Music

Beyond litter and emissions: The environmental costs of loud sound at music festivals

The music festivals of the summer have packed up and moved on. Stages and sound systems have been dismantled, litter cleared, and land reseeded.

Why ‘No Bad Memories’ is my album of the year

I didn't expect how perfectly my personal happiness would fit an album so preoccupied with the sounds of old advertisements and obsolete electronics, filled with the relentless optimism of a world that believed the future could only get better. 

CUSP’s Dan Stock on the memories behind ‘English Country’

On Friday, CUSP, a Milton Keynes-based indie rock band, released their debut album, English...

The rise of the pop girlie: Marketing mediocrity or feminism in action?  

“GIRLS INVENTED PUNK ROCK, NOT ENGLAND”: so reads the iconic green T-shirt of Sonic Youth legend Kim Gordon. The slogan stands in defiance of an unfortunate truth in the music industry: femininity and credibility often exist in contention with one another.

Nu Jazz – How it Began

The evolution of jazz into the present day

Making the Case for Bieber

I doubt you could find many people today who would not recognize those iconic opening notes of, statistically, the most hated song ever recorded – even...

Review: Don’t Call Me Angel

Why Ariana, Miley and Lana's latest release is little more than a cash cow

Review: The Leisure Society at the Bullingdon

Brian Eno likes the Leisure Society. So does Ray Davies. These facts alone are reason enough to persuade anybody to go and see a...

Interview: JOHN

A chat with up and coming band JOHN about Punk, brutalism, and their new album: Out Here on the Fringes

W. G. Still: The Forgotten American Tchaikovsky

At one point America's most successful symphonist, lauded for his ode to forgotten black soldiers, few today have heard of W. G. Still. According to The Cambridge History of American Music, “No composer plummeted from authentic prominence to an eclipse more total than endured by William Grant Still.”

100% That Bitch

It was May Day afternoon when I clicked play on the movie ‘Someone Great’ on Netflix. It had come out a few days ago,...

Festival Review: We Out Here

Jazz, soul, hip hop, afro, electronica, and house - a look at the festival made for everyone

Stilettos, Broken Bottles and Teenage Heartbreak: A Love Letter to Robyn’s Dancing on my Own

When I was sixteen, I was in love for the first time. It was a boy from a school near mine, who I’ll refer to...

Review: Lover by Taylor Swift

Jess Curry looks at why Taylor Swift's latest record represents a strong return to form

Sex, drugs and gender roles: Frank Turner’s historical concept album

A discussion of the new historical concept album from Frank Turner, "No Man's Land".

Were Nickelback really that bad?

Were Nickleback responsible for killing guitar music in the pop charts?

Review: ANIMA by Thom Yorke

A glance at Yorke's finest solo album to date

Songs to Sell Your Soul To

A talk through some of the songs on our newest playlist, designed to bring a little sunshine to the life of a languishing intern.

Just a Crush?

How Tessa Violet's 'Bad Ideas' and Mitski's 'Be the Cowboy' are changing the portrayal of romance in pop

Mashrou Leila’s Message of Pride Prevails Following Government Ban

How one Lebanese band became a symbol of hope for LGBTQ people across the world

Music and Christianity: What’s it all about?

What is the role of music in Christian worship, and does it still matter in the 21st century?

Review: No Man’s Land – Frank Turner

Why the newest offering from Frank Turner was a pleasant surprise

Music on the Big Screen

Music’s place in cinema: why the soundtrack must be unforgettable

“Lil Thot”: How female empowerment and music intersect

One of the first lessons we are taught as children is that to gain respect, we must first earn it. Yet for women in...

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