Thistle Sifter: tour dates

English musician Pete Barnes takes his post-rock project Thistle Sifter on the road again, promoting the Forever The Optimist album: "He has a knack for creating soundscapes that are wrapped in neo-classical textures, some of them quite abstract (Weightless), but also going into Depeche Mode meets Mogwai (One Fleeting Glance). The softly tinkling Endling is covered in hiss, from which the choice synth notes can escape to a supposedly better place. Barnes has plenty of reason to be seriously worried, but all is not lost as he wraps up his statement with the soft-spoken title track. It would help if people stopped being so greedy and stupid though. Only then the Anthropocene can become an era that does not end in destruction".

Martyrs: Last Summer EP

Welsh synth duo Martyrs wrote a bunch of love songs for their Last Summer EP, wrapping them in lush melodies (Hyacinth) as well in-your-face made for the dance floor percussion (Sunburn Under Blue Linen). Love, loss and lust all get their place in the spotlights.

Michael Hall and Jon Howells don't give a fuck about what is fashionable right now and recording their music in splendid isolation, away from the suits and A&R types gives them the freedom to release anything they feel that deserves to be heard. This DIY ecleticism resulted in a string of EPS that all sound different, safe for the vocals who were left as is. People who think that utterly danceable music and meaningful lyrics can't share the bed willl stand corrected.

Kristóf Hajós: new album "Dark Matter, Light Heart" in November; stream "Fifty Times Over (we own the world)"

photo: Marcel Heijnen

Dutch-Hungarian indie crooner Kristóf Hajós will release his new album Dark Matter, Light Heart on November 4, 2026 via Tiny Room Records. He teamed up with like-minded American singer-songwriter Jesse Blake Rundle for the self-deprecating lead single Fifty Times Over (we own the world), proving that plenty of swagger and a sense of humour go a long way if you want to a lo-fi anthem that will live rent free in one's head for days on end.

Rampressure: Yish

London-based noise quartet Rampressure created a sonic assault, kept together by a monolithic backbeat. Yish sounds ugly and nasty on purpose - the band made the wise choice to record it live in order to loose nothing of the intensity they were striving for. They go for the throat and once they have secured a firm grip, they don't let go. Resistance is futile.

Mould: Hoping as a Coping Mechanism

photo: Elliot Hetherton

Bristol post-punk trio Mould did it old school, achieving notoriety by playing their asses off, releasing a couple of ace singles and EPs, culminating in their debut full-length Hoping as a Coping Mechanism, with the hitherto unheard tracks having the same high standard. The oddball short instrumental /// is the litmus test for uninitiated listeners - this is a band that has hit the ground running, with noise and gentle passages sticked together in a way that should not have worked, but on closer inspection it makes total sense.

With abrasive chopped guitar notes pushing the songs forward, the members of Mould work themselves into a sweat. Imagine Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr finally succumbing to folk-tinged melodies that their audiences can sing along with at top volume, lost in a daze of rapturous enjoyment.