Indie: Last News

IDLES, Little Simz and Father John Misty are among the leading names on the line-up for BBC Radio 6 Music Festival 2022.The annual live music event is set to take place in multiple venues in Cardiff from April 1-3, marking the first in-person festival to be held by 6 Music since 2020.

Phoebe Bridgers has said that she stands by her comments about recording studio owner Chris Nelson, which led him to sue her for defamation.On Instagram in October 2020, Bridgers directed her followers to a thread by her friend Emily Bannon, which Nelson claimed was defamatory.Nelson subsequently sued Bridgers for defamation and is seeking $3.8million (£2.8million) in damages. He claims Bridgers “intentionally used her high-profile public platform on Instagram to publish false and defamatory statements” about him “in order to destroy his reputation”.Now, in a sworn declaration filed yesterday (February 14), Bridgers responded, saying: “I believe that the statements I made in my Instagram story are true.

The 1975 have announced that they will be making their live comeback by headlining Japan’s Summer Sonic 2022 in August.The gigs will mark the band’s first live shows since they performed in Dublin in March 2020, and comes after The 1975 hinted at new activity by wiping their social media accounts earlier this week.The 1975 have been announced this morning (February 15) as headliners of Summer Sonic 2022.The band will top the bill on August 20 at the Zozomarine Stadium and Makuhari Messe in Tokyo, before then headlining the event the following day (August 21) at Maishima Sonic Park in Osaka.The 1975 join Post Malone as headliners of Summer Sonic 2022, with the likes of Megan Thee Stallion, The Libertines and St. Vincent also set to perform.

Foals have hit out at the current UK Conservative government, the ongoing ‘Partygate’ scandal and other things doing “long-lasting” damage to the country.The band were speaking to NME for this week’s Big Read cover story to launch their upcoming seventh album ‘Life Is Yours’. Rejecting the “doom soup” of their previous records ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost’ parts one and two and the subsequent pandemic, the Oxford trio sought to make a “going out record”.“We were thinking about parties, club nights and being drunk on the bus at 2am trying to get home,” frontman Yannis Philippakis told NME.

Tame Impala‘s Kevin Parker has revealed he thinks his next record won’t be preceded by the half-decade gap that existed between last album ‘The Slow Rush’ and 2015’s ‘Currents’.Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Parker said he believed he’ll have “another Tame Impala album done sooner than what has been the pattern for me”.The musician is currently spending his days making music at his studio in Fremantle, Western Australia. “I’m always making music, that’s kind of all I know how to do,” he told the publication.“I’m just here in the studio by myself.

Bez has revealed that he once hid out in a cave for weeks after he was chased out of an area in Morocco where he’d shoplifted.The Happy Mondays percussionist/dancer said in a new interview that he’d turned to theft as a way to survive while travelling the world in his late teens, which was before he joined the band in 1985. Bez was “mostly homeless and sofa-surfing” at the time, and had intentions to move on from petty crime, for which he had served prison time.He told The Guardian: “By the time I was about 19, I decided I didn’t want to get caught up in the sort of shit I was doing again, so thought the best thing I could do was to have a huge adventure and go travelling.“I lived in Morocco for a bit and was shoplifting just to survive; pinching bars of chocolate.

Wilco‘s Jeff Tweedy has said the band are in the studio working on their 12th album.Tweedy, who revealed the news in his Substack on Friday (February 11), explained to fans that his correspondence had been more irregular of late owing to the fact that Wilco are making the follow-up to 2019’s ‘Ode To Joy‘.“I’ve been in the studio with Wilco making some new music, chipping away at a new record. It’s been very very very fun and exciting.

Sunflower Bean’s Julia Cumming has shared that she almost performed with Manic Street Preachers at Wembley Arena last year before COVID forced her to change plans. Watch our full video interview with Cumming above.Speaking to NME for the latest ‘In Conversation’ interview, the singer discussed her experience singing with the Welsh rock veterans on ‘The Secret He Had Missed’ from their 14th studio album, ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’.“I think that the Manics have an amazing way of writing great pop, and rock, and just art songs, and I got to be a part of that record,” she said.

Frank Turner has opened up about how losing Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison and the theme of “acceptance” shaped his new album ‘FTHC’.Hutchison, who died by suicide in 2018, was recently immortalised by his friend Turner on the single ‘A Wave Across The Bay‘ from his ninth album ‘FTHC’ – released last week (Friday February 11). The song addresses Turner’s relationship with the late singer, as well as coming to terms with Hutchison’s final days and his decision to take his own life.“I try to write in an unforced way, and that was an extreme example of that,” Turner told NME.

Rex Orange County has shared the music video for his new single ‘Amazing’, the second offering from his upcoming album ‘Who Cares?‘. Watch below.The upbeat and sunny-sounding ‘Amazing’ is described as an ode to falling in love, with visuals featuring finger puppets directed by Chris Ullens.

The 1975 have deleted their social media accounts and turned their website blank, hinting at the imminent arrival of new music.As of today (February 14), the band’s official Instagram and Twitter accounts have both been deactivated, while their official website purely features a blank white page.In the past, when teasing new material, the band deleted all traces of themselves from social media. Now, as they did before announcing 2018 album ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’, 2019’s ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’ and with their second album ‘I Love It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It’, the band have now erased their entire social media presence.// Here we go again // #The1975 pic.twitter.com/DssGMmuOT4— The 1975 Updates (@The1975_Tour) February 14, 2022Last month, it appeared that the band were back in the studio working on new music, with frontman Matty Healy sharing black-and-white footage shows Healy strumming an acoustic guitar as instruments and recording equipment are set up around him.

The Bluetones‘ frontman Mark Morriss joking on stage about allegations made against him last year by his ex-wife, who called him a sexual predator and claimed he had abused her.In a lengthy blog post, titled ‘If I’m Lying, Come Sue Me’, newspaper executive Anna Wharton accused Morriss of being a “pathological liar and serial predator” – detailing years of alleged gaslighting, abuse and cheating.When approached by NME about the claims, Morriss said: “I completely refute all the allegations of abuse which have been raised in this article,” and did not wish to comment further.In new footage shared on social media over the weekend, a video has emerged that captures a solo show Morriss was playing at Cafe Indie in Scunthorpe on February 12.After discussing that he would have music and merchandise for sale at the show, he told the crowd: “You do know that, by buying my merchandise, you are enabling a whole, whole wardrobe full of unseemly behaviour, which I can only afford to do with that merchandise money.”He later appeared to remark: “That’s a side of me I didn’t really want you to see. I’d rather you just think of me as a sexual predator… an abuser.

Snail Mail has shared a new demo of her ‘Valentine’ title track to celebrate Valentine’s Day – listen to ‘Adore You’ below.Lindsey Jordan released her second album last year via Matador, and will head out on a rescheduled UK and European tour later this year.The new demo version of ‘Valentine’, titled ‘Adore You’, sees a more lo-fi, scratchy initial version of the song, which eventually ended up as a widescreen rock anthem.Check it out below.The US singer-songwriter was forced to delay the run of shows in support of her latest album album after undergoing vocal cord surgery.“I’ve been struggling with my vocal health more and more each year. I lose my voice after a couple [of] days of singing,” she said at the time, adding that a doctor subsequently discovered “massive polyps”.The musician will touch down in the UK on June 23 for a performance at The Ritz in Manchester before making stop-offs in Glasgow (June 24), Bristol (28), London (29) and Brighton (30).An additional European concert in Lyon, France is scheduled for July 5 before Snail Mail heads back to the states in August.Tickets purchased previously remain valid for the new shows.

Haim video directed by Paul Thomas Anderson is set to play before screenings of Licorice Pizza, starting tonight (February 12).Anderson’s new film stars Alana Haim in her acting debut and is a coming-of-age drama set in the 1970s in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, focusing on Haim’s character Alana Kane and Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman).As revealed on Alana’s Instagram story and the official Licorice Pizza Twitter account, a new Anderson-directed Haim video, seemingly for an unreleased track called ‘Lost Track’ – though that could be a placeholder for an untitled song recently unearthed – will debut before every screening of the new film.New @HAIMtheband music video directed by Paul Thomas Anderson will play in theaters everywhere before #LicoricePizza starting tonight! pic.twitter.com/4sHpfCHAbC— Licorice Pizza (@licoricepizza) February 11, 2022Haim have worked with Paul Thomas Anderson extensively in the past few years, with the Phantom Thread director helming the videos for their tracks ‘Night So Long’, ‘Right Now’ and ‘Little of Your Love’. Anderson was also behind their ‘Valentine’ short film, which came out in 2018, and created the artwork and videos for the band’s 2020 album ‘Women In Music Pt.

Big Thief have shared an immersive new studio video for their new track ‘Red Moon’ – check it out below.The track appears on the band’s 20-song new album ‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You’, which was released yesterday (February 11) via 4AD.The video, which sees Big Thief perform alongside Mat Davidson of the band Twain on fiddle, was shot by vocalist Adrianne Lenker’s brother Noah at Scott McMicken’s home studio in Tuscon, Arizona. It was one of four locations in which the band recorded the new album.The live take captured in the video is also the version that makes the final edit on the album.Check it out below.Reviewing ‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You’, NME wrote: “There’s a certain looseness that suits Big Thief well across the whole record.

Alexander 23 has shared a brand new single, ‘Hate Me If It Helps’, co-written by Olivia Rodrigo.The sprawling indie-pop cut marks the return of the Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and producer (real name Alexander Glantz) following the release of his 2021 EP, ‘Oh No, Not Again!’.Happy to be labelled a “bad guy” post-breakup in order for an ex to get closure, the song’s chorus hears Alexander sing: “You can hate me if it helps/ Make me out to be the villain/ Say you’re better by yourself/ So it feels like your decision/ You can tell ’em I’m the bad guy if it helps you sleep okay/ Because all you want is closure, but there’s nothing left to say/ So you can hate me if it helps/ You can hate me if it helps.”Co-written with Rodrigo – who Alexander worked with on her chart-topping hit ‘Good 4 U’ – it arrives with a beautifully shot, self-directed video. You can watch it below.This year looks set to be a big one for Alexander, whose yet-to-be-titled debut album is scheduled to arrive sometime in 2022, produced by Dan Nigro.He’s also about to head out on tour with John Mayer as support on the singer-songwriter’s ‘Sob Rock’ tour, which kicks off on February 17 in Albany, New York, and ends in Chicago, Illinois, on April 29. Yebba will also offer support.Meanwhile, John Mayer‘s first solo gig in two years was briefly interrupted this week when he was alerted to an audience member in need of medical attention.On Wednesday night (February 9), the ‘New Light’ hitmaker took to the stage at the Hollywood Palladium as part of SiriusXM and Pandora’s ‘Small Stages’ series.

Bastille have scored their third UK Number One album with their new LP ‘Give Me The Future’.The London band’s new record, which arrived last week (February 4), debuted in the top spot with 85 per cent of its total coming from physical sales, plus the biggest digital download figures of the week. It also topped the Official Record Store Chart.“We’re so happy and excited! Ridiculously grateful to everyone who’s bought the album and listened to it, and to everyone who worked so hard to make this record with us,” Bastille said upon receiving news of their achievement.They added: “We’re mega proud of ‘Give Me The Future’ and beyond overjoyed that it’s had such an amazing response so far.

Liam Gallagher has confirmed that Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig will feature on his upcoming new solo album ‘C’MON YOU KNOW’ on a track called ‘Moscow Rules’.The follow-up to Gallagher’s 2019 LP ‘Why Me? Why Not.’ is set for release on May 27, and was previewed recently by the single ‘Everything’s Electric’.‘Everything’s Electric’ was co-written by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, and Gallagher has now confirmed that Koenig is another big-name contributor to the record.Speaking to Jasper Leijdens on the KINK IN TOUCH WITH podcast this week, Gallagher revealed that the Vampire Weekend frontman features on a track called ‘Moscow Rules’.“Ezra plays some mad instruments on a song called ‘Moscow Rules’,” Gallagher said. “We wrote that one together with Andrew [Wyatt].”The official tracklist for ‘C’MON YOU KNOW’ has yet to be announced, but you can pre-order the record here.Gallagher performed his latest single ‘Everything’s Electric’ live for the first time earlier this week at this year’s BRIT Awards.The former Oasis frontman is set to tour this year in support of ‘C’MON YOU KNOW’, including two sold-out gigs at Knebworth.

Sundara Karma have announced their new EP ‘Oblivion!’ and shared its title track – you can hear the new song below.The forthcoming record follows on from the band’s November 2020 EP ‘Kill Me’. Their last studio album, ‘Ulfilas’ Alphabet’, was released in March 2019.Produced by Clarence Clarity, the ‘Oblivion!’ EP is set for release on April 1 via Chess Club Records and is available to pre-order here.Speaking about the title track, Sundara Karma’s Oscar Pollock said: “‘Oblivion!’ came together so quickly, I wrote the whole thing in about two days in the summer last year. I had been revisiting a lot of my favourite music from around 2003 and was feeling quite nostalgic at the time.

Kate Nash has shared a new single called ‘Imperfect’ – you can listen to it below.The track is the latest preview of the singer-songwriter’s fifth studio album, which is due to arrive at some point this year. Following on from 2018’s ‘Yesterday Was Forever’, the record will also feature the 2021 songs ‘Horsie’ and ‘Misery’.“My co-star Kimmy Gatewood and some of our brilliant writers Rachel Shukert and Sascha Rothchild from GLOW asked me if I could write a tween pop anthem for an episode of The Babysitters Club (Netflix) that they were all working on,” Nash explained of how ‘Imperfect’ came about.“I’ve been writing for TV, film and musical theatre recently and it’s been so liberating as I get to explore different sides of being a songwriter.

Lucy Dacus suffered two herniated discs. Rather than cancel the show, however, she performed the entire set while lying down on a couch.She clued fans in on the situation just hours before the show begun, sharing a photo of herself lying down with the caption, “Sup, I have two herniated discs and the only way I’m not in pain is laying down SO tonight’s show I will be singing from a couch, I am both sorry and also pleased to offer this most humiliating and hilarious moment to you good people of Detroit.”“I am telling myself I am punk for this,” she joked in a Tweet, to many responses agreeing earnestly.I am telling myself I am punk for this please do not say otherwise I'm fragile pic.twitter.com/qpdu6rOUCq— Lucy Dacus (@lucydacus) February 10, 2022Despite being forced to deviate from her usual performance style, Dacus gave the sold-out crowd a riveting performance, with her vocal skills as sharp as ever.