NoNewWaveNoFun

FOCUS Wales have announced another 100 new bands and artists for it's 2024 edition of the showcase festival. Taking place in multiple venues around Wrexham City Centre, the event has become one of the highlights of the musical calander and this year's festival takes place from May 9 - 11th. Acts primarily come from Wales and the UK, but as the event has grown over the years, more artists have been descending on North Wales from all over the world. This year acts will be coming from as far afield as New Zealand, Mexico, Canada and Ghana.  Read more about adventures at FOCUS Wales 2023  HERE Headliners include Wrexham local heroes The Royston Club, Space Rock legends Spirtulized and Retro Scouse Rockers The Mysterines with supporting cast on NNWNF favourites like Benefits, Snapped Ankles, Deerhof and The Bug Club. Some of the new names to get excited about include Captain Accident, Dartz, Eyre Llew, Igloo Hearts, Mangtout, Mowbird, Paperhouse, Sustinere, Travo, Winona

   Let's take a little time to consider the humble concept album. We won't take that much time though, not 41 minutes for example, which is the average length of a guitar solo on the archetypal Rock concept album track. I may have made that up. The concept album has had much to deal with since it's heyday and the digital realm has arguably been it's biggest hurdle to jump. Listening habits change, but ever since the invention of a skip button on a CD player, it's got increasingly easier to avoid the full extent of the concept. Having a huge chunk of recorded history available to stream is not going to help either.  There are anomalies that have connected thematically-linked bodies of work in the digital age of course, but not with the regularity they once did. In a list of  Rolling Stone's Top 50 Concept Albums  only six of those named were from the last ten years. Most were from artists at stages of their career where they felt like they needed to make a bolder

                                                                                                                                           It's been a slow start here at NNWNF  in 2024, in many ways it mirrors how slow the industry is this time of year. That doesn't mean that releases aren't coming out thick and fast, but often that the malaise is difficult to get out of.   I feel like we should be hibernating or something, not trying to fight the elements but actively avoiding them. So like a bear after a long sleep, it's time to get motivated and start work. One release that certainly has raised our collective eyebrows here is from Bridlington antagonists Feral Family  and we got Niamh Rowley to tell us more.       ---------------------------------------- As we closed the door on 2023 and waltzed on into 2024, we allowed ourselves a fresh start. Maybe a new year’s resolution is in order. Perhaps it's the gym or a new hobby, Veganuary or maybe even Dry January? O

So here it is, Merry Christmas! Everybody's having fun (Apart from those working in the retail and service sectors). I thought I might as well try and join in with the season of goodwill and embrace what little human warmth there seems to be left in the world - so here is my final ill-thought-out gift of the year to you*.  *Unlike stockists of an unwanted Air Fryer, we don't take returns. In the most calculated and protracted countdown of 100 of the best things of a thing committed to a blog, this one takes the mince pies. We're finally down to our top 20 tracks of the year. So take a read of why we chose them, have a listen to each track and and then you can go and crack open a beer with a Chocolate Orange and forget that this sorry rigamarole ever began.  Merry Christmas everyone!** **Apart from the panel that docked Everton Football Club 10 points.  They can do one.  --------------------------------------- 20) Wombo - Slab Hailing from Louisville in Kentucky,

Part 4 of that thing we've been doing with some really good songs from 2023 - the penultimate rundown of the year. My brain is not working very well due to being man-flued up to high hell, so I'm not going to type  much more other than to say these are nearly the best songs we heard all year. Let me know yours in the comments section below.  ---------------------------------------- 40) The Reds, Pinks and Purples - Life in the Void 39) Treeboy & Arc - Virtual Reality Check Natural Habitat by Treeboy & Arc 38) Shelf Lives - All The Problems All The Problems by Shelf Lives 37) Kool Keith, Real Bad Man - Off The Glass 36) Human Interest - So Smart Empathy Lives In Outer Space by Human Interest 35) Junior Brother - The Men Who Eat Ringforts 34) Torture and the Desert Spiders - Flirting With Jeremy (Live) 33) Vice Killer - Where Can I Find Some Peace? 32) Nas - Fever 31) bar italia - punkt Tracey Denim by bar italia 30) English Teacher - Mastermind Specialism 29)

As 2024 comes hurtling into view like some less exciting version of a car chase in some dodgy Jason Statham movie nobody asked for, we venture into the third part of our countdown of our Top 100 Tracks of 2023. This time round we get into the top half of the countdown with some of the best bands and artists that the year had to offer. We have some exquisite songs ranging from Soaring Post Punk, Exhilarating Indie Rock, Eccentric Folk Rock, Biting Electro and hard-hitting Hip Hop.  All of them set pulses racing here at NNWNF HQ and some of them produced other visible signs of excitement. I don't mean that. Anyway, take a listen and let us know your favourites at the comments section below.  ------------------------------------------ 60) Divorce - Sex and the Millenium Bridge Heady Metal by Divorce 59) NF - Motto 58) Joanna Sternberg - Stockholm Syndrome I've Got Me by Joanna Sternberg 57) Orbital feat. Sleaford Mods - Dirty Rat 56) Kara Jackson - therapy Why Does Th

Time to unveil part 2 of our top 100 tracks of 2023 with tracks 80-61 in our countdown. It's been a year of musical treasures, some that have soared in the consciousness of many and some that have fallen between the cracks of the cultural abyss. No doubt, the competition to be heard and find your tribe in the age of the internet can be akin to whispering for help in the Grand Canyon, but send the search party out and you'll find some pretty inspiring whispers. Here are 20 more to get to grips with. Comment below with some of your favourites of the year.  ----------------------------------------------------------- 80) Harpans Kraft - Teflon Tez Teflon Tez by Harpans Kraft 79) Conway The Machine- Brick Fare 78) The Accident Group - The Myth of Sisyphus 77) Lynks - (What Did You Expect From) Sex With A Stranger '(WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM) SEX WITH A STRANGER' by Lynks 76) Eyesore & The Jinx - No More Nails No More Nails by Eyesore & The Jinx 75) O. - Sl