doops - Adore - Alpha Pet - Sin Cos Tan

doops - The Space Between (Album).

Reading (England) alternative trio doops release the anticipated debut full-length album, The Space Between, this weekend. Blending elements of Psychedelic Rock, Punk and Indie, the album showcases the quartet's boundless creativity and musical maturity.

Recorded with impromptu drums at Brighton’s Farm Road Studios alongside rising engineer Spencer Withey (Man / Woman, Chainsaw, Youth Sector, Alien Chicks & Ladylike), the rest of the instrumentation, mixing, and mastering across the album was completed at home by the band themselves, highlighting their self-sufficiency as collective but also their DIY approach. The band explain: “In crafting these ten tracks, the band also learned to mix and master — striving to capture the full spectrum of doops’ distinctive soundscape and, in doing so, fully embracing the DIY ethos.”

From the swirling fuzzy, psychedelic punk intensity of ‘Idle Hands’ and ‘Fever tree’ to more ethereal, dark atmospheres found on tracks such as ‘Forget-Me-Not’ and ‘Falling’ the album balances its frenetic splashes of visceral energy with tracks which more a more considered, contemplative and melodic approach, whilst always keeping the intricate instrumental tendencies which makes the band so unique and interesting. 

Speaking about the album, Andy shares. “The Space Between' is our first attempt at a full fledged album, aimed at encapsulating both sides of their sonic abilities - from heavier fast paced tracks such as 'Idle Hands' & 'Witching Hour' to the softer laid-back and introspective arrangements of the likes of 'Milk Slug' and 'Falling'. 

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Photo - James Flynn

Adore - Sweet Keith.

Rising Irish punk duo Adore have unveiled a new video for their latest single 'Sweet Keith' - directed by Matthew Tallon - coinciding with confirmations for 2000 Trees and Truck Festival next summer. Fusing flurries of abrasive noise and crunching guitars with disarming honesty, 'Sweet Keith' is Adore's tribute to chosen family.

On the video release, singer Lara Minchin said: "Wowowow we finally have a music video. We’re so happy that Sweet Keith gets her time in the sun, immortalised in video format, directed by the wonderful Matthew Tallon who I met through a Scooby Doo mystery gang of comedians who are endlessly talented. 

The whole team were absolutely fantastic. No confections were wasted, they were all rescued from bakeries who were going to have them euthanised and collected over the duration of a week. Trust me, that room smelled awful."

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Alpha Pet – Mall of Death.

After a run of “Come to Brazil!” evoking releases, Swedish rock four-piece Alpha Pet returns with what might be their most distinctive and instantly gripping single yet in the form of "Mall of Death".

"Mall of Death” is built on a tight, staccato-driven foundation of bass and drums, with guitars that clearly don’t wish you well. It’s the perfect soundtrack for your next soul-draining pilgrimage to a shopping mall. It's the first taste from their forthcoming debut EP that will be out via Rama Lama Records early 2026. 

The song has long been a fan favorite in Alpha Pet’s live set. The band has been steadily buzzing around Stockholm’s live scene for the past few years — and now the track finally sees the light of day on the most capitalist day in the calendar: Black Friday.

“Welcome to the mall of death, where you can enhance your life experience with everything from pills, weed and poisonous centipedes to plastic toys. All equally fun! All equally deadly!” the band says.

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Sin Cos Tan - Cutting Losses. 

Internationally acclaimed Finnish electropop duo Sin Cos Tan open a new chapter in their career. Their collaboration with the Helsinki-based label All That Plazz begins with the single Cutting Losses — the first glimpse of their forthcoming album Greed. Formed by producer-DJ Jori Hulkkonen and singer-songwriter Juho Paalosmaa, Sin Cos Tan are known for their rare balance of melodic sensitivity, Nordic melancholy, and precise electronic production. Their music lives somewhere between nostalgia and the future — intimate, detailed, and timeless electronic pop that resonates equally well on dance floors and in headphones.

Cutting Losses marks both a fresh start and a continuation. It’s brighter and more rhythmic than the band’s earlier work, yet carries the same finely tuned emotional core that has defined their sound from the beginning. A song about letting go and moving forward, it feels like a quiet sigh opening the door to a new era.

“Cutting Losses is about a relationship where one person gives up love for money. The other is left to make sense of that decision. It serves as an introduction to the album’s overarching theme of greed,” says vocalist and songwriter Juho Paalosmaa.

“It’s direct and deceptively simple — intentionally a bit of a red herring for what’s to come. That’s precisely why it makes the perfect opening track,” adds producer Jori Hulkkonen.

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Billy Idol - Soot Sprite - Winter Gardens - Adore - Jo Schornikow

Photo - David Raccuglia

Billy Idol - Still Dancing.

Rock legend Billy Idol is set for the release of his first full-length album of new music in over a decade. 'Dream Into It' is out on 25th April on Dark Horse Records, featuring appearances by Avril Lavigne, Joan Jett and Alison Mosshart of The Kills. In anticipation of the forthcoming record, today Billy Idol is debuting the new single 'Still Dancing' alongside a video directed by Steven Sebring.
 
“‘Still Dancing’ is really a reflection of my whole journey,” explains Idol. “From the punk rock period through to now. And I’m still looking towards the future, still living the life I set out to live. At the start of the song I’m recalling the early times in London, when I was living in squats or at friends’ apartments, all my belongings in a plastic bag. Everybody at home or work told you what you were doing was never going to happen. But punk rock gave me an opening. I was surrounded by people who loved the music as deeply as I did and you were going to throw caution to the wind, believe in what you were doing and grab on for dear life. “As the song says, there have been many moments along the way where I’ve been self-destructive. But what’s seen me through is that unflinching belief in the music that started all those years ago. That’s been the greatest gift of all.”
 
Additionally, Idol is returning to the road for It’s a Nice Day To…Tour Again! Produced by Live Nation, the run of arenas and amphitheatres kicks off at the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix on 30 April and will see him return to the UK for a very special date at the OVO Wembley Arena on Tuesday 24th June. This show comes two days after Billy’s appearance at the Forever Now Festival at The National Bowl, Milton Keynes. These are Billy’s only UK appearances in 2025. He will be joined by special guests and post-punk legends New Model Army.

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Soot Sprite - All My Friends Are Depressed.

Rising Exeter, England trio Soot Sprite have announced that their debut album, Wield Your Hope Like A Weapon, is set for release on May 16th via Specialist Subject (FRESH, Jeff Rosenstock, Doe, Muncie Girls). Alongside the announcement, the band have shared new single 'All My Friends Are Depressed', is a reflection on the widespread mental health crisis.

Since the release of their debut single in 2018, Soot Sprite has grown from a one-woman lo-fi bedroom pop project to a fully-fledged touring alt-indie shoegaze outfit. Their debut album sees Elise Cook (lead vocals/guitar), Sean Mariner (bass/backing vocals), and Sam Cother (drums/backing vocals) fully embrace the dynamic highs and intimate lows that define their sound.

Of their new single, Cook says: "This is my observation of the mental health crisis we’re in, how widespread it feels and how sociopolitical factors are playing such a huge part. It’s also a reminder to myself that I need to stop distracting myself from my issues and try and change something or face things or nothing will happen and I’ll never shake off the episode,"  

Sonically, Wield Your Hope Like A Weapon takes influence from many alt-indie greats, creating a sound that blends shimmering melodies with raw, visceral energy. “When I started Soot Sprite I was hooked on Clean by Soccer Mommy and Hovvdy’s Cranberry but with this record I was listening to a lot of Sweet Pill’s catalogue, Ovlov & Wednesday,” explains Cook. Written over a span of four years - some tracks taking shape just weeks before recording - the album was captured in September 2024 at The Bookhouse in London, with the help of former lead guitarist Abi Crisp and production by Tom Hill.

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Photo - Fern Rose

Winter Gardens - Anthropocene.

Brighton-based quartet Winter Gardens return with their new single, ‘Anthropocene’ (today), the final stand alone single to be taken from their forthcoming EP Uncomfortable/Unlovable (March 26th). Engineered & mixed by Luke Marsden and mastered by Andy Miles at Star Delta, ‘Anthropocene’ layers synths, pianos, and electronics with the punching live drums and biting shoegaze influenced guitar riffs to create a soundscape which is atmospheric and dark. Led by dual vocals from Ananda Howard and Jasmine Ardleys, the celestial harmonising takes listeners on a journey through an eclectic ray of dynamic, disparate sounds. A kaleidoscopic assembly of ethereal shoegaze atmospheres glued together with a pulsing post-punk attitude and a brooding gothic undercurrent creates a stylistic and instantly recognisable sound topped with lyrics evoking a sense of cryptic intimacy.

Speaking about the track, the band adds: “The Anthropocene reflects our growing sense of entitlement to pleasure and satisfaction, often at the expense of everything else. In an era dominated by over consumption, materialism, and insatiable greed, we rarely stop to consider the true cost of our indulgences.

Whether it’s human exploitation, the suffering of animals, or the degradation of the environment, our immediate gratification consistently takes priority. The relentless pursuit of personal desires has led to a world where we expect comfort and convenience, disregarding the long-term consequences. In this age, the planet and its inhabitants—who ultimately pay the price—are pushed aside in favour of short-term satisfaction.”

Since the band’s inception, Winter Gardens have secured support slots for a number of high-profile names including Echo & The Bunnymen, Gary Numan, Modern English, Piroshka and Pale Blue Eyes. The band have also been regular festival favourites, most recently playing Rockaway Beach in January alongside the likes of OMD, Self Esteem and Peter Hook & The Light. Through the last few months, the band has had a number of European performances (Left Of The Dial, Supersonic) as well as playing live for John Kennedy’s The Remedy and Season and packing out countless shows in their home city.

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Photo - Paula Trojner

Adore - Stay Free Old Stranger.

 Irish trio Adore today release new single 'Stay Free Old Stranger,' ahead of three nights supporting Chalk in Belfast. Adore today also announce their debut headline shows in the UK with stops in Southampton, Hull and London in May. Adore's music is crystallised in its dichotomies; emotional, dynamic, loud, sensitive. Hailing from Dublin, Donegal and Galway respectively, the trio consisting of Lara Minchin (guitar, vocals), Lachlann Ó Fionnáin (bass, vocals) and Naoise Jordan Cavanagh (drums) possess an innate understanding of one another - "We are three feens with guitars and drums. We make music that feels right to us," the band say.

Produced by and recorded with Gilla Band bassist Daniel Fox, new single 'Stay Free Old Stranger' explores an acceptance of detachment, delivered with an urgency that is distinctly Adore's. "I wrote Stay Free Old Stranger when I was 16 years old with my best friend Lauren, and sonically was inspired by a lot of what I was listening to when I was a teenager: The Jam, Misfits, Frank Iero, Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre," says singer Lara Minchin.

With its scorched guitars, energetic drums and an unexpected jazzy interlude a fitting precursor to the song's explosive, chaotic finale, 'Stay Free Old Stranger' embraces the idea of peaceful coexistence with "old strangers" who drift in and out of your life, and ultimately celebrates the "freak" within.

Speaking more on the song's inspiration, Lara says: "It was written at a time of great social anxiety which was seemingly breaking into a carefree disregard for small talk and empty relationships which I had once harboured to make myself feel wanted. I was badly bullied throughout my childhood and into my teens and because of that I was so eager for people to like me -and I would give time to people who didn’t have my best interests at hand. I had always been a freak and I had grown up in an unconventional manner. And although I didn’t change my interests and my way about life, I definitely covered up parts of myself to make myself more palatable. The lyrics are juvenile. They are telling the story of being aware that some people might not care for you and that’s okay because you don’t have to care for them either. You don’t have to be everybody’s friend."

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Photo - Emily Dorio

Jo Schornikow - Upstream.

Jo Schornikow shares the new single “Upstream,” the first track from Quiet Excerpts. The EP is a collection of meditations– instrumental pipe organ pieces, ambient washes, and downright hooky pop songs collected as Quiet Excerpts. Schornikow writes about “Upstream”: “I was sitting with the ache of wanting something out of reach. And thinking on the time I saw a ghost. What exactly is energy, anyway?”

The EP follows her 2022 album ALTAR, which burst at the seams with joyful talismans of love and relationships. The longtime Phosphorescent keyboardist recorded these songs in the Nashville church she plays piano and organ at and in her mate's Melbourne, Australia living room. It's a document of a musician's life, basking in moments of calm between motherhood, studio recording, and Phosphorescent tours.

“For me, Quiet Excerpts is like hearing music in the far-off distance. Walking toward the sound, a huge old wooden door slowly creaks open. I find myself in a sacred space.” Since releasing ALTAR, Schornikow has delved deeper into community in Nashville, recording albums and performing live with Sunny War, Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears, Tré Burt, and William Tyler and the Impossible Truth.

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