Features

DIY Label Spotlight #3: City Slang

A monthly focus on those crucial cogs in the wonderful new music wheel.

11th March 2025

Melin Melyn on storytelling, Welsh language music, and their fantastical debut album ‘Mill On The Hill’

Melin Melyn: “You have to be creative in order to get people to pay attention”

To mark the release of their fantastical debut album, we sit down with the Welsh cult favourites to talk storytelling, Spice Girls, AI and more.

7th March 2025

Mandrake Handshake talk disparate influences, creative dynamics, and debut album ‘Earth-Sized Worlds’

Mandrake Handshake: “If everyone is moving their body, it’s hard to feel like you’re doing a bad show”

To celebrate the release of their debut album, we catch up with the eclectic, ever-enticing psych collective to delve into how they made it this far.

3rd March 2025

Matt Maltese talks intimacy, growth and his forthcoming sixth album ‘Hers’

Matt Maltese: His ‘N’ Hers

Ten years into the game, Matt Maltese is a stalwart of indie’s top table, his name a byword for stunningly intimate songwriting and yearning romance. Now returning with sixth album ‘Hers’, he’s truly come of age — and it makes for his most mature and emotionally affecting outing yet.

28th February 2025

Rebecca Black talks finding a home in hyperpop, moving past ‘Friday’ fame, and her dance pop-centric new album ‘SALVATION’

Rebecca Black: Dance Pop Renaissance

Two years since her debut record, gutsy pop culture benchmark Rebecca Black is returning with a DJ-inspired, alt-pop dance project like nothing you’ve heard before — and ‘Friday’ is the last thing on her mind.

26th February 2025

Antony Szmierek on his intergalactic debut album, ‘Service Station At The End Of The Universe’

Antony Szmierek: Sincerity Overdrive

Over the last three years, Antony Szmierek has become known as one of indie’s most evocative and witty new voices. Now, with starry debut album ‘Service Station At The End Of The Universe’, he’s sending us on a joyride through the cosmos and beyond.

25th February 2025

For One Night Only!: Phoebe Green curates her dream gig

The Manchester alt-pop favourite gives us an insight into her ideal night out.

25th February 2025

Black Country, New Road on new single ‘Besties’ and re-imagining the band for anticipated third album, ‘Forever Howlong’

Black Country, New Road: Best Of Friends

So far, Black Country, New Road’s journey has been anything but predictable; now, as they ready their third act ‘Forever Howlong’, it’s time to prepare for another about-turn.

24th February 2025

Jasmine.4.t on working with Phoebe Bridgers, the importance of trans representation, and debut album ‘You Are The Morning’

jasmine.4.t: “If I can raise other trans women up and be a visible role model then that’s a huge plus”

With stardom looming large, jasmine.4.t talks finding hope and joy for herself and the wider queer community with her boygenius-produced debut ‘You Are The Morning’.

20th February 2025

Nao on fighting Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and finding happiness on new album ‘Jupiter’

Nao: Celestial Bodies

After a period of serious health challenges, Nao is set to return with ‘Jupiter’, her joyously confident fourth record that sees her throw off the shackles and embrace the little things.

19th February 2025

The NONE on Bloc Party, industry experience, and their raucous new EP ‘CARE’

The NONE: “To pander to anyone is just pointless”

Boasting a line-up of “lightly seasoned” but recognisable faces, meet the quartet who are very much playing by their own rules.

18th February 2025

The Murder Capital talk home truths, human nature, and their blistering third album ‘Blindness’

The Murder Capital: Blind Faith

On third album ‘Blindness’, The Murder Capital grapple with flawed patriotism and innate human error, all while frontman James McGovern is determined to confront – and even embrace – his own blind spots.

17th February 2025

Squid talk expanding their horizons and exploring evil on third album ‘Cowards’

Squid: Fiendish Fancies

While the stories told on ‘Cowards’ may dwell in the murkier corners of morality, with their third album Squid are instead focusing on cracks of light within the darkness.

13th February 2025

Heartworms on the personal memories and military history that inform her debut album ‘Glutton For Punishment’

Heartworms: Cradle To Grave

She may have gained an early reputation for steely stares and military outerwear, but Heartworms’ Jojo Orme is far more than meets the eye. On debut album ‘Glutton For Punishment’, she drops the guard and digs into the person behind the uniform.

12th February 2025

Rebecca Lucy Taylor on following ‘Prioritise Pleasure”s pop success and crafting Self Esteem’s third chapter, ‘A Complicated Woman’

The Many Faces Of Self Esteem

Nearly 20 years after first starting out in the industry, Rebecca Lucy Taylor is finally an objectively successful pop star. Is it better? Is it worse? Is she happy? Does any of it even matter? On third Self Esteem album ‘A Complicated Woman’, we find an artist addressing the grey areas, and turning them technicolour.

10th February 2025

Beatmaker Don Leisure talks diving into the Sain Records back catalogue and Dydd Miwsig Cymru

The Welsh beatmaker tells us more about his latest release ‘Tyrchu Sain’, which saw him dive into the back catalogue of Wales’ oldest independent record label

7th February 2025