The Skinny • 11th August 2026

Getdown Services album review: Massive Champion - The Skinny

In times where things can easily feel pretty gloomy, Getdown Services are a potent musical antidote. The Minehead-raised duo (Josh Law and Ben Sadler) started their project during lockdown with the humble aim of trying to make each other laugh. Their 2023 debut album Crisps delivered a scurry of breakneck tracks, inspired by their similarly chaotic live shows, spreading quickly via word-of-mouth...

The Skinny • 27th July 2026

Lucia & The Best Boys - Picking Petals: album review - The Skinny

Glasgow indie pop stalwarts Lucia & The Best Boys are one of the country’s most doggedly determined bands. Their leader, Lucia Fairfull, has been unafraid to shapeshift over the last nine years as a songwriter and high-end fashion model, working with the likes of Alexander McQueen. Equal measures of self-reckoning, vulnerability and fearlessness have been the catalyst to her artistic growth...

The Skinny • 24th July 2026

The Strokes album review: Reality Awaits - The Skinny

Following up 2020’s widely praised The New Abnormal was always going to be a tough ask for one of indie’s all-time greats. Six years on, The Strokes have taken their time on their seventh studio album, Reality Awaits. Their guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. has deemed it as his favourite album the band have ever made. Upon release, however, it may not be everyone's...

The Skinny • 26th May 2026

Kurt Vile - Philadelphia's been good to me: album review - The Skinny

Slacker rockstars don’t come much better than Kurt Vile. While his biggest hit Pretty Pimpin put him on the map in 2015, the constant hitmaker has been pretty prolific since 2008, and Vile is more upbeat than ever on his excellent new album, Philadelphia’s been good to me.

The Skinny • 9th April 2026

Arbroath to California: VULIN on his new EP with Silibil - The Skinny

For the Fowlis-based singer, songwriter and producer VULIN (aka Craig MacLeod), folk and indie have been the main exponents of his music to date. His 2020 debut EP Tethered to Sleep showcased the refined brand of songwriting from the former music lecturer and member of indie-folk outfit Dante through his own existential lens. Six years on, his debut album coming this summer straddles similar soundscapes – but amongst making this, he’s also delved into something a little more experimental.

Clash Magazine • 8th April 2026

Next Wave #1180: Lizzie Reid | Next Wave | Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews

Over the last half-decade, Scottish singer-songwriter Lizzie Reid has been quietly making her mark as one of her home country’s most in-demand musicians. Playing in the bands of fellow rising Scottish talents Jacob Alon and Katie-Gregson MacLeod lately has established her presence as a true musician’s musician. Her solo material, though, is where Reid’s talent shines brightest.

The Skinny • 2nd March 2026

Andrew Wasylyk - Irreparable Parables album review: The Skinny

Dundee composer extraordinaire Andrew Wasylyk enlists some well-known names for his latest project, Irreparable Parables. From Gruff Rhys and Kathryn Joseph to Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch, for first-time listeners this is likely Wasylyk’s most accessible material, blending his cinematic noir charm with pockets of jazz, classical and indie flair.

The Skinny • 23rd February 2026

Gorillaz - The Mountain review: an exploration of life and what comes next - The Skinny

It’s hard to believe that 25 years have passed since Gorillaz released their debut album. Damon Albarn and visual artist Jamie Hewlett’s pioneering project sang of having sunshine in a bag back then, amidst a dystopian future which now eerily feels like 'it’s comin’ on'. Their ninth record sees the group’s cartoon characters travel to India to tackle life, death, and what comes next.

Man About Town • 16th February 2026

Puma Blue Bares All On New Album, Croak Dream

Sharing his atmospheric and intimate latest record Croak Dream, the Atlanta-based British musician talks about life, death and why his albums are chronically shy.

The Skinny • 27th January 2026

Pem - Other Ways of Landing review - The Skinny

Utilising a distinctive voice is a core trait not just for musicians, but for all kinds of creatives. Pem, a Bristol-based multidisciplinary artist, songwriter and gardener, is someone who knows this very well. She toured with the likes of Jacob Alon last year, but has been embraced by much of the UK’s alternative music community for the last few years through her earthly, yet mythical style of songwriting.

Clash Magazine • 21st January 2026

PVA - No More Like This | Reviews | Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews

It’s been almost a decade since South London trio PVA originally formed. Their bold, curious style of electronic/dance music caught the attention of Ninja Tune in 2020, with whom they went on to release their dynamic debut album ‘Blush’ a couple of years later. Sexuality, identity, vulnerability… these core themes pulsed across their far-reaching, forward-facing debut. Now though, on their follow up ‘No More Like This’, they’ve taken a big step up.

The Line of Best Fit • 6th January 2026

Madra Salach: "We are very much a product of Dublin, and a product of Ireland!" | Interview

Madra Salach are creating ancestral melodies with blistering modernity and have forged a raw new folklore from Dublin's restless spirit.

The Skinny • 3rd December 2025

The Skinny's Albums of 2025

We've polled our music writers for their albums of the year and compiled a top ten that some could agree on... These are albums from artists with a strong identity, message and vision, with a landslide victory for our 2025 winner

Wonderland • 28th November 2025

Jerkcurb And The Genesis of Grief

It’s been six years since the South London multifaceted musician, painter, animator and producer Jacob Read, aka Jerkcurb, unveiled his alluringly surrealist debut album, Air Con Eden. Since then, he’s put out a record with art rock outfit Horsey, noodled in industrial jazz with Findom and supported King Krule on a run of North American tour dates, all whilst prepping for his follow-up, Night Fishing On A Calm Lake.

The Skinny • 11th November 2025

Wyldest - The Universe Is Loading album review: The Skinny

The title of this latest album from Wyldest (aka Zoë Mead) feels like an existentially accurate description on today’s world turmoil. An examination of the world on a micro and macro level, it sees the London-based singer-songwriter – who has long been acutely talented at portraying introspectiveness in her writing – look more outward for personal upheaval, finding more artistic freedom in the process.

The Skinny • 24th October 2025

Just Mustard – WE WERE JUST HERE album review: The Skinny

Since emerging with their 2018 debut Wednesday, Dundalk shoegazers Just Mustard have continued to refine their visceral brand of noise rock. Their sophomore effort Heart Under enhanced their capabilities with a sonically claustrophobic aura, crafted through lenses of grief and longing. With their third effort however, things are different.

Clash Magazine • 21st October 2025

dust - Sky Is Falling | Reviews | Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews

Hailing from an altogether different type of Newcastle (down under) are an exciting new Australian outfit called dust. Their visceral brand of cathartic, confrontational guitar music not only picks up on the coattails of post-punk’s resurgence in recent years, but the four-piece also offer an acute lens of self-inquiry through their lyrics, honed by co-vocalists and guitarists Justin Teale and Gabriel Stove.

Clash Magazine • 10th October 2025

Next Wave #1154: Tough Cookie | Next Wave | Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews

Tough Cookie are more than your average alt-rock band. Currently cutting their teeth among grassroots venues across the country, this Clash writer chats with the band on the last leg of their support tour with punk duo The Pill at Omeara in London.

Clash Magazine • 24th September 2025

"Every Project Feels Like A Bit Of A Reset" Clash Meets Bricknasty | Features | Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews

Multificated, genreless, singular, unique… you’ll have likely seen these descriptions thrown upon every new band or artist cutting through the grain of today’s music industry. But when it comes to Bricknasty, it takes a bit more than buzz words to define what they’re all about.

Clash Magazine • 12th September 2025

Acopia - Blush Response | Reviews | Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews

Melbourne/Naarm trio Acopia are not just another band to lump in today’s burgeoning scene of classically shoegazey, modern anxiety-ridden guitar bands. The group walk their fine line of emotional weight and sonic restraint with poise. On album three, ‘Blush Response’, the band delve deeper into vulnerability whilst building on the fluidity of their multifaceted sound.

The Skinny • 8th September 2025

Baxter Dury - Allbarone review: Dury's best album yet: The Skinny

It’s not often you’ll hear of an artist making the best work of their career by their eighth album. However, with Baxter Dury, this couldn’t be truer...

The Skinny • 25th August 2025

CMAT - EURO-COUNTRY album review: The Skinny

Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson’s singular brand of fun and heartfelt emotion glows brighter with every new song she pens. The Irish country-pop heroine’s rise to fame has come incredibly quickly, having released her debut album only three years ago. For some, the pressure can become too much to handle. But for CMAT, on album three Euro-Country, she masters her endearing brand of wide-eyed drama and self-depreciation.

The Skinny • 29th July 2025

CANVAS: Introducing Dundee's newest venue - The Skinny

Venue closures have become tragically common of late. From beloved music stages to popular pubs and restaurants, tough times have hit many businesses across the country, with Dundee in particular seeing many of its nightlife offerings disappear in recent years. This is just one of the reasons which makes its newest opening, CANVAS, so important...

Wonderland • 24th July 2025

nabeel (نبيل) Discuss Their New EP, ghayoom (غيوم)

nabeel (نبيل) is an Iraqi-American project led by Yasir Razek. He moved from Iraq to Virginia in the US as a one-year-old, fleeing from conflict to the country he remains in today as a high school language teacher. He grew up excavating his family archives, a cut-and-paste collage of places, people and times he couldn’t return to – an obsession shared by many children from war-torn homelands. Today, music is the medium that brings him closest to his roots.