality to their performances. And they all play as if their instruments are plugged directly into the mains, with an electric, kinetic energy that positively crackles. Practically all of my photos of Dan Gott are unusable, his features blurred like a Francis Bacon portrait, and looking on, I feel as if my own face is melting in the face of the sheer sonic force tearing forth.

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JUKU

Any references likening the experience to being hit by a freight train, or a freewheeling juggernaut with failed brakes hitting terminal velocity as it screams downhill are entirely appropriate. But for all the noise, the three-way vocals and some deft detail within the guitar work demonstrates an attention to melody and nuance: they very much do have songs. ‘Out of Control’ is a straight-up grunger in the vein of Hole.

Irked were second from top of the bill at the first Utterly Fuzzled on 10th May last year (and with Crumbs and Slime City also featured, it’s possible to now look back and see just what a statement of intent this was). They’ve come quite some way in that time, having released their debut album, The Grievance at the start of the month, and won a high-profile fan in the form of none other than Simon le Bon. If they were phenomenal a year ago, they’re even better now. The formula is classic, vintage punk, with short, sharp songs focused on three-chord riffs played hard and very, very fast, with the lyrics hollered just and hard and just as fast. Irked do pissed off and angry, but they also do fun. Not only are they incredibly entertaining, but it’s clear they’re enjoying themselves, too: Helen may be endlessly pacing, lunging, clambering, in the crowd and in your face, but she’s equally prone to fits of giggles.

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Irked

It’s guitarist Simon who delivers the chat and banter, griefing his bandmates in a good-natured way, and oftentimes absolutely hilarious, although ahead of the last couple of songs, he does pause to reflect on the state of the nation and the dire prospects we face in the wake of last week’s council elections, but taking the opportunity to praise the community spirit of nights like this. He’s absolutely right: what Utterly Fuzzled give us is more than great bands. There’s a warmth in the room (and not just because it’s packed and there’s no aircon): people come here and feel able to leave the bad shit at the door and see first-hand that there is good in the world. We need to not lose sight of this.

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Irked

They close their blistering set with a quick one-two of ‘The Hardest Man in Billingham’ and debut single ‘Backstreets’, making for a ferocious finale to a fantastic night.

The buzz in the room as people draw breath and process what they’ve just witnessed is unmistakeable. Here’s looking to another year of Fuzzled brilliance.

Utterly Fuzzled 5.5: The Unit Ama / Knitting Circle / Flat Light – Fulfordgate WMC, 13 February 2026

Posted: 14 February 2026 in Live, Reviews
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Christopher Nosnibor

People are unpredictable. The world is unpredictable. And just when we think we’ve seen it all, a couple of days ago, US Attorney General Pam Bondi testified before the House Judiciary committee, making for TV the likes of which few of us have ever witnessed. We’ll return to this in due course, as it’s relevant beyond the fact that gig-going tends to provide respite and time out from all the madness.

And so it is that it’s hard to predict gig attendance, particularly when ticket availability is being touted to the thirteenth hour. But with a last-minute surge in attendance – seemingly because Flat Light (is that a pun?), playing their debut show, had managed to coax everyone they’d ever met out to see them – the place was packed early doors, which was unexpected for a cold dark night on Valentine’s weekend during the wettest and most depressing February in history.

Flat Light are up first. They’re five white office-type guys playing pedestrian indie. They were together enough, went down well, but apart from the last song – where they upped the tempo and came to life a bit, and in fairness, sounded really good – it was a pretty tepid, inauspicious start.

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Flat Light

Suffering from the lack of a soundcheck, Knitting Circle spend the first couple of songs working on their levels, and even then, the sound is a bit muffled – specifically the vocals and guitar. But given that guitarist Pete is also the sound engineer, the fact that they pull it together is beyond admirable, and closer to heroic. Since whittling down to a three-piece, they’ve really focussed their sound, and following a spell of pretty intense gigging, they’re well-honed, and as always, an absolute joy to watch. As is often the case when Knitting Circle play a hometown show, there’s a new song: this time, it’s ‘Witch Folk’ which speaks of the thousands of women persecuted for witchcraft, forgotten by history. It boasts a particularly angular guitar jangle. They close with a quickfire ‘Losing My Eggs’, and while fluffing the false ending / intersection, recover with grace and good humour. Mistakes happen: it’s how an act deals them which counts, and Knitting Circle very much rose above and came out on top of all of the challenges presented to them tonight, proving that DIY is not a synonym for amateur.

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Knitting Circle

The Unit Ama clearly spent some time on their soundcheck: they sound absolutely fantastic from the first note. On their last visit to York in the summer of 2024, they played a short set around the middle of a bill which also featured The Bricks and Teleost, as well as Objections and Cowtown (I clock a couple of Objections T-shirts tonight). Here, with room for a more expansive set, they seem simultaneously relaxed and energised. Their set is tight, but in disguise as something loose, improvised. It’s apparent, thought, that as much as there’s a keen intuition between the three of them, they’ve put some rehearsal time in.

Jason Etherington’s basslines are hypnotically cyclical, and paired with Christian Alderson busy jazz drumming, played with frayed drumsticks (and, at one point, a bow applied to cymbals), when they break out of the stuttery meandering segments to hit a groove, it’s blissful.

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The Unit Ama

They’re by no means a band who do chat or bantz, instead conjuring epic expanses of quiet improv while tuning up and reconfiguring – in such a way that the actual songs seemingly emerge from nowhere, rising out of swampy expanses of discord and drift, of clattering cymbals and a general sense of slow-swirling chaos. But before playing the penultimate song of the set, a new one called ‘In Your Shoes’ being aired for the first time, Steve Malley pauses things to rant about the insanity of Bondi’s testimony: he was visibly shaken by what he’d witnessed, and I felt it in my chest. He blurted rage about Bondi’s ‘blatant fucking cunting lies’, before apologising for his choice of language, amending it to ‘blatant fucking cunting mistruths’. He’s absolutely spot on, and this leads the charge into a full-throttle blast that’s punk rock – Unit Ama style (perhaps with a heavy hint of Shellac by way of a touchstone – and very much a departure. It’s ace, too.

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They’d planned to leave it there, but the audience convince them to give us an encore, which topped things off nicely. It seems that one thing you can predict is that a Fuzzled event at the Fulfordgate is guaranteed to be a good night.

Utterly Fuzzled #4 – Fulfordgate WMC, York, 18th October 2025

Posted: 19 October 2025 in Live, Reviews
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Christopher Nosnibor

It says something about the organisers when you book a ticket for an all-day event having only heard of two of the bands on the bill, and don’t even feel the need to research the others. The previous three Utterly Fuzzled events have rapidly built Jo and Pete Dale a reputation for curating lineups of remarkable quality from the region and further afield – such a reputation that today was down to its last nine tickets the day before – impressive considering that it’s running alongside a storming sold-out three-day event up the road at The Fulford Arms. It’s worth noting that this is all happening a couple of miles or so out of the city centre, where there is only really The Crescent and The Barbican within close proximity of the city walls. What can we take from this? There is still a strong demand for live music that isn’t mainstream, isn’t tribute acts, and that the scene in York – thanks to a number of hardworking people – is thriving right now, with a rare abundance of homegrown talent and a strong sense of community at its heart. And the Utterly Fuzzled events encapsulate all of that and more, being almost a mini-scene of their own – not in a snobbish, self-serving way, but quite the opposite, offering ‘no questions asked’ discounted tickets, and espousing an ethos of inclusivity.

With these events, there will always be something new to stimulate the ears, and in keeping with the DIY ethos that’s perfectly summarised by the stage backdrop, they always find ways of opening proceedings with some homespun flash of warped inspiration. Today, it’s Iris the Gong. Said gong is a feature of their events, and on this occasion, she becomes the star, where initially, Jo Dale serves up some dramatic crescendos and crashes. Pete then steps up to forge altogether sparser atmospheric sounds, utilising all parts of the gong and using a large beater to creates low hums. Then it’s open to the floor for some audience improvs, culminating in a few face-wobbling smashes.

It makes for quite the intro for Troutflies – one of the two acts I was aware of in advance, and who have featured on here recently. They’re loose and li-fi, with melodica drones, various bits and pieces clop clopping and scraping, samples and guitar that’s by turns laid back and scratchy wavering through some half-songs – sort of low key, a bit slowcore, quite Silver Jews, a bit Pavement before Slanted and Enchanted, and at times gloriously atonal and off-key, and as far as time signatures go, they’re out the window. Reuben Pugh drawls rather than sings, and it all works, in the sense that yes, it’s supposed to sound like that. It’s not for everyone, and it takes a certain amount of guts – or madness – to get up and make such a spectacular cacophony.

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Troutflies

Late substitutes Orchard, from Scarborough, are loud and fast and abrasive. Angular punk noise with guitar and drums, shared vocal duties. The guitarist could save himself some work by buying a tuner, but kudos for his ability to tune by ear. What matters is that they really do attack the songs – songs in favour of immigration, about depression, about the country’s lurch to the right, and play with passion The guitars are gritty, the drumming hard and expressive, the vocals shouty. On the strength of this outing, which concluded with guitarist Joel clarifying that his previous comment about making a onesie from Nigel Farage’s skin did mean skinning him alive and wearing it, leaving some nonplussed expressions, their album, released at the end of the month will be killer.

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Orchard

St Christopher are perhaps one of the city’s best kept secrets, not least of all because of the infrequency of their live outings. This is their only one of 2025. They’ve been going since 1984 and have had releases on legendary labels including Sarah Records. They play solid indie / alternative rock with close harmonies. Their 80s background is evident, and that’s a positive. They’re incredibly tight and assured, with a really full sound. They may not have released anything in a while, and may not have attained quite cult status… yet, but as also rans who are still running, there’s time yet.

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St Christopher

All Ashore pack five bodies onto the little stage and bring some uptempo, vaguely twee late 80s / early 90s indie vibes. They’ve obviously put some co-ordination and consideration into their outfits, and they’ve got some very bouncy friends along who make for a lively front row.

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All Ashore

Not that Knitting Circle struggle to land gigs, but if you want to play more, one simple solution is to put them on yourself. Knitting Circle are dependably good. Since the departure of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jamie, who penned a number of their songs, things are inevitable different, but reconfiguring as a purely guitar-based trio has forced them to really home in on their focus. Guitarist Pete plays with no pedals, serving up a clean, crisp, choppy sound. ‘Fox’ is a standout in a set that’s consistent and tight, sounding more than ever like Gang of Four crossed with Shellac. As ever, ‘Safe Routes’ is powerful and moving. We need peace. We need humanity. If only this room was a microcosm of the world.

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Knitting Circle

Mammoth Penguins serve up a set of tight indie with hints of US influence, alt rock with a dash of country. Another power trio, they serve up a chunky sound which provides the bed for some narrative lyrics. Said lyrics aren’t always slick or poetic, but they’re real life, and they’re a ban which grow on you as the set progresses. By the end of the set, they’d won over the entire room by virtue of their sheer quality.

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Mammoth Penguins

Tonight’s lineup was perhaps the most diverse and unpredictable of the Utterly Fuzzled series to date, but the mixed bag nature, when coupled with the warm atmosphere – and cheap beer – really made it something special, something akin to listening to an episode of John Peel. You might not love all it, but the quality is undeniable, and you know you’ll discover at least one new act you dig. It’s everything that’s missing from music lately. And it’s so, so much fun, restoring faith in humanity, and uplifting in every way.

Mayshe-Mayshe – Mosswood

Posted: 14 October 2025 in Albums, Reviews
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16th October 2025

Christopher Nosnibor

Does the constant flood of bile on social media, the relentless flow of horrible, horrible news, and the general shitness of both people and society make you want to run away, hide, live in the woods? It seems that during the lull that was lockdown – a weird period which threw so many people into a spin of confusion that we really need to accept that there have been long-lasting repercussions from what amounted to a collective trauma – something changed, as if the world shifted on its axis. Some of us were more traumatised than others, it’s true, and that’s for wide-ranging reasons.

Alice Rowan – aka Mayshe-Mayshe – has documented her own post-lockdown issues with long Covid via her social media, and how it’s impacted her ability to maintain her work-rate. But here she is, finally bringing her third studio album, Mosswood to the world, and it’s the perfect antidote to all the stress and strain of modern life.

She describes it as ‘a dreamy art-pop exploration of mossy woodland and Tove Jansson’s final two Moomin novels… Her music blends dreamy art-pop and electronica with rich storytelling and infectious melodies, with organic elements woven into all aspects of her music.’ You may ask why – why would an adult be so invested in a fantasy world which has such strong connotations of childhood? A reasonable response would be ‘why not?’ In the face of the horrors which surround us everyday, retreating to the comforts of those peaceful, simpler times is the ultimate escapism. And what’s more, there is a strong connection with all things natural here, evoking the woods so many of us yearn to escape to.

Mosswood is introspective and personal, but also a passage to perfect escapism, and Mayshe-Mayshe balances breeziness and an air of naivete with anxiety and inner turmoil. And the result is so, so magnificent, magical, a balm to all of the noise. It’s the twitter of birds, the scratching of bugs, the tinkle of streams. Incorporating field recordings for the first time, on Mosswood Mayshe-Mayshe really brings nature in. Single release ‘Mycelium’ is exemplary: the percussion is more like the footsteps of overgrown insects – I’m reminded of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach in soe ways. But songs like ‘Tiny Disasters’ push to the fore the tensions and the darker aspects of the creative psyche, and reminds us that sometimes, life is simply difficult to process. ‘I’ll be afraid again…’ she repeats, twitchily, capturing perfectly exactly what it’s like to fret, chew and churn., against a glitchy, flickering beat and buzzing sound backing.

In the main, Mosswood is the sound of dappled shade, of gentility and deep breaths – and the big reverb which surrounds Alice’s voice is less like a cloak and more like a comfort blanket as the listener is led into a soft, gentle soundspace, which evokes snuffling and scuffling, and, more importantly, pure escape. On ‘The Little Things’, she sings in breathy, introspective tones of worries – but the immersive waves wash those worries away.

What Mosswood really tells us is that happy, skippy tunes do not instantly equate to effusions of joy, or endless happiness. That said, Mosswood is the sound of freedom, of connecting with nature, feeling the textures of grass, of bark, of moss. Utilising an array of instrumentation, Mosswood is understated and so, so uplifting. There are so many layers, there is so much detail to absorb. But ultimately, Mosswood reminds us that nature is there, all around, and it’s beautiful and our lives are richer if we engage with it. Look at the trees. Touch the bark. Breathe the air. This is life. Live it. Celebrate it.

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Mosswood cover art for digital v2Mayshe promo bug - credit Isobel Naylor

Watch: ‘The Grind’ by The Lovely Eggs

Posted: 5 September 2025 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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The most inspiring bands are the ones that can create a world around themselves that is about far more than just the music. The artwork, lyrics, sounds and ethos all merge together perfectly to create its own universe, a secret club. The Lovely Eggs are one such band. And against all the odds, 2025 sees them celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band! Stubbornly and heroically independent, The Lovely Eggs have forged their own path and have achieved mainstream success without ever compromising their DIY ethics.

To mark their 20th anniversary, The Lovely Eggs have announced a very special LTD release entitled Bin Juice – a collection of self-recorded outtakes from their last album Eggsistentialism, alongside rare B sides.

Released on their own label Egg Records, with eye watering artwork by Casey Raymond and hand packed in a black plastic bin bag on neon toxic slime green vinyl, this is yet another collectible release from a band who care as much about the art and ideas in their records as they do about the sound.

There will also be 300 copies exclusive to Rough Trade with alternative coloured sleeve and sticker art, on special edition transparent vinyl with toxic orange and slime green Bin Juice splatters.

“We had all these spare songs after we released our last album Eggsistentialism, and we didn’t really know what to do with them,” explained Holly. “They just didn’t seem to fit in with the vibe of Eggsistentialism, but we’d recorded them and wanted to get them out there.”

“They’re kind of a sketchbook of songs,” added David. “They’re not polished or laboured over but we thought it would be interesting to release them. It’s why we called the record Bin Juice. These were songs we had thrown away. But hopefully people like going through bins collecting trash.”

You can have a pre-release peak inside their bins with the just released track ‘The Grind’.

“Everybody wants an excuse to escape the 9-5 and day to day normality,” said Holly. “It’s our raison d’être for being in a band. ‘The Grind’ looks at all that stuff and is a bit of a paperback anthem for the disenfranchised and disillusioned."

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Catch The Lovely Eggs live on their 20th anniversary tour on the following dates in October. Tickets available HERE.

OCTOBER

Weds 22 – La Belle Angele, Edinburgh

Thur 23 – Òran Mór, Glasgow

Fri 24 – Newcastle University, Newcastle

Sat 25 – All day 20th Anniversary Party at The Brudenell, Leeds *SOLD OUT*

Sun 26 – Concorde 2, Brighton

Mon 27 – The Garage, London

Tues 28 – The Globe, Cardiff

Weds 29 – Castle and Falcon, Birmingham

Thur 30 – Academy 2, Manchester

Fri 31 – Metronome, Nottingham

NOVEMBER

Sat 1 – Trinity, Bristol

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Bin Juice Cover

Needlework / Divorce Finance / Speedreaders – The Crescent, York, 18th July 2025

Posted: 19 July 2025 in Live, Reviews
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Christopher Nosnibor

There was a time when there wasn’t really much doing in York, which was particularly disappointing for a city with two universities. But, despite grass roots venue disappearing at an alarming rate, right now, the city is offering up some exciting stuff on the grassroots scene. Tonight, there are three quality live music events on, and had I mastered cloning, I would have gone to all three. The Fulford Arms was serving up a night of top-notch goth and post-punk, while there was experimental and ambient work on offer at The Basement under the City Screen cinema. But I feel I made the right choice plumping for Needlework at The Crescent, not least of all because it transpired that this was to be their last show.

Needlework have only been around a couple of years, and only played a handful of shows, but they’ve made a serious impression, as tonight’s crowd shows. Sure, they’ve got plenty of their sixth-form / college mates down, but this is a band who had built a keen following in their own right. In a previous time, John Peel would have been all over them and they’d have achieved national cult status. Instead, because it’s 2025, they’re bowing out with only an EP (released today, but without mention) and a few shows to mark their existence. But I guess this is how it goes.

First up, it’s Speedreaders. They’re nothing if not consistent., and tonight’s set brings all of the things I’ve highlighted in my previous coverage. They’re tight, but slow and mellow. And this evening they’re slower than ever. After imparting his opinion on Fleetwood Mac being shite in a rare bit of between-song banter, singer David Mudie spent longer tuning his guitar for the next song than it actually took to play it. That’ll teach him to engage in conversation with the audience. My mate went to the bar and returned with two pints before he was done tuning. Still, when they’re back on track, they’re sounding good. It’s the harmonies which stand out in tonight’s clean, crisp set, with clear balanced sound.

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Speedreaders

Divorce Finance sound pretty much the same as they look…. meaning I can’t remember the last time I so wanted to punch a whole band. Actually, I lie: Sleuth Gang, who I witnessed in the same venue a few months ago emanated wankerdom from every pore. It must be something about bands who take their style cues from The Village People.

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Divorce Finance

It’s sort of tongue-in-cheek but not really rockabilly country hoedown hillbilly bollocks. There are people down the front getting down with some boisterous line-dancing moves, and there are plenty who are digging it, but I just can’t get on board with this is corny, gimmicky shit, and the fact they play it well doesn’t get them a pass. All the whooping and whelping is high-energy and perfectly executed, but… It’s just so much cheesy turd-polishing, and the singer’s smug, grinning, cheeky chappie, eye rolling delivery only makes everything so much worse. I found myself feeling not irritated, or annoyed, but – most unexpectedly – angry.

Needlework are simply something else, and what that something is is not easy to pin down. Their entire existence is constructed around a mass of contradictions and paradoxical premises, none of which are reconcilable or make any obvious sense – but this is precisely why they work, and why they exist in a league of their own. They’re really tight and together, but create the illusion of being lose, even a shade shambolic; front man Reuben Pugh is simultaneously intense and aloof. Each member of the band brings something different, stylistically, and in terms of personality – that goes for both their musical contributions and stage presence. Jagged, scratchy guitar work slices across rolling basslines, jittery drumming finds a counterpoint with soft, trilling woodwind and synths interwoven through the scenes as they unravel.

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Needlwork

They’re not really a ‘songs’ band in terms of conventional verse / chorus structures, either, instead exploring routes which take obtuse twists and turns, and they’re unafraid to do slow, wonky, spoken wordy, abstract narrative. They understand dynamics, and the power of jarring angularity. It’s post-punk, it’s jazz, it’s experimental, and it’s utterly spellbinding. Needlework are one of those rare bands that seem to suck you into a parallel universe while they play. Time hangs in suspension and you find yourself on another plane, utterly gripped while wondering what they’ll do next. During the time they’re on stage, something transformative takes place: it’s more than simply five people on stage making music. Needlework conjure aural pure alchemy.

Pugh takes his shirt off to substantial applause, and a big fella in the front row responds by whipping his T-shirt off and lobbing it on stage after helicoptering it above his head a few times. He asks for it back a song or two later, and the band duly oblige.

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Needlework

The set builds to a perfect climax, a monumental whirl of sonic chaos which is electric. And then, that’s it. Finished. Done. They leave us stunned, dazed by the magic we’ve witnessed. They certainly concluded on a high, and one suspects that this is a band which will be remembered, and talked about, for years to come.

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