Megan Barton

I’ve been chasing a feeling for such a long time now, something close to when I first sat down and listened to Childish Gambino’s 2016 album Awaken My Love. It was one of the first records that I listened to all the way through, no skips, and then when I received it for Christmas I played the record on my scratchy little suitcase record player so much that even my parents know the tracklist. For me, that album really set something off with me that no other album has been able to achieve in qu...

In my experience, Ambient is a genre of music that people tend to shy away from. It oftentimes seems too pretentious or difficult to understand, or simply people do not see the point in it. There’s no lyrical content or obvious tune, why should I listen? Although voiceless Lamentations by Sachi Kobayashi airs out grievances over current conflict and urges a message of peace among all people.
Sachi Kobayashi is an experimental ambient artist from Saitama Prefecture in Japan. Creating this reco...

Late nights, early mornings or while cooking your tea on a Friday night, this is an album to dance to. Cohesive in its unpredictability Porij offer up a record of tracks that demand you move to.
Refusing to settle on one genre this debut album is a daring experiment, spanning from moments of up-tempo garage-inspired beats to slower-paced lo-fi indie-influenced sounds that we can hear on My Only Love.
Stand-out tracks on this album are opener Marmite with its punchy and caustic vocals and lyri...

Name Your Sorrow offers catharsis, honesty and exposure. It’s no mystery as to what this album is about. Loss of youth, heartbreak and lessons learnt are contained within 12 tracks, in a raw and unrestrained monstrosity of potent emotion.
Finding themselves in a place they haven’t been before, no longer cloaked in the invincibility of being new nor the precocity of youth, Pillow Queens allow themselves to be free of burden, ignoring previous expectations set for them and going forward totally...

Don’t Forget Me is a warm hug, it’s a ride in the car with the top down on a hazy summer afternoon. It’s the feeling of growing up, finding yourself and realising your potential despite the problems you faced along the way. It’s your well-worn favourite pair of jeans, mastering wearing just the right amount of red lipstick. It’s about growing up and finding peace in knowing that it will all work out in the end.

Written over a whirlwind five days, Don’t Forget Me is a collection of experiences...

Ahead of the release of their debut EP ‘A Desolate Warning,’ Brighton-based punks, Noah And The Loners, and more specifically, vocalist Noah Lonergan, answer a few questions about their future plans, inspirations and influences.
What drew you to punk as a genre? What makes it relevant to you? What does it mean to you?
When I was a child, I had a punk lullabies CD so maybe it was subconsciously ingrained into my mind from an early age. We take inspiration from old-school punks such as X-Ray Sp...

Grey Daze is the origin story of one of the most recognisable rock voices in a generation, although little is known about them in the UK until now.
With the recent announcement of their first ever UK tour, I had the chance to sit down with Sean Dowdell and Cris Hodges of Grey Daze to talk about their recent albums and reminisce on memories with co-founder, Chester Bennington.
The band first released music thirty years, so why do they now feel ready to take on the UK, Dowdell comments:
“Well b...

In a follow up from 2021’s LOUDMOUTH, VIAL return with a short fit of rage entitled Burnout. Clocking in at just under 20 minutes the album epitomises girly pop-punk much akin to that of Olivia Rodrigo.
A study in feminine rage this album tackles subjects ranging from chronic illness, to friendship breakdowns and even hitting on your friend’s dad, which plays out on the track ur dad, a role-reversal of the classic pop-punk track of Stacy’s Mom.
Burnout also includes a few interludes, one such...

The first time I listened to this album, I wanted to be sat in the bath. I felt that I needed to be embraced by the warmth of the water, feeling each word that fell from Adrienne’s mouth wash over me, hoping to distract myself from the emotion that would arise. I left my face flushed and eyes blurry. I’m glad that I’m alive.
Studying love in its entirety, Bright Future takes on a life of its own, chasing its tail for answers. Beginning with Real House, the past arrives first. Transporting us ...

Lime Garden are Chloe Howard, Annabel Whittle, Leila Deele and Tippi Morgan and they formed in Brighton a few years ago and since have had a stellar run of singles and non-stop touring, gaining nominations and endorsements along the way. With each release Lime Garden are furthering their reputation as one of indie’s best newcomers and it’s absolutely no question as to why.
One More Thing, Lime Garden’s first full-length LP, produced by Ali Chant (Perfume Genius, PJ Harvey, Yard Act) is the cu...

Sitting down with this album and turning it all the way up has the power to transport me to much simpler times. A time when my biggest concern was waking up early enough to watch Kerrang! TV or Scuzz before my parents got up. Take It Or Leave It, by CHERYM is giving nostalgic pop-punk in the best way possible.
CHERYM are taking absolutely no prisoners, with ripping hooks and melodies, and lyrics that are so pointed, if you stand too close you’d be cut. It’s clear to see that they have a whole...

Have you ever watched cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s seminal film ‘The Holy Mountain’ or even heard of it? I doubt it. So to save you from watching it, I watched it for you and to summate it’s really weird. Like think of the oddest, strangest thing and then turn the dial on that up until it breaks and then maybe you’ll be somewhere close to the absurdity of this film. But this isn’t about the film, I’m actually here to tell you about Bo Ningen’s album of the same name, which is an alter...

Punk band Noah And The Loners announce their debut EP ‘A Desolate Warning’, accompanied by the release of their newest riot-inciting single ‘Crash Landing.’
For Noah And The Loners, Punk is so much more than a label. It’s a state of being. As one of the latest signees to Marshall Records, the band have been creating a reputation for themselves through their barrage of two minute freak-outs, venting about anything from politics to personal life, bringing a refreshing new voice to the genre. Fr...

Sybil Bell talks to Dom Smith of Soundsphere about the creation of Independent Venue Week, and how that inspired Independent Venue Community, alongside her love for Hull and the North of England’s creative scene.
“Music is such an important part of people’s lives, even for people who don’t believe that they really listen to it. If you took music out of a 24 hour period, I think people would be staggered at where it is and I think that’s what makes it so exciting.” says Sybil Bell, founder of ...

Self-describing as being like getting punched in the face by a gorilla but then being cuddled afterwards, UNIVERSITY are definitely something like that.
To be totally honest this EP is a little bit difficult to listen to but let’s just call that an artistic choice. Frantic and disorganised, ‘Title Track’ is an obvious attempt at trying to break into the harsh noise genre, especially the leading track, ‘EDY’. Barely a minute and a half of white noise, some sort of muttering about peace, love a...