Festival Review: Twelve Of The Best New Bands We Saw At The Great Escape 2018

The Great Escape @ various venues across Brighton (17-19 May 2018) // Words: Saam Das

We've lost count of the times we've attended The Great Escape - now well established as the best new music festival in the UK - and the countless excellent acts we've seen since we attended the debut Brighton festival back in 2006. So we figured this year, we might chart some of the best new bands we caught at The Great Escape 2018 for reference purposes.

Listen: Alec Benjamin - Death Of A Hero [New Single]

Words: Saam Das

Whenever new Alec Benjamin music rears its head, I feel him edging closer to well deserved mainstream success. The Arizona singer-songwriter operates out of LA nowadays, and his on-the-cusp crossover tracks which brought him to the attention of Columbia Records have now landed him at the educated feet of Atlantic Records. Benjamin's latest track 'Death Of A Hero' is an appropriate continuation of his hitherto excellent work.

Festival Review: Handmade Festival 2018

Handmade Festival (Leicester, 5-6 May '18) // Words: Saam Das

Leicester's Summer Sundae Festival was a notable selection in the UK festival calendar prior to its formal cancellation in 2013, but thankfully in its wake emerged a new music festival in the area - Handmade. An independent festival with a keen eye for new music, Handmade's also had bands of the stature of We Are Scientists and Frightened Rabbit as headliners, and 2018 offered a similar mix of established and new names.

Watch: Suede - Life Is Golden [Official Video]

Words: Rajan Lakhani

While 'Life Is Golden' is the first official single from Suede’s upcoming 'The Blue Hour' album, it’s actually the third song released from the record following the orchestral, Morricone-influenced 'The Invisibles' and the rockier 'Don’t Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You'.

Exhibition Review: Get Ready To SPICEUP Your Life At This London Exhibition

SPICEUP London (Business Design Centre, 28 July-20 Aug 2018) // Words & Photos: Saam Das

In May 1996, a new British pop group burst onto the UK music scene with the video for their debut single, 'Wannabe'. Johan Camitz's iconic video was filmed at London's Grand Midland Hotel in St Pancras, and twenty two years on and millions of record sales later, a new exhibition down the road in Islington entitled SPICEUP is celebrating the Spice Girls' incredible history.

Listen: Art Brut - 'Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!' [New Track]

Words: Saam Das

Five barren years on from their 'best of' compilation, 'Top Of The Pops', it seemed fairly safe to assume that Art Brut were done and dusted. Far from it. We will soon hear the band's follow-up to their last studio album, 2011's 'Brilliant! Tragic!, out on the fantastic Alcopop Records no less. Hear the first taste of their new material, in the form of the spirited and predictably ludicrous 'Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out! below.

TV Review: Will ITV's World Of Sport Wrestling Rekindle Your Love Of British Professional Wrestling?

'WOS Wrestling' Episode 1 (UK airdate: 28 July 2018) // Words: Saam Das

"This is the dawn of a new era" proclaims WOS Executive Stu Bennett, most popularly known for his time in WWE (formerly WWF) as the charismatic Wade Barrett, in the opening sequence of the returning 'WOS Wrestling' on ITV. Following its pilot episode which aired on New Year's Eve in 2016, and the rich history of 'World Of Sport' which showcased British professional wrestling for over thirty years on ITV until 1988, the programme has begun its latest evolution. We take an indepth look at the first episode of the revival, so spoilers ahead.