Premiers
Single Premiere: The Greatest Gift – Leem of Earth (reviewed by...
Taken from the band’s forthcoming album, SEE, an ambitious concept album inspired by George MacDonald’s Victorian-era fairy tale The Princess and Curdie, ‘The Greatest Gift’...
Rock/Punk/Metal
LA to NY – Harley DiNardo (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
One discussion that comes up in musical circles from time to time is the question of the difference between rock ‘n’ roll and its...
Post Punk/Goth
Conditions – Cable Street Riot (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
As the claustrophobic intensity of ‘Conditions’ envelops the listener, as the disorienting glitchiness scratches at your consciousness, and the bass pulses, firing salvos of...
Shoegaze/Dreampop
Spaceship414 – Zoë Zohar (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If dream-pop is a very specific genre, woven from shimmering sonics and neo-psychedelic vibes, and dreamy pop is more an approach to mainstream pop where atmosphere and haze...
Indie
Things to Make Do With – Fran Ashcroft (reviewed by Dave...
Perhaps in keeping with an album of largely understated, totally authentic, honest, personal-sounding and deeply meaningful songs, Fran Ashcroft has made a point of avoiding all...
Pop/Power Pop
Invisible (Four Ways) – Energy Whores (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It is a widely accepted fact that any song of value can stand up to reinterpretation or remix, reimagination or reworking, proof that it...
Folk/Country
Wild West: American Stories – Grant Maloy Smith (reviewed by Dave...
Most music made in the modern age is made for entertainment, and to a degree, that has always been the case. But there was...
Singer-Songwriter/Acoustica
Evergreen – Steve Stinson (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
His latest single, ‘Evergreen,’ moves Steve Stinson one step closer to his debut album, which drops next month, and, as all pre-album singles should, makes you...
R&B/Soul
Living in a Dream – Alex Tranter (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
You often see music like this tagged as easy-listening, which it is in the most objective meaning of the phrase, but this oft-maligned term...
Reggae/Ska/Dub
A Fistful of Covers – The Hempolics (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
A band releasing an EP of recordings covering their favorite songs is nothing new. A band doing that while also offering a dub reworking...
Dance/EDM
Feasting – The Sway (HK remix) (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I love what The Sway has done with ‘Feasting,’ not only because it reminds you of what a great remix can achieve, but also because...
Hip-hop/Rap
Beat the System – Holland Izz & Tayo Fetti (reviewed by...
Although the title might sound like the sort of track fellow Compton -ites, NWA would have gone for, things have changed in the 35 or so years since...
Jazz/Blues
Planet Android – Shapes (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It’s not that Shapes don’t fit easily into one genre; it’s more that they fit too easily into many. But not through some lack of focus...
Classical/Instrumental
Unanswered – mokroïé (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I remember watching a short film years ago that visually chronicled a journey from the outer reaches of the known universe to the molecular-level...
Avant Garde
The Shadows of Alienation – Spectrum of Disorder (reviewed by Dave...
Beyond the questions and themes raised by the spoken words and lyrical fragments on this EP, there is a broader question that faces the...
Interviews
Keeping it Real: The Real Anthem on genre, geography and what...
With two singles now out ahead of an album to follow, it was the perfect time to sit down with Matt King, Andy Mitchell and Shawn Helton of The Real...
Live
Deadlight Dance/Flowers of Sacrifice @ The Tuppenny, Swindon 17th Sep ’26
Ahh, those were the days, my formative years spent in basement rock clubs drenched in dry ice, the smell of patchouli, the floor sticky...
Swindon
The Shadows of Alienation – Spectrum of Disorder (reviewed by Dave...
Beyond the questions and themes raised by the spoken words and lyrical fragments on this EP, there is a broader question that faces the...
News
Latest single ‘So Keen’ from Indie punk band Poets Corner is...
Following a great bunch of reviews & a host of radio plays for previous single She’s Got You Now, Hull’s authentic indie outfit Poets Corner are back with...
Playlist
That Was The Music Week That Was – 080825
Another busy week at Dancing Towers, plenty of cool grassroots artists put under the pen, lots of great music mused over, and lots of...
Books
How Not To Write About Music – III: Starting the Week...
One of the joys of writing about new music is that it stops you from getting trapped in the past. Of course, bands like...
6 of the best
Take Me To The Sea – Mothbreath (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
The word ‘elemental’ hardly begins to sum up ‘Take Me To The Sea,’ the latest musical marine odyssey from Mothbreath. They have always made music...
Festival in a Bar – Fools Arcade (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
‘Festival in a Bar’ is a wonderfully self-referential song. It’s both a love letter to the music pubs and basement venues that keep the...
Invisible (Four Ways) – Energy Whores (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
It is a widely accepted fact that any song of value can stand up to reinterpretation or remix, reimagination or reworking, proof that it...
Mine Alone – intimate dream (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Blending a nostalgic echo into your music only works if you understand why such sounds were so emotive in the first place. Mine Alone,...
Abbey Road Impressions – Alex Otey (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Abbey Road isn't simply the name of The Beatles' final album; the studio of the same name is regarded as one of the great...
Matchbox – SUNTWIST (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
SUNTWIST: a band so cool, they are as hot as hell! Listen to their latest EP, Matchbox, and you’ll find music that flows beautifully as it...
