Music

Beyond litter and emissions: The environmental costs of loud sound at music festivals

The music festivals of the summer have packed up and moved on. Stages and sound systems have been dismantled, litter cleared, and land reseeded.

Why ‘No Bad Memories’ is my album of the year

I didn't expect how perfectly my personal happiness would fit an album so preoccupied with the sounds of old advertisements and obsolete electronics, filled with the relentless optimism of a world that believed the future could only get better. 

CUSP’s Dan Stock on the memories behind ‘English Country’

On Friday, CUSP, a Milton Keynes-based indie rock band, released their debut album, English...

The rise of the pop girlie: Marketing mediocrity or feminism in action?  

“GIRLS INVENTED PUNK ROCK, NOT ENGLAND”: so reads the iconic green T-shirt of Sonic Youth legend Kim Gordon. The slogan stands in defiance of an unfortunate truth in the music industry: femininity and credibility often exist in contention with one another.

Study music: ambience over annoyance

Jazz, techno, or lo-fi hip-hop beats, Emmaleigh Eaves asks what music best gets you into a productive zone and why...

Mad Dogs and Englishmen: 50 years on

In the spring of 1970, 50 years ago, a collection of musicians underwent the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, which came to be immortalised in a...

Say So, TikTok, and the ‘Viral Sleeper Hit’

William McCathie examines TikTok's hit-making capabilities

Music History: Django Reinhardt

George Newton reflects on the life of the jazz guitarist who defined an era.

Better to burn out or fade away? The crafting of musical legacy

Annabelle Grigg questions our valuing of self-destructive behaviour in the music industry.

Album Review: Dua Lipa’s ‘Future Nostalgia’

Emily Cope defends Dua Lipa's position as 'Britain's leading popstar'.

Album Review: Ruthie Collins’ ‘Cold Comfort’

Maxim Mower finds much to praise in a maturely sombre new country music star

Live Review: Jon Hopkins at the Brighton Dome

Jon Hopkins is not so much a polarising figure as one whose music can appeal to people for precisely opposite reasons. As beloved to...

Review: Four Tet’s ‘Sixteen Oceans’

Fred Waine praises Kieran Hebden's latest offering for its evocation of natural themes

Music: In Isolation but not Isolated

Anna Gunstone reflects on how listening to music can remain a communal experience even in isolation.

Dramatics in Isolation: The Nightly Met Opera Streams Reviewed

On the 13th of March, the Met Opera’s Twitter announced that they would begin a series of ‘nightly live streams’ of beloved operas for anyone with...

Electronic Music: the Sound and the Sceptics

A look back over the history of - and our attitudes towards - electronic music today.

In Conversation: Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds

A chat with Enter Shikari's frontman ahead of the release of their highly-anticipated sixth studio album, 'Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible'

In conversation: Chase Rice

US Country singer-songwriter Chase Rice has gone Platinum multiple times, co-written a Diamond-certified hit, and last year reached No. 1 with his single...

Interview with Musician and Neuroscientist Izzy Frances

Musician and neuroscientist Izzy Frances loves to play on your heartstrings. Propelled by a desire to understand herself and others, Izzy has burst onto...

C’est la Brie: why we love cheesy music

Few would care to admit that the dated tunes of 'cheese' make up a significant portion of our listening habits, and yet music once...

A Hard Day’s Nightmare: Music and Sleep Paralysis

A typical depiction of sleep paralysis may be found in Henry Fuseli’s 1781 painting ‘The Nightmare’. A woman in a clingy white dress sprawls...

Review: Bad Bunny’s YHLQMDLG

In December 2017, Bad Bunny performed just one block from where I was living at the time in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I didn’t know who...

Brits 2020: Where performance met politics

This year’s Brit awards took place on the 18th of February, and did not disappoint as a night of celebration of British culture, entertainment...

In conversation: Greta Morgan of Vampire Weekend and Springtime Carnivore

Greta Morgan - otherwise known as Springtime Carnivore - has made a name for herself as a touring member of indie rock band Vampire...

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