NoNewWaveNoFun

I sometimes wonder where we're going as a species. The divisions that we continue to be subjected to make it increasingly difficult to care more for our fellow man than we should do. Whether it be the Israel-Palestine conflict, the irresponsible use of language about immigrants by so-called leaders, or the continued polarisation of the social media model: the lack of empathy is rather unnerving. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about hugging everyone I meet, but I do think the hippies had some good ideas you know.   The problem is, of course, that we know - deep down - that these divisions are man-made to ensure we don't get along. It benefits far too many people if we're at each other throats. If you're busy blaming everyone else then you can't blame who's really to blame, can you? Divide and conquer; the oldest trick in the political playbook.  In the world of journalism, the human interest story is one designed to engage attention or sympathy b

  Perhaps it's indicative of the times that we live in. Perhaps it's indicative of our tribal need to reconnect. Perhaps it's a sign of things to come. However you frame it, that question we ask each other frequently - almost the first thing we ask - continues to remain as important to our sense of empathy as ever.  You okay?  It's a question that lurks at the centre of the new E.P from London Electro Punk duo Shelf Lives. The band are comprised of Toronto-born vocalist Sabrina Di Giulio and guitarist/producer Jonny Hillyard, who originally comes from Northampton. The pair met in London after Di Giulio came over to study Music Business at ACM Guildford ,  Hillyard had enrolled to do a Music Production course. I'd imagine one of the first things they said to each other was that very question. 📷 Zac Mahrouche Despite knowing each other for several years by this point, it wasn't until 2020 that the duo started writing music together and it seems to hav

📷 photosbyjrd August is a slow time for releases - with festival season well underway - it's perhaps understandable that the industry comes out of promotional mode. There are several releases however that find their way of grabbing the attention this time of year, despite the slowing down of the process.   One such release is the new in the flesh E.P from Manchester-based artist Nxdia, who moved the U.K as a child after being born and growing up initially in Egypt. Their early memories growing up in Cairo are of living near to a cinema, which provided early inspiration to their storytelling skills. A love of drawing and poetry gave them further creative influence and it's clear we're dealing with a multi-talented artist here. We got Niamh Rowley to take a listen to the E.P and share these thoughts.   Releasing a six track EP this month Nxdia provides numerous nods to their Egyptian-Sudanese heritage by including lyrics in both English and Arabic. With beautifu

                                📷 Morgan Sidle Yorkshire indie rockers  Bedroom High Club  have been quietly building up a solid fanbase on the back of some thrilling adrenaline-fueled singles and live performances. Niamh Rowley took a listen to their new E.P and gave us these thoughts.  Emerging onto the music scene can sometimes prove difficult, especially when coming from a smaller city. However, that did not put a halt to the sheer enthusiasm and hard work ethic of Barnsley local's Bedroom High Club, who are looking to take the indie/rock scene by storm with their brand-new EP Above the Belt.  Comprising of five tracks in total, the four-piece experiment with a mixture of electric and rock style beats, drawing upon inspiration from music icons such as The Strokes .  With festival season slowly beginning to creep up, the lads are currently standing in excellent shape to provide a selection of crowd pleasers and energetic tunes. Their sets will not go unnoticed and certainly

  What do you get when four members of a band come back together under a different name and attempt to re-invent their own wheel? In essence, they try to do what they intended in the first place - well, they do in this case anyway. There can't be too many examples of that, in fact, this is the only one I can think of.  You see Das Koolies are basically the wonderful Super Furry Animals, without the band's dynamic songwriter and best-known face Gruff Rhys, who continues to plow the furrow of his own solo material. Content to move on from their past, whilst leaving it open for future endeavours, Huh Bunford, Cian Ciaran, Daffydd Ieuan and Guto Price have moved into a new era in their musical adventures that began to the backdrop of scenic North Wales all those years ago.  The band have released a new E.P called The Condemned E.P, which doesn't stray too far from past glories in it's mechanics, but similtaneuously reaches out for new sonic territories to explore. Produced

 It's been an productive few weeks for the Brighton-based art rock group  Youth Sector. In February, the band - with an exemplary approach to face and head hair - released it's new E.P Adult Contemporary , which was preceeded with several excellent single releases .  The final track to be shared from the E.P,  'Always Always Always'  deals with the topic of the excessive aspiration of rampant consumerism, with the band's obvious wit and charm at full throttle. . Guitarist and lead vocalist Nick Tompkins shared further thoughts: The song is about greed and blind ambition. Trying to understand wh some people are driven by the pursuit of acquiring more of whatever it is they have at whatever cost. Much of Adult Contemporary takes aim at many of the buzz topics of the modern era, but with an eccentricity that other bands can't provide. Lead single ' Self Exile' scrutinised those that go on the offensive when proved to be wrong, with a recognition of gaslight

                                                                               Hello to the beginning of the end. The end of another year, Christmas came and went and yet more fear lurks around the corner in early 2022. The Omicron variant has entered the country and is spreading quicker than Ian Brown  can click the 'Block' button on Twitter . Thankfully, it seems a much weaker strain than we've experienced previously and *whisper it cautiously*..we may get away relatively unscathed. Happy New Year! We're all sick to the back teeth of talking about that though aren't we? I know I am.  November marked a year since I started NoNewWaveNoFun.  Submissions were slow in the early days, but as the first few trickled in I realised that I needed to be a bit more visible - Instagram changed everything. One of the first submissions to really make me sit up and take notice came from across the pond.                                           Clyde Rosencrance Sleepl

Irish Singer-Songwriter Patrick Saint James released his first E.P ' Moodswings and Roundabouts' last week.  Andrew Cook  looked deeper into this beguiling and brave debut. Andrew's fantastic debut novel  The Toucan Man  is available now. Patrick Saint James  is making 2021 his year, After an apperance on Manchester Pride's coveted Alan Turing   stage and a sold out headline show at Gullivers, The Manchester-based Irish singer-songwriter has wasted no time in getting his highly-anticipated debut E.P onto shelves and streaming platforms alike. Produced by Joe Cross, who has both The Courteeners and Hurts  on his resume, and released via Lovers Music, ' Moodswings and Roundabouts' highlights the singer's battles with Bipolar Disorder, love, self-acceptance and everything in between. With influences in the vein of Carole King, Adele, Years & Years and Lauv, the self-taught pianist has developed a style that sounds unique and refreshing - one that's been

  Returning with a new E.P ' The Dark Arts Will Break Our Hearts', Chicago's Black Magick Marching Band create a tantalising blend of Psych and 60s Jangle Pop. Chicago native Ryan Doyle Elward took a listen. With vocal timbre a bit like BRONCHO and an overall sound that is 60s folk-rock (yes, a capacious portmanteau) first pulled through the 90s, Black Magick Marching Band here falls somewhere closer to The Byrds grafted over Brian Jonestown Massacre . There is a dynamic between the consistent format-for-every-song chord playing and the soloed notes which is eerily sedating. A mesmerizing pull of attention to something out of place, like a too well-lit spot of sun in a graveyard. And while those arpeggiated guitar parts are a little fussy at times, it is that part of the music which does well in dressing up the lyrics with optimism. A pleasant trap to disguise the conversation which pervades each track with dark themes of futility and the inescapable aspects of life and

Manchester's Absurdist Prog Pop explorers  Legs on Wheel are back with their new 'Idelia' E.P; three tracks that straddle multiple genres. Ryan Doyle Elward  guides us through it.   ‘ Milktop Mandy’ opens Idelia E.P with incipient psilocybin affective, an unfurling dream surging into a 70s prog-rock collage; a careening freakshow caravan destined for adventure, and thus an anomaly compared to the remaining material from Legs on Wheels’ latest release, since the next two tracks don’t sustain the same sort of pace and direction in an exploration of the hot sonic landscape under the guidance of a rather puerile narrative as established in their antecedent. ‘ Move Closer ’ is smooth, cool tones from mouth to mind with a basis of funk for the body in a way that is Steve Miller Band , that is Steely Dan . For some these are jams, but for another majority, songs of the kind elicit little more than a shrug.                                     Legs on Wheels Funk/jazz

              Vice Killer - Alone, In This World E.P I'm not entirely sure I'm convinced by the concept of an 'Addictive Personality'. I mean - I have one if you're going by the true definition - but I don't think that definition is as set in stone as it seems. I read ' The Psychopath Test ' by Jon Ronson several years ago and that provided me with the inspiration behind my thinking. In the book, Ronson explores the nature of how Psychologists score psychopathy on a spectrum on which we all score; perhaps raising the possibility that can change throughout life. Is it possible that addiction has the same type of spectrum? Why am I asking this? Well, I've just given up smoking. I haven't had a cigarette in over a month now, and if truth be told I don't miss it. The only time I'm tempted is if I have a drink and that's not a regular occurrence now either; perhaps my propensity towards addiction has shifted.  I'm probably

   Mondo Trasho - Pure Trash By now, it's entirely possible that we could of all re-written the lyrics to  Ian Dury's  sardonic classic  'Reasons to be Cheerful'  over and over again - and that's just since the turn of the year. Uncertainty has entered into our lives again just as it looked like the corner had been turned without the need to look back, new variants of Covid threaten to de-rail the full scale opening of UK P.L.C once again. For music of course, this continued alternative version of ' Groundhog Day'  could completely ruin the entire summer. Festivals are dropping one by one again, despite the successful pilot events in  Liverpool,  with the lack of tangible Insurance policies making it increasingly impossible for the independents to have a safety net to fall back on; indoor live venues watch on with baited breath. Thankfully, new music keeps coming out, whether or not it can be played live without social distancing.  Mondo Trasho