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.