Indie: Last News

Razorlight have shared the meaning behind their controversially named new song ‘Taylor Swift = US Propaganda’.Today (July 26), the band have announced ‘Planet Nowhere’ – their first album recorded by the group’s classic line-up since 2008. The LP sees singer Johnny Borrell, guitarist Bjorn Agren, drummer Andy Burrows and bassist Carl Dalemo return to the studio for their first full-length since their third album ‘Slipway Fires’. You can pre-order the album here.While speaking to NME about their upcoming album, the band discussed how the first track written for the LP was their newly released single ‘Scared Of Nothing’ and opened up about the creation of their new song ‘Taylor Swift = US Propaganda’.“I went back to the Basque country where I live and promptly forgot about being a musician for five weeks.

Sinéad O’Connor wax figure.The beloved Irish singer and activist died in July 2023 at the age of 56, later confirmed to have been from natural causes. The figure was revealed yesterday (July 25) and was met with scathing reviews online, with some suggesting it lacked the level of detail you would expect and others questioning why it had been placed among sculptures of characters from Star Wars.The original wax figure was created as a tribute to the late musician and was meant to serve as a tribute on the one-year anniversary of her death today (July 26).Now, the museum has announced that they will be removing the figure and will be launching a new project to “create a more accurate representation” of the singer.A wax sculpture of Sinéad O'Connor has been unveiled at the National Wax Museum in Dublin today pic.twitter.com/SP2EtkMWm4— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) July 25, 2024Sinead O'Connor's brother John tells Joe of his disappointment at the her wax figure.

English Teacher have spoken to NME about being shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, their ‘rivalry’ with Beyoncé and progress on their second album.The Leeds indie upstarts received the Mercury nod yesterday (Thursday July 25), with the former NME cover stars‘ acclaimed debut ‘This Could Be Texas’ being shortlisted alongside records by the likes of Charli XCX, CMAT, Ghetts, The Last Dinner Party, Corinne Bailey Rae, Beth Gibbons, Barry Can’t Swim and more.Asked by NME about what it meant to be nominated, frontwoman Lily Fontaine described it as “mental” and called this year’s nominees as “the best year yet. Not just because we’re on it!”Quizzed on what ‘This Could Be Texas’ tells us about life in 2024, guitarist Lewis Whiting said that it aimed to capture the idea “that places are often far apart are often eerily similar”.A post shared by NME (@nmemagazine)For a band who have been very vocal about how difficult it is for artists to survive and thrive in the current climate, English Teacher said that the honour felt all the more profound.“There’s a lot of temptation to not continue making music because you physically can’t,” Fontaine admitted.

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has hinted there may still be a future for the band, despite them appearing to announce that they had played their last ever show.The Britpop band played at this year’s Coachella Festival, during which frontman Damon Albarn said, “this is probably our last gig”.That came after Albarn stated in December that the band would be going on a hiatus until further notice, saying “it’s too much for me”.“It is time to wrap up this campaign,” he said. “It’s too much for me.

Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire has announced a new art exhibition, My Little Empire, to be displayed in a Welsh museum.From August 6 until December 13 at Narberth Museum in Pembrokeshire, the exhibition will feature 26 new pieces that showcase Wire’s love of the Polaroid image.My Little Empire, named after a song from the 1998 album ‘This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours’, will include several self-portraits, as well as subjects including Welsh film actor Richard Burton, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Camus and Jean Paul Basquiat.A post shared by Manic Street Preachers (@manics)The show has been curated by Mark Lewis, who has said (via South Wales Argus): “The exhibition came about after I contacted Nicky to say that one of his pictures was being used in the Dylan Thomas exhibition at Narberth Museum. He said he had always liked Narberth and would love to show his work there.

Bastille have announced their new album ‘&’, and shared the first four songs from it – listen to the new tracks below.The album, which is described as a “collection of story songs”, will be released in full on October 25 and you can pre-order it here. For now, they have released ‘Part One’ of the album, which consists of four new tracks: ‘Intros & Narrators’, ‘Eve & Paradise Lost’, ‘Emily & Her Penthouse In The Sky’ and ‘Seasons & Narcissus’.Listen to the blissed out, fingerpicked tracks below, which find Dan Smith and co in folky, reflective form, set to lush, warm production.The first track, ‘Intros & Narrators’, comes complete with a new video, which was captured in a single take while in the Sargasso Sea in the Bermuda Triangle earlier this year.

Blur have shared the official trailer for their new concert film, Blur: Live At Wembley Stadium – watch below.The video coincides with the release of the Britpop band’s new live album of the same name today (July 26).Directed by Toby L (who also helmed the new Blur documentary To The End), the upcoming feature-length project captures Damon Albarn and co’s huge reunion shows at London’s Wembley Stadium last summer.The trailer for the movie begins with an aerial shot of the venue. As a roar from the massive crowd erupts, Blur are seen in the wings before making their way to the stage.

Sinéad O’Connor has been unveiled in Dublin, and the reactions on social media have been less than complimentary.The beloved Irish singer and activist died in July 2023 at the age of 56, later confirmed to have been from natural causes. With the one-year anniversary arriving today (July 26), the National Wax Museum Plus in the Irish capital has revealed their own tribute.The sculpture has been met with some scathing reactions online, with some suggesting it lacks the level of detail you would expect and others questioning why it has been placed among sculptures of characters from Star Wars.Watch the unveiling below:A wax sculpture of Sinéad O'Connor has been unveiled at the National Wax Museum in Dublin today pic.twitter.com/SP2EtkMWm4— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) July 25, 2024“A wax sculpture made by Stevie Wonder,” reads one reply on X to the unveiling, while another asks: “And she’s next to Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Vader because….????”A wax sculpture made by Stevie Wonder— don (@donjo65_) July 25, 2024And she's next to Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Vader because….??????— Beano (@bolough) July 25, 2024“The new Sinead O’Connor wax work looks like they just found an old mannequin in a skip and said, yep that will do.

The Last Dinner Party have covered Blondie‘s ‘Call Me’ for Australian broadcaster triple j’s Like A Version series.The NME The Cover stars’ unique take on the Blondie and Debbie Harry classic see the band swap out Blondie’s more punk-leaning brand of rock for their patented indie stylings. Listen to The Last Dinner Party’s cover of Blondie’s ‘Call Me’ below.Speaking to triple j about why they chose the song as their cover, lead singer Abigail Morris and bassist Georgia Davies explained that they used to sing the track as their “go-to” pick at karaoke.

Ice Spice has praised Taylor Swift for her ability to navigate fame and the music industry, along with commenting on the furore around Matty Healy‘s comments.The Bronx drill rapper appeared as the latest cover star for Rolling Stone magazine and in her interview, she opened up about working with the ‘Bejeweled’ singer and how her guest verse on the remix of Swift’s track ‘Karma’ came to fruition.Swift previously championed Ice Spice – real name Isis Gaston – telling Variety: “I relate to Ice in many ways, but I think her dedication and focus is what blew me away from the very start.”She continued: “She’s extremely professional without being cold. Playful and fun without ever taking her eye off the prize.

Laura Marling has shared a preview of her heartfelt new song ‘No One’s Gonna Love You Like I Can’ from her upcoming album.The English singer took to her official Instagram page to share a video of her performing the song on a piano. “We grew tired of making plans that kept slipping through our hands / and if life is just a dream / I’m gonna make it mean something worth a damn / So no one’s gonna love you like I can,” Marling sang in the video over a soothing piano melody.The snippet of the new track comes weeks after Marling released her latest song ‘Patterns‘ which served as the lead single from her forthcoming eighth studio album ‘Patterns In Repeat’.

Mercury Prize was announced earlier today (July 25), and fans have been quick to share their responses online.The 12 albums up for the award were announced live by Tom Ravenscroft on BBC Radio 6 Music, and chosen by an independent judging panel, which this year includes Jamie Cullum and MistaJam. Albums released between July 15, 2023 and July 12, 2024 were eligible.Among those listed were Portishead member Beth Gibbons, for her long-awaited debut solo album ‘Lives Outgrown’, The Last Dinner Party with ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’, and English Teacher with their landmark debut ‘This Could Be Texas’.Charli XCX also made the cut with ‘BRAT’, which has become the soundtrack of the summer and a pop culture phenomenon, as was Barry Can’t Swim (‘When Will We Land?’), BERWYN (‘Who Am I?’), Cat Burns (‘Early Twenties’), Corinne Bailey Rae (‘Black Rainbows’) and corto.alto (‘Bad With Names’).The list is rounded out by Nia Archives’ album ‘Silence Is Loud’, Ghetts’ ‘On Purpose, With Purpose’, and CMAT’s ‘Crazymad, For Me’.Following the announcement, many have been quick to take to social media to share their thoughts on the shortlist.“Guessed Charli would be nominated, also Last Dinner Party.

Latitude Festival 2024 is set to kick off tomorrow – but will it be rain or shine onsite? Check out the latest weather forecast below.The event, which is located at Henham Park, Suffolk, opened its gates today (July 25) before three days of live music and entertainment begins tomorrow (26).Kasabian, London Grammar and Duran Duran will all headline the Obelisk Arena at this year’s edition of Latitude.Other names on the line-up include Khruangbin, The Vaccines, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Keane, Future Islands, Orbital, CMAT, The Darkness, English Teacher and Ash.BBC Weather currently predicts that temperatures will peak at 21°C, with lows of 13°C. Ticketholders can expect a mix of drizzle, light rain and sun.

Blossoms have shared a new single called ‘Perfect Me’ – you can listen to it below.The song is the latest preview of the Stockport band’s fifth studio album ‘Gary’, which is due for release on September 20 (pre-order/pre-save here).Speaking about the driving, anthemic number on BBC Radio 1 last night (July 23), drummer Joe Donovan explained: “It nearly didn’t make the album, and now full circle – it’s a single.”Frontman Tom Ogden added: “You do that sometimes – you write a lot of songs for a record, and you kind of put some on the back burner; you come back with [a] fresh perspective. And this one rose to the top like bubbles.”The singer went on to reveal that ‘Perfect Me’ was “written around a Moog synthesiser arpeggiator”, adding: “Josh [Dewhurst, guitarist] was messing around with it in the room.

Slowdive have announced a new slate of US tour dates, set for Fall 2024 – check out the full list of dates and get tickets below.The shoegaze veterans made the announcement via social media yesterday (July 23), confirming that they will play 10 shows across the United States in November. The tour includes stops in St.

Sam Fender has shared details of an intimate show, which will serve as a warm-up for his upcoming slot at Boardmasters. Find ticket details below.Announced today (July 23), the newly shared live show will be held at the Plymouth Pavilions at the start of August.Scheduled for August 3, the gig comes just a week before the singer, songwriter and guitarist is expected to play a massive headline slot at the UK festival the following weekend (August 10).It will mark one of Fender’s first live shows in 2024 – arriving nearly a year after he took on the mammoth headline slots at Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2023.Tickets for the Plymouth gig go on sale this Friday (July 26) at 10am BST.

Foals’ Yannis Philippakis has shared the latest song from his new project with the late Tony Allen, Yannis & The Yaw, ‘Rain Can’t Reach Us’.The track follows ‘Walk Through Fire’ and ‘Under The Strikes’, with all three songs set to feature on the Yannis & The Yaw EP ‘Lagos Paris London’, released on August 30 via Transgressive. You can pre-order/pre-save it here.In recent years, the singer had been steadily teasing the project, first revealing news of sessions with legendary drummer Allen to NME back in 2017.

Fontaines D.C.‘s Grian Chatten has made a cameo appearance in Jade Thirlwall’s ‘Angel Of My Dreams’ music video – you can watch it below.Earlier this year, Fontaines D.C. made their comeback with the punchy ‘Starburster’. Towards the end of the video, we see frontman Chatten make his way into a studio, where a photoshoot is going on with several people dressed as angels.

Los Campesinos! have released a deluxe edition of their new album ‘All Hell’, but it won’t be available on streaming, and you only have until Thursday to buy it.Following their self-released seventh studio album dropping on Friday (July 19), the Welsh indie-pop group have already shared a deluxe version with fans. Coined ‘More Hell’, the new version features the full album alongside five reworked versions of the new tracks, offering a more delicate, stripped-back take.

Circa Waves nearly missed their festival slot in Germany this weekend but were saved when The Prodigy unexpectedly came to their rescue.The ‘T-shirt Weather’ band were one of the many people impacted by the global IT outage that occurred when an update from cyber security firm Crowd Strike crashed over 8 million computers across the globe – including the devices used by airports around the world.Circa Waves are in the midst of their summer festival appearances and were set to perform at Germany’s Deichbrand Festival on Saturday (July 20). Due to the IT outage, the indie band were going to have to cancel their appearance at the bash until The Prodigy came to the rescue with their private jet.The English electronic group were also performing at Deichbrand Festival that night as headliners.

Parklife festival and The Warehouse Project, has stepped down.Lord, who is also Manchester’s Night Time Economy Advisor, confirmed the move last week following a transfer of shares to LN Gaiety – a subsidiary of concert and festival giant Live Nation, reports the Manchester Evening News.Live Nation-Gaiety is the joint venture between two of the world’s leading live entertainment companies: Live Nation and Gaiety Investments. In 2016 the international group Live Nation-Gaiety Holdings bought shares in The Warehouse Project and Parklife festival.The agreement at the time meant The Warehouse Project brand and Parklife Festival would benefit from a combination of both parties’ international experience in the sector.Lord said: “The decision to step down was not an easy one for me to make.