2:54 are a sister act. They make the kind of music that makes you feel things. Not bad things, just things that creep up on you and stay there for a few minutes after the speakers go quiet. Its a musical partnership so important they got matching tattoos on their right arms to seal it, so intuitive they can't even describe it. They treat music like a drug, always after that next aural high. Lucky for them, there's been no shortage of people supporting this habit and their place in the indie hype-o-sphere has been pretty well ...

After an incredibly busy 2011 in which London’s* Novella* released their first single on Dirty Bingo Records, toured with the Dum Dum Girls and were part of a split record with Gross Magic, Echo Lake and The History of Apple Pie, 2012 is already proving to be another big year. On May...

[ Day One ] I’m sat here in the comfort of my own bed, having slept for a good 10 hours, in the full knowledge that in four days’ time I will be feeling the exact opposite. As well as music venues, Brighton has a fine array of fish & chip shops and establishments which sell cheap, Polish bear. I could probably write an esteemed guide on those very things, better than I could for the acts playing The Great Escape on Friday 11th but alas, there’s no going back now. —————————————————- M O N E Y Friday 11th, Horatios, 20.30 This year I’ll be consciously avoiding a long walk up Brighton’s Palace Pier; avoiding the humiliation of arriving at a dingy bar where decent bands play through a shockingly sub-par sound system. It happened last year with Big Talk & Cults. It musn’t happen again. There’s one trip to Horatios which I can’t avoid though and that’s to see Manchester’s M O N E Y . It’s difficult to make your mind up about a band who raise their WU LYF flag so high and proud, but this lot are beginning to bring something new to the fore. A fairly spectacular visual show is also promised, we hear.  —————————————————- PINS Friday 11th, Amazing Radio Stage, Queens Hotel, 22.30 Ferocious fully-charged garage punk, sporting confidence on record - it’ll be interesting to see how PINS , another Manchester act, fill out a half hour set and whether they’ve got enough exciting songs beyond the brilliant debut cassette, which featured ‘ Eleventh Hour ’ and ‘Shoot You’. PINS top off a stunning bill on the Amazing Radio ’s Alt Escape stage, where throughout Friday the likes of Eagulls, Mammal Club and Gross Magic compete for your time on the seaside. —————————————————- PEACE Friday 11th, The Loft, 23.00 This last tip is essentially a means of me fulfilling a promise; a promise I made to Peace’s lead singer Harry after interviewing him for DIY Magazine . He ensured me that to see his band live would ...

WHAT: Up to 15,000 people, 300 bands, 30 venues WHY: It's become a one-stop shop for big names with something to prove to themselves, up and coming acts getting set for big summers and the little men fighting their corner WHEN: 10th-12th May WHERE: Across Brighton WHO: THURSDAY: Maximo Park, Friends, Niki & The Dove, Jonquil, Toy, Mystery Jets, Eugene McGuinness, Zulu Winter, Django Django, Willy Mason, Cloud Nothings, Fever Fever, Deaf Club, Jamie N Commons, Bastille, Ben Kweller, Francois & The Atlas Mountains, White Arrows, Weird Dreams, Gross Magic, Cut Ribbons, Shabazz Palaces, Sunless 97, Gemma Hayes, Tribes, Gaz ...

Hailing from Oxford, Mississippi, *ILLLS *are set to release their debut EP ‘Dark Paradise’ June 17th on London’s *The Sounds of Sweet Nothing *label (Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Gross Magic, Tashaki Miyaki, Au Palais). Oxford, MS might not be known as the epicentre of garage rock but taking their...

What are you doing this bank holiday Sunday? What does one do on a bank holiday, besides the obvious and celebrate a day off for the banks? Well, cancel your day of celebration this Sunday, and make your way down/up/across to Bristol for Simple Things festival. The line-up is pretty diverse, with genres spanning electronic to psych-folk to post-rock to glitch to scandi-pop (our very favourite kind of pop), there will be something for everyone, and who knows, with the promise of ‘secret’ venues, you might come across and fall in love with something you’d never have ...

The singing, plot twists, arrangements and wistfulness of this wonderfully inventive five-song revelation prove that Sam McGarrigle, the one-man band behind the project, could go in any direction he wants. And in fact, some of these songs do evoke the Pixies, Flaming Lips, Suede, Ween, even John Lennon. But there is no DOUBT that Barry Blue's "Hot Shot" and the hits of the Velvet Tinmine soundtrack loom even larger in McGarrigle's consciousness, and the title track alone could out-glitter anything thrown at a Republican during this rough primary season.

Sounding like a cross between Gross Magic and Fanzine, Catalan trio Cut Your Hair know exactly what we look for in a dream-pop outfit.

Questo fine settimana a Roma è di scena il RomaPopFest , magnifico festival dedicato al meglio dell'indiepop italiano e internazionale, giunto ormai alla terza edizione. Anche quest'anno sono in cartellone un sacco di belle band : Electricity In Our Homes, Maria Antonietta, Gross Magic, Karibean, Brothers In Law, L'orso, Nicolò Carnesi, Horrible Present, Edipo, The Sasquatch e Wildmen. Purtroppo non potrò partecipare, ma "polaroid alla radio" supporta comunque il bell'evento dedicandogli la puntata in onda questa sera su Città del Capo Radio Metropolitana . Ad accompagnarmi ai microfoni ci sarà Ramona, già penna di Frigopop , il blog promotore del ...

The 1-2-3-4 Festival is set to return this summer, with performances from Iceage, S.C.U.M. and more. Located in Shoreditch Park, The 1-2-3-4 Festival is a one day event focussing completely on new music. Returning in 2012, the event will take place on September 1st with organisers recently confirming the first names on the bill. Incendiary Danish punks Iceage are set to appear, with the band due to be joined by the likes of Gross Magic, Visions Of Trees, Minny Pops and more. English newcomers Eagulls have been attracting plenty of attention, and their set at The 1-2-3-4 ...

Amazing Radio have dropped details of their upcoming stage at this year's The Great Escape, and to be quite frank it's looking bloody amazing. Ever the maestros of new music, Amazing Radio don't disappoint in their line-up. From funky disco synth-bender NZCA/LINES and lo-fi teen-pop pioneer Gross Magic, to the thrashy, blister-inducing punk rock of Eagulls, there's something for everyone at The Queens Hotel on Friday 11th May. Recent blogosphere all-female superstars PINS will be headlining the event, and they'll find support beforehand from fellow semi-female blogosphere superstars Fear of Men. M A U ...

London label Something In Construction announced their plans for an exclusive mix with retail outlet Urban Outfitters, packed with well-known buzz artists like Loney Dear , Air France , and Memory Tapes . The 20-track mix, titled Valley of the Dolls , will also be available on iTunes 5 July. Check out the track list below. 1. PHILCO FICTION - Finally 2. NZCA/LINES - Atoms & Axes 3. VISIONS OF TREES - Turn 2 U 4. ICONA POP - Manners 5. TEETH - Flowers (Gross Magic remix) 6. TV GIRL - Girls Like Me 7. LONEY DEAR - My Heart (Holy Strays remix) 8. NITE MOVES - Danse 9. ACID CASUALS - Bowl ...

Avevo messo i Tashaki Miyaki in un nastrone qualche tempo fa e poi mi ero dimenticato di approfondire, succede sempre così no? Oggi ho visto per caso questo nuovo video per Best Friend e dato che mi piace un sacco mi sembra il caso di tornarci su. Laconico duo di Los Angeles (Tashaki alla voce e Miyaki alla chitarra), si muovono incorniciati in un sognante bianco e nero e si dilettano tanto di languide versioni dei Jesus & Mary Chain quanto degli Everly Brothers. Hanno già pubblicato un ep per The Sound of Sweet Nothing (già casa di Unknown Mortal Orchestra ...

Patrick Wolf and Maya Jane Coles are amongst the latest names on the line up of Beacons Festival. Held on Funkirk Estate, Skipton Beacons Festival fuses the stunning scenery of the Yorkshire dales with a cutting edge line up. This year's bill looks to be no exception, with the event already boasting performances from Roots Manuva, Junior Boys and more. The latest line up announcement was made this morning (March 5th) and finds the likes of Patrick Wolf, Maya Jane Coles, Outfit and more joining Beacons. Patrick Wolf is a famously flamboyant performer, with his music containing an equally ...

T he Great Escape Festival have unveiled 91 new acts for this Summer's event. The full list can be seen below, with some of our top picks in bold. Maximo Park / Mystery Jets / Booka Shade / Alabama Shakes / Natty / Lianne La Havas / Ema / Swords">Forest Swords / Madeon / Errors / Willy Mason / Rolo Tomassi / Foy Vance / Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of Destiny / Micachu & The Shapes / Maxxi Soundsystem / We Have Band / Loney, Dear / Tanlines / New Look / Koreless / Shabazz Palaces / Toy / Lower Than Atlantis / Kwes / Gross Magic / Disclosure / Duologue / Jonquil / Exitmusic / Spoek Mathambo / Haim / Pale Seas / Foxes / Swim Deep / The Computers / The Skints ...