EVERYONE SAYS HI ANNOUNCE SOPHOMORE ALBUM ‘FUNNY COS IT'S TRUE'

VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE "REAL FRIENDS" OUT NOW - WATCH HERE

OCTOBER UK LIVE RUN STARTS THIS WEEKEND

"A gorgeous symphonic pop masterclass." - 4* Classic Pop 

"Plain Lovely - 4* Record Collector 

Everyone Says Hi has your weekend covered. With the release of their stunning sophomore album ‘Funny Cos It's True' today, the band will continue the celebrations with appearances on BBC Breakfast and a performance on Sunday Brunch, before kicking off their run of five in-store shows on Sunday with an intimate date at The Jacaranda. Alongside the release the band have also shared the video for new single "Real Friends". Watch the video HERE.

Recorded at lead singer and songwriter Nick Hodgson's home studio and produced by Nick himself, ‘Funny Cos It's True' is eleven tracks of intoxicating indie-pop. Following their acclaimed self-titled debut album in 2025, the record sees the band firmly stepping into their own. Layered with a hazy retro edge while sounding distinctly new, the album sees the band rediscover and reinvent a classic sound with a heavy dose of infectiously anthemic choruses and a knack for lustrous songcraft. Lyrically the album searches deep and resonates on an emotional level, with songs written following the death of his father from Alzheimer's to songs written as a father for his young daughter and even a track targeting the MAGA movement.

A more collaborative experience than the debut record work on ‘Funny Cos It's True' began off the back of the band's support tours for the debut album. Kicking off in an inspired fashion, the band laid down an instant demo of "Real Friends" in Nick's North London home studio in November 2024. Six months of writing later, they reconvened to record the album, with the band in full collaboration mode. Over sporadic sessions from May to September 2025, they put together a grand expansion on the sounds and themes of their debut.

Another groove tinged indie rocker, armed with a breezy, infectious chorus, "Real Friends" is a song for the real ones. "For me, there's always one song that starts an album. When once there was no plan for an album, suddenly a song comes along and punches me in the face and says ‘wake up dufus, make an album," Nick Hodgson says of the single.

"I had the initial lyric, ‘Real Friends,' but it was the only two words I had. I knew it couldn't be corny about how friends are great and are always there for you cos that's not my style. I asked Justin Parker (Video Games, Stay - Rihanna) to help me because we're real friends and don't like corny lyrics. I loosely based it around the Boyzone documentary, which was basically covering the same themes as when I left Kaiser Chiefs. It was a bit murky and friendships were tested, but at the end of the day we had a bond that was hard to break. And that's what went into the song…without being corny."

After debut support shows with the likes of Neil Young, The Cribs, Feeder and more, as well as two standout headline shows in London and Leeds to top off 2025, Everyone Says Hi is slowly building a dedicated live following from their captivating live shows. This weekend the band will begin a run of UK release shows, before playing the Old Blue Last in London on November 23rd as part of the Chrysalis Records x DIY showcase. Keep an eye for more shows in the near future. 

Everyone Says Hi play the following UK dates:

October

• Sun 11th October - The Jacaranda, Liverpool
• Mon 12th October - Applestump, Nantwich
• Tue 13th October - Crash, Leeds
• Thu 15th October - Just Dropped In, Coventry
• Sat 17th October - Dash The Henge (Brixton), London
• Mon 23rd November - Old Blue Last, London
  
  

Alongside Nick Hodgson, who began his musical journey as drummer and lead songwriter for Kaiser Chiefs, Everyone Says Hi is made up of Pete Denton of The Kooks, Ben Gordon from The Dead 60s and Glenn Moule of Howling Bells, alongside guitarist Oli Swan. 

With two celebrated albums and a stream of live support shows under their belts already, Everyone Says Hi continue to cement their place as one of the most exciting bands coming out of the UK. With big live plans on the horizon and a sack full of hooked filled bangers, the five-piece are ready to set themselves as an alt-rock favourite for the masses.
 

For more information:

https://www.everyone-says-hi.com/ 
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Read More on the Sonic PR Website

We very much hope that you can join us on Sunday 20^th December for a special, festive ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser for The Tin.

We have a very exciting and eclectic lineup for you: What About Eric?, LaserBun, We Are A Communist and The Thorns.

Tickets will be £8 on the door but why not save a little and get yours in advance for only £6.50? Here is the link to do so:

https://events.humantix.com/hot-music-live-what-about-eric-laserbun-we-are-communist-the-thorns

In talking about the Railcard gig with Foglights at Just Dropped In on Saturday, I referenced the notion of "perfect pop": ideally honed music and lyrics which are delivered in an authentic and unaffected way.

Both Julie & Paul of The Sunbathers were part of the audience that night & they certainly are part of this fine tradition.

And they really do believe in honing their material. Their album ‘A Weekend Away With..' is described on their own Bandcamp page as "long awaited" and the follow up ‘Answers On A  Postcard' which is out today, arrives after an eight year development. So any wrinkles in the compositions will have been definitely ironed out.

 You may well have heard some of this material live already (the tracks are: "Belonging", "Strong Enough", "Plenty More Fish In The Sea", "Still In Love With You", "Where You Are", "Devotion", "So Predictable, "Tea and Sympathy", "Somewhere-On-Sea", "Together Again", "Common Ground" and "Our Town From That Hill"): it's worth pointing out how highly rated the band are by the likes of Sink or Swim Promotions (who were responsible for the Railcard event) and Hot Music Live Presents (and other promoters) so they've certainly been offered plenty of gigs in those years. It's probably also worth saying, if we are looking for indicators of esteem, that despite having a delicate and quiet set, they went down really well with an audience who included people there for fellow performers The Rascals, RobinPlaysChords and Grail Guard: all appreciably louder acts. Quality attracts attention across all sorts of genre borders.

Yes: the duo epitomise delicacy and detail and demand close attention. These songs are born of experience and quiet reflection and consequently you'll be picking little gemstones out as you listen each time. Often you may say to yourself "oh yes… that's so true" or feel that they articulate things you can't quite manage yourself.

The Sunbathers' arrangements tend to have three regular components plus a galaxy of guest ones. Each gives room to a voice, a guitar and third element: a lot of space. To these are added as the song requires various ingredients such as melodica and a miscellany of percussion. Oh and they take a gentle journey into sampling as you'll hear from the very start to ease you into the littoral mood.

These days, music releases come in quite concise packages: mostly singles and EPs, which are readily digestible both to the contemporary listener and the reviewer. Twelve song albums offer special challenges. Track by track commentary produces articles of such length that one doubts they'll be read through (I once exceeded the platform limit too).

Old school albums often had filler tracks which meant identifying key ones was easier: however The Sunbathers have crafted ‘Answers On A Postcard' to a consistency whereby picking tracks out for particular attention is more than just unfair, it's not possible except on an arbitrary level. Do I have favourites then? Well I probably have twelve which isn't terrifically helpful either.

If you like pathos rather than platitudes you'll enjoy this album greatly. If you are one of those who appreciates British understatement of emotions (like for example Railcard, The Catenary Wires or Helen McCookerybook) then again this will be right up your street. If you fear for the effects of AI on music, then I'd say that it could never have come up with these songs. This is a collection composed by Emotional Intelligence.

‘Answers On A  Postcard' is a box of delights to explore whether on the sort of sunny afternoon The Sunbathers thrive on or a rainy day when you could do with being reminded thereof: there are threads of enjoyment of the moment but being also an album of mature contemplation, filaments too of regret, nostalgia & rueful introspection. Consider the melancholy of summer's ending and holiday romances snipped off by the return home If the world were a fair place, it would be a contender for those odd "albums of the year" lists. If I understood the purpose & function of them, it would be on mine.

The Sunbathers play live (you might well expect some of the above songs)

Tonight (October 2^nd) at Just Dropped In with Adam Ross

Tomorrow (Saturday 3^rd) they will be holding a listening party at Just Dropped In (2pm)

Sunday October 4^th The Library in Oxford with The Hobknobs

November 13^th  The Three Wise Monkeys in Todmorden with Helen McCookerybook

As you may or may not have noticed, personal constraints this year have meant that all my live reviews for the magazine so far have been of local musicians, particularly ones we've championed on the compilations and featured on our own gigs.

However I'm delighted to finally get to write about distinguished visitors to the area: it gives me also a chance to reiterate my respect for Sink or Swim Promotions (without whom the local scene would certainly not have its current glory) and venue Just Dropped In Records. I'd also suggest that without the quality of inspiration from visiting musicians of the calibre of Railcard, who were supported last evening by Foglights, our own fine musicians wouldn't have the same sort of inspiration to emulate.

If I only manage to catch one "outside" gig this year, I'd be perfectly content if this were the one: it was that good. A useful indicator for me at these events is how many local musicians attend: I chatted to members of The Sunbathers (look out for their new album ‘Answers on a Postcard' this week), The Pristines, King of the Alps, ChiChi Squad and General: and so packed was the venue that I may well have missed others. I also was delighted at the diversity of age ranges in the audience. That says something strong.

Why was it so good? Well most reviewers would probably cite the supergroup status of both groups. You get ingredients of this quality & when these gel into something greater than the sum of parts, then you can't really go wrong. Foglights are Eva Tedeschi of The Cords and Archie "Stone Anthem" Ingram. Railcard are Rachel Love (Dolly Mixture), Ian Button and Peter Momtchiloff (Heavenly) as well as  Allison Thomson (Trash Can Sinatras): though I'm greatly simplifying their CVs in giving you this taste. In addition one may have caught  Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey (Talulah Gosh and many more including the current Catenary Wires whom I reviewed back in 2021 when they played a superb gig at The Tin supported by both The Sunbathers and The Pristines) behind the merch table.

Why so? Well because they also run the very wonderful Skep Wax Records, an independent label; "prioritising artistic integrity and community engagement over mass-market appeal" and both bands have released on here.

Although Foglights have their ‘Nous Deux' EP out, I believe they haven't yet played live too many times: not that anyone would have told that. Like Railcard, the basic ingredients were relatively few and an opportunity to demonstrate what emotional impact one can provide with a simple set up enriched by subtle details. Hence we had two guitars, acoustic & hollow boded electric and two voices. The songs were informed to some extent by the general approaches of their other projects, but the end products were unique: their name evokes a degree of mistiness and their wispy, wistful songs had plenty of emotional clout. As I sat enjoying them, it occurred to me that back when Dolly Mixture were around, there were quite a few female/male acoustic duos in that we now call the indie world (they could often be found on Cherry Red) but I struggled to think of two many today: mixed gender harmonising seems more prevalent in the folk world at the moment. So Foglights may be reviving something or they may have this field much to themselves currently.

Their set also included some new material and one cover: that of John Leyton's "Johnny Remember Me" to which they gave the full ‘Wuthering Heights' treatment, evoking the cold mist and ghostliness more than the Joe Meek original let alone the more deranged Meteors version.

Sometime around the late 70s and early 80s, someone coined the expression "perfect pop" as punk energy & polemics empowered less angry musicians who wanted to do their own thing their own way. Dolly Mixture will serve as an ideal example (was there ever a more talented band lauded by those who understood yet who were treated worse by the dinosaurs of the music industry?) and Railcard carry the flame: honed & perfected even more over the years.

Their set had a lot from their freshly released ‘Two Steps At A Time' album (and credit to Just Dropped In for helping them with a special edition) and in all honesty you need experience to write songs about such a diverse range of subjects from jam to natural fibres, via railcards, foxes, railway safety announcements and noisy neighbours.

As I said, they boasted three voices, one bass, one set of drums, a guitar, a simple but effective keyboard & one trumpet: and with "just" those, they wove flawless tunes. I've detailed a little bit of their experience so the expertise isn't really going to be a surprise, but listening to them play & talking to them, you could not mistake their glee at making this music and for their continuing joy in performance. These cannot be faked & audiences respond to this authenticity of spirit. It wax the magic final ingredient for a perfect evening which as I've already told you, will satisfy my needs for music from outside Coventry & Warwickshire for this year.

A final word: this sort of music, which was often delicate and always subtle, required top notch curation so credit as always to Nina Mclean-Ellmann.

Fans of Euan Blackman will be pleased to learn of the release of his new single "Piece of My Heart", the latest in his "pop star" phase

There is a video too for you at this address:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8VNbq4kZYA

If you have enjoyed an Underbelly gig (I certainly have) you'll no doubt be really pleased to learn of their diversification into becoming a label too

Tomorrow night (Friday September 25^th) sees the official launch at the LTB Showrooms with Diffuse showcasing their own debut ("Slide"/"Tackle") with support from the already legendary HomeBread popping back up from their new base in London to play a special acoustic set: many people would consider their presence along sufficient reason to attend) plus George Dillon with songs from his forthcoming album.

Tickets via: https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Coventry/LTB-At-The-Priory-Visitor-Centre/Underbelly-presents-Diffuse-Single-Launch--George-Dillon/42630549

So who are Diffuse? Well, if you enjoyed our ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Thirteen' compilation, you may remember the track "Headstone" by Vertigo Flowers. Sadly that band is no longer together, but Matt (bass) has joined Jed (vocals & guitar) and Elliott (drums) in this new group.

Recorded at Hedgeside Studios and mixed by Elliot Kelly, the two songs are more evidence of what might be the signs of a broader revival of shoegaze, given the totally impossible to miss revitalisation of the genre right here on our own doorstep by What About Eric? It certainly would be good if this scene was given a general breath of new life & even better if Coventry & Warwickshire could claim some sort of part in it.

Of course the area has spawned at least one new genre in the past but that dwindled quickly for various reasons, not least that while many jumped onto the bandwagon, few were anywhere near as good as the pioneers. What is needed for sustaining a scene is diversity within the style allied to original talent. Copyists don't endure.

I think we may have something with Diffuse. Having a singer with a different gender to that of What About Eric? creates immediate differences and Diffuse's musical approach is admirably distinct.

The first point most may ponder on is whether the two songs should be taken as a linked pair given their titles (answer: I don't know) so potentially there may be conceptual depths to unpack, which is half the delight of new music.

"Slide" is an admirably woozy track while its partner offers a contrasting snap, so we're thankfully not talking a band whose songs sound the same. The mystery one hopes for in shoegaze is present through elliptic vocals and dense arrangements/production but in "Tackle" especially we find traces of baggy dance trance… which adds to its charm.

I hope you enjoy both the gig and the single: we can look forwards to more from Diffuse & the Underbelly label I would like to think. Let's wish them luck.

THE WANTED 2.0 EMBARK UPON THE ‘(WE'RE) GLAD YOU CAME' TOUR ACROSS THE UK THIS OCTOBER

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

Get ready for… The Wanted 2.0. 

Over 15 years since they founded one of the country's most successful pop boybands, Max George and Siva Kaneswaran are heading back out on the road as The Wanted 2.0. This October, they'll be travelling across the UK treating audiences to the band's biggest 2010s hits, including the chart-topping "Glad You Came", the euphoric "Chasing The Sun", and the string-led "All Time Low" amongst other fan favourites from their backcatalogue.

Kicking things off at Komedia in Bath on 1st October, the tour includes stops at Club Academy in Manchester, Concorde 2 in Brighton, Foundry in Sheffield and more. The duo will also make a stop in the capital, to headline London's iconic cinema-turned-venue Scala on the 6th October. 

They'll be joined on the road by special guest Liv Harland in Bath and Oxford, while Essex-born contemporary blues/pop singer-songwriter Reigns will take on the support slot on the remaining dates. Manchester audiences will be treated to performances from both Harland and Reigns. The ‘(We're) Glad You Came Tour)' will come to a close at Digital in Newcastle on 22nd October. Full listings can be found below.  

*****

Get ready for… The Wanted 2.0. The next chapter in the history of one of Britain's biggest ever pop bands, who are ready to take to the stage with their explosive energy and chart-topping anthems. Founding members Max George and Siva Kaneswaran now carry the torch as ‘The Wanted 2.0' — the definitive place to hear all the global smash hits by this powerhouse UK band. 

With over 20 million record sales worldwide, The Wanted notched up 10 UK Top Ten singles and 2 UK Number 1 singles. The band still boast almost 7 million monthly listeners on Spotify and have a huge worldwide following. The catalogue contains pop masterpieces that defined an era, including the Number 1 Singles "All Time Low" and "Glad You Came", alongside fan-favourites like "Chasing The Sun", "Walks Like Rihanna", and the electrifying "Warzone".

Live Dates

• Thu 01 Oct - Bath, Komedia
• Fri 02 Oct - Oxford, O2 Academy
• Tue 06 Oct - London, Scala
• Thu 08 Oct - Brighton, Concorde 2
• Fri 09 Oct - Southampton, EngineRooms
• Thu 15 Oct - Sheffield, Foundry
• Fri 16 Oct - Manchester, Club Academy
• Sat 17 Oct - Coventry, Kasbah
• Thu 22 Oct - Newcastle, Digital  

Tickets available here.
 

For more information: Website | Instagram | Tiktok | YouTube

Ahead of their forthcoming new album, Man Made Moon will be releasing another taster track (after "The Boy Who Fell To Earth") as a single: "I Am Ruben" will be yours on 2^nd October

Another song which belies their reputation as space obsessives, it nevertheless has a strong resonance to its immediate predecessor as it deals, in its own way, with the existential experiences of falls from grace rather than literal re-entries from above the atmosphere (though I enjoyed the short sample which does belong to their tradition). This time the message is that "hitting rock bottom can sometimes be the ultimate liberation". It's Man Made Moon picturing life in terms of a roller coaster trip (and since my all time favourite morale booster song happens to be "Roller Coaster By the Sea" by The Modern Lovers, I can readily buy into that one). There probably is also a nod of the head to Bob "when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose" Dylan.

It's tempting to place these two songs within the wider context of the whole new album (and in fact you quite reasonably will expect me to do so) but that's something we need to leave until my review of the whole LP. Don't worry: there's not too long to wait. In the meantime, on the evidence of this pair, it's also tempting to suggest that Man Made Moon have developed a particular interest in introspection with added doses of self deprecation. However, their work of previous years has had depth of this nature, so it's no novelty for them: possibly it's a road they find rewarding to travel along in their writing & want to continue to do so.

This sounds like Leonard Cohen territory doesn't it but just as it's wildly inaccurate to class all his very adult themed songs as correspondingly gloomy in tone (though public perception does too often tend in that direction), so too do Man Made Moon frequently marry perky tunes to profound lyrics. You are going to be able to distinguish "I Am Ruben" from the works of Jacques Brel even if they do share some preoccupations.

As I say, it fits within the more jaunty end of the band's musical spectrum (though not quite to the lengths perhaps of "McNulty's Bar", their most extreme example) rather than their regular ethereal style, and is such seems destined for being a live highlight: especially outdoors.

Even though his current single , "Sometimes Sunshine" is still experiencing an upward popular & critical trajectory, the indefatigable Duke Keats is hitting us with its follow-up "You Win You Lose" on Friday. Which is pretty much what we tends to do, so prolific is his talent.

Another taster for his ‘POP SONGS' project, this really lush concoction might just as easily be considered a late night soul cut and neatly demonstrates his stunning capacity for creating complex, layered songs, entirely on his own, which however sound relaxed & effortless. How does he achieve this? He probably doesn't know himself and it's arguably better not to try to unpick the threads of genius. In fact he actually has implanted a warning against overthinking in this very song.

He also feels it's a good track to soundtrack driving at night: in which case he must be an extremely chilled driver. Would that there were more who drove to this groove. I'd certainly imagine it works well in the privacy of one's home.

Despite the sound and its R&B glide, though you could probably get down with a close friend to the vibe, in fact the story is much more fraught and closer to failure in love than success. It concerns a failure of nerve leading to lifelong regret, though in classic Duke Keats style embrace of visual media, he expresses it as "all of a sudden you constantly see their face everywhere on the TV screen and you long for them". Now many of us can probably identify to some extent with the failure to take that step of articulation  and declaration of attraction but not many would later see the object of their desire on the telly. However that's the world of Duke Keats for you.

It's a classy world too. Sophisticated music conveying thoughtful ideas. I'm no fan of the aristocracy generally but this Duke is truly noble.

It seems very odd that in 2026 I'd still be considering the effects of lockdown, but talking recently to Rosetta Fire's Jimmy Lapworth about their forthcoming single "Bulletproof"  (out on 25^th September), I realised that complex events impact differently upon different artists.

To me, the band were one of the significant ones on the local scene before the pandemic and subsequent to that, I felt it was best just to support existing artists as they re-emerged at their own pace and not risk adding pressure by hassling any about what they might be up to. Some of course sadly don't seem to be making music any more.

However Rosetta Fire began picking up the pieces when the time was right for the members (and there has been one lineup tweak) and that's the story of why they appeared at the ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser for The Tin this July. The time was ripe.

I don't know about you, but I really felt I detected a particular verve in their performance that evening & a zest for playing again. Obviously not everyone there will have seen them prior to 2020 and understandably took them as they found them that night: which was in itself impressive. However talking to Jimmy (and to other members on that evening), I think I'm correct: they are firing on all cylinders and I'd say any attempt to make up for lost time is paying off in them raising their game still higher than before.

And I believe you can hear this in the single also. I've always felt that the common thread in Rosetta Fire songs was that they were all very emotionally charged (and when your lead singer has a voice as soulful as that of Ant Gliddon then you can really make the most of this): and the band would be the first to point out that in many cases the emotions evoked are powerful yet not especially benevolent.

Which in fact is the case here.

The track actually snarls straight into life with choppy, angsty guitar which they describe as verging on the punky and this serves to amplify a lyric which deals with the problem of benevolently intended actions backfiring: aiming to help but instead "creating a monster".

This spirals rapidly into a position wherein the protagonist becomes "mistrustful of human relationships" and you can sense the intense vulnerability which ensues. It positively oozes out of one's speakers.

What with attention grabbing, spiky music in alliance with high intensity performance & edgy themes, this is the band back with a mighty bang. Of course being spiky & edgy only really works if those aspects are anchored by a sympathetic & solid rhythm section, so credit to bassist Emily Knight and new drummer Kev Stanley (though he's hardly new to these pages in other contexts).

In a way, that's probably all you need to know to (hopefully) convince you to engage with the single & to go & see them play (they are playing tomorrow, Saturday September 19^th, at HMV Banbury at noon so you haven't long to wait). But nevertheless, there are other indicators of their very positive state of mind at the moment. One is that they decided to make the recording sessions for "Bulletproof" as memorable for themselves as possible: and they greatly enjoyed working with Matt Terry at his Vada Recording Studios near Alcester with their beautiful grounds. (https://www.vadarecordingstudios.com/)

Look out too for the visuals they've been working on with Luke Spate (https://www.theartofbrotherhood.com/)  and MediaByRonny (https://linktr.ee/MediaByRonny) :the video for the single was shot at The Tin.

Back in February, we held our first seated version of a fundraiser for The Tin (starring Izzie Derry, Sophie Hadlum, Brass Hip Flask and Croissant) and so well did it go that we have planned another one.

This time, on Sunday November 15th, Nyotaa, Pandora, Daydreams and Robert James Grey have generously offered their talents to help The Tin and the community work carried out by this charitable organisation which does so much for grassroots and emerging musicians.

It will be on a Sunday (unlike earlier events in this series) and starts a little earlier so please do note the new details.Also, given the nature of the gig, there will be limited ticket availability so please secure yours early via this link:

https://events.humantix.com/hot-music-live-nyotaa-pandora-daydreams-robert-james-grey

"Simple, sincere and authentic" Folking.com

"Each song is a nugget in a seam of precious stuff, hand hewn and lovingly put together" AmericanaUK

When acclaimed finger-style guitarist and songwriter Amit was diagnosed with a degenerative nerve condition in 2018, the prognosis was devastating: just two more years of playing guitar before his hands would no longer cooperate. For a musician whose artistry was deeply rooted in the strings beneath his fingertips, it felt like an ending. But Wrong Kind of One is proof that some stories don't end the way they're expected to.