Indie: Last News

Waxahatchee has recently performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk series, marking her return to the show in 10 years.The singer-songwriter – real name Katie Crutchfield – appeared on the viral series in support of her Grammy-nominated album ‘Tigers Blood’. While at the iconic eccentric office space, Crutchfield performed a five-song set which included the likes of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and ‘Fire’.While at Tiny Desk, the singer reflected on her previous debut appearance at the show back in 2013 in support of ‘Cerulean Salt’, revealing she has mixed emotions about it.

Alex James has said he “burst into tears” when he saw his teenage daughter in the crowd at a recent Blur show.The bassist of the Britpop group, who released the memoir Over The Rainbow: Tales Of An Unexpected Year earlier this month, has reflected on the band’s new generation of fans, and on his children attending Blur concert.Speaking to Channel 4 News, James recalled an early reunion warm-up show in Eastbourne, where he joked that his older children “all got drunk immediately and fell over and started going absolutely mental”. However, he noted that his youngest daughter, who is 14 years old, was surprisingly moved by the gig.“I knew where she was standing, they put her on the viewing platform and when they switch the lights on, you literally can’t see anything but the first time the house lights came up I knew where she was standing and I stole a glance over there,” James said.“And she was like head back, arms aloft and I literally, I just burst into tears.

NOS Alive 2025, with Barry Can’t Swim, Finneas and more among new additions.The names to be added to the bill for next year’s instalment were announced last month, when it was confirmed that Olivia Rodrigo was the first confirmed headliner for the Portugal festival. Other huge names included Girl In Red, Kings Of Leon, Noah Kahan, Benson Boone, Amyl And The Sniffers and CMAT.The event will be held Lisbon between July 10 and July 12.Now, a second wave has been confirmed – with seven new names added to the line-up.

Clairo has ended her North American ‘Charm’ tour in support of her latest album and closed it out with a fan rap battle.The indie pop singer wrapped up her US tour last night (December 18) after a three-night run at Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario – which was rescheduled after she had postponed the dates back in October citing “extreme exhaustion”.The final three gigs saw Clairo interact with fans, with the first night (December 16) seeing her invite a fan onstage to perform a cartwheel into a split which the attendee stuck but in doing so, ripped her trousers. The gymnastic skill was far more tame than the previous trend that took over her gigs that saw fans do backflips on stage.Perfect tour.

The Murder Capital have surprise-released the stirring new single ‘Love Of Country’, with profits going towards aid in Palestine.‘Love Of Country’ is the latest taste of the band’s recently announced upcoming album ‘Blindness’, which is set for release on February 21. You can pre-order it here.The track is available only to download or in physical format and can be exclusively purchased via the band’s website (here) or Bandcamp store (here).

Liam Gallagher is once again suggesting a new Oasis album could be coming, but it will depend on if he and Noel are “kind to one another”.Since the Britpop icons announced their highly-awaited return to the stage earlier this year, Liam has repeatedly teased a potential new album down the line.In September, when one fan asked “Is it true that Oasis will have a new album???”, Liam replied: “Yep, it’s already finished.” He also responded to a fan asking if a new record was “in the air”, to which he said, “It’s in the bag mate fuck the air”.Then, in November, he told fans on Twitter/X that he was “blown away” by the material Noel had written for the record. A comment he made back in April also resurfaced after the comeback announcement, in which he suggested Oasis would be recording a new album in November.However, he soon backtracked on his earlier claims, telling fans in November there was “no Oasis album in the making” and that he “was fucking joking”.Now though, it seems an album is back on the cards.

English Teacher and Lambrini Girls making the Top Five. Check it out below.The new findings have been shared by European Talent Exchange, previously ESNS Exchange, and show the rising popularity of bands across the UK and European live scene.

A Greener Future.The new status is given to arenas that show ‘demonstrable improvements’ and ‘a significant engagement in reducing negative environmental and social impacts’, and in the case of The O2, recognises the site’s longstanding commitment to making the live industry more sustainable.Efforts made by the venue – which is owned and operated by AEG Europe – have made headlines across recent times. The most notable of which is the partnership it had with The 1975 in order to make the first “carbon removed” shows.Announced in September last year, four shows with Matty Healy and co.

Robert Smith has opened up about his relationship with The Cure‘s ‘4:13 Dream’, saying that he isn’t a fan of how it turned out.The frontman looked back at the 2008 record during a new interview with Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw, in which he celebrated the release of the band’s latest LP, ‘Songs Of A Lost World’.Released last month, ‘Songs Of A Lost World’ marked the long-awaited follow-up to ‘4:13 Dream’ and saw The Cure bag their first Number One album in the UK in 32 years.Reflecting on his relationship with ‘4:13 Dream’ nearly 16 years on, Smith revealed that the finished product didn’t match the initial vision he had, partly because he wanted it to be much longer.“If I’m really honest I was trying to make an album in 2008 which was a double album and it was really odd,” he began. “It had all kinds of stuff on it, instrumental stuff – and I was pressured into reducing it all down into a single album… I have never felt happy about it.

The Wombats have shared their sombre new single ‘My Head Is Not My Friend’ from their upcoming album ‘Oh! The Ocean’.Featuring a slow tempo with a soft bass line and frontman Matthew ‘Murph’ Murphy’s sweet vocals singing the vulnerable and relatable lyrics: “Let’s spend the day in bed / Talk about you instead / My head is not my friend,” The Liverpudlian band’s latest single discusses one’s internal struggles with themselves and not being the nicest to ones self.Speaking about ‘My Head Is Not My Friend’ in a press release, Murphy shared: “‘My Head Is Not My Friend’ is a song about the idea that maybe I don’t actually have my best interests at heart.”The song’s accompanying visualiser features a mannequin head that has been set on fire in the middle of a winter snowstorm. Check out the video above.‘My Head Is Not My Friend’ marks the third single to be released from The Wombats’ upcoming sixth studio album ‘Oh! The Ocean’, following on from the previously released ‘Blood On The Hospital Floor’ and lead single ‘Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want To Come’.Produced by John Congleton (St.Vincent, Death Cab For Cutie), ‘Oh! The Ocean’ marks their first since topping the UK album chart with 2022’s ‘Fix Yourself, Not The World’ and headlining the Radio One tent at Reading & Leeds 2024 and was inspired by a revelatory experience Murphy had on a beach during a family holiday this summer.Speaking to NME about the inspiration for the album, Murphy shared: “I’d had a particularly funky morning and didn’t sleep well.

The Cure‘s Robert Smith has spoken out about his viral Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame interview revealing that he “felt bad” about it.Back in 2019, while making their way through the red carpet ahead of being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at the New York Ceremony, Smith and co went on to do some press about receiving the accolade, their lengthy career, and the progress on new music.For one of their first chats on the carpet, The Cure were met by an enthusiastic interviewer, who also admitted to being a huge fan. “Congratulations The Cure – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees 2019! Are you as excited as I am?!” she asked.Offering a typically-deadpan and blunt reply, Smith said: “By the sounds of it, no.” The clip of the interaction has since gone viral with fans of the ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ hitmakers calling it the moment “priceless”, “wonderfully British”, and “a hilarious joy”.Now, while appearing as a guest on Annie MacManus and Nick Grimshaw’s podcast Sidetracked with Annie and Nick on BBC Sounds, the frontman opened up about the moment.“I felt bad about that, actually…If I’m honest, I didn’t realise that I was being filmed.

Bleachers, Sabrina Carpenter, Remi Wolf and more served as surprise performers at the 10th annual Ally Coalition Talent Show in New York last night (Thursday December 17). Check out photos and footage below.Jack Antonoff hosted the 10th edition of the intimate star-studded fundraising gig for The Ally Coalition, the non-profit organisation he created with his sister Rachel, which supports at-risk LGBTQ+ youth, at NYU’s Skirball Center in NYC.To kick off the night, Antonoff was joined by his previous band Steel Train and treated the crowd to renditions of their songs ‘Kill Monsters In The Rain ‘ and ‘Bullet’.

Reverend & The Makers‘ Jon McClure has told NME how the band’s new festive single ‘Late Night Phone Call’ is raising money for Samaritans because he has used the charity’s services himself.The single was written by McClure and his regular co-writer Danny Lafrome after they were listening to Elvis Presley’s later Las Vegas era, soon realising it would be suited to becoming a Christmas song. Proceeds from the single go to the Samaritans, whose services of helping vulnerable people are particularly in demand over the festive period.“Broadly speaking, my career has been a U-shape.

Massive Attack have opened up about why they passed on the offer to play at Coachella 2025.Frontman Robert Del Naja, along with long-term collaborator Mark Donne, spoke to NME in a new interview, and shed light on their ongoing efforts to tackle the climate crisis.This included reflecting on the recent Act 1.5 “climate action accelerator” event in in Liverpool that they headlined – chosen as Liverpool was anointed by the UN as the world’s first ‘Accelerator City for Climate Action’. Joined by IDLES and Nile Rodgers, the gig looked to pioneer a greener way of holding live shows, and used clean renewable energy.It also followed another ‘Act 1.5’ show at Bristol Downs, which celebrated 25 years of climate activism for the band and saw them joined by Killer Mike, Lankum, Sam Morton and the Wild Bunch’s DJ Milo.Now, in the new NME interview, Del Naja and Donne spoke about how they continue to keep the climate crisis in mind when making decisions about live shows, and even turned down some opportunities because of it.“We said no to Coachella for next year because again, we’ve been there once, and once was enough,” the frontman said.“It’s in Palm Springs.

Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten joined The Pogues on stage to perform ‘Streams Of Whiskey’ in Dublin last night (December 17).

Pavement, titled Pavements, will include the group’s first song in 25 years on its soundtrack.The part-documentary, part-biopic film premiered on September 3 at the Venice Film Festival, and stars Joe Keery and Jason Schwartzman. It will be released via MUBI in the spring.Accompanying the film will be an official soundtrack and that will include the first new Pavement song in 25 years.The band’s Scott Kanneberg (also known as Spiral Stairs), filmmaker Alex Ross Perry and the film’s producer and editor Robert Greene were guests on Vish Khanna‘s Kreative Kontrol podcast this week.

Frank Turner has partnered with the Music Venue Trust to donate £1 from every ticket sale from his upcoming UK tour to grassroots venues.Last week Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls announced a UK headline tour for 2025.Today (December 17), Turner wrote on social media: “For the upcoming April tour, I’m proud to say I’ve partnered up with my old friends at @musicvenuetrust. £1 from every ticket will go towards supporting local independent music venues.”A post shared by Frank Turner (@frankturner)The MVT has repeatedly called for “action not kind words” as the live music sector heads for for “disaster”, and has shown that 2023 was the worst year for music venue closures.

Sam Fender has been forced to cancel his remaining tour dates for 2024 after “haemorrhaging his right vocal cord”.The injury comes as the singer, songwriter and guitarist has been embarking on a UK and Ireland tour throughout this month. It kicked off on December 2, and saw £1 from every ticket sold donated to Music Venue Trust, in a bid to provide support for grassroots venues.Now, following the first of his two scheduled nights at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro Arena being held last night (December 16), Fender has taken to social media to confirm that the remainder of 2024 dates have been called off.

Interpol have shared a mini-documentary of their massive gig at Zócalo, Mexico City that took place earlier this year. Check it out below.The NYC rockers took over Zócalo Square in Mexico City to a giantic crowd of over 150,000 concertgoers on April 20, and have now created a short documentary of the performance featuring crowd shots, clips of them backstage, and footage of them performing ‘Evil’, ‘Untitled’, ‘Public Pervert’ and more.“It’s not every day you get to perform in front of 200,000 people.

Lucy Dacus has announced a short US tour for 2025 that will mark her first solo gigs “in over two years” – see the list of dates and ticketing details below.Dacus took to social media last night (December 16) to announce the tour, which is being dubbed ‘An Evening with Lucy Dacus’. The run of shows currently lasts for only four dates in February.

Ben Kweller has announced his first album since his son’s death, titled ‘Cover the Mirrors’, and has shared grungy new single ‘Optimystic’ – listen below.The album, which is due to be released on May 30 2025, is his first major work since his 16-year-old son, Dorian Zev, died in a freak car accident in 2023. The release date coincides with what would have been his son’s 19th birthday.‘Cover the Mirrors’, Kweller’s seventh album, is set to have features from MJ Lenderman, Waxahatchee, The Flaming Lips and Coconut Records.Alongside news of the album, Kweller has shared a grungy new single titled ‘Optimystic’ – driven by swirling guitar riffs and punchy lyrics. Listen below.Kweller commented on the album in a press release, saying: “This is the most personal, emotionally raw project I’ve ever worked on.