Home About Contact
Louder Than War •

So Long, Good Friday (Liverpool)- Festival Review

So Long, Good Friday
Baltic Triangle, Liverpool
3rd April 2026
Experts in chaos Fat Dog headline a blistering line-up of talented and trail-blazing artists in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle for the first annual So Long, Good Friday festival. Kai Marshall and Elliot Davies take a look at what’s on offer.
The first annual So Long, Good Friday festival takes place on 3rd April with a packed line-up of largely, but not exclusively, alternative acts from the Northwest of England. Co-organiser Craig Mcve...
Indie is not a genre •

Tracks of the Week: Dry Cleaning, Y, Opus Kink, Girli, and More! - Indie is not a genre

The IINAG team has done the heavy lifting and curated this week’s essential new tracks so you don’t have to. Check out our picks below, then head over to the playlist for the full deep dive.





Harsh yet calm, London post-punk band Dry Cleaning return with Sliced by a Fingernail just two months after the release of their third album, Secret Love, via 4AD. Slightly less melodic and a shade darker, the four-minute track finds Florence Shaw’s instantly recognisable spoken-word delivery — built...
Indie is not a genre •

TTSSFU, Live at Future Yard: A High-Octane Homecoming - Indie is not a genre

Off the back of a ridiculously busy trans-Atlantic schedule, Tasmin Stephens (TTSSFU) makes her final stop on the road in Birkenhead’s Future Yard, supported by Wyatt. 


Having less than a week prior landed back on English soil following several appearances in Austin, Texas for SXSW, TTSSFU embarked upon a UK tour that saw her travel from north to south to Wales and back again. A gruelling tour schedule, no doubt. However, it serves as evidence of Tasmin’s hard work both on stage and in the st...
Indie is not a genre •

Americana Workhorses: Wyatt on Family, Manchester, and the Power of Bandcamp - Indie is not a genre

The ever-reliable Manchester scene has restarted its music factories, putting its artists back at the coalface once more. Acts like Westside Cowboy and Pyncher have already attracted well-deserved attention for their innovative and timely output. Among the many acts emerging from the city right now are TTSSFU and Wyatt.


Wyatt are an alternative country-influenced outfit whose members draw from a deep well of musical experience. Singer and guitarist Harvey O’Toole, also a member of Pyncher, is...
Indie is not a genre •

Tracks of the Week: Real Farmer, Swim Deep, Ain't, Eaves Wilder, and More! - Indie is not a genre

The IINAG team has done the heavy lifting and curated this week’s essential new tracks so you don’t have to. Check out our picks below, then head over to the playlist for the full deep dive.





Dutch outfit Real Farmer have released the second single ‘Sob Story’ from their upcoming album “Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right”. Recorded in Rotterdam, this track treats us to a bass-led groove reminiscent of Gang Of Four as a driver for singer Jeroen Klootsema’s deep and moody vocals. Jeroen’s deliver...
Indie is not a genre •

The Orielles' Only You Left: A Genre-Defying Embrace - Indie is not a genre

A band that seeks to break new ground and evolve deserves a respectful nod of recognition. It can be so easy to sink into the comforting embrace of genre labels and allow the algorithm to distribute your music to sympathetic ears that it’s refreshing to be unable to put a band in a box. On Only You Left, the fifth album from Manchester trio The Orielles, the band think outside the box, redesign the box and put themselves back in it again with mixed results. 


Recorded between Hamburg and the G...
Indie is not a genre •

Tracks of the Week: Basement, The Bobby Lees, Melanie Baker, Tooth, and More! - Indie is not a genre

The IINAG team has done the heavy lifting and curated this week’s essential new tracks so you don’t have to. Check out our picks below, then head over to the playlist for the full deep dive.





After an eight-year hiatus, Basement are back with two new singles and an album announcement. Their fifth album seems to follow the mellower footsteps of their more recent offerings that landed more in alternative and indie rock than their emo and pop punk beginnings. Regardless, it’s good to see the...
Indie is not a genre •

Tracks of the Week: Basement, The Bobby Lees, Melanie Baker, Tooth, and More! - Indie is not a genre

The IINAG team has done the heavy lifting and curated this week’s essential new tracks so you don’t have to. Check out our picks below, then head over to the playlist for the full deep dive.





After an eight-year hiatus, Basement are back with two new singles and an album announcement. Their fifth album seems to follow the mellower footsteps of their more recent offerings that landed more in alternative and indie rock than their emo and pop punk beginnings. Regardless, it’s good to see the...
Indie is not a genre •

Midding's .44: A Stellar New EP. - Indie is not a genre

There is so much fantastic music being produced at the moment, with country and punk influences (just to name a few), that some gems are easy to miss. Midding, on the other hand, set themselves apart with their newest EP and establish their Psychocandy sound. 


Opener “All For You” emphasises the Jesus And Mary Chain influence with the relaxed vocal delivery and fuzzy guitar solo. The bass takes us on a post-punk walk around the rhythm of the track before the band flips their sixties psychedel...
Louder Than War •

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water: Gorilla, Manchester - Live

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water | TobiTheFreak
Gorilla, Manchester
11th Feb 2026
Purveyors of the Philadelphia DIY spirit, TAGABOW are the loudest and most innovative shoegaze band of the modern resurgence. Kai Marshall watches on. 
Much is said about the way music brings people together. I’d go as far as to say it’s a cliché to emphasise the umbrella of inclusivity you enter as a frequent gig-goer. Indulge me for a moment, though. It’s important sometimes to take stock of your surroundings. I...
Indie is not a genre •

Yellow Days' Rock and a Hard Place: A Love Letter to the Great American Songbook - Indie is not a genre

Rock and a Hard Place, out February 13th on Independent Co, is an album born of a soulful need to dance and sing. This is Yellow Days’ sixth LP at just 26 years of age. Such an impressive output has seen collaborations with known influences Mac DeMarco and Gorillaz. A Rock and a Hard Place is his most impressive yet; drawing on swing, jazz, soul and RnB this LP is an odyssey of the emotions that music teases out of us.


Special Kind Of Woman is a crooning classic fused with old-fashioned soul....
Louder Than War •

Madness: The O2 Arena, London- Live Review

Madness | Squeeze
The O2 Arena, London
20th December 2025
There’s a red and gold sea of silliness as the O2 arena fills with the international symbol for Madness: the iconic red Fez. Kai Marshall watches on as the legendary ska pop ensemble links up with the eternal Squeeze for a night of cockney reverie.
(in March 2026 Louder Than War are putting in their first festival in 2026 – you must come! tickets and details here)
The yellow spikes of the quarter-century-old Millennium dome appear on the...
Louder Than War •

King Princess: New Century Hall, Manchester - Live Review

King Princess | Susannah Joffe
New Century Hall, Manchester
December 7th 2025
On a rainy Manchester evening, the New Century Hall provides us with some much needed empowerment and vibrancy. Kai Marshall watches Susannah Joffe and King Princess as they erase the December grey.
Mikaela Straus, aka King Princess, is no stranger to success. Going by the pronouns she/they, they have achieved chart triumphs around the world with Cheap Queen and Only Time Makes It Human, among others. They have nurtu...
Louder Than War •

The Hives: Aviva Studios, Manchester - Live Review

The Hives | Yard Act | Spiritual Cramp 
Manchester, Aviva Studios
28th Nov 2025
Put the words “factory” and “Manchester” together, and you’re bound to get something special. At Factory International’s Aviva Studios, Kai Marshall experiences the majesty of The Hives in their full pomp and glory, with support from Yard Act and Spiritual Cramp.
I want to begin by giving a huge thumbs up to the most accessible venue I’ve ever been to – Aviva Studios, Factory International. Friendly staff everywhere...
Louder Than War •

Simon Weitzman: A Love Letter To The Beatles - Interview

Generation after generation, Beatles obsessives emerge and reinterpret their legacy. To be a part of a fandom is to be a part of a family, says director and writer Simon Weitzman. In a career that has taken him all over the world, he has been involved in a succession of Beatles-based projects, including both books and films. Here, Kai Marshall explores Simon’s TV, music and film career as well as his most recent documentary A Love Letter To The Beatles (reviewed here), with contributions from Ex...
Louder Than War •

A Love Letter To The Beatles: Film Review

A Love Letter To The Beatles (2025)
Executive Directors: Simon Weitzman
Executive Producers: Stewart Everett, Keith McCallum, David L Simon
Out Now
Not just a tribute to the Fab Four, A Love Letter To The Beatles documents the immortal Beatles fandom. Kai Marshall attends the Liverpool premiere.
Beatles fans have been treated to so much in the 2020s so far. We’ve had a big budget fly-on-the-wall documentary, remastered albums and even a new Beatles single. This is largely what I would describe a...
Louder Than War •

Mac Demarco: Another One 10 Year Anniversary

Mac Demarco- Another One
(Captured Tracks)
LP | CD | CAS | DL
Available from 7th November 2025
Revisiting one of his dearest teenage albums, Kai Marshall takes another listen to Mac Demarco’s Another One.
Music-obsessed teenagers carry their passion over to adulthood. Sometimes these young people find themselves swept up into cultural phenomena like Beatlemania. Perhaps you were wrapped up in a 00s emo scene that the long memory of iCloud storage will never let you forget. Then there are albums...
Louder Than War •

The Belair Lip Bombs: Again- Album Review

The Belair Lip Bombs- Again
(Third Man Records)
CD | LP | DL
Out Now
The Belair Lip Bombs treat us to a belated but nostalgic summer holiday on their new LP ‘Again’. Kai Marshall takes a listen.
The concoction of youthful romantic passion and the use of guitars to summon 2010s nostalgia is a lethal mix for anyone in their 20s or 30s. Belair Lip Bombs’ new album is deadly in this regard – Maisie Everett captures the beauty and confusion of modern relationships through Libertines licks and nought...
Louder Than War •

GHOSTWOMAN: Yes, Manchester- Live Review

GHOSTWOMAN | Boy Wonder
The Pink Room, Manchester
29th October 2025
From Tennessee to Manchester via Antwerp- Kai Marshall lays eyes on psyche rockers GHOSTWOMAN
Bluegrass and other kinds of Americana in the 21st century no longer conjures up images of Louisiana swamps or truckers driving east to west in faded old caps. Bluesy, folksy, twanging guitars are more likely to be played by long-haired moustachioed prog types in your local pub. If your grandad is playing the blues in a working men’s cl...
Louder Than War •

Geese: Getting Killed- Album Review

Geese: Getting Killed
(Partisan Records) 
LP | CD | DL
Out now!
4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0
Not short of classic rock influences, Geese release a classic album of their own with Getting Killed. Kai Marshall explores Winter’s world.
Rock music in the 21st century all too often finds itself struggling to get out of the shadow of its predecessors. Geese have not found this to be an issue – their classic rock tendencies blend seamlessly with contemporary post-punk.  
The Opener, Trinidad, brings a Davi...
Louder Than War •

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water: LOTTO

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water: LOTTO
ATO Records
CD|LP|DL available here
Out now
4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0
Delving in to the Philadelphia sludge, Kai Marshall explores TAGABOWs heart-wrenching heavy shoegaze LP LOTTO
There is so much to be said for the DIY attitude that permeates the Philadelphia music scene. The city’s contribution to punk music is immeasurable- a city whose heartbeat sounds like a hardcore punk record. Out of this city emerges yet another glorious collection of music which,...
Louder Than War •

GHOSTWOMAN: Welcome To The Civilised World - Album Review

GHOSTWOMAN: Welcome To The Civilised World
(Full Time Hobby)
LP | CD | DL
Out now
Welcome To The Civilised World drags the dusty 1960s desert sound into the modern age- a hazy, sun-cracked journey through Americana and psych. GHOSTWOMAN prove that guitar bands still have plenty of noise left to make.
A title to take with a pinch of salt, GHOSTWOMAN make music that does not sound like music made by a band from the 21st century world. Their sound has echoes of the American frontier, the sort of so...
Louder Than War •

David Byrne: Who Is The Sky - Album Review

David Byrne: Who Is The Sky
(Matador Records)
Out now
David Byrne’s Who Is The Sky? finds the art-pop visionary once again turning life’s smallest absurdities into grand philosophical theatre. It’s an album that treads the line between genius and overexposure- radiant with optimism and moments of sickening joy.
David Byrne’s work since the inception of Talking Heads bas been defined by his curiosity – how did I get here? How do I work this? Say something once, why say it again? They’re songs wit...