If you'd have told thirteen year old me, with my 'What became of the likely lads?' tshirt and my school folder ,which I'd scribbled the full names of each of the boys in the band across, that five years on I would be stood sipping rum in a field with The Libertines performing infront of me, then my mind would've exploded...and that is precisely what happened Friday night at Leeds Fest. Theeeeeey're back! (and with an album that's out done the rest)

When The Libertines announced their return to the music scene after eleven years half the world was cheering and three-quarters were wondering if they'd successfully make it back at all. However, a few days ago, after they failed to make an appearance at their London gig due to a disappearing Doherty,their highly-anticipated album Anthems for a Doomed Youth hit us all.

Structurally the new anthems on this album are very similar to the past releases, with Carl and Pete's raspy vocals mixed with bouncy beats and catchy hooks. They still seem to tell a poetic story in each of their tracks, but without it at all being obnoxious and being refreshingly honest. However, as you progress through the album, its clear the band have matured and become more polished- somehow without losing their values.

The track 'Anthems for Doomed Youth' itself is a rather obvious nod to The Libertines troublesome past and landing back into the real world. With lines such as, 'racking up the lines of shite', and, 'Yes we thought that they were brothers then they half murdered each other', being references to the bands# drug habits and the front-men's bittersweet relationship. Pete Doherty, who spent time in rehab before the album was recorded in Thailand, claimed that this song is based around the events that occurred after the band signed to Rough Trade records. 

Fan favourites still stand as Gunga Din, Fame and Fortune and Lust for The Libertines.  Particularly Gunga Din, which was released as  a single this July. This single came hand in hand with a music video which reassured fans that The Libertines may have got older, wiser and somewhat less intoxicated as the foursome rowdily walked the streets like drunken youths.

Aswell as the new tunes, You're My Waterloo, made the album! Gary claimed was the only one of the older songs to make it on the album due to the fact the band didn't want to seem 'lazy'.

Dubbed as their best album yet, its exciting and nerve-racking to see where Anthems for Doomed Youth will carry the likely lads and hopefully a tour is in check.

It's only a few days after Tramlines Festival and the city and its inhabitants are still recovering. Bottles and flyers litter the streets, everyone seems to still be hungover but Liberty Ship are already back in the practice room after playing the main stage on Sunday.

*Credit to Glenn Ashley*

Liberty Ship are Sheffield's very own indie four-piece, including Lewis Hancock (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Jack Eddison (lead guitar) , James Brown (bass) and  Kierran Bond (drums). They were still doing their GCSEs when they played their debut gig and  the lads have been no strangers to the music scene since. Before they could even drink at their own shows, they'd toured with a number of established legends, King Charles and Reverend and The Makers, as well as supporting Coventry's The Enemy, whilst still playing a number of their own headline gigs. Eight years on and they're now releasing music that demands attention.

With a lot of hard work these lads seemed to have found a way to break away from the typical mainstream 'indie' sound and make a strong impact. 'We've grown up and our sound has grown up a bit too', lead guitarist Jack explains. It's easy to get drowned in the Soundcloud generation of musicians where anyone can upload music at the click of a button, but Liberty Ship seem to have their heads safely above the water. So now, leaving their teenage years behind, they're breaking the mold and placing their stamp on the music scene. 

Even during their rainy Tramlines set there was a certain exemplary warmth in the crowd. Their mix of songs gathers a diverse audience, with crowd pleasures such as, 'Neon Light' and the band's favourite 'Fire Your Love', matched with slower love songs, 'For You'. 'We've got quite a large audience', says Kierran. Which is true, standing in the crowd you could see an array of different people, from students to bearded men in flat caps and I 'm pretty sure a Tinder first date were dancing next to me. 

What's noticeably admirable about Liberty Ship is their attitude towards music, and not just their own either. After spending some time with them you quickly  get a sense of how laid back they are, but it's matched with a passion which is clearly exhibited in their live performances. They'll try their hand at anything if it means promoting their music and having fun, such as playing an acoustic set on the tram during the Tramlines weekend. Alike other 'new generation bands' they seem to realise that platinum records aren't handed out on silver platters, but unlike the majority they're more than willing to work hard to produce quality music which demands recognition and that they love themselves.  'We'll definitely get a collection of songs we're happy enough with to put together for an album in the distant future' Brown claims. 

If you want to create your own sound in Sheffield then you first have to find a way to break free from the shackles of being compared to the Arctic Monkeys, as Liberty Ship found out. 'It's literally only cause we're from Sheffield and we play our own instruments!', they laugh when being asked about this bold yet common comparison. Whilst they claim that the Arctic Monkeys aren't a huge influence to  their own unique sound, they're  quick to show respect for the High Green A-Listers. 'When we first started playing as a band, at places like The Boardwalk, there was a load of Sheffield bands knocking about such as the Arctic Monkeys and Milburn. That was definitely inspiring cause it made it clear that you can do it when they're making it', Jack explains.
'Our sound isn't really like anyone else', bassist James says. 'We get asked to compare ourselves to other bands a lot, but that's not reyt something we can do', Jack adds. You would certainly file 'the Liberty Ship sound'  as indie, but they're quite right when they claim their sound is somewhat undefinable. It combines an established sound of old school rock mixed intensely with the wild exuberance of being a teenager in today's society. 

It’s not just a particularly dedicated portion of Yorkshire that’s coming round to the quartet’s charms either. Liberty Ship have been showing up on the radars of those across the nation, playing festivals in Wales and even being asked to play private parties by eager moon-eyed fans. 'It's all just a lot of fun', the band tell me.  As passionate as the band seem to be, you can't deny they're having a lot of fun. In between writing songs and (probably not) revising in school the band gathered some rock n roll stories. 'There was a story involving a table and a window', Jack laughs, going on the explain how the band decided to throw a table and an ironing board out of a window after playing The Leadmill in their teens. 'We went round with a bunch of flowers to say sorry though', Lewis quickly reassures us. 

You can expect to see a lot more from Liberty Ship in the following months, not only are they darting across the nation to play festivals, they're headlining their own gig at The Leadmill in Sheffield. The very same venue which has played a host to Arctic Monkeys and Pulp  is welcoming Liberty Ship back after two years, this October. Get yourself a ticket online and for a fiver you can become part of their inevitably promising story.

*Credit to Colin Wright*

*serious voices now*

The internet is commonly seen as a 'threat' to journalism. Whether you like it or not we're now in an age where with three clicks you can set up a platform to share your opinions and have them exposed to thousands of people.
There has been an uprising of freelance journalists, working solely off their own backs...which have again become seen as a 'threat'.
However, are these contemporary 'non-traditional' journalists a threat to journalism? Or are they just a threat to large, well-respected music journalism companies and their incomes? 

I think it's important that just like we welcome new musicians and fresh-faces to the ever-evolving music business, we do the very same for the world of journalism. 
Identically to the way in which MP3's revolutionized music, whilst somewhat wounding the sale of CDs, you cannot argue that the results of the rise of the MP3 were efficacious. In the same way, blogs are rising and major magazines are taking the fall, but they're still selling thousands of copies weekly! If you prefer, look at Tindr. Sure it may have taken the romance and initial excitement out of dating, but you can't deny it's practicality as it moves romance into the 21st Century...plus is it really like people now walk round bars with their eyes closed, refusing to buy anyone a drink? Ofcourse not. 

Personally, I have been shunned as 'unprofessional' for not writing for a magazine. Just take a step back though and look at the bigger picture.

Jim Morrison once said, 'whoever controls the media, controls the mind'. He isn't bloody far off either. One week you'll see some kids in the back of NME with their Jamie T haircuts' and their debut album being given four out of ten stars. Wait though, cause if you give it a fortnight this same album will have landed them their own cover-spread. Suddenly their someone and everyone loves them. Don't be fickle with your opinions and stick by your guns. Because money can't be the main motivator to why you're doing your job or what's the point?

In the soundcloud generation of musicians, where anyone can post their music online and get it out there, we've reached a beautifully overwhelming chaos. New music is now easily accessible, but great new music is lost, drowned and diluted. Darlia have their heads above the water.

The band are a three-piece from Blackpool, often compared to Nirvana (although how much of that is based on shaggy haired Nathan is arguable), have made an impact on the music scene with their hits Napalm and Queen of Hearts.

They've released three EPs(which you can nosey at, here)and a mini LP. They've had sell out UK shows, they're currently touring the world and they've popping up across the UK for festivals left right and centre. They're standing out as one as the 'one's to watch'.
So why do they stand out? Well, I think it starts with how stripped back they are. They've taken rock right back to its roots and thrown in some dirt- making them appeal to a huge range of people.

Their track names themselves hold  a lot of promise- Napalm, Pandemonium, Choke on Bones. Darlia aren't full of empty promises. Each song mixes raspy vocals and (dare I say) Nirvana-esque heavy, bursting riffs. It's the type of music that teenagers will mosh to in crowded sweaty rooms, middle-aged punks will admire and new rock revival will profit.

What this space for an interview soon. 

This year we've been faced with one of the most disputed and controversial line-ups for years. Whilst the mixture of pop/folk, pop-punk and music legends has some people already packing their wellies and taping their hipflasks to their ankles, it has some others claiming that this could be the end for the 54 year old festival.

The main issue music fans seem to have is the folk/pop band Mumford and Sons holding the place of a headliner, where Queens of The Stone Age stood the year before.
The fact that whilst year the main stage was bombarded with indie-legends and this year pop-punk seems be dominating the main stage has also caused a bit of a rumble.
Although...really, where is the problem? It appears that many people are looking at the line-up with their hands over their eyes. Whilst, for me, I'm more inclined to be at the main stage for The Libertines, Alt-J Jamie T and The Cribs (oh my god, why is no one freaking out about The Cribs?!) I can't wait to dance my legs off to Panic! At The Disco! Plus, it's I find that the acts that are the most exciting are those performing on the NME and Festival Republic Stage!

Don't starve yourself of indulging on the smaller acts on the smaller stages! The smaller, developing acts are what these types of festivals are about- so when you've necked your £7.50 rum and coke and you're waiting in the rain for Metallica, dance on over to a smaller tent and discover somebody new!

Recommendations: 

1. Peace (NME)

2. Swim Deep (NME)

3. Coasts (NME)
4. Wolf Alice (NME)

5. A$AP Ferg (Dance)
6. Rat Boy (Festival Republic)

7. Everything Everything (NME)

8. Catfish and The Bottlemen (NME)

9. Banks (Dance)
10. Slaves (NME)

11. Tyler The Creator (NME)
12. Darlia (Festival Republic)

There has been concern voiced that this blog is no longer active, I can confirm that it is and new posts will be published after this Friday!

Due to outside factors I haven't been able to publish anything for a while, but I have some very exciting interviews and such coming soon!
Stay tuned.

GIG REVIEWS: Catfish and The Bottlemen, Circa Waves & The Wombats

This year I made a great sacrifice. Instead of waking up on Easter Sunday and forcing my body into a chocolate-based coma, I decided to spend my Easter funds on experiencing what Britain's Best had to offer.
Two favourites meet the new kid on the block.

Catfish and The Bottlemen (Little Comets) - O2 Academy, Sheffield
Here we go again!
Festivals aside, this is by far the biggest venue I've ever seen Catfish and The Bottlemen fill.
Classically, the band opened with Rango and closed with beloved Tyrants and packed the rest of the setlist with The Balcony hits. One thing you can always expect from a Catfish and The Bottlemen gig is energy and diversity- mums, dads, teenagers, awkward first Tindr dates (just to the left of me) and grandads all dancing together and shouting back the lyrics to belters like 'Kathleen'.
As always, the band were flawless with their performance. A particularly significant moment was Van's performance of the acoustic track, Hourglass, from their debut album- which was like caramel to the ears. Somehow the audience all seemed to harmonise and it created a spectacular atmosphere that isn't easily forgotten or created.


Circa Waves (Genghar, Ratboy) - Leadmill, Sheffield
The chances are that if you haven't heard of Circa Waves then you've still definitely heard them. There is pretty much no escape. These four young uns from Liverpool are flooding (see what I did there?) our stereos and will certainly be part of your summer soundtrack!
I'd been impressed by Circa Waves upon seeing them perform as support to The 1975 in September, but here I was only months later in the audience to one of their own sold-out shows. Hats off to them!What the setlist maybe lacked slightly in variety was completely made up for with enthusiasm! Their hits, 'T-Shirt Weather' and 'Fossils', particularly had the crowd moulded into a ball of energy. I noticed that these lads may be the 'newbies' but he dynamics of the group itself works perfectly! There didn't seem to be a member that was lacking in confidence or talented! That was impressive to witness...

The Wombats (Darlia) - Leadmill, Sheffield
This is a band that I, personally, had been so excited about seeing live that before even entering the venue I think I'd used all my energy on bouncing about on the bus into town. Now, taking off my fourteen year old fangirl hat and slipping into my objective boots, did I truly think that The Wombats performed well?
Yes. They provided an absolutely explosive set.
The setlist weaved between quirky classics, 'Techno Fan' and '1996', and their ardour filled Glitterbug tracks, 'Give Me a Try' and their latest hit, 'Greek Tragedy'. All in all, this was probably one of the best gigs I've ever attended and definitely my favourite Leadmill gig.
I only hope that I have the privilege of seeing them again!

K I N G  C H A R L E S

I'm a firm believer that you should never judge a book by its cover, however any judgement you pass upon setting eyes on the enigmatic front man of King Charles is probably pretty accurate. 

Packed inside Sheffield's Plug King Charles' support act, Sasha Siem, warmed up the crowd with haunting folk-esque vocals. Funnily enough, cider in hand, I watched this lovely lady perform inches away from the frontman himself (although he was somewhat less easy to recognize without his bouffant hair and I'm not too sure why he wasn't wearing shoes...)

The band themselves kicked off their set with the effortlessly gorgeous, Carry Me Away. As the first chords were played I was suprised with such a slow slong to start, however Carry Me Away completely set the mood for the rest of the set. Well played, KC.


The band carried out a high-level performance, flitting between new poetic love songs and high-tempo LoveBlood classics. King Charles' accent seemed to compliment lyrics such as; 'with a guitar in my hands or a gun in my hand, I would give it all up for your hand in my hand' or 'the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows'.
I was particularly fond of Loose Change for The Boatman and the live performance of Bam Bam had so much energy. 


All in all, the gig was £12 well spent- plus, happily to meet fans after his set and shouting out to his previous support acts, King Charles actually seemed like a really sound guy. Aw. 


(apologies for the lack of original footage, my camera died at 30%, cheers Apple)

V A L E N T I N E S  D A Y 

You're either alone, smitten, heartbroken, on a awkward date with some guy you met on tinder who's profile seemed promising but he just used the word 'reem'...or maybe somewhere inbetween.

So for whatever you're feeling, here are a few love songs:

friday I'm in love // the cure
sally cinammon // the stone roses
toothpaste kisses // the maccabees
I love you (but you're green) // babyshambles
I wanna be yours // arctic monkeys
skinny love // bon iver 
only you // yazoo
I don't wanna miss a thing // aerosmith
tee shirt // birdy
every other freckle // alt-j
cocoon // catfish and the bottlemen
lovesick // peace
taking pictures of you // the kooks
be my wife // david bowie
yellow // coldplay
video games // lana del rey
secret door // arctic monkeys
I follow you into the dark // death cab for a cutie
wonderwall // oasis 
simple as this // jake bugg
five years time // noah and the whale
hand in glove // the smiths
strawberry fields // the beatles
always where I need to be // the kooks
chasing cars // snow patrol
there is a light that never goes out // the smiths
ask me anything // the strokes
505 // arctic monkeys
only love // ben howard
lost on me // peace
kiss me // jason walker
look after you // the fray
float forever // peace

And a few songs for if you're feeling a bit delicate:
someday // peace (side note: someone hug harry, this is bloody angelic)
creep // radiohead
go your own way // fleetwood mac
broken army // catfish and the bottlemen
you could be happy // snow patrol
cornerstone // arctic monkeys
boys don't cry // the cure
undo // the 1975
happy birthday jane // the enemy 
out of the black // royal blood
losing my religion // r.e.m
habits (stay high) // tove lo
marquee // the courteeners 
hallelujah // jeff buckley
nothing lasts forever // echo and the bunnymen
coat of armor // george ezra
do me a favour // arctic monkeys
fallingforyou // the 1975
no buses // arctic monkeys
hold back the river // james bay
simple pleasures // jake bugg
tomorrow // james

P E A C E // L I V E

The Queens Social Club in Sheffield (with interior very similar to The Phoneix Club, who said wall streamers belong in 80s American Proms, eh?) was pretty packed on the last day of January this month. Peace are baaaaaack!


Humbly walking onto stage, following their brilliant support band (The Moon), Peace played a beautifully put together setlist extraordinarily well. 

Higher Than the Sun 

Follow Baby 

O You 

Gen Strange 

Lost On Me 

Money 

California Daze 

1998 (Delicious) 

Bloodshake 

Float Forever 

Sugarstone 

Wraith 

Someday 

Lovesick 

World Pleasure

You got everything that you'd expect from a Peace gig; sweat, crowd-surfing, bold prints, 60s dance moves, stage invasions ,cider, synth...sweat. Although, I would happily say that Peace kicked off 2015 really well. There was a vibe in the room that meant that even the casual 40 year old men, at the back, who aren't sure why they're there were atleast tapping their feet and at best dancing like John Travolta. 

The best songs live were by far 1998 (Delicious), Follow Baby and Wraith, for me. Each of these songs was played closely to the studio finished version, but with a raspy live vibrance that some bands fail to execute well.

Casually walking through the crowd  before hand, the band are utterly humble and obviously unaware that it's a matter of months till the world will be bowing at their feet. 

T H E  W O M B A T S

A good (but utterly useless) friend of mine told me that 'The Wombats are a Year 8 band' when declining the offer to come and see The Wombats tour this April...but after their recent release, Greek Tragedy, someone is definitely kicking themselves.

The Wombats are back and they're better than ever. 

Whilst still holding that typical synthy 'The Wombats' sound that does make you want to swig warm cider in a sunny field, they seem to have matured somewhat!

Their deep lyrics beautifully juxtapose with the upbeat nature that the band have captivatingly endorsed, evident in tracks such as; Techno Fan, Jump Into The Fog and Tokyo.


The Wombats are releasing their fourth album GLITTERBUG on APRIL FOURTH and their tour kicks off in Bristol this APRIL!

P E A C E

Much like fur coats and turtlenecks, you either love them or your kidding yourself...it's PEACE. 

The band, made up of the lovely Koisser brothers, Dom Boyce and Mr Douglas Castle, released their debut album 'In Love' in 2013 and to the delight of long haired, Doc-Marten-wearing indie lovers everywhere, their new album 'Happy People' is released on the 9th of February 2015!

It's worth taking note that Peace have really captured the essence of creating your own sound and running with it, mixing funky beats with synthy tones this band oozes summer and makes you feel utterly in love with tracks; such as, Lost on Me, Float Forever and Wraith. Not only this they're known for conveying political messages in many of their songs. You can easily find pro-peace (funnily enough), anti-capitalist and feminist tones in their music- which is completely refreshing and simultaneously stimulating. Who doesn't love that?

Whilst the band have received a lot of publicity recently and are the midst of a UK tour right now (which I somehow managed to get tickets for!!) the sheer number of people who do not know about these guys shocks me! So spread the word and give them a listen:

1. Lost on Me ☮

2. Fur ☮

3. Follow Baby ☮

4. California Daze ☮

5. World Pleasure ☮

6. Wraith ☮

7. Flirtin' USA ☮

8. 1998 ☮

PEACE'S SECOND ALBUM 'HAPPY PEOPLE' IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!

(I'm in the process of re-uploading the last three months of content for you guys, someone hacked me...again)
El x