Music News Monthly - March 2023

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THE CHEAP THRILLS

THE CHEAP THRILLS

‘REBORN’

BRANDNEWSINGLERELEASED PLUS UKHEADLINETOURANNOUNCED

Self-made Liverpudlian indie band The Cheap Thrills have released their brand new single ‘Reborn’ via Ditto Music. The anthemic song finds the awardwinning band rising like a phoenix with larger choruses, brighter riffs and wittier lyricism than ever before.

Regarding the single frontman Lewis Pike says, “‘Reborn’ dwells primarily on the past. Exploring the idea that; to be happy we need to do the painful shit sometimes. Fresh starts. New beginnings. Life."

Fiercely independent, The Cheap Thrills are the epitome of a true DIY success story. With no management or label, the band started releasing their own music in 2015 alongside booking and promoting all their own shows.

What started with modest beginnings in a Liverpool basement has now snowballed into the band taking on 1000 capacity venues in the shape of the Liverpool O2 Academy (April 8th). In rock ‘n’ roll spirit, they’ve also caused chaos at secret pop up shows in hotel rooms and carnage in local boozers along the way. They have also been chosen as support for the likes of Jamie Webster, the DMA’s and The Night Café.

With a sound that calls to mind Sea Girls as much as it does The Pigeon Detectives, the singles of The Cheap Thrills have proved a hit on airwaves both sides of the Atlantic. ‘Saint Or Sinner’ , ‘Codependence’ and ‘Smile When You Sleep’ have

all received support from BBC 6Music and Radio X, while gaining spins from Sirius XM and KX93.5 in the States. They have also featured in high profile Spotify playlists including ‘Hot New Bands’ and ‘The Indie List’ .

‘Codependence’ proved a particular tearaway hit and following the 2018 release it was selected to soundtrack Liverpool FC’s European kit campaign, receiving 12 million streams worldwide.

The band’s music has had further high-profile syncs internationally including Channel 4, E4, Sky Uno, BT Sport, British Airways and the BBC. Most recently they were presented with the ‘Liverpool Band Of The Year Award’ in 2022 by Sound Music Group.

The Cheap Thrills have announced a full UK tour running through April and May 2023. Their raucous live shows will call at five major cities all listed below.

THE CHEAP THRILLS UK HEADLINE TOUR 2023

April

8th – Liverpool, O2 Academy

21st – Southampton, Heartbreakers

22nd – London, The Finsbury

29th – Glasgow, The Flying Duck

May

TBC – Hull, The Social

–

INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW WITH MARCIA FROM

London four-piece, The Skints, have clawed their way up from the depths of the underground punk/ska scene to a unique fixture on the global reggae stage Drawing influences as wide as soul, pop, grime and hardcore, their original brand of “tropical punk” has seen them evolve in to one of the hardest working and most respected bands in UK music

Formed while at school in 2007, The Skints hail from the Waltham Forest and Redbridge boroughs of North East London, and they cut their teeth in London’s underground punk scene before venturing out of the M25 to play their first selfbooked DIY venture and embark on a heaving touring regime across the nation’s “toilet venue” circuit

The band have just coheadlined a 7 date UK tour with Gentleman's Dub Club We caught up with Marcia ahead of the tour

The Skints are headlining out on a UK Co-Headlining tour this Saturday with Gentleman’s Dub Club. How did that come about?

We’ve been friends with those guys for a long time actually and something like this has been on the cards for ages Like we’ve been wanting to do something and this is just kind of perfect you know? We wanted to start the year off with something fun and meant we can do those great venues too, but also it just makes a really great night, I think, we both bands want to do headline long sets and it just worked out really well

We’ve been doing a lot of work together as well through Covid and it just kind of felt like an organic thing to come about

You are playing some great venues, Nottingham Rock City for example and two nights in Bristol I’ve just checked and Bristol is sold out. Yeah both sold out, I’m really excited about that. We headlined The Marble Factory a year ago and it was fantastic and that night sold, and it’s really great to come back and play the same venue again, twice and its sold out.

Speaking of venues, you’ve played pretty consistently live over recording so in terms of the venues you’ve played in around the world from tiny little pubs and clubs to huge festivals. What do you prefer, do you prefer the smaller venues or are you happy wherever you play?

To me there's something in both Personally I like playing on the big stage because, you know, I like the sound to be good, I’m a bit of an audiophile so for sound I like playing the bigger venues and I like playing to a bigger crowd I feel a bit more secure and confident in those situations, if the crowd is small you feel a bit more on the spot But when we do those big stages for two months you really start to miss the small shows

Something I love about our band is we’ve managed to do a good mix of both over our whole career Just the beginning of last year actually as we were coming out of Covid we were supposed to do some of those limited ticket shows It kept getting pushed back and back over the two years of the pandemic and it grew so disappointing because we kept having to tell people that we couldn’t play those shows because the rules kept changing Until eventually we just decided to turn it into a proper show and sell a few more tickets but we still did small venues We did the Cavern in Exeter which is somewhere we haven’t played in over a decade, I think The stage didn’t physically fit all my stuff, instruments I feel like those are the shows that the audience remember, when they look back on seeing a band they remember those more that when they see you at a bigger venue

Interviewer -David Weddle

INTERVIEW WITH MARCIA continued

So in terms of albums, the last album was 2019Swimming Lessons, great album. Is there anything new coming out in the near future or are fans going to have to wait a bit longer for another album? Well, we are actually currently getting back in the studio now. We don’t currently have a theme for an album right now, we set out to create with less restrictions, you know? And just and be writing as much as possible. We’ve already been in the studio this year, doing some fun stuff, we’ve been working Toby from Gentleman’s Dub Club. So we’re definitely back in there. Back in the creating game. It was a bit of a slow start because of the pandemic, because we had to dive right back in to touring after all of that had ended and did the best we could last year but I would definitely say writing is at the forefront of what we are planning this year.

In terms of your releases, your signed but not signed to a label at the moment. Is it by album that you do it? Yeah, the way we’ve always done it, and I’m really proud of this to be honest. What we tend to do is we lease our albums to record labels so we always keep control of everything and we own everything we have ever made. I that one of the really big reasons that we’ve kind of managed this far to keep going. I think a lot of musicians find themselves a few years in to their career in huge debt or they suddenly realise that they have no control or they can’t make the final decisions over things that should belong to them. And I know that I’m really privileged to have the people in the band that I do because you know, being able to work together and have each other’s backs, and it’s the same line-up that its always been.

The reason I brought that up is because, I don’t know if you’ve heard, a radio DJ said recently about unsigned bands that he didn’t like them. He was very negative about unsigned bands but in terms of your experience, I know you’re unsigned 90% of the time until you release an album and then you lease that out but you’ve had a positive experience by the sounds of it from being unsigned?

Its interesting because I wonder if he knows the reality of what it means to sign a record deal. For us we make the album and obviously we need someone to distribute it and print it and press it and stuff like that, you do need a label for that at the end of the day unless you are going to start your own one. We’re not against major labels or anything like that, just for us personally, you know we have had offers but we’ve just always wanted to keep control of everything. It makes everything take a little bit longer but if your in it for the long haul.

Like you say, you’ve had the original line-up from the start. Since you were in school you grew up together, was it you and Josh who went to primary school together?

Yeah me and Josh met when we were 5 years old and grew up together and met the other two in year 7 or 8. We are more of a family at this point.

Josh mentioned his influences included GreenDay while he was skateboarding, he more into punk. What were you listening to when you growing up?

I was a bit different from the rest of the gang. When they met me I was really deep in to my music studies. And I was studying classical, flute and piano and I had every intention of pursuing that. I didn’t learn to sing for example, or, you know, playing guitar. I didn’t do any of the things I do now. For me I just wanted to go to university, maybe be in an orchestra one day, you know. I at that point wasn’t interested in pop music, I was pretty much just wrapped up in my classical music and then I started discovering some older rock. I discovered Nirvana, Queen they weren’t the current ones I discovered old brilliant albums. I wasn’t into Ska or Reggae or anything like that just yet, that was when I started to get in to more alternative stuff.

Then Josh told me one day that he wanted to start a Ska band and he had heard on the grapevine that I had a saxophone in the house. And there was, there was a saxophone in my house, it belonged to my Dad, I didn’t play it. So I worked out how to play it for him. It was fairly similar to the flute, I just got my fingers around it and worked it out, then through that and wanting to learn how to make Ska music that’s how I discovered that kind of music. Josh and Jamie in the band they had their own sort of personal connections with that kind of music and they showed me loads of stuff. They know all the history and all of that stuff and with me I was just kind of a classical nerd. It really was this odd mix of punk and punk rock and then suddenly ska and reggae so we’ve always had that mix of the two.

Are there any words of wisdom that you want to give to your fans or people wanting to go in to the music industry? We always try and say is not to stop playing. What we always did was, we never said no to a show, we always, always played no matter what it was. There was a time when perhaps we overplayed, we did a lot of shows. But I personally think that one of my greatest strengths in terms of what I do now is experience. We’ve done a lot for our ages and it’s because we started so early and immediately got on the road. We didn’t stop, we kind of had blinkers on with this. I just think that not wanting it to just happen really fast, we’ve kind of never really worried about that. We’re all great friends so we wouldn’t notice the time passing. Definitely be nice to each other if you are in a band.

NATHAN CONNOLLY

Photo: Bradley Quinn

NATHAN CONNOLLY

NEW SINGLE 'FIRES' FEATURING SIMON NEIL

RELEASED 17TH MARCH

Nathan Connolly has been the guitarist with acclaimed Northern Irish rock band Snow Patrol since 2002. Since then, they have gone on to sell 17 million albums, headline festivals, achieve five UK platinum albums, an Ivor Novello award and Grammy and Mercury Music Prize nominations.

In 2013, Connolly founded Little Matador with drummer Paul 'Binzer' Brennan, bassist Gavin Fox and guitarists Troy Stewart and Dave Magee. They released their self-titled album the following year, produced by Sam Bell in London's Metropolis Studios.

Connolly began working on a solo album with producer Rocky O'Reilly in Belfast in 2017. A lockdown-imposed hiatus from Snow Patrol touring allowed him to finish the project in early 2021. "Although the album is not about home," says Connolly, "I felt compelled to make it there."

Connolly's debut solo album, 'The Strange Order Of Things' features vocals from Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro, and Irish artist Ailbhe Reddy. Long-time collaborators Dave and Herb Magee (LaFaro, Little Matador, Arvo Party), Stephen Leacock (General Fiasco) and Gavin Fox (Turn, Idlewild, Little Matador) provide a backdrop of guitars and drums on the ten-track album.

"I have known Simon Neil since back in my early days with Snow Patrol. The first show I remember playing together was a Zane Lowe MTV Gonzo show in Glasgow in 2003. Over the years we occasionally mentioned doing something together at some point Finally, the opportunity came in the form of 'Fires'. He is extraordinary and came at the song from somewhere I don't think I would or could have," says Connolly. "'Fires' was also co-written by Dave Magee As was 'Love Like Wildfire'. Without Dave's seemingly effortless gift for the riff there would be no 'Fires'."

"I always had the idea that 'Ghost' could possibly be a duet but I was struggling to emotionally connect with it until Ailbhe Reddy did her thing on it. I was listening to Ailbhe's record 'Between Your Teeth' at the time and loved her voice. I thought I would reach out to her and invite her to be part of it and wonderfully she said yes. She completed the track for me."

Connolly describes the album as "trying to understand, make sense and work through events that have led to who I am now: heartache, regret, emotional cost, fatherhood".

Nathan Connolly's album, 'The Strange Order of Things' will be released on April 21st, with pre-order available now.

HECTOR WHO LIVED

Hector has an array of musical achievements under his belt since his move to Bristol in 2017, having played venues such as The O2 Academy Oxford, The Bullingdon, Jericho Tavern and Truck Festival with his band 'The Outside' With his current band Try Me, Hector has a variety of festivals coming up this year including Dot To Dot Hector has also featured on a charity album 'Poland Has A Task', alongside Lynks, Jessica Winter, Brodka and more; raising awareness for Women's and Queer rights in Poland

Monkey was written when the first lockdown hit as an acknowledgement of one's headspace being the first step towards self-help. With sharp DIY production and earnestly self-aware lyrics, it's a raw communication of mental struggles throughout lockdown and slipping into bad habits. Noise samples from a gameboy are sprinkled throughout to add texture to the track.

DJ Kickback is a Bristol-based underground rave DJ and Producer who is a product of the mid-nineties rave scene, with tunes out on Ghetto Dub - AFT and X-AMNT.

DJ Bunjy is one of Bristol's most sought after DJ's, making a name for himself in the nineties playing hip hop, drum & bass and RnB He was soon signed to Warner Records and toured Europe and America, going on to play festivals such as Glastonbury, Shambala, One Nation, Nottinghill Festival and Tribal Gathering.

In 2002, Bunjy formed the Laid Blak project, a Bristol urban collective of musicians who have played alongside Julian Marley, Desmond Decker, John Legend, Ed Sheeran among many others.

Sugar Shack Records who work with both DJ Bunjy and Hector, saw a great opportunity in Monkey for the pair to work together, and so the DJ Bunjy x Kickback remix was born.

Bristol-based indie-pop / electronica artist Hector Who Lived has today relased the DJ Bunjy X Kickback remix of his debut single 'Monkey' via Sugar Shack Records.

GARY HECTOR

Photo credit: Abigail Hadeed.

WITH........

GARY HECTOR

Fresh from the Caribbean, we spoke with Trinidad & Tobago's finest Americana / Country artist Gary Hector.

Gary discusses his influences, his current work and plans for the future. Read on to find out more about the Gary Hector and his music.

The Caribbean and Americana / Country style music are not typically associated with each other, could you tell us who your main influences are and how you came to love and play this style of music?

Yes, I really don't know many folks at all in the region who listen or write songs in the Americana/Country genre But there may be a few I'm not presently aware of But sometimes it really feels like I'm in a scene of one NATIONAL TRASH is my debut solo album release, but I've had nine previous albums with two bands I once led Those were Rock n Roll albums, with influences like The Clash and The Rolling Stones .

Once I went on this solo trip three and a half years ago , I just wrote an album checking out my singer songwriter elements, at the heart of it all is by main influence Bob Dylan, but then I went deep into the Country and American Songwriters like Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, Gram Parsons , Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn and the present brilliant ones like Sierra Ferrell, Jaime Wyatt, Hayes Carll and James McMurtry

Basically I said, ok, how can I turn myself on ? how can I not bore myself to death ?

For those who have yet to hear your music, what can they expect from a Gary Hector track?

Honest song writing. We got a saying in Trinidad and Tobago , " I sell it as I buy It " .

This is what I got, and this is what I give to you, no costume jewellery , make up and trappings

How do you decide on a theme for your songs? Do you start with the music first or the lyrics?

Well, I'm a Master Thief, so it depends on the heist It could range from something I heard someone say , something I read, something I saw , or just plain old something popped into my head

I've done various ways before, music first , lyrics first , strum until something comes , plus I really respect song writing , so I try not to think I know what I'm doing

I saw the video for Today I Ride Alone. It's a great video. How did you come up with the concept for it?

Well, that concept is all down to the brilliant Music Video Director Walt Lovelace My long-Time music video collaborator We work so well together, a simple short phone call, and it's 99% done .

He asked if I could get a wooden rocking horse made , a good friend and his wife made it, and Walt shot all the background scenes and went on to capture the old movie scenes Which reminds me, that Rocking Horse is still in my living room, but I've found a home for it at a friend's horse stables, it's true https://www youtube com/watch?v=uu-dge734iY

You have a headline show coming up in April at Queen's Hall, is this part of a tour or a one off gig?

Yea Sunday 16th April, my concert NAKED at The Queen's Hall, Iconic venue here in Trinidad. It's my debut solo concert, and my first concert in three and a half years. So, it will be the first time I'm singing any of my solo album songs in public

The concert is also a fundraiser to help finance the recording of my follow up solo album in Connecticut ,USA in 2023

It is a One off gig, but it will also prepare me for future tours

What plans do you have for the future?

Plans are overrated, but, first, The NAKED concert, then to record my follow up solo album , which I've already written .

The album will be recorded in Connecticut, USA at Dirt Floor Recording Studio with producer and studio owner Eric Lichter

I will then try to find a Record Label to release it, and hopefully also management and tour booking

And finally where can people find out more about Gary Hector and your music?

It is available Online on all the various social media platforms , the NATIONAL TRASH album is also out on limited edition Ruby Red Vinyl , on Smelly Rick Records , Arizona, USA.

My Linktree got all the links https://linktr ee/GARYHECTOR

BLACK STAR RIDERS

Rock giants Black Star Riders brought their tenth anniversary tour to Newcastle City Hall, along with special guests Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons and Michael Monroe. With a line up of legendary names in rock history that would make any rock festival organiser green with envy, Ricky Warwick and the guys have done a great job of making this tour a memorable occasion for their fans

Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell was up first with his band, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons. The band’s line up for this show included Phil’s sons Dane on drums and Tyla on bass, with Joel Peters on vocals. Unfortunately, no Todd on this one.

LIVE REVIEW - NEWCASTLE 24th February 2023

The band kicked off proceedings with ‘We Are The Bastards’ and ‘Bite My Tongue’ before belting out Motorhead favourites ‘Going To Brazil’ which, as you can imagine, really got the crowd in the mood for a night of rocking out.

The set was a decent mix of PCATBS tracks and Motorhead classics, including ‘High Rule’ from PCATBS's debut album, ‘ Age of Absurdity’, and ‘Born To Raise Hell’ from Motörhead’s 1993 album, ‘Bastards’.

Just before the final song of the set, Joel Peters encouraged the Geordie crowd to get their middle fingers in the air as he took a photo before telling the crowd to keep their fingers in the air and repeat after him, ‘F### you Tyler’. The City Hall was in good voice as those very words filled the auditorium as Phil Campbell belted out the opening and instantly recognisable riff to ‘Ace of Spades’.

An incredible, nine song set was performed with great energy and style, which even featured Michael Monroe making an appearance for ‘ Born To Raise Hell’.

Another huge name was up next, none other than Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe and his band Making his presence known, Michael had a no holds barred approach to his performance jumping from the stage and almost taking me out at one point. He got up close and personal with the front row, which the fans loved. His enigmatic smile and contagious energy really made an impact with the Newcastle audience.

Another huge name was up next, none other than Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe and his band. Making his presence known, Michael had a no holds barred approach to his performance. jumping from the stage and almost taking me out at one point He got up close and personal with the front row, which the fans loved His enigmatic smile and contagious energy really made an impact with the Newcastle audience.

The set featured a tonne of high energy tracks, kicking off with ‘One Man Gang’ and including the likes of ‘Last Train to Tokyo’ and ‘Murder the Summer of Love’. To be honest, the band was on point and Michael’s vocals were as incredible as ever, but even if they had sucked, Michael’s stage presence and natural ability to entertain and perform would have been enough to make this show a memorable one.

At one point, the show was almost brought to an early finish as Michael climbed the PA system and climbed up on the side balcony to meet the fans. Swinging from the balcony railings didn’t go down well with security for obvious reasons, but made for a fantastic, rock and roll experience for the fans

Several hat changes later, Michael topped off the set with a stunning performance of ‘Up and Around The Bend’. Michael Monroe is the epitome of a rock performer, with untamed energy and an insatiable desire to rock out and entertain.

A short break and a chance for the stage crew to make their final adjustments to the stage, it was time for headliners Black Star Riders to take their place on the historic boards of Newcastle City Hall.

Their set was a massive twenty tracks long, starting with ‘Pay Dirt’ and then straight into ‘Another State of Grace’, BSR were heavy as ever, and they were definitely ready to rock City Hall. As well as Black Star Riders tracks, Ricky Warwick, Robbie Crane, Zak St John, and Wayward Son’s guitarist Sam Wood also belted out The Osmonds' classic ‘Crazy Horses’ as well as Thin Lizzy favourites ‘Don’t Believe a Word’ which also saw Phil Campbell return to the stage, and ‘Jailbreak’.

Not only were the band members joined at first by Phil Campbell and then later by Michael Monroe, but also founder member and former Thin Lizzy legend Scott Gorham joined the band on stage, which rounded off the night perfectly

How often do you get the opportunity to witness so many rock icons on one stage at a venue that has more music history than you can shake a stick at? The audience was well and truly rocked, and the bands can all give themselves a pat on the back for putting on a show of such high calibre.

A fantastic night in more ways than one, and one that will live on in the hearts and minds of those who were fortunate enough to witness it.

PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS

MICHAEL MONROE

LOYLE CARNER

LIVE REVIEW

Rising British hip-hop star Loyle Carner released his highly anticipated third album 'hugo' back in October 2022 (read our review here). With the album becoming an instant hit with his fans, Loyle hit the road along with special guest Wesley Joseph to play it to a live audience. Stopping by at Newcastle City Hall on his sold-out UK tour, it was clear from the queue that wrapped around City Hall several times that Loyle has built up a dedicated fan base.

Kicking off the show in style, Birmingham born songwriter, producer and filmmaker, Wesley Joseph who went down a storm with the Newcastle crowd. Managing to cram a huge nine tracks into his time on stage, including Bloom, Monsoon, and Thrilla, Wesley definitely left the crowd wanting more. A talented and established artist in his own right, Wesley Joseph was the perfect choice as the opening act on the tour.

Photos: David Weddle @DWCONCERTPHOTOS

Loyle's set was the right mix of old and new. With a huge chunk of the songs from his previous album, 'Not Waving, but drowning ' . Including the likes of 'Angel', 'Ice Water' and 'Loose Ends', much to the delight of the packed out auditorium. While there was a lot of love for Loyle's older tracks, there was little doubt that the fans were going wild for the 'hugo' tracks. Only two from his debut album, with 'Ain't Nothing Changed' and 'Damselfly' representing 'Yesterday's Gone'.

Loyle started the show with two new tracks in quick succession, 'Hate' and 'Plastic'. You know that a new record is a success when the audience know all the words, and the sold out City Hall definitely knew each and every one.

As the band played behind him, Loyle's smile lit up the room with contagious enthusiasm and energy. From the first song to the last, Loyle Carner took the crowd on an emotionally charged journey, a journey that the Newcastle crowd was more than happy to go on.

After an epic nineteen tracks, Loyle had one more treat in store for Newcastle. Topping off the night with 'Ottolenghi'.

Loyle certainly wowed Newcastle and hopefully it won't be long before he returns to the region. You can check out 'hugo' for yourself at loylecarner.lnk.to/hugo

CIANDUCROT

LIVE - NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY

With a queue that seemed to stretch for miles of people of all ages braving a cold winter's evening in Newcastle, it was clear that this was no ordinary Saturday night in the Toon.

The Newcastle University Student's Union was about to play host to a very special event An Internet sensation and seemingly overnight success, Cian Ducrot had arrived in the city on his sold out UK and Ireland tour.

When you consider that Cian has garnered over 1 million followers on Instagram and is making his mark on YouTube, it is unsurprising that so many people are willing to brave the cold to witness his show in this intimate venue.

The venue filled up fairly quickly once the doors were opened and the crowd gathered in excited anticipation. Before the show's opening act took the stage, it was clear the Newcastle audience was in good voice, singing along with the pre concert music and having a great time

Opening the show was Californian singer Sadie Jean, who is currently on her first tour. She took to the stage and was seemingly taken aback when she realised that people knew her songs and were singing along with her

Tracks like 'Locksmith' and 'WYD now' went down a storm, as did a cover of 'The One That Got Away'. Sadie didn't come across as a singer on their first tour, there was plenty of crowd interaction, and Sadie put on a confident and memorable performance.

After a short break, the time had come for Cian Ducrot to take his turn on the Newcastle stage. The crowd erupted in cheers as Cian and his band kicked off their set with 'Make Believe'. I wrote earlier that Cian was seemingly an overnight internet success, however, that illusion was well and truly shattered as Cian belted out an epic guitar solo in the first track. This is obviously someone who has worked hard to hone their craft and is not just an overnight sensation

Giving the fans exactly what they wanted, Cian played tracks from his existing catalogue as well as his new track 'Victory' which went down a treat. Thanking the crowd, Cian introduced his next song with a bit of a backstory. Written about a past relationship that went sour after his girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend. There was an audible "Aaah" from the crowd as Cian told the tale and announced the song's alternative name as 'F### that B*tch'. It was actually 'Not Usually Like This' and it sounded fantastic live.

There was no stopping Cian, as he gave a stunning performance that had the Newcastle audience singing along all night. They may have been freezing waiting in the biting winds to get into the venue, but Cian definitely warmed the room up.

Giving the fans exactly what they wanted, Cian played tracks from his existing catalogue as well as his new track 'Victory' which went down a treat. Thanking the crowd, Cian introduced his next song with a bit of a backstory. Written about a past relationship that went sour after his girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend. There was an audible "Aaah" from the crowd as Cian told the tale and announced the song's alternative name as 'F### that B*tch'. It was actually 'Not Usually Like This' and it sounded fantastic live.

There was no stopping Cian, as he gave a stunning performance that had the Newcastle audience singing along all night. They may have been freezing waiting in the biting winds to get into the venue, but Cian definitely warmed the room up.

KING & NICK JONAS KING & NICK JONAS

Coming through as a romantic pop ballad, "Maan Meri Jaan (Afterlife)" fuses moody, low-key pop synths with traditional Indian instruments for a high-class offering from two of the biggest names in the global pop market Catching fans off-guard with the announcement on Wednesday, the duo's Instagram post has since gained an incredible 600K likes and counting.

King's extraordinary success with the original "Maan Meri Jaan" has made history as the first nonBollywood Indian Pop song to break into the Global Spotify Daily Top Songs Chart and peaked at #25 –proving its status as one of the hottest songs in the world. Racking up half a billion collective streams, "Maan Meri Jaan" has maintained a global presence across Spotify's Daily Viral Charts including the UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong and UAE.

King's "Maan Meri Jaan (Afterlife)" is now elevated by a brand-new English verse and chorus from Nick Jonas; in keeping with Jonas' respect for the Indian music scene, "Maan Meri Jaan (Afterlife)" also hears Nick Jonas lay down a few lyrics in Hindi.

In what is sure to be one of the most exciting pop collabs of the year, Nick Jonas adds a heightened sense of allure and charm to this gripping crossover banger by India's most disruptive rising star

King made the following statement about the collaboration: "Bringing 'Maan Meri Jaan (Afterlife)' to the world with Nick has been an exciting journey. We can't wait for fans to hear how the blending of our styles has come to life." Meanwhile, Nick Jonas said the following: "My love for India extends to its music and collaborating with King on his massive hit, 'Maan Meri Jaan', is an honor."

With Indian charts typically dominated by Bollywood names with ten to fifteen years of industry experience, King's trend-bucking popularity without the Bollywood machine proves that India's audiences are ready to embrace a new kind of pop star – with King at the forefront of this revolutionary movement, he is also currently making preparations for a major international tour across the US, Canada and UK.

lnk.to/MaanMeriJaanAfterlife

LEVELLERS

LEVELLERS - TOGETHER ALL THE WAY

war in the heartbreaking ‘Man O’ War’ to the injustice in the social system in the anthemic ‘Sitting In The Social’ Levellers have not lost the ability to tell a story with integrity and style.

It is hard to believe that it has been 35 years since the formation of one of the UK’s most influential folk rock bands of the nineties. With 13 studio albums under their belt, Levellers have just added a 14th to their oeuvre with their brand new album, ‘Together All The Way’.

Putting a more traditional folky feel to the sound of some of their classics, Levellers have produced an acoustic album that will please the most avid Levellers fan. Longtime listeners and those discovering Levellers for the first time will not be left disappointed. With ‘Down By The River O’ which has an energy that is extremely contagious, and the epic introduction to the album with the atmospheric rendition of ‘Game’ which sets out Levellers stall from the very beginning of the album, it is clear that anyone listening is in for a real treat.

As well as refreshing songs from the past, Levellers also introduce us to two brand new tracks, the emotionally charged ‘Man O’ War’ and the anthemic ‘Sitting In The Social’. From the perspective of a soldier leaving his family to go to

The album sees Dan Donnelly making his first official Levellers recording as well as Hannah Miller and Ollie Austin from the Moulettes, who joined Levellers on cello, vocals, and percussion. The sound created by this magical mix of musicians is just glorious. Never a dull moment, and full of little nuances that delight the ears, particularly in ‘The Cholera Well’. From start to finish, there isn’t a dull moment, each track is reimagined in a way that adds a different dimension to the original but still sounds undeniably like a Levellers track. The title track, ‘Together All The Way’ is a prime example of this, a great achievement and something that Levellers should be proud of.

The band has dusted off their instruments and is currently on their 18 date ‘Together All The Way’ tour, which started on 27th of February with a show at Cheltenham Town Hall and ends on March 18th in Buxton. Wowing crowds across the UK with the newly arranged tracks.

2023 is a big year for Levellers, not only do they celebrate 35 years as a band, but they are also set to headline Beautiful Days Festival along with Suede and Primal Scream. The festival celebrates it’s 20th year as one of the UK’s biggest independent music festivals on August 18th–20th;

Check out the full line up here

https://www.beautifuldays.org/

You can find Levellers new acoustic album ‘Together All The Way’ here

https://levellers.tmstor.es/

IRISH ALT/METALCORE FORCE, WORDS THAT BURN RELEASE THEIR 3RD STUDIO ALBUM, 'CUT THROAT CULTURE'

Order the album here: wordsthatburn.bfan.link/cut-throat-culture

Words That Burn's new album, 'Cut Throat Culture' featuring previously released singles, 'Den of Lions, 'You're On Your Own', 'Fire at Will', and 'Play God' Mixed and mastered by Josh Schroeder [Lora Shore, King 810], 'Cut Throat Culture' sees the rising Irish four-piece embrace a variety of styles that range from alternative, to metal-core, and electronic fusion, creating a body of work that, if anything, is totally unique to the bands core sound, as well as being a landmark release for contemporary Irish Metal.

One Pandemic, and four singles later, the band can finally share their highly anticipated new studio album, 'Cut Throat Culture', released today via Blood Blast Distribution/Believe Digital.

Described by Metal Hammer as: "the heft of Parkway Drive, while elsewhere huge choruses evoke modernday Bring Me the Horizon", Words That Burn have created a ferocious collection of contemporary and genre-pushing compositions on this new album, including the previously released singles, 'Den of Lions', 'You're on Your Own', 'Fire at Will', and most recent track, 'Play God'.

The results speak for themselves. 'Cut Throat Culture' is jam-packed with melody, heaviness, and raw density that twists and turns, as each track blossoms into magnificent crescendos of sonic light and shade. Outside of the previously released singles, just listen to 'To Night', 'Thicker Skin', and 'Michael' as a reference to the boundary-pushing that WTB are striving for on 'Cut Throat Culture', and you'll get some insight into the exciting creative direction they are moving in

Add in powerful lyrics, and a ferocious vocal delivery that ranges from clean melodic to guttural aggression, twinned with gut-punching breakdowns, (specifically designed to launch heft missiles), and you've got yourself one hell of an album.

Talking of the album, the band says:

"In late 2019 we decided to start writing for what would be album number four. 'Pyres' was out five or six months, and we were starting to feel that itch to get into new some songs.

Shane had been sending the rest of us ideas that he had recorded pretty much since PYRES was released which we were all loving so the timing felt right to start the process, but we were in no rush. Then fast forward 3 months – Covid happened.

No major panic at the star, as we all thought it was going to be a few weeks, and then it was business as usual...but....well, we all know how that panned out!

Thankfully, we all have our own studios for demoing music, and are fortunate enough to live in the cloud era, so we could work on our own bits and pieces remotely, which is dead on, but not the same as getting into our main studio in Shane's house, and work together.

As lockdown & the fallout persisted, we wrote songs, re-wrote songs, binned songs, un-binned songs, back and forth, back and forth over a year, and finally had 10 tracks ready for recording. By this stage we're into mid 2021, and covid restrictions are not as, em, restrictive so Ger and Jason could get out to Shane's studio, and record bass & drums. We rented a friends studio (Thanks Paul Finn!!) for vocals, and our very good friend Darren Clarke stepped in to record Roni. Darren, you have the patience of a saint!!

And 6 weeks later the songs were off to the USA for production, mixing & mastering We were extremely lucky to secure one of the best producers in the game for this record, Mr Josh Schroeder who has worked with Lorna Shore, King 810, Tallah, Butcher Babies, Of Virtue (among many others) fame, and well, the man is a genius and brought this record to a level beyond our expectations."

Having shared stages with Alien Weaponry, Bear Tooth, As I Lay Dying, and many others, Words That Burn have been fusing elements of melodic metal, and alternative rock, loaded with crushing riffs, and soaring choruses, since their formation in 2010.

Words That Burn are:

Roni MacRuairi - Vocals & Guitar

Ger Murphy - Bass & Vocals

Shane "Jelly" Martin - Guitars & Vocals

Jason Christy - Drums

THE ANSWER release new single and video 'Oh Cherry', new album 'Sundowners' is out now on Golden Robot Records and 7Hz.

Order the album here: ada.lnk.to/Sundowners

Northern Irish rockers The Answer finally release their seventh and long-awaited new studio album on St. Patricks day, March 17th, 2023. Titled 'Sundowners', the record was produced and mixed by rising British rock producer Dan Weller (Enter Shikari, Bury Tomorrow) and will be supported by a run of album showcase performances on a 16-date UK and European date tour.

Supported by new single 'Oh Cherry' and a fantastic Tarantino-esque 60's 'mash-dancing' lyric video, also released on March 17th, Classic Rock said of the track, "Rhythm and dust meets attitude and lust on the unashamedly libidinous Oh Cherry". Oh Cherry Video Here

Says lead singer Cormac Neeson, "We've been through a lot as a band, toured the world, made six great records we're all proud of, and always done our best to make honest and timeless music that connects with rock and music fans in general. After six albums and a lot of road miles we felt we needed to step back from it all and reset. Whilst that wasn't an easy decision, with retrospect it's possibly the best decision we've ever made because after seven years away we all came back fired up and end result is an album we've been waiting to make our whole lives...full of good time rock n roll and positive energy created by four brothers who quite frankly just really missed each other. We're back and we're ready to bring our best album ever to you!"

The album will be released by 7Hz Productions (ADA) in UK & Europe under license from Golden Robot Records Pty. The record will be presented in several formats including a Cd Gatefold Digi sleeve, Gatefold 12" 180g black vinyl, 2 x 12" colour vinyl exclusives, a 12" fan collectible Picture Disk, Digital and various limited retail exclusive versions with HMV, Rough Trade, Crash and Assai Records.

The band's first media singles of the album received great radio airplay achieving playlists on Planet Rock Radio UK and several German radio stations including Rock Antenne, Radio BOB!, Star FM Hamburg and Berlin, amassing over 6,500 plays since release in October 2022. Blood Brother has remained in the top 10 German rock airplay charts for over 12 weeks and is still at #5 in the German rock airplay one month before the album release.

TOUR DATES: UK March 2023

Mar 16th Blackpool, Waterloo Bar SOLD OUT

Mar 17th Birmingham O2 Institute.

Mar 19th Bristol Thekla

Mar 20th London 100 Club SOLD OUT

Mar 21st Leeds Key Club

Mar 23rd Belfast Limelight 2 SOLD OUT

www myticket co uk

www.ticketmaster.ie

EUROPE March & April 2023

Mar 25th Haarlem, Patronaat - Holland

Mar 26th Den Bosch, Willem Twee - Holland

Mar 28th Essen, Turock - Germany

Mar 29th Hamburg, Logo - Germany

Mar 30th Berlin, Franz Club – Germany

Mar 31st Munich, Strom - Germany

Apr 1st Dornbirn, Conrad-Sohm, Austria

Apr 2nd Zurich, Plaza - Switzerland

Apr 4th Strasbourg, La Laiterie – France

Apr 5th Savigny, L'Empreinte - France

Apr 6th. Vorselaar, De Dreef - Belgium

https://www.metaltix.com/the-answer-tickets5493.html#tour1506

https://www.seasidetouring com/tours/#answer,the

Tickets: www.theanswerrock.com

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