Clash Magazine • 16th July 2024

Next Wave #1179: NATI. | Next Wave

Scotland may be relatively small, but its five-and-a-half million inhabitants sure know how to use their voice. From the inimitable rasp of Paolo Nutini to the chart-topping melodies of Lewis Capaldi – or even those twin brothers from Leith who havered about walking 500 miles – Scottish artists have some of the most distinctive voices around. When it comes to NATI., this is most certainly the case.

The Skinny • 15th July 2024

SHHE - DÝRA album review: The Skinny

SHHE’s music is not just transcendental, it is remarkably profound. The Scottish-Portuguese artist and producer based in Dundee (aka Su Shaw), first gained traction through her 2020 self-titled debut album. It showcased SHHE’s vast soundscapes, synths and vocals – akin to The xx – to dazzling effect. However, her new project DÝRA focuses completely on ambient field recordings, putting stillness to the fore in a wholly meditative experience.

Clash Magazine • 4th July 2024

Camille Jansen – The Loose Screws | Reviews | Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews

Being a distinct artist is becoming harder than ever among today’s saturated pool of musicians. But French-British artist Camille Jansen knows a thing or two about standing out. With Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen soundtracking the road trips of her youth, her innate blend of  folk, country, and experimental rock forms her signature sound...

The Skinny • 25th June 2024

Hiatus Kaiyote - Love Heart Cheat Code album review: The Skinny

Hiatus Kaiyote are a rare breed. Respected and sampled by elites like Kendrick Lamar and both of the Carters (Jay-Z and Beyoncé), the Melbourne four-piece craft sensuously smooth grooves that are irresistibly cool. Red Room, taken from previous album Mood Valiant, put the band on the map for many listeners. With their follow-up Love Heart Cheat Code, they’re picking up where they left off.

Clash Magazine • 18th June 2024

Hermanos Gutiérrez – Sonido Cosmico | Reviews

Instrumental music always invites the listener to engage in acts of imagination. With guitar-slinging duo Hermanos Gutiérrez, the canvas teems with possibilities...

Clash Magazine • 5th June 2024

Next Wave #1172: Pem | Next Wave

Turning life’s dark moments into cherishable art is one of music’s most powerful qualities. Bristol-based singer-songwriter Pem is acutely aware of this. Her new project ‘Cloud Work’ teems with the pain she experienced after the passing of her father last year. The depth of vulnerability she showcases on the EP is extraordinary..

Clash Magazine • 23rd May 2024

Live Report: Jalen Ngonda - KOKO, London | Live

It’s rare to find a modern artist who embodies all of the talent and soul of the legends who came before them. Jalen Ngonda belongs in this rare breed. From the raspy howls of Marvin Gaye to the tender melodies of Al Green, Ngonda’s voice is extraordinary. His debut album ‘Come Around And Love Me’ floats effortlessly from upbeat bops to laid-back grooves with his distinct high pitched tone the star attraction. Hearing Ngonda in the flesh is an altogether more tantalising prospect...

Clash Magazine • 15th May 2024

Ghostly Kisses – Darkroom | Reviews

Without sounding too esoteric, when you think about it, music is all about bringing people together. It’s easy to forget this sometimes, whilst we’re living amidst the most saturated time in music making history; the points of connection closer than ever, yet somehow feeling ever further apart. But when projects like Ghostly Kisses’ new album ‘Darkroom’ come along, all hope is not lost.

Clash Magazine • 14th May 2024

A Free Spirit: Amen Dunes Interviewed | Features

Amen Dunes is something of an anomaly. The New York based artist, aka Damon McMahon, is a shapeshifter of sound; a forward-thinker who’s never content on churning out the same product album after album. From Brian Jonestown Massacre style psych rock to folk infused gospel, his previous album ‘Freedom’ (2018) was his most critically revered to date, garnering exceptionally high praise from Pitchfork who named it as one of their best albums of the decade...

The Skinny • 30th April 2024

Home Counties album review: Exactly As It Seems - The Skinny

What’s the best response you can have to the disenchantment of modern life? For Home Counties, it’s fun. Their new album Exactly As It Seems is a buoyant call to order to join them on their quest to find light among the gloom and traverse the ups and downs of being in your late 20s with gusto.

Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews • 19th April 2024

Live Report: Fat Dog - Electric Brixton, London | Live

Fat Dog are a propulsive new act in every sense of the word. Their sonic myriad of dance, punk, klezmer and sheer noise is dumbfounding, yet completely exciting. Fresh off the back of a dozen performances (yes, twelve) at SXSW in Texas, the band are swimming in confidence as their highly anticipated headline show at Electric Brixton approaches...

Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews • 18th April 2024

Next Wave #1161: Angus1 | Next Wave

Straddling upbeat electronic music with bags of introspective lyricism, Angus1 is an artist and producer with a sonic palette that defies convention. He may be a newcomer to the scene, but his music feels both refined and forward-thinking. It’s also deeply personal too; his project’s raison d’être became solidified after he confronted lifelong mental health struggles through therapy...

Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews • 11th April 2024

wojtek the bear - Shaking Hands With The NME | Reviews

Glasgow is home to a number of incredible bands and artists. wojtek the bear could be deemed as veterans of their local scene, having formed in 2016 and played numerous festivals across the UK and beyond. They could also be deemed as indie pop revivalists, having gained notable appreciation and played alongside iconic Scottish peers such as Belle & Sebastian and Camera Obscura. But with their third album ‘shaking hands with the NME’, wojtek the bear are at the top of their game.

The Skinny • 5th April 2024

Khruangbin - A LA SALA album review: The Skinny

Listening to Khruangbin turns any grey day into a tropical haven. With their inimitable fusion of psych-funk fit for a Tarantino movie, a stroll soundtracked by the Texan three-piece is a must. Grass looks greener, cherry blossom blooms brighter and you can’t help but smile as lush guitars, silky bass grooves and unwavering drums vanquish any weight from your shoulders.

Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews • 4th April 2024

"We're A Set Of Five Action Figures!" Gustaf Interviewed | Features

New York City’s hottest post-punk outfit Gustaf are a frenetic delight. Chaos has been their unlikely guiding force. Their first gig was hit by a blizzard, they didn’t even have a name when they first started playing shows. Somehow, it’s all worked out. And since lead singer Lydia Gammill started the band “on a whim” by offering to help her friends drive their van down to SXSW in 2018, with the deal of playing a few shows with them in return, the talented five-piece haven’t looked back since.

The Line of Best Fit • 31st March 2024

The best songs by Ride and Mark Gardener | Interview

Ahead of the release of Ride’s seventh album Interplay, Mark Gardener talks Jamie Wilde through five pivotal songs of his career, taking in solo work, collaborations, and his reunited band.

The Line of Best Fit • 21st March 2024

Turning inwards with Sam Evian

A prolific producer nestled in the woody tranquillity of his home and studio in upstate New York, Sam Evian has worked with the likes of Big Thief, Palehound, Blonde Redhead and Cass McCombs, and is also a brilliant artist in his own right.

The Skinny • 12th February 2024

IDLES - TANGK album review

IDLES are a brute force of love, an embrace of kindness, a shoulder to cry on when in need. Their fifth studio album TANGK typifies this. Drawing on undertones of soul from their 2018 breakout album Joy As An Act of Resistance, whilst also exploring new sonic boundaries, IDLES’ latest lens focuses on gratitude, perseverance, and bounds of love.

Clash Magazine • 27th November 2023

Live Report: Lucia & The Best Boys – SWG3, Glasgow

Walking into SWG3 feels like entering the Berghain of Glasgow’s alternative scene. Dim lights, low ceilings, brutalist architecture and more micro-fringes than you can shake a stick at sets the tone for the night ahead. Delivering the music – scratch that – delivering one of the city’s hottest gigs of the year is Lucia & The Best Boys.

Clash Magazine • 3rd November 2023

“World Domination!” SOFY Is Seizing Her Ambitions

Chaos & Commotion… it’s an accurate description for most of our mad, modern lives where things don’t always make sense. In SOFY’s world however, things are a little bit brighter. Navigating moments of transience over the last 18 months with her indelibly tongue-in-cheek tone, the artist’s new mixtape offers a space where ‘Chaos & Commotion’ makes much more sense.

The Skinny • 31st October 2023

Jockstrap - I<3UQTINVU album review: The Skinny

Genre-fluid London duo Jockstrap have made quite the impression with their debut album I Love You Jennifer B. Its enamouring showcase of their complex and creative identity landed them a Mercury Prize nomination and festival appearances at the likes of Glastonbury, as well as widespread critical praise (including an album of the year nod and a five-star review from ourselves).

The Skinny • 2nd October 2023

corto.alto album review: Bad With Names - The Skinny

corto.alto, aka Liam Shortall, is at the forefront of Glasgow’s thriving jazz scene. His project's hypnotic blend of soulful jazz expressed through outstanding levels of musical ability has won him loyal fans both at home and beyond. But with the arrival of their debut album, corto.alto cement themselves as a tour de force for modern jazz.

Clash Magazine • 25th September 2023

Next Wave #1134: Georgia Gets By | Next Wave

“Out of all the music I was making, this made me feel the most me.” This is how artist Georgia Notts, one half of New Zealand electronic pop titans BROODS, describes her new solo project Georgia Gets By. Her debut EP ‘Fish Bird Baby Boy’ is due for release on October 6th and it sees her depart from BROODS’ refined sound to a stunningly intimate aesthetic.

Clash Magazine • 4th August 2023

Next Wave #1125: Lucia & The Best Boys | Next Wave

Friends of The Last Dinner Party, Dream Wife and even Wolf Alice who they toured with last year, Glasgow’s Lucia & The Best Boys are cementing their status as one of the UK’s hottest bands. They’ve been in no rush to rise to the top; forming eight years ago, this September marks the long awaited arrival of their debut album ‘Burning Castles’. A lot of things may have changed for them since they formed. But lead singer Lucia Fairfull believes that the band’s je ne sais quoi has always remained.