Pool Kids @ Exchange, Bristol
There’s nothing like a triple bill of rebellion, power chords, and mosh pits to cut through the tedium of the working week. And Wednesday night’s show at the Exchange absolutely delivered in full. Headlined by Florida outfit Pool Kids, the show arrived buzzing with fresh material from their latest project Easier Said Than Done and […]
The Golden Dregs @ Exchange, Bristol
A crowd of roughly 150 people filtered into Exchange Bristol last Wednesday night for a bill that unfolded in two very different ways. Canadian singer-songwriter Dana Gavanski opened the evening with a set that felt like a charming accident you couldn’t look away from. “Ditzy” is a lazy word, but it applies here, and not […]
Anna von Hausswolff @ Thekla
Anna von Hausswolff has always seemed like an artist best suited to the darker months. But arriving in Bristol in January—the city slick with rain, the sky stuck in a permanent grey—her music feels less like a booking and more like a public service. At Thekla, the improbably intimate, boat-shaped venue permanently docked in the […]
Album Review: Delaney Bailey, ‘Concave’
There’s something quietly disarming about Concave, the debut album from Chicago-based singer-songwriter Delaney Bailey. It doesn’t arrive making a big, declarative statement. Instead, it slips in gently, more like an invitation than announcement. The mood sets immediately through the cover art: Bailey in stark black and white, bat wings faintly etched behind her. Glamorous, sure, […]
Rough Edges, Real Times: The Indie Albums That Captured 2025’s Wild Energy
It feels like we’ve been saying this since 2016, but 2025 really did feel like another dumpster fire of a year. Political tensions sharpened, online noise reached new extremes, and the sense of living in a permanent instability became harder to shake. Everywhere you looked, people grew more polarized, more burnt out and scrambling to […]
Recap: LEISURE @ Thekla, Bristol
I went into LEISURE’s sold-out Bristol show at Thekla convinced it would be a fairly chilled affair—R&B-funk sounds that would provide a gentle glide into the weekend. What I got was the exact opposite—pure, unfiltered energy that transformed the entire room. Jackson Homer, a Midlands-based producer and DJ, kicked things off with warm, house-leaning grooves […]
Recap: Water From Your Eyes @ Strange Brew, Bristol
Strange Brew has a reputation for the unpredictable and the eclectic. From African funk to mind-bending electronica, it’s Bristol’s go-to stage for acts that defy convention. That character was on full display when Water From Your Eyes took over the venue on a particularly icy Tuesday night. A man with metal on his teeth screamed […]
Recap: Wet Leg Take Bristol by Storm with Infectious Anthems, Fierce Stage Presence, and Indie Fire
Wet Leg’s ascent shows no signs of slowing. After producing an instant indie classic with their debut single “Chaise Longue” in 2021, the Isle of Wight outfit has been on one hell of a rollercoaster. Hell, in the few weeks before this show, the band appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, received three Grammy nominations—including one […]
Recap: Mac DeMarco @ The Prospect Building, Bristol
There’s something fundamentally off about seeing Mac DeMarco on a soaking-wet evening in November. His slacker-rock catalog is built for hazy afternoons and sun-drenched loafing, after all. He’s one of the few artists who plays better in an easygoing festival slot than in a standalone show. With Storm Claudia rolling in and the rain absolutely […]
Album Review: Nusantara Beat, ‘Nusantara Beat’
Amsterdam’s music scene consistently punches above its weight in retro-inspired global sounds. Nusantara Beat’s self-titled debut album reinforces that reputation. Emerging from Amsterdam’s fertile psych-funk scene, the Indonesian-Dutch ensemble—including members from EUT, Jungle by Night, and Altin Gün—blends surf guitars, hypnotic percussion, and shimmering folk textures into music that feels both reverent and vibrantly alive. […]