writing
LAMBRINI GIRLS RAGE AND SURPRISE ON THEIR DEBUT LP, ‘WHO LET THE DOGS OUT’
Northern Exposure - Jan 2025
“Who Let The Dogs Out is a loud, raucous, angry record chock full of heavy riffs, heavy rhythms, and heavy messages. Over the course of ten stellar tracks and one interlude, Lambrini Girls display a razor sharp understanding of their brief – make loud noises for the things that matter – and still find the space to turn a few surprises.”
INTERVIEW | Ex-Vöid on their new record, songwriting, life as a musician, and more.
Northern Exposure - Dec 2024
“Sat in Nunhead’s The Ivy House on a cold December evening, Morris Shamah is joined by 2 parts of Southeast London’s own Ex-Vöid to chat about the band’s forthcoming second LP ‘In Love Again’ (released January 17th 2025).”
A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS – JULIEN BAKER LIVE AT EARTH
Northern Exposure - Nov 2024
“It’s all contrast; switching between light and dark, loud and delicate, hope and despair, although those last two appear to be linked at the hip here. When delicate, Julien and her band as dynamic and soft, and you can hear a pin drop. When loud, the sound is mammoth – a wave, crashing in peaks of noise.”
HEADBOY ARE PLAYFUL AND INTIMATE IN EAST LONDON HEADLINE
Northern Exposure - Nov 2024
“By the time headboy take the stage in the back room of The Shacklewell Arms, everyone is sweating. The heating is on, the place is full, and the combination has everyone shedding layers. This is London in November, but for the 65 of us in the backroom of the legendary pub in Dalston, it’s a rare chance to see one of our favourite bands play a headline show.”
HEADBOY’S NEW SINGLE ‘LOYL’ IS THEIR BEST YET
Northern Exposure - Oct 2024
“headboy (all lowercase!), London’s best least-known post-punk trio have released their newest single, loyl, (which stands for ‘love of your life’) today, and it’s their best work yet. Bringing the total count of publicly available headboy tracks to… eight, loyl follows the trio’s debut ep, 2023’s Was It What You Thought, (Blitzcat Records) and a handful of singles in 2022..”
JAPANDROIDS GIVE FANS A FAREWELL GIFT WITH FINAL ALBUM ‘FATE & ALCOHOL
Northern Exposure - Oct 2024
“Japandroids recently released their first album in several years, FATE & ALCOHOL, on ANTI- Records. It’s a bittersweet release for the Japandroids fandom, as it came accompanied not by the usual tour announcement and press appearances, but rather with a message that this will be Japandroids final project – their last full-length record – and there will not be a tour.”
EX-VÖID RETURN WITH NEW ALBUM, LEAD SINGLE STREAMING NOW
Northern Exposure - Sept 2024
“It’s no secret that Ex-Vöid’s co-lead singers are the band’s killer weapon, and where previous releases hinted at the beauty of their signature high and low melody meld, here it truly shines through. There’s nothing in Ex-Vöid’s recording history that matches the third chorus of “Swansea”, where the two leads are backed up by just the rhythm of acoustic guitar.”
KATY J PEARSON FINDS HERSELF ON NEW ALBUM SOMEDAY, NOW
Northern Exposure - September 2024
“Origin stories aside, Someday, Now is a endlessly pleasant listen, the perfect record to have repeat as the days shorten and the leaves turn. The songs may all blend together into a single shimmering soundscape at times, but it’s impossible to not bop along to the album’s cheerfulness, and as the light peers through, it’s bound to leave you with a smile..”
CRAIG FINN ASTOUNDS WITH HIS STORIES AND SONGS
Northern Exposure - September2024
“Like all of Craig’s songs, these songs explore the unspoken, the underbelly of life these days – the unanswered call, the missing acquaintance, the stories no one feels comfortable to tell. Craig continues to find the harmony in the sadness, the beauty in the experience of a life that’s maybe not so well lived..”
BLEACHERS UPDATE THEIR DEBUT ALBUM WITH A SURPRISNGLY MINDFUL TENTH ANNIVERSARY RE-RECORDING
Northern Exposure - September 2024
“What was previously a dense album of low tones and you-can’t-cry-if-you’re-dancing keyboard anthems has been reimagined entirely with soft, airy acoustic-led guitar tracks. It’s thoughtful, spacious, and dare I say – gentle.”
G-FLIP RETURNS TO LONDON FOR FINAL DRUMMER SHOWS
Northern Exposure - September 2024
“…the DRUMMER show is now one that countless road testing has transformed into a confident, clean, polished Show-with-a-capital-S. From fan interactions to lighting, every part of the show has been tightened for maximum impact. It’s a true force to be reckoned with.”
THE RIFLES ARE BACK, BUT WHY? NEW ALBUM ‘LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR’ FAILS TO INSPIRE
Northern Exposure - July 2024
“Ultimately, it’s all fine, because The Rifles aren’t actually saying anything here – odes to childhood and a yearning for a time you used to understand are nothing new. Neither is the music, but at least that’s palatable. It all begs the question – why bother?”
TY SEGALL, ROCK GOD, GRACES LONDON’S ROUNDHOUSE WITH AN EPIC SET
Northern Exposure - July 2024
“The setlist is 17 songs plus a 2 song encore, heavy on Ty’s latest album, Three Bells. But what is a song anyway? Here, they’re simply launch pads for Ty’s shredfest showcase. His guitar screams through the crowd, one minute piercing with the high notes of a solo peak, the next a veritable wave as chords come crashing down back into the composition. Between the songs, there is no silence – there is always a transitory guitar lick or organ jam to keep us afloat. Or drowning, as it were.”
LAMBRINI GIRLS RAISE COMPLETE CHAOS WITH INTIMATE LONDON HEADLINE
Northern Exposure - June 2024
“You do need to worry about your head and your clothes, because who know what will happen at a Lambrini Girls show, but you don’t need to think about why or what their saying – it’s clear. It couldn’t be clearer. And if you disagree, you should just get the fuck out.”
JANE’S ADDICTION RETURN TO ROCK LONDON INTO THE GROUND
Northern Exposure - May 2024
“Jane’s Addiction burned through London’s Bush Hall on Thursday for a night of firsts. The intimate warm up show ahead of their UK tour marked the band’s first performance in the UK in 8 years, the band’s first performance with the classic line up in 14 years, the first ever performance of new song “Imminent Redemption,” and the first performance of ballad “True Love” with guitarist Dave Navarro, who’s been absent from the road with long covid for the past few years. But enough of the stats..”
SO YOU’RE GOING TO SEE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN? – THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE 2024 WORLD TOUR
Northern Exposure - May 2024
“Side-effects of seeing Bruce Springsteen include, but are not limited to: post-show highs, post-show blues, attempting to learn the guitar, attempting to learn the piano, writing songs, writing poetry, writing articles about seeing Bruce Springsteen, and, most commonly, buying tickets to the next Springsteen show.”
PORIJ PARTY IN CAMDEN TO CELEBRATE THE RELEASE OF ‘TEETHING’
Northern Exposure - April 2024
“Porij are primed to catapult, and as Teething comes out and the Oat Army grows, it’ll be a thrill to follow this Manchester outfit graduate to larger and larger stages. One thing’s for sure – they’re going to bring the party with them.”
Glen Hansard Carries Us Through The Darkness At Union Chapel
Northern Exposure - April 2024
“The darkness in the lyrics really comes through, and Glen’s unwavering courage in performing them shines more brightly – or darkly, I suppose – without the band behind him. They’re not better in this context, but they are equally different. What might be lost in dynamic instrumentation is gained in starkness and concentrated strength. If the full band material is a cocktail of sound, this is whiskey, cask strength, served neat and in a dusty glass.”
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM RETURN TO LONDON WITH A FAN FAVOURITES AND A MORE MUSCULAR SOUND
Northern Exposure - April 2024
“…highlighting the dynamics and variety of modern-day Gaslight Anthem. They’re no longer just a punk band – they haven’t been since, arguably, 2012 – but they’re coming into their own as a fully-fledged rock band, finding power in the mid-tempos and letting their music breathe.”
THE STAVES RETURN WITH AN HONEST EVOLUTION OF FOLK MUSIC
Northern Exposure - March 2024
“It’s clear that The Staves, having released this exact record, believe these things are better out than in. Some of us aren’t as brave, though, and will find comfort in the commiseration – and isn’t that what folk music’s all about?”
Waxahatchee Settles In With New Album Tigers Blood
Northern Exposure - March 2024
“Saint Cloud marked a wonderful turn out of Katie‘s lo-fi alt-punk roots and into full tilt band-forward Americana. Here on Tigers Blood, this years follow up, Waxahatchee settles into this new homestead on an album that’s cut from the exact same cloth.”
LUCINDA WILLIAMS GRACES US WITH STORIES AND SONG AT INDIGO AT THE O2
Northern Exposure - March 2024
“Latter day Lucinda highlights like Dust and The Ghosts Of Highway 20 filled the room with Lucinda’s trademark bittersweet blues, while classics such as Joy and Car Wheels On A Gravel Road brought the barn-burning Americana she built her name on.”
Real Farmer Hit The Right Notes with Debut Album Compare What’s There
Northern Exposure - March 2024
“There aren’t any significant low points on Compare What’s There, but aside from a few moments hinting towards something greater, the majority of this record doesn’t exactly pave any new ground. Overall, Compare What’s There is a promising debut, and keeps the pilot light burning for keeping post-punk within its own boundaries.”
San Vito Ryder Struts Onto The Scene With New Single ‘Crystal Cruella’
Northern Exposure - March 2024
“You’d be forgiven for thinking Crystal Cruella was a Nick Cave song. Or a Josh Homme track. San Vito Ryder‘s new single drips with swagger and oozes primordial darkness, promising smoke-filled mind alteration in four-minutes-thirty-four. ”
BLEACHERS: JACK ANTONOFF AND CO WEAVE A TECHNICOLOUR DREAM ON NEW ALBUM
Northern Exposure - February 2024
“And so like most great records about life, there aren’t any answers here, only questions, left hanging in the silence. Bleachers is a dream, rich and in full screaming colour, one that is surreal and sometimes scary, but comforting, and all the more wonderfully mystifying for it.”
Dave Hause and Will Hoge Bring The Haunted Churches Tour To London’s Union Chapel
IMPRINT Entertainment - February 2024
“There’s a palpable sense of anxiety in the lyrics of both Dave Hause and Will Hoge, but on this Haunted Churches tour, they aren’t looking for peace so much as a peaceful place to be honestly in pain, communal or otherwise.”
Chaos & Christmas – Skinny Lister at Lafayette London
IMPRINT Entertainment - January 2024
“For the glorious curfew-breaking finale, Skinny Lister brought Party George, Man the Lifeboats, and Noble Jacks back on stage for a full house performance of Fairytale In New York and Six Whiskies, complete with giant balloons released into the hall. As the crowd swayed and sang into each other and the at-capacity-stage bounced giant balloons into the air, the spirit of the holidays had fully arrived, soaked in sweat and thrown beer. If only every Christmas party was this joyfully chaotic.”
G-Flip Truly Rocks London At KOKO Camden
IMPRINT Entertainment - January 2024
“G-Flip and their band tore through their 90 minute set with polished abandon. While incredibly powerful on its own, an hour and a half and 16 songs is swore fully too short for a performance of this magnitude. One gets the sense that both the band and the crowd would revel in the transformation of a G-Flip show twice the length.”
Ezhel: London Fame for the Turkish Icon at Indigo at The O2
IMPRINT Entertainment - January 2024
“All throughout the night there was a balance in play between the white lights on stage illuminating Ezhel, and white lights from phones illuminating his crowd. A symbiotic relationship of joy in the presence of one another, of celebrity both macro and micro.“
Cara Dillon Brings Christmas Grace to Union Chapel
IMPRINT Entertainment - January 2024
“…perfectly placed mid-set, they gave the audience a chance to connect and reflect amid the familiar festive tunes. It was a gorgeous, masterful move by Cara – the Christmas songs almost acting as a trojan horse for the intimacy she brought with her storytelling. ”
Cirque Du Soleil Thrills As Expected With Their Return To London Royal Albert Hall
IMPRINT Entertainment - January 2024
“One might say the minimalist set means you’re not distracted from the incredibly impressive performers, who do deserve all of your attention – but when you’re hoping to be dazzled, you ought to be dazzled in every element of the show, and the set is a big part of that.”
Daði Freyr at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire: A Night Of Tunes and Comedy
IMPRINT Entertainment - December 2023
“Daði is promoting his debut album, “I Made An Album” on this tour, which is titled “I’m Doing a Tour.” The stage for this show? A massive blow up balloon version of Daði’s head and hands and some angled LED bars. Behind all this humour lies a truly talented multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter, who’s dry and pointed humour serves as a palate cleanser between his unique, inventive take on modern pop music.”
Dirty Loops in London At Electric Brixton
IMPRINT Entertainment - December 2023
“Even originals intended to branch out the sound, such as “Old Armando Had A Farm,” which is clearly inspired by americana and bluegrass, were performed in the same fast, funky style that dominated the evening. ”
Dance and Theatre – Little Dragon at Royal Albert Hall
IMPRINT Entertainment - December 2023
“What started as a theatrical affair, one to see and take in, ended as a full-on dance party, something to experience through movement and self-release.”
Crowd Shines In London At Lancey Foux’s Roundhouse Show
IMPRINT Entertainment - November 2023
“Roundhouse is a charity that exists to advance the creative lives of London’s young people. On Wednesday night, the young people showed up to prove exactly what that should look like in late-2023.”
Reuben James And His Band Jazz Up London’s Lafayette
IMPRINT Entertainment - November 2023
“Every song had a jam, and every jam had a thrilling, peaking conclusion, none more so than the show’s finale when Reuben came out with a keytar, sparking with his fingertips as he prowled around the stage and dueled with his bandmates, a man possessed.”
Dutty Moonshine Big Band Light Up London’s Electric Brixton
IMPRINT Entertainment - November 2023
“A modern electronic-ska-dance reinvention of the classic big band formula, Dutty Moonshine evokes the gloriousness of old-school brass performance with the uniqueness of a Punchdrunk production.”
Killer Mike Preaches To The London Faithful From The Pulpit at All Saints Church
IMPRINT Entertainment - November 2023
“Late on a stormy, rainy Wednesday night in Kingston-On-Thames, a local record shop and a titan of modern rap teamed up to deliver a sermon to their mutually faithful.”
Oi Oi! A Homecoming Fit For A King – Hak Baker Reigns at Koko In Camden
IMPRINT Entertainment - October 2023
“Throughout the show, Hak consistently whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Call and responses of “Oi oi!” bellowed through the hall every ten minutes.”
Scarlet Pleasure Rock Lafyette London With Infectious Joy
IMPRINT Entertainment - September 2023
“Lafayette was only half-full, but it was certainly the right half – every one of the 330 attendees was dancing, laughing, singing along and capturing the moment on their phones.”
Phish: December 31, 2022
Surrender To The Flow no. 77 - Spring 2023
“Dancers dressed as characters from previous NYE gags came out, dancing around the stage, as did a Wombat. (Wait, wasn’t the Wombat a Halloween thing? What’s he doing here?) The Wombat went over to the time machine and slammed it down, breaking it.
And then, chaos.”
Phish: August 6, 2022
Surrender To The Flow no. 76 - New Year’s Eve 2022
“Set break on the beach is always a good time, particularly on a Saturday Night Special, when the crowd is at its crowd-iest. If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend heading to the surf during set break – just stay away from the dudes with the crab claws, some weird vibes from these guys.
Hooked: You Enjoy Myself
Surrender To The Flow no. 70 - October 2021
“I walked into my first Phish show totally blind. It was night two of the Baker’s Dozen. My friend took me, he told me I’d like it, but I hadn’t heard any Phish before. It went well, to say the least, and I immediately made plans to see three more shows that run.”
Phish: August 28, 2021
Surrender To The Flow no. 70 - October 2021
“At the end of 46 Days I turned to my friends and raised three fingers. “Third song. Third song.” That opening salvo was so absurdly out of this world that I felt we needed to be reminded where we were in the evening’s proceedings.”
So What’s It Like Being A Foreign-Based Phish Fan?
Surrender To The Flow no. 69 - August 2021
“Being a foreign fan is intense, too! There's no such thing as a hometown show - every single show and every single off day means finding a place to sleep and finding a place to eat. There is never an easy show, never a casual show.”
Phish: November 29, 2029
Surrender To The Flow no. 67 - New Year’s Eve 2019
“Fall Tour 2019 is a bit like a second breakfast. No one expected Phish to tour this fall, but we got blessed with a quick, eight-date tour as a little Thanksgiving treat. Since Fall Tour is traditionally time for the boys to really bring it, expectations were sky high as we descended on Providence on Black Friday. ”
Phish: July 7, 2019
Surrender To The Flow no. 65 - Memorial Day Weekend 2019
“The first set may have been inconsistent but set two was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Soul Planet opened, and it’s reliably solid jam seamlessly blended into the first Ghosts of the Forest song of the night, Wider.”
‘Not content with staying outside’
The New York Times - November 2018
“Time passed, songs were played, and I could not find an opening to get through that front door. It was a party on the streets of Asbury Park that night, but I was not satisfied until I would get inside that fortress of cold, white brick.”