Posts Tagged ‘energy’

LiVES – Burn

Posted: 29 September 2026 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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Sister 9 Records – 25th September 2026

The Ed Shearan / Micklemore furore brought the debate about politics in music not only to a wider audience, but became headline news in all of the mainstream news media. The way it exploded was remarkable, and unusual in that it’s rare for anything concerning the arts to make more than a filler, unless it’s some glitzy red-carpet awards ceremony, where the coverage tends to be less about the arts than celebrities. This, however, was all over The BBC and Sky. Sheeran’s career strategy of making musical wallpaper, equally reliant on his personality being the equivalent of wallpaper paste, suddenly became problematic: the issue being that his ‘neutrality’ was, by default, significant of taking a side. The wrong one.

The debate has been simmering for a good few months, particularly in the US, with musicians tacitly showing support for Trump by performing at his events, or berating the likes of Bruce Springsteen for speaking at their concerts against the Trump regime, saying artists should keep politics out of music. They clearly haven’t been paying attention to The Boss’ lyrics, and have failed to grasp just how much of the music of the 60s was protest music. And what did people think Rage Against the Machine were about? Music has long provided a vital platform for political protest, and it’s a unifying force. In troubled and troubling times, it’s easy to feel isolated, distanced from society, particularly in the face of systemic oppression. To discover music which articulates your feelings is life-affirming and empowering.

LiVES are unashamedly political. I’ve been following them since they crashed their way onto the scene a couple of years ago with ‘Cancelled’ and ‘Let Them Eat Cake’, their debut album a defiant statement of angry intent. ‘Burn’ is the lead single from their upcoming second album, Ghosts, which is set for a January release. Appropriately enough, ‘Burn’ is pretty fiery They describe it as ‘heavy, dark and lyrically uncompromising,’ adding that ‘The anger hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s just been sharpened.’ It’s hard to argue.

First, that bass. Woah. It hits like a punch to the stomach, and feels like you’re standing in the room, directly in front of the amp. It’s low, dense, and menacing. The drums count in a slow build and then… BAM! Choppy guitar and vocals arrive simultaneously. ‘Come and see the villages BURN!” Peter Chisholm hollers by way of an attention-grabbing first line.

And then the tirade kicks off, and it’s clear who it’s directed at:

That man is a lunatic

It’s a game of invest and return

Guaranteed to make him rich

That man isn’t “a man” baby

That man is a demon

Pulling no punches. Telling it straight. But they’re only just warming up here as they rip into the capitalist greed which is destroying the planet, destroying our society, and, ultimately destroying our lives. Yes, all of our lives. Line by line, LiVES call it and spell it out here:

There ain’t no question of shame

(in the) Collateral damages game

The governments have subsidised

Mass murder is monetised

Every word of it is true. The truth is uncomfortable. Western governments – some in particular, and some individuals in particular – are raking in millions and more from war and manufactured market chaos. They don’t give a shit about the death toll. They don’t give a shit about anything other than their own enrichment. They’re coining it in, hand over fist, as the bodies pile up. It’s not just Trump… the elites have only one interest, and that’s self-interest.

As for the delivery… LiVES aren’t easy to pigeonhole. They have the high-octane force of The Screaming Blue Messiahs and the steely solidity and relentlessness of Unsane, only less brutal. And for all of this, they manage to pack in a hooky chorus. With ‘Burn’, they bring the perfect encapsulation of what LiVES stand for. And I, for one, stand with them.

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WENCH! / Under the Influence / Knitting Circle – The Fulford Arms, York, 26th September 2026

Posted: 27 September 2026 in Live, Reviews
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Christopher Nosnibor

Two of the bands on tonight’s bill are fairly regular features here on Aural Aggravation: Knitting Circle have established themselves as solid staples of the York scene as exponents of pissed-off, political post-punk, while WENCH! originally from Hull but now a Leeds band on account of two-thirds of their members having relocated, are always worth making the effort to turn out for whenever they’re in the locale. But what’s particularly noteworthy about tonight’s lineup is that not only do we have three female-fronted acts, but more women on stage than men. This matters, because female representation is a topic which has been cycling in discussion for a few years now, and becomes particularly prominent when festival lineups are announced. There’s no shortage of women in music, either in bands or as solo performers, so why are so many gigs, and festivals in particular, so male-dominated? That’s perhaps a rhetorical question, but still. What’s more, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that women often rock harder than men. Perhaps it’s because they feel they have more to prove. Perhaps it’s because they’ve more to be angry about. There’s a lot to be angry about right now, of course, and that’s a dissertation in itself. I’m angry, as are most people I know. But as a white, middle class, and (reluctantly) middle-aged male, I recognise I don’t have centuries of patriarchal oppression and daily sexism and misogyny to push back on.

Up first, Knitting Circle open with ‘Where’s the Culture?’, which sets the tone in terms of the conversation sand the musical form – catchy, scratchy, and challenging the (patriarchal) status quo. ‘I am the Fox’ (a song against fox-hunting, told from the perspective of the fox) is particularly tense and bristly, part of its guitar line leaning heavily on ‘Not Great Men’ by Gang of Four. The fact that Pete Dale can actually play cutty, trebly guitar lines which are of a standard which puts him in the same frame as Andy Gill is testament to his guitar mastery. While there are new songs in their nine-song set, the fact that only one of them – set closer, ‘Losing My Eggs’ – is from their EP, and single, ‘Safe Routes’, which they dedicate to the RNLI has otherwise been released evidences the pace of their creative flow.

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Knitting Circle

It’s worth taking a momentary side-step here. This song feels even more poignant and important than ever: a few days ago, right-wing agitator Daniel Thomas, who seems to think that forming a masked militia is the pinnacle of patriotism, was filmed slashing a dinghy in the English Channel. Not by a news crew, but by an accomplice. And he posted it on social media to demonstrate his fierce opposition to ‘illegal’ immigrants – but in court pleaded not guilty to the actions he himself had shared evidence of. Then cried like a child when remanded in custody. Of course. But these so-called ‘illegal’ immigrants… where are the legal routes? They don’t exist. Meaning, we currently have no safe routes. But we do have a lot of people fleeing war… and then these right-wing fuckheads decide that the RNLI – an emergency service run by volunteers – are the bad guys for rescuing people from the sea, and are legitimate targets for abuse and intimidation. How low can you get, eh? This is why we need Knitting Circle more than ever – to remind us that not everyone is a nasty piece of shit with a racist agenda when things get bleak. And things are bleak right now.

Oh, but Under the Influence are an absolute revelation. Woah. The ‘UTI’ acronym is no accident, of course. Their objective is to sting. And they do, hitting hard with their brand of fast and furious authentic hardcore punk / grunge crossover. It’s not hard to see why the anarcho-noise Sheffield trio have scored support slots with the likes of Subhumans and Discharge and a Rebellion booking. Maisie’s vocals are a combination of ear-splitting screams and full-lunged roaring… and she plays her guitar so hard that her bottom E string goes in third song, ‘Dead Babies’. “Bollocks,” and “Fuck it,” she says, like a true plain-speaking Northerner. After some deliberation, she humbly accepts the offer of the loan of Pete from Knitting Circle’s guitar with which to play the rest of the set. ‘7 Naans’ – about ordering takeaway – shouldn’t be terrifying, but with a rabid Courtney Love howl it is positively nerve-shattering. They’re passionate, sincere, and not without humour. They have a song called ‘Vegan Reich’ simply because they hate the band Vegan Reich (which is a perfectly sound reason in my opinion). Eyes wide, Maisie spits and screeches words at a rate of nineteen to the dozen, backed by some ferocious drumming and thunderous bass.

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Under the Influence

Are we ready to be WENCHED? Well, as ready as well ever be ready to be hit with a shovel after being slammed with the two-by-four that was UTI. This is a band that brings all the attack and play so, so hard: the energy is infectious, and it’s like an electric current circulating through your body. During the very first song of the set, bassist Hebe loses her strap and singing drummer Kit sheds a cymbal. They don’t miss a beat or a note. Musically, they’re outstanding, and different in their compositional approach, with the bass often fulfilling the lead role. There are dual vocals, too, shared between guitarist Sev, and Kit, whose style is – at least in places, quite technical and almost jazzy, but played with metal force. Other times, she leans forward over her drums with an ogre-like posture and just fucking goes all out, and it’s brilliant to watch – not just her playing, but the interaction between the three and how they coalesce to create something so immensely powerful. They’re also disarmingly direct and spontaneous in between songs. This shouldn’t be mistaken for being amateurish by any means, but gives an insight into a band which is keeping it real in the truest sense. What you see is what you get. And what you see is three women who believe in social justice and not just women’s rights and feminist issues, but human rights and making the world a better place.

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WENCH!

‘Deep Fake’ may be slower, with a psych-hued swing, but it’s certainly no gentler, and their set is a combination of hooks and rage. They blast through the songs in significantly less than the allotted time, but they’ve done the job and then some.

For all of the anger, the rage which emanated from the stage, tonight felt like one of the most uplifting, unifying events imaginable. The bands – all articulating dissatisfaction with the status quo, speaking out against shit governments and shit behaviour – brought, in their own ways, a positive message and a sense that together, we can make things better, and in the meantime, we can have a blast venting through music. In the face of everything, we have to have hope. Tonight gave a vital reminder that we do. It also evidences why we shouldn’t aspire to keep politics out of music. Because politics affects all of us, every day, and using a platform to take a stand is a powerful, and positive thing. Here, we stand unified in hope, and against hate.

Oort Clod / Chaffinch / BitchCraft / Llama Mollo – Fulfordgate Social Club, 19th September 2026

Posted: 20 September 2026 in Live, Reviews
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Christopher Nosnibor

Llama Mollo have a lot of family and friends. And they’ve brought them all down. It feels more like a second cousin’s birthday party than five minutes after doors open for a gig showcasing a disparate bunch of bands when I arrive. My first thought is of how the grannies will take to Bitchcraft. My second thought was ‘good for them’. They’ve bought tickets and made the effort, which is more than can be said for many on a lot occasions, and maybe they’ll even have a good time.

The acoustic indie duo have some tidy tunes with poetical lyrics and deft guitar lines, and if they’re nervous making their debut, they don’t show it beyond the occasional awkward-sounding laugh. The reverb-soaked guitar part for ‘Inconspicuous’ has hints of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’, and the song sees them share vocal duties for the first time in their seven-song set. In an unexpected plot twist, Lawrence (guitar and vocals) switches to electric guitar and takes the lead on the vocals for the last song, and there’s a drum machine pumping from the PA. ‘Mr Blue Shoes’ is post-punky and makes for quite the shift in every way, and, seemingly from out of nowhere, tells us that this is an act who have a lot up their sleeve, and much potential to explore. A very promising first outing, and one to add to the watchlist for 2027.

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Llama Mollo

BitchCraft spent their uni years developing their skills, and recently relocated to London to further evolve and to see if they can progress. On the evidence of tonight’s hometown return – holy shit. Leaps and bounds, leaps and bounds. There have been some moves in their ranks. Their new singer, Lily, is the former drummer who would previously switch with singer Amelie to front a couple of songs, and stepping up to take the mic on a full-time basis she’s really come into her own. It’s not just the vocals – which are so, so powerful, and she’s got a proper grunge roar that sends shivers down the spine and sets the hairs on the back of your neck aquiver – but she is a commanding presence who dominates the stage, and the entire room. The new drummer is powerful and energetic, too. The result is a set that’s raw, grungy, and finds them playing better than ever. New song ‘Loser’ hints at a poppier direction, and has swing as well as crunch. And then they close with a cover of L7’s ‘Shitlist.’ They absolutely nail it. They’re pure quality, and deserve a bright future in the big smoke.

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BitchCraft

There’s a certain element of controlled chaos about Chaffinch set – and a certain element of chaos without the control. The jarring interplay of the twin guitars sees them trading shards of treble over thick, rolling basslines and stop-start drums. The song structures aren’t conventional or even necessarily obvious, and there are parts which are semi-improvised, and not for the first time, I’m reminded of Shellac in they combine math-rock and noise-rock, discord and angularity. There’s not a moment where all four of them are on the stage (which makes getting a shot of the whole band a challenge, and the guitars are more often than not played in front of the stage and there are trailing cables and instrument swaps… although at least on this outing there’s enough concrete in front of the bass drum to keep the kit in place instead of encroaching forward towards the edge of what is a particularly bijou stage. But herein lies the joy of a Chaffinch set: there’s a physicality, a kineticism, to the performance, and just as the songs are in a state of continual flux, so there is perpetual movement on (and in front of) the stage, making for a hyperstimulating and highly entertaining experience.

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Chaffinch

Due to a late reshuffling of the schedule, Manchester’s Oort Clod, who should have been the main support before BitchCraft, find themselves in the headline slot. No pressure, then. They do a decent job of it, too, encouraged by a supportive and welcoming crowd, a respectable number of who have stuck around from the start. This is one of the things which makes these Utterly Fuzzled nights what they are: people turn up and are open to hearing different stuff, accepting they won’t love all the acts equally but providing a warm and accommodating atmosphere. It’s a DIY microscene unto itself, in some ways resembling that which centred around CHUNK in Leeds a few years ago, and the likes of which is rare – but absolutely vital for showcasing new and up-and-coming and niche acts.

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Oort Clod

Oort Clod present a set of two distinct halves: during the first, they’re a fairly middling jangly indie band in the British tradition of the mid-80s to early 90s. They avoid being twee, but are good fun. And then there’s the second half, which sees them turn towards a style that’s more US indie / college rock of the mid- to late-nineties. It’s a bit looser, more Pavementy. The switch is occasioned by a poetry intermission, during which bassist Richie, whose last gig it is before he goes travelling and exploring a career in writing reads a couple of pieces from his chapbook. It’s a bold move, which some would probably consider a bit wanky, but they wear their arty and literary leanings well, and with an admirable confidence. He is, after all, wearing a brocade jacket and thoroughly beaten-up hat perched atop his head, and if the wild amp feedback mars the moment somewhat, the fact they style it out with humour reveals the character of the band – and it makes them a good fit for Fuzzled, where there are no divas, no dickheads, and everything runs to time. And it’s a 10pm finish. All the win.

Pop Goes Metal / Dismiss / Too Late for Gods – The Fulford Arms, York, 26th July 2026

Posted: 27 July 2026 in Live, Reviews
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Christopher Nosnibor

Did I ever mention how much I fucking hate ABBA? No? Well, I really, really fucking hate ABBA, and pretty much all covers of ABBA songs too, with the exception of The Sisters of Mercy’s cover of ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’ which made the set a few times in 1984 just after Wayne Hussey joined. To provide a measure of just how much I fucking hate ABBA, just after university, my then girlfriend and I got a flat, and took her best mate on as a lodger. She loved ABBA. So much so that ABBA Gold was pretty much, the only CD she owned. And she played it all the time. That’s no exaggeration. We’re talking legitimate grounds for eviction or even murder here. So when I upgraded my stereo, instead of selling the old one – which would have fetched a good hundred and fifty quid, which was some wedge back in ’98 – I gave it to her for her room on the proviso that she would never play ABBA in the living room ever again. The rationale for this anecdote will make sense later on.

Meanwhile, when I took this gig on, I hadn’t appreciated that the band I was here for – Dismiss – were only the support, and it blows my mind that a band with some kind of following, however moderate here, would come from Greece to support a local covers band in York. We’ll come back to this presently, too.

My introduction to Too Late for Gods was a pub gig on the other side of town, and my reaction was very much mixed. So, seeing them on a proper stage, through a full PA, and without the element of surprise means I’m in a better position to properly assess their skills.

Their first song is a straight up post-hardcore metal rager, the five-string bass bringing significant depth and power. It’s the grunge leanings which shine through during the next couple of songs, and it’s very soon apparent what a difference a decent mix can make to how songs come across. There are some meh punk pop / emo cuts mid-set, but they’re performed with guts and gusto, which carries them. Their drummer is a solid asset, too, a strong player with a big personality, bringing dynamics and showmanship, and very much driving the band. The penultimate song of the set has a hint of Placebo and a strong hook. They look comfortable in this setting, and give the impression that they would deliver in significantly larger venues, too.

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Too Late for Gods

I’m here for Dismiss, and woah! They are all the energy straight out of the traps. My notes are scant: I’m too busy trying to catch my breath. They play hard rock with a punk edge, and they bring the fire, and what’s more, they’re absolutely relentless, powering through fifteen original songs in forty minutes (the setlist indicates that they dropped two from the planned set, too), but it feels like about twenty whiplash-inducing minutes, as they the songs back-to-back. Their singer is a blur of peroxide, the bassist is a spike-studded energy blast, and they make a strong case for the prosecution in the case that women rock harder than men. And if we’re doing touchstones and references, Lita Ford and The Plasmatics and Amyl and the Sniffers are where we’re at. They absolutely fucking slay. You wouldn’t want to go on after them, especially as, judging by the T-shirts on display, a good number of the punters are here for them. And deservedly. They absolutely play their arses off and are nothing short of phenomenal. Not only band of the night, but one of the highlights of the year to date.

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Dismiss

But suddenly, just as Pop Goes Metal take to the stage, the place is rammed from the front to the back. I guess this is telling. Do we talk about covers bands? Should we contemplate guilty pleasures? I wrote about covers bands just the other night – but can’t help but feel differently about covers bands playing village pubs as background, and covers bands playing ‘proper’ venues and headlining over bands playing sets of original material. Like Natalie Imbruglia, I’m torn. It’s great that people are coming out to small venues and supporting live music. But…

I’ve personally never been embarrassed by my appreciation of pop tunes, and I don’t just mean the 80s stuff I grew up with, like Duran Duran and A-Ha. A good tune is a good tune, irrespective of genre. As such, I’m personally comfortable with the fact that Pop Goes Metal start strong with a thunking Nu-metal take on Katy Perry’s ‘I Kissed A Girl’. However, am I comfortable with the principle of what is, in essence, a novelty covers act? While perhaps not as corny as, say, Elvana or Tragedy (the metal Bee gees tribute), they certainly sit within that bracket.

Objectively, Pop Goes Metal do a great job of delivering what they pitch. They bring a brace of chunky guitars melded to a chunky rhythm section, and Emz gives us gutsy vocals, with rasp and power. Britney’s ‘Toxic’ is a solid choice at the front end of the set and works over the more obvious choice of Britney tunes in terms of their sonic and stylistic range. The Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish songs are beyond my ken, but they go down well.

New addition to the set, ‘Umbrella’ is only so-so, and while Emz reads the lyrics from her phone, the song slides into an extended fretwanking solo. Their interpretation of Mark Ronson’s ‘Uptown Funk’ sounds too much like ‘Free Range’ by The Fall crossed with ‘Black Betty’ to be entirely successful, and while ‘Let Me Entertain You’ benefits from a huge chugging break, it’s still a shit song. ‘Toca’s Miracle’ translates from a dance-pop banger to a thunderous disco metal banger, and it would be curmudgeonly not to acknowledge a job well done there.

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Pop Goes Metal

The audience is particularly hyped and vocal, and increasingly so as the night progresses. Emz’s voice starts to go with five songs to go, and by the end she can barely croak between songs, but still belts ‘em out full lungs. ‘Shake it Off’ not only proves I’ve never knowingly heard a song by Taylor Swift, but that perhaps I’m not entirely the target demographic. ‘Sk8er Boi’ comes in pretty much untouched, and Anastacia’s ‘Left Outside Alone’ is a strong tune that it would be hard to go wrong with, and credit where it’s due, they do it justice. And then it’s onto ending on ‘Mama Mia’… just no. No no no no. They’ve crossed the line.

The 113 / Mince / Disappear – The Fulford Arms, York, 6th May 2026

Posted: 7 May 2026 in Live, Reviews
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Christopher Nosnibor

Generally speaking, the role of the journalist is to tell the story while staying out of the picture, although Hunter S. Thompson redefined the role of the journalist when he invented gonzo. In the main, I try to remain in the shadows (quite literally), particularly when it comes to live reviews, but sometimes, there’s a narrative switch that simply could not have been anticipated that drags you into the story as a participant, rather than an observer.

“Last time we were here, we got called ‘shouty shit indie’”, says the main singer from Mince, four songs or so songs into their set. It’s true, that did happen, and I stand by that description, too. Given that the last time they were here was April last year, supporting Gans, it would seem it’s niggled them a bit. But, if you’re going to get up in front of people, don’t expect everyone to love it. At least it was no Dream Nails scenario.

Before we move forward, let’s first go back, back, back. The reason I’m here is because The 113, from Leeds, have just released their second EP, The Hedonist, and it’s nothing short of explosive. The real test of a band is whether they can cut it live, though. So now they’re out on the road, grafting – not grifting – and York on a Wednesday night is always going to be a test for an up-and-coming band working to build their fanbase.

It’s not heaving, but there’s a respectable turnout, and first on are Disappear, who trade in jangly country-flavoured indie with a hint of shoegaze. They don’t use plectrums, and the singer / guitarist demonstrates some interesting playing technique. It doesn’t always hit the mark, and the same is true of the off-key approximation of singing. The drummer keeps having to get out from behind his kit to adjust the guy’s guitar pedals, too, which is just weird. They can play, but the songs are uninspired and uninspiring. Toward the end of the set there’s a song that sounds like The Wedding Present circa Bizarro, but again, it’s let down by the vocals. As a band, they aren’t terrible, but I can’t in all conscience say they were any good. The drummer – who is impressive – needs to be in a better band.

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Disappear

And so Mince inform the crowd – who are largely enthusiastic, in fairness – about the review of the last time they were here. I stand by that description, although in fairness, there’s a bit more to it than that: there’s some 60s psych in the mix, and plenty of energy to the performance, too. They have two vocalists – the first, with mop-top haircut, wigs out while playing guitar, while the second paces petulantly, swaggers, and gives it all that. But after maybe three songs, he mostly sits or squats at the back of the stage beside the drum kit, scratching his forehead with his mic and rubbing his face, looking knackered, and stays largely quiet. After coming hard out of the traps, it’s as if he’s out of energy and given up, while the rest of the band thrash on. It’s a bit odd, and oddest of all is that it’s an exact rerun of their previous show here, and on balance they’re better when he takes a back seat (literally).

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Mince

The 113 have built considerable momentum, and fast. Their debut EP, To Combat Regret was released just over a year ago, and The Hedonist continues that arc of nihilistic post-punk aggro delivered with visceral energy. How would it translate live, and how would they fill a headline slot? It turns out they’ve got a solid album’s worth of material, which comfortably fills an hour with no long-winded waffle. They don’t need to pause for political platforming, or pass sociopolitical comment, since it’s all there in the song, which they pack in tightly. And they do so it a nonchalant confidence, too: they’ve got their sound absolutely nailed, and it’s a thick, dense sound, and crisp drums cut through, punchy percussion played with perfect precision. Much of the guitar work is sculpted feedback, but there are steely chords overlaid with sinewy lead parts, and there are times when I’m reminded of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, another of Leeds’ finest from when the city was the spawning ground of the goth scene that emerged from post punk.

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The 113

They’re electric from start to finish, slamming in with ‘Leach’, and play with an urgency that’s impossible to manufacture. Each band member brings something specific, the towering bassist lurking in the background hammers out hefty grooves. The guitarist plays so hard he busts his A string four songs in, and because they’re not about to let up the momentum, takes another four songs to finally manage to replace it. They simply don’t pause for breath, they keep their heads down and blast them out. ‘When I Leave’ is a mid-set standout, and ‘Entertainment’ is nothing short of scorching. Set closer ‘Conscience’ is a lacerating blast and bang, that’s it, done. The 113 are a band who have got everything down – they hit hard, clinical, brutal, high impact. They’re already making inroads into Europe, and things will likely be quite different come this time next year…

The 113 – Scour

Posted: 25 February 2026 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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Launchpad+ and EMI North – 25th February 2026

Christopher Nosnibor

From Interpol to Editors to White Lies and far beyond, including, at present IST IST, dark-edged post-punk acts displaying strong Joy Division influence have been emerging for the last twenty years now, and more. Some are better than others, some capture the mood more effectively than others.

It’s perhaps because they’re from Leeds that The 113 are particularly good at capturing the mood: the spawning ground of goth in the 80s, the Leeds scene has always stood apart from not only the mainstream, but other major cities of the north, particularly Manchester and Sheffield, which in turn have always had their own identities: in the early 00s Leeds was hotbed for innovative post-rock, and has, over the last decade, yielded ever noisier, ever more angular, ever weirder bands, but also bands of quality who simply do – or did – their own thing, from Hawk Eyes and These Monsters to Castrovalva and I Like Trains, Thank, Post War Glamour Girls, Beige Palace, Black Moth, BELK, Irk, and of course, the mighty Blacklisters.

The 113 aren’t nearly as abrasive or far-out as many of these acts with whom they share turf, but their debut EP, To Combat Regret, released last March packed some blustering urgency to the familiar post-punk template. Both ‘Scour’ and previous single ‘Leach’ continue the same trajectory – lean, dark post-punk vibes, driven by dense bass, insistent percussion and some sinewy guitar work, creating tension and using it to powerful effect – but if anything, this is tauter, tenser, and more nuanced: the melodic, shoegaze mid-section adds significant impact to the song’s explosive conclusion.

This, in conjunction with ‘Leach’ says that the forthcoming EP, The Headonist (out April 17th) will be killer, and the upcoming tours in April and May look like something to get excited about, too.

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Photo: Naomi Whitehead

Skeletal Family / The Shakes – The Parish, Huddersfield, 6th February 2026

Posted: 7 February 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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Christopher Nosnibor

It might have been a result of the inclement conditions, but setting foot in Huddersfield for the first time in my life, I’m struck by how incredibly quiet the streets are for a Friday night, and it’s far from packed in the upstairs room at The Parish when The Shakes take to the stage at 8:15. Now, I am a strong advocate of checking out support acts, and have discovered some outstanding bands by getting down early doors. This isn’t one of them. Musically, they’re competent players, but the material is very middling rock, the kind that’s easy to take or leave, but the singer thinks he’s some kind Bono meets Michael Hutchence rock star. It’s not a good look, and even if it were, it would require some serious charisma and immense talent to pull it off, and this fella has neither. The No Great Shakes, you might say. The room is considerably busier half an hour later. It’s almost as if people knew.

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The Shakes

Having joined Skeletal Family in 2021, replacing Hannah Small after a brief tenure, and making her the band’s fourth vocalist, Anneka Latta has not only settled in nicely, but brings her own presence and a wonderful dynamic to the unit. Having recorded Light From Dark, released in 2023, their first album since 2009’s Songs of Love, Hope & Despair, her place feels not just solidified, but integral.

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Skeletal Family

Tonight’s set draws substantially on Light From Dark, as well as featuring a new and unreleased song, which they’re planning to record in the coming months, indicating that as much as they’re a ‘heritage’ band, they’re still very much creatively active as well as keeping busy on the live circuit. And not only are they sounding fantastic, but there’s a real energy about their performance tonight. Anneka is all the energy, relentlessly bouncing, bounding, swinging and swaying about the stage, but the rest of the band are well animated, too: Ian “Karl Heinz” Taylor is particularly ambulant when switching synths for sax and adding some nice groove to the solid rhythm section, with stand-in drummer doing a superb job of delivering those quintessential rolling tribal rhythms paired tightly with Trotwood’s solid, urgent basslines. It’s all topped with Stan Greenwood’s spindly guitar lines – very much a defining feature not only of the Skeletal Family sound, but representative of that early northern goth sound. It’s clear they’re having a great time, and their collective enthusiasm is infectious.

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Skeletal Family

And as much as the set showcases their current creativity, it does, essentially, contain a respectful share of their definitive early 80s back-catalogue, busting out the rambunctious sax-blasting ‘Move’ up front and an extended ‘She Cries Alone’ landing in the first third of the set. Non-album single ‘Just A Minute’ gets an airing, too, representing their poppier mid-80s sound (as was the direction of the scene around Leeds at the time, as output from this period by The March Violets evidences, and one can’t help but feel that major labels picking up the top-selling ‘alternative’ acts may have been a factor). The sole cut from debut Burning Oil is ‘Someone New’, meaning the spiker, punkier songs like ‘So Sure’ don’t make the set, but might not have been such a good fit with the rest of the songs or Anneka’s more conventionally ‘rock’ vocal style. That, and the fact they keep it tight with a punchy set of around fifteen songs, packed into a little over an hour, with no encore.

They leave us with ‘Promised Land’, which is without doubt one of the best singles of that ‘first wave’ of goth era, with its nagging guitar and driving bass. They perform it with gusto, and it sounds as fresh and exciting now as ever, topping off a set that’s both entertaining and exhilarating.

Eville – Blow Up

Posted: 18 January 2026 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
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16th January 2026

Christopher Nosnibor

Woah. They’ve gone and done it again. Eville continue to chart their own ascent through their single releases, and having previously toured with Glitchers and played at Reading and Leeds last year, they look like they’re on the brink of really ‘blowing up’ as tour support for As December Falls. They’re a band that tours hard and wins fans at every show, and that’s coupled with a steady output of singles over the last couple of years, culminating in the Brat Metal EP late last year. They’re kicking off 2026 where they left off last year, and ‘Blow Up’ is another rip-snorter, an audacious hybrid of slugging nu-metal, hyperactive rave metal, and autotuned pop.

As such, ‘Blow Up’ draws together all of the elements of their previous releases, and, true to form, compresses them into a pumping three and a half minutes (which is actually quite long for them). It’s not quite a party tune, but it is a beefy riff-driven banger with real bounce. It’s more electronic, more processed-sounding than any of its predecessors, and leans more into pop territory than metal – at least in the main – but the late-landing mid-section goes heavy… And then it bounds to the finish line with another surging chorus.

Right now, it seems as if Eville are reinventing nu-metal for the 2020s, and on their own terms. They’ve got Kerrang! jizzing themselves over their every move. And rightly so. This is a new kind of metal. Power to them.

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Listen: ‘Calamari’ by Kakihara

Posted: 7 November 2025 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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From the heart of Edinburgh’s underground, Kakihara return with Love Songs Part II, a raw, chaotic, and utterly unfiltered dose of metallic hardcore, and in advance they’ve unveiled the video for the EP’s lead single ‘Calamari.’

The band had this to say about the new track: “Because two minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven, ‘Calamari’ is our metallic-hardcore energy and mathcore chaos smashed into a single strike. It’s got jagged riffs, stop-start rhythms, and a punishing beatdoon that lands like a hen party on the Cowgate. The vocals cut through the melee with equal parts desperation and defiance, matching lyrics that flick between hopelessness and resolve. ‘Calamari’ shows exactly what we’re about, raw, unpolished, and built for the pit.”

Recorded live in a single living room and fueled by raw energy, Love Songs Part II captures the chaos and urgency of the band’s relentless live shows. Drawing inspiration from Converge, Coalesce, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Heaven In Her Arms, Envy, and Botch, Kakihara fuse mathcore dissonance, screamo textures, and punishing hardcore grit into something entirely their own.

Love Songs Part II will be released on December 5 via Ripcord Records.

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