Following on from their brilliant debut album ‘The Curious Mind Of A Common Man’ we are graced with what can only be described as a powerful, inspiring and heartfelt album entitled ‘Our Fear Is Their Power.’
Bolton band The Shed Project show their talents and growth with their new album. Each track goes from strength to strength, hooking you all the way in. The quality in production and song writing is refined, Roy’s vocals are heartfelt and real and their sound has matured.
‘Our Fear Is Their Power’ tackles every day life and difficult subjects, they are a band of the people. ‘Our Fear Is Their Power’ talks about the corrupted government, ‘Ghost Town’ is about the bands very own town and how it has been left to ruin, a familiar story to many towns all over the UK and ‘Naughty’ is well…it’s naughty!
I hear alot of inspiration from the greats of the 90’s, The Verve, Charlatans, Oasis and Stone Roses just to name a few which gives the album a nostalgic feel but with a sound completely unique to The Shed Project making it their own. The band are referred to alot like The Stone Roses, as much as they have similar qualities they are so much more than that, The Shed Project can’t be pigeon holed.
2023 has been a great year for bands on the independent music scene. This year has been a fantastic year for album releases, along with The Heavy North’s ‘Delta Shakedown’, ‘Our Fear Is Their Power’ is one of our favourites and is a strong contender for Music Scene Wales’ Album Of The Year 2023!
Scott Marsden #MusicSceneWales @MusicSceneWales musicscenewalescymru@gmail.com
Welsh music magazine TIWN have announced their first official TIWN TOP TEN, as voted by the TIWN Family and the general public. Showcasing the best albums that were released between October 2022 and November 2023. They then gave the task of choosing the Number one to their audience.This year’s winners are North Walians Holy Coves for their fantastic album Druids and Bards.
Holy Coves’ lead singer and songwriter Scott Marsden responded to the news:
“Huge thanks to Tiwn Media and everyone for voting! This record means everything to me. I feel like I’ve been trying to make this record my whole life!”
“Druids and Bards is part of a trilogy. If you think Druids and Bards was good wait until you hear chapter two!”
This year saw an incredible amount of superb albums released. The top ten albums also include Nancy Ackroyd, Trampolene, Mr Phormula, Skindread and Himalayas, all brilliant albums for 2023.
IRISH HARD ROCKERS, VENDETTA LOVE CONFIRM THEIR DEDICATION TO NO NONSENSE ROCK BANGERS WITH THEIR BLISTERING NEW SINGLE, ‘MIGHT AS WELL (MNDFVK)’
With a busy 2023 which saw the four-piece tour with Airbourne (amongst other things), Vendetta Love are gearing up for a huge 2024 and are finishing up the year with a new single/video.
The new song titled, ‘Might As Well (MNDFVK)‘ contains the classic VL sound, albeit beefed-up with chunky Alice In Chains guitars, with vocalist Sean Mullen’s gritty, “heart-on-sleeve” lyrics, which follows in the footsteps of their bands stunning discography. Check out the official video here.
Speaking of the new single, the band says; “‘Might As Well (MNDFVK)’ came about while we were fucking around at a rehearsal for a show last year. It came together pretty quickly. I already had the lyrics more or less (they’re just written down waiting), which is pretty different to how I normally write lyrics, but it just seemed to marry really well. It’s also the first one we’ve done that has shared vocals between myself and Neil (bass). He’s carrying the harmony through the verses and just goes fucking nuts towards the end. I love it…What the songs about? I think that’s open to interpretation.” – Shawn Mullen (guitars/vocals)
Guitarist, Chris Craig adds; “The build up in the middle section is one of my favourite parts to play live, it has a small dose of progressiveness to it before it kicks into the full riff between the way the guitar builds with the drums. The video was shot entirely in one day with Angel (Cosmopalace) in the Dunamaise theatre in Portlaoise, Ireland. We had talked about making it visually weird. Angel had sent me a message with the idea of wanting to create a tunnel around the lens, sort of like the James Bond, but more chaotic and claustrophobic. So, all the shots in the video with the “ring” around it are practical effects of reflective card duct taped to the lens, which we think turned out really great to give a sense of unease throughout the whole track.”
Vendetta Love are a four-piece Hard Rock machine that incorporate elements of ‘80s Hard Rock with ‘90s Grunge delivered, box-fresh in the 21st Century, dripping with swagger and real musicianship.
Caesar Of Cymatics’ new single makes way for a new genre called Motorway Music. Using a mix of psychedelia, emotions of paranoia and experimental assets have all blended together to give the ambience and nostalgia of a car journey. Written alone in his room after experiencing a traumatic breakup and being tossed to the sidelines of life, making him become a social outcast, Caesar created this track to provide himself with comfort, nostalgia and reflection in one of the most difficult periods of his life.
Caesar is a talented up and coming 16 year old songwriter from Manchester. After releasing his first single in November 2022, “It’s Plain Knowing” at 15 years old, he has managed to amass a passionate and loyal online following and a deep connection between him and the local Manchester scene through handing out free CDs of his music. Working with local promoters such as ‘Scruff Of The Neck’ and ‘Dusty Pop Entertainment’ to put together highly attended gigs at Manchester Academy 3 and The Deaf Institute. Now, Caesar has released a limited edition compilation CD, which is quickly on its way to selling out, has been featured as Artist Of The Week on Tameside Radio, as well as continuing to grow his loyal fanbase and write new music. People know that this is a once in a generation opportunity.
Learning his first two chords at the age of 11 and beginning to write his first few songs during lockdown, it quickly became clear that this is what he wanted to do. After years of maturing his technique, the songs he writes in his room include ideas of identity, romance, isolation and the questions of where are we, why are we here and how did we get here? Taking influences from such genres as Dream Pop, Post-Punk, folk and general alternative music with influences from bands such as The Chameleons, The Smiths, Joy Division, The Cure, The Velvet Underground to name a few.
The N.S.O. are a four piece Yorkshire band consisting of Josh Tallis on Vocals and Rhythm Guitar, Reece Howe on Vocals and Lead Guitar, Jordan Watkin on Percussions and William Simister on Bass Guitar.
The band pride themselves on mixing various influences and genres into their work resulting in a sound that is enticingly fresh and exciting, setting them apart from their counterparts. They combine dark and gritty vocals with light hearted melodies making for a truly exhilarating listening experience.
The N.S.O. formed in 2022 and they released their debut single in the November of the same year; ‘Hurts Instead’. This was followed up in spring 2023 with ‘Up and Down’.
The band’s somewhat unusual name ‘The N.S.O’, we are told doesn’t actually stand for anything and came about when they performed at their debut (sold out) gig when they didn’t actually have a band name at all. The story goes that they saw the letters N.S.O. written on the wall of the venue and for lack of a better name, went with that! The band feel that as things have unfolded however, it makes sense that the name has no direct meaning.. “it means what you want it to mean, just like the music”.
The band have spent their time wisely perfecting their music both in the studio and by gigging extensively including festivals such as Tramlines, Bunkerfest (Supporting Mark Morris), Doncaster Summer Of Love (Supporting Neville Staples), Be Reyt and Barnsley Live festivals and performing a series of gigs with new music taste makers This Feeling selling out their own headline gig at The Philadelphia in Sheffield and gigging with other up and coming acts such as Rosellas and Mimosa.
Having taken their time and not simply rushed out another release, the band have honed and perfected their art and are now ready to unveil to the world their brand new single release of ‘Do Ya’
‘Do Ya’ with its strumming and thrashing guitars and pounding, crashing drum rhythms is perfectly offset with the almost dark and brooding vocals that positively open up in the chorus hook lines with a rousing upbeat melody. Its pure indie rock grittiness personified to perfection!
The band have said of the track:
“‘Do Ya’ is about asking questions in life really; easy questions, hard questions, and questions you already know the answers to, really. It’s funny, as the verses I’d had for a while, but I never found a place for them. It wasn’t until I revisited an old song Reece had written that I found the chorus. The chorus echoes a sentiment most listeners will understand when your mood is completely opposite to someone else’s, so much so that it’s almost an annoyance, as you can’t grasp how they’re okay with everything and you’re not. From there, the song fell into place as Josh and Reece worked together on the rest of the structure, and the band finalised the music.”
‘Do Ya’ was written by Josh Tallis and Reece Howe. It was recorded at The Nave Studio in Pudsey, Leeds and was produced By Tom Orrell.
In this issue we catch up with, cover star, Benji Webbe of Skindred, ex Simple Minds star Mick McNeil, keyboard player to the stars Nigel Hopkins as well as Nancy Ackroyd, Caitlin Lavagna, one of Wales’ top venue owners Jordan McGuire from The Bunkhouse, Undersound, Adlais with Connor Morgans and so much more – dive in, click on the QR codes and bask in the glory that is Wales and beyond. We also announce our winner of the best album between November 2022
October 2023 in TIWN’S TOP TEN! Featuring: Holy Coves, Godsticks, Mr Phormula, Skindred, Nancy Ackroyd, Those Damn Crows, Trampolene, Himalayas, Mal Pope and Tapestri.
We hope that you find something to entertain you between these sheets and, following public outcry, we are now making TIWN available at selected outlets across Wales!
Mike from Welsh Connections chats with Kenny Stuart, the charismatic frontman for The Heavy North about the band’s latest album ‘Delta Shakedown’. The show contains tracks from the new album plus songs from their back catalogue.
In this candid interview find out the origins of the name, how the guys create and record their songs plus their plans for the future.
VIVAS are the Sheffield based band consisting ofJames Wilson on Lead vocals/rhythm guitar, Tyler Savage on Lead guitar/backing vocals, Kane Ibbertson on Bass/backing vocals and Keaton Barker on Drums.
Although still relative newcomers to the scene having only formed in 2022, VIVAS have wasted absolutely no time in establishing themselves as ones to watch and have already achieved so much as a band bringing a positive and highly infectious energy and approach to their music.
VIVAS are a classic Indie Rock band that bring the energy and attitude in abundance making for some great music and some pretty high octane live performances too!
In their first year VIVAS released an impressive total of 3 singles, being ‘Sweet Talker’ in March, ‘It’s Alright’ in July and ‘Feel’ in November. All 3 singles were received with a warm welcome from fans old and new as well as from press and radio from the likes of BBC Introducing, Amazing Radio and the Sheffield Star as well as gaining the band in excess of 66k streams on Spotify alone.
Following on from these successes, VIVAS decided to make a bold statement move and to try something entirely different by releasing their own re-worked version of undoubtedly one of the biggest hits in mainstream music of recent years; by covering ‘As It Was’ originally by Harry Styles which gained them undoubted massive attention from across the board.
Then came the follow up releases of ‘Out To Get Me’ (May 2023) and ‘Bittersweet’ (July 2023)
Gig wise the band have sold out hometown shows at Sheffield’s ‘Sidney & Matilda’ and ‘The Leadmill’, and embarked on their first UK Tour consisting of 11 dates supporting the likes of Little Man Tate and Apollo Junction as well as their own headline gigsselling out venues in cities such as Leeds, Glasgow and Manchester. 2023 has been a whirlwind year for the band also seeing them support Rock legends Def Leppard and Motley Crue at Sheffield’s Bramall Lane at Lytham Festival.
VIVAS look set to end their incredible year with a bang as they release their biggest single to date on the 1st December with massive rock out tune of ‘Vinyl Girl’
‘Vinyl Girl’ from the very first chord is a full throttle, high octane out and out banger. With its pack a punch, hard hitting fuzzing guitars, thrashing drums and unbridled energy it’s a track with its heart firmly set in a post punk haze coupled with pure indie pop sensibilities and melodies. Coming in at 2.37 long just when you think you know where you are with this track, at around 2 mins in the track breaks down into a drum beat march coupled with chanting lyricism, it builds into a crescendo and then just like that it’s over. Boom! This track is absolutely going to go off when performed live.
The band have said of the new single:
“Vinyl Girl is VIVAS’ fourth single release of 2023. We wanted to end an amazing year with a real head banger of a track that hooks you in from the very first second, infecting your brain with it’s in your face guitar hooks and punchy vocal melodies.
With its playful but straight to the point lyrics – we had so much fun crafting this tune as it gave us a massive sense of release and euphoria, which is the exact feeling you receive when you listen to the track on record and experience it live.
This song takes influence from Indie Rock band royalty such as Arctic Monkeys (with a cheeky reference to Humbug in the 2nd verse), The Reytons, The Hives, The Fratellis and many more.”
‘Vinyl Girl’ was recorded by the band at West Homesick Studios in Sheffield and was Produced by Federico Telesca..
Upcoming Gigs/Tours –
Dec 9th 23 – Nice N Sleazy – Glasgow
Saturday 6th April 2024 – VIVAS will be headlining The Leadmill in Sheffield main room (600 cap)
VIVAS will also be undertaking a Spring 2024 tour with dates and venues TBA
MARPLES are the young Sheffield based indie rock band consisting of Joseph Neville on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Thomas Martin on lead guitar, Joseph Kneale on bass guitar and Luke Fieldsend on drums.
The band began performing live around two years ago. Realising they were onto something special, they then spent time perfecting their sound by gigging as much as possible and enjoying some prolific support slots as well as their own sold out headline shows at the likes of Network Sheffield.
In 2022, MARPLES took the decision to release their first official music into the world in the form of their ‘In The Attic’ EP which comprised the tracks ‘One For Their Own’,‘Once More’, ‘ Misled’, and ‘Misfortune’. Both ‘Once More’ and ‘One For Their Own’ were picked up by Sheffield Wednesday FC and were played to the crowds during matches at the world famous Hillsborough Football Stadium.
Since the release of their successful last single ‘I’ve Been Shown’, MARPLES have been building up their fan base outside of their hometown by playing at world famous iconic venues such as The Dublin Castle in London and they also fulfilled a personal life goal by performing at the legendary Leadmill in Sheffield.
The band are now back with their latest release of ‘Friends’.
With this new release, the band are upping their game and taking their music to a whole new level. The 3.53 min track takes you on a journey right from the beginning with those echoing drums enticing you into those splendid guitar melodies that run through the majority of the track. As the guitars build up, in comes the powerful bass before things then take a little bit of a step back when the harmonious vocals come into full and powerful effect. The track effortlessly moves along.. After an epic thunderous guitar solo, the track builds and leads into a surprise ending, proving that MARPLES really are the real deal.
The Goa Express release their long-awaited self-titled debut album.
The Goa Express are excited to finally announce their long-awaited and unmissable self-titled debut album this December. Preceded by the addictive hook laden new single ‘It’s Never Been Better’ released in November, the oldest song on the album, this bold, swaggering singalong is hoisted aloft on a tidal wave of chiming guitars, widescreen drums and bass, that shudder into your solar plexus. This song is a gloriously catchy lament to summer’s spent together. “‘It’s Never Been Better’ existed for many years as a home demo on GarageBand”, say the band. “Reinvigorated in the studio, the song is a match made in heaven for the summer months and reminds us of the moments we used to spend together with those who ended up going different ways.”
The Goa-Express’s self titled debut album is a document that encapsulates growing up, their spirit of friendship and dreams of escape. Together, brothers James Douglas Clarke (Guitar + Vocals) and Joe Clarke (Keys), along with Joey Stein (Lead Guitar), Naham Muzaffar (Bass) and Sam Launder (Drums) create a wall of sound, riven with infectious harmonies, waves of psych laden guitars and playful rhythms, it’s constantly refreshing at every turn. With echoes of the youthful supercharged melodies of early Supergrass, the unstoppable rhythms of early Psychedelic Furs or the loose dreamy melodic qualities of the La’s, yet theirs is a unique combination only captured by these five friends in a room and very much a sound of today.
This exciting five piece’s bond was forged long before they picked up instruments: growing up in Burnley in the rural shadow of the North of England’s industrial centre. Their shared adolescent experiences (late gigs at The Golden Lion in Todmorden, camping underneath the cliffs at Hebden Bridge) shaped their collective friendships, and the sound and spirit of their band
Ocean Colour Scene’s Damon Minchella pairs with Tom Manning on production duties, the band decamping to the Welsh village of Raglan to record the songs that make up their debut album.
Post-lockdown, The Goa Express played over a hundred UK/EU gigs in 2022, including stops at Glastonbury, Latitude and The Great Escape. With their status as burgeoning hometown heroes, The Goa Express can be seen performing to thousands at Burnley’s Turf Moor stadium in Bank of Dave, Netflix UK’s most watched film upon release week. With a cavalcade of refreshing tunes, and “us vs the world” togetherness, The Goa-Express’s debut album proves they are one of the most exciting emerging bands this country has to offer.
Catch The Goa Express liveon 29th of December – London – The Lexington
Indie Revolution 