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The Wonder Stuff – Cardiff Great Hall, Cardiff Uni 15.10.26

The Wonder Stuff – Cardiff Great Hall, Cardiff Uni 15.10.26

Ninety minutes in the company of The Wonder Stuff seems to have become a bit of an annual fixture, and I like that feeling; it’s something I look forward to every time, and over the last half-decade or so, the venues have gotten bigger, and Milo seems to be smiling more and more, which just doesn’t seem normal. We’ve done each classic album played in order with nothing left out (not something every band does), and this lineup has just gotten better and better. We’ve had new music, some Vent performances and an album and now, in the autumn of 2026, we have the band firing on all cylinders, playing a set that can go toe to toe with anyone currently treading the boards. Malc and Mark Gemini Thwaite are weaving some wonderful sounds from their guitars, ably assisted by Milo. But it’s the quality of the songs that wins the day, and so many of them from all eras of the band, going back to the pre-Eight Legged days and right up to the here and now, with ‘Feet To The Flames’ and ‘The Guy With The Gift’ fitting right in seamlessly.

Being billed as something of a 40-year anniversary tour, the set leans heavily into ‘Never Loved Elvis,’ with no less than seven songs from the album sounding fresh as a daisy, with ‘Eight Legged Groove Machine’ pushing hard with six picks mainly stacked at the tail end of the set, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves; let’s savour the early set first.

It’s classic Wonderstuff openers of ‘Mission Drive’ and ‘Play’ to kick things off, and I’m daydreaming about how long ago it was when these songs were brand new, and I was traipsing around England and Wales watching this band get bigger and better with every record. Gigs like The Bescot, where the whole crowd was bouncing, or The Phoenix Festival, where they reached a real high point, but fast forward to 2026 and Milo is beaming, regaling us with amusing intros and snippets of where some of the songs came from and lifting the curtain on who they might be about (check his diaries for the fine details).

I’m sure if you could pick a setlist, most of these would fall into place and pick themselves. Songs like the excellent ‘Circlesquare’ come sandwiched between the dreamy ‘Here Comes Everyone’ and the superb ‘Caught In My Shadow ‘, where Milo jokingly drops the C Bomb on the few fellow Brummies in attendance.

I love the fact they still make music and play it in the set Milo is a great songwriter and wordsmith as ‘Feet To The Flame’ is the last moment of respite before we go back to the year dot, and ‘Red Berry Joy Town’ collides into ‘On The Ropes’. It’s the familiar sing-a-long of ‘Give, Give, Give’ as the band leaves the stage before returning for a mighty encore. Starting with a ragged run through ‘It’s Yer Money I’m After Baby’ before the more polished ‘Can’t Shape Up’.

Be it acoustic solo or full-blown Wonder Stuff shows, you always get your money’s worth, and a greatest hits and some set from the Wonder Stuff is exceptional value. Now, lets dive headfirst into those encores which tonight for some reason seemed even better than the bazzillion times I’ve seen and heard these songs, maybe it was seeing Milo and Malc resting their heads on each others shoulders during a magnificent ‘No For The 13th Time’ followed by closer ‘Ten Trenches Deep’ that struck me as a real warm brotherhood moment between the pair who raised their heads and just smiled, they know these songs are still pretty bloody awesome and they also knew that they were playing really well and in this moment they captured a moment, and be it old or new – classic albums or deep cuts The wonder Stuff remain a pretty Awesome live show any where – any time.

If you get the chance, grab it with both hands the groovers are most deffo on manoeuvres. Thank you very much for coming back to South Wales again, as I always enjoy getting home before midnight these days. As we wander off, my companion commented on how happy Milo seems, and that’s infectious. Maybe he’s realised he’s onto something, and his beat combo is pretty bloody good at this live show business, and he can’t half write a bunch of top tunes. See you next year.

Author: Dom Daley

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DIRTY FUN TURNS THE SLIPPER ROOM INTO A ROCK ‘N’ ROLL FUNHOUSE FOR ONE NIGHT

DIRTY FUN TURNS THE SLIPPER ROOM INTO A ROCK ‘N’ ROLL FUNHOUSE FOR ONE NIGHT

On November 11, six bands will take over The Slipper Room for DIRTY FUN, an evening of guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll staged inside one of the Lower East Side’s best-known burlesque and cabaret venues.

Rather than simply booking another night of bands, DIRTY FUN is designed as a complete night out—live music, go-go dancers, vinyl, nightlife and a little controlled chaos under the same roof.

The lineup brings together six distinct strains of underground rock:

Burnt Mirror Beauties bring shadowy glamour, smoky blues and a touch of gothic seduction, while The Compulsions deal in gritty, swagger-heavy blues-rock with a dangerous streak. Philadelphia’s Creem Circus pile on the glitter with muscular riffs, strutting grooves and dirty boogie. Pale Moon Gang rip into feral, no-frills punk with a garage-rock snarl, while Rockaway Beach’s The Rambones deliver a full-throttle blast of Ramones-inspired speed, hooks and attitude. Ridiculous Bitch round things out with hard-edged glam, metallic crunch and unapologetic sleaze.

The evening will be fronted by Steve Krebs, longtime downtown rock personality and MC of the annual Johnny Thunders Birthday Bash, appearing in a tuxedo as Master of Ceremonies.

Chuck Bones, owner of Lower East Side punk clothing store The Cast, will spin an all-vinyl soundtrack between sets. Jaster Leon, a mixologist at Nurse Bettie and promoter of Night Moves, will serve as host, with go-go dancers shaking the foundations all night long.

There’s a growing appetite for IRL connection—for getting out of the house, being around actual people and experiencing something that can’t be paused, scrolled past or reduced to a clip. DIRTY FUN leans hard into that impulse: six bands, a packed room, go-go dancers, a tuxedoed MC, an all-vinyl DJ and the unpredictable chemistry of strangers sharing the same space.

Of course, not all IRL experiences are created equal. DIRTY FUN may be more real-life than the faint of heart bargained for.

DIRTY FUN takes place Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at The Slipper Room, 167 Orchard Street, New York, NY.

Doors: 7 PM
Show: 8 PM
Tickets: $15 advance / $20 door

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DESPERATE MEASURES – NEW SINGLE!

DESPERATE MEASURES – NEW SINGLE!

Those New Zealand/London punk n’ rollers Desperate Measures release their brand new single, ‘The Flames Of The Street’ today. 

An ode to younger, innocent times. Dedicated to all the skaters, punks and those who dared to be different…

‘The outsiders, the lifers, the chancers, the flames of the street….’

Buy the track here- https://desperatemeasuresnz1.bandcamp.com/

DESPERATE MEASURES celebrate their 45th! anniversary this Saturday Oct 24th  with Italy’s Semprefreski and skatepunks The Mistakes at The Hope & Anchor, London.

Tickets at- https://wegottickets.com/f/24600

Fake Names – ‘Punk Ruins’ (Epitaph Records)

Fake Names – ‘Punk Ruins’ (Epitaph Records)

Having been suitably impressed with the first two albums from Fake Names, getting familiar with ‘Punk Ruins’ was always going to be a no-brainer. Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, Bad Religion) and Michael Hampton (S.O.A., Embrace, The Faith), vocalist Dennis Lyxzén (Refused, INVSN), bassist Johnny Temple (Girls Against Boys, Soulside) and new drummer Mario Rubalcaba (Rocket From The Crypt, Off!)—have managed to capture a moment once again and with a real organic-sounding slab of sound, it embraces a lot of subgenres and moulds them into further proof that if you have class, then that is permanent and not just fleeting. The album has mature, solid songs that burrow into your ear on every play, digging in a little further each play. From the opening one-two, ‘Until Normal and ‘Good Days’ you have pleasant ins that have a mass appeal before the punchy, ragged hook of the title track kicks you in the head with a catchy chorus that’s dragging the guitars by the snout as the rhythm section sounds like a mountain sliding out of your speakers.

That grunt of the bass is muscular and commanding whilst the melodies of the vocals often veer into power pop territory but wrapped in some pretty decent overdriven guitar chops. Instead of trying to recreate a certain era from their accumulated backgrounds, they’ve just picked up ideas from the ether and sped off with them, creating something exciting and one that has mass appeal.

Recorded at the legendary Electrical Audio studios in Chicago with producer Matthew Barnhardt (Superchunk, Bob Mould), like Fake Names’ 2020 self-titled debut, these recordings were originally planned to be demos but turned out to be so good they couldn’t stay on the shelves and demanded to be album number three.

Baker said the tracks were laid in a matter of days, with Lyxzéns vocals being laid down in a single day and therefore capturing that energy and excitement. They might even be sitting on a hit with ‘What I Tell Myself’, which is a hell of an earworm from the Bob Mould-like guitar lick to the subtle melody. Great stuff.

‘Diamond Buzz’ is hypnotic whilst ‘Language Lost’ is a thumping chest-beating slab of energy. Just when you think the album is settling down and getting comfortable, a heavy hitter comes out swinging, and that applies to ‘If You Could See Me Today’, where the vocal takes centre stage and has the listener hanging on to every word.

As the album heads into the homestretch, it’s ‘Little Wonders’ followed by the exceptional ‘Scream’ with a fantastic scything guitar riff. The album closes as it began with an impressive ‘Paradise’ with its dreamy, almost pop chorus complete with gang vocals I wasn’t expecting. What a fantastic album of banging tunes from one to twelve its top-notch songwriting and the overall sound of the record surely has mass appeal, and in a just world this should break out over the top of those post-punk barricades and be a resounding success. So my advice is don’t drag your heels get involved on album number three; it’s never too late. Buy this album.

Buy Here

Author: Dom Daley

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‘Heavy Is The Crown’ – Blacklist Union New Video

‘Heavy Is The Crown’ – Blacklist Union New Video

LA rockers Blacklist Union return with their new single “Heavy Is The Crown”, released via BLU Records. The third single from the band’s forthcoming album ‘The Good, The Bad And The Notorious’, due for release in spring 2027. It follows ‘Jackson‘ and ‘Madame Butterfly’, with the latter being an open love letter from frontman Tony West to Femme Fatale’s Lorraine Lewis.

There’s also been a rather interesting development in the Tony West/Lorraine Lewis story since Blacklist Union’s recent UK & European tour with Faster Pussycat & Femme Fatale. After the tour, Tony and Lorraine headed to Paris, where Tony proposed at the top of the Eiffel Tower. She said yes..

“Heavy Is The Crown is about perseverance, knowing it’s always darkest before the dawn…” – Tony West

Social Media/Online

https://www.instagram.com/blacklistunionofficial

https://www.facebook.com/BlacklistUnionRocks

https://www.youtube.com/@BlacklistUnionRocks

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Daily Thompson – The Bunkhouse, Swansea 14.10.10

Daily Thompson – The Bunkhouse, Swansea 14.10.10

So we get sent a lot of albums by bands to review, and every now and then one lands that impresses more than one writer, and on this occasion the band was the curiously named Daily Thompson from Germany, plying their trade on the latest album ‘Glue ‘, and then I saw they were touring the UK and playing a couple of miles from my house, so how could I not attend and see if they would impress as much live as they did on record.

This European trio have been at this for more than a decade at this point and this was my first interaction probably showing how big the world is and not small since this here internet became the be all end all and sure it has made the world smaller but its also opened up the scope on so many bands and genres which is great but there are only 24 hrs in a day and 7 days in a week. Wednesday the 14th of October is, as you can guess, a school night, but every night is the weekend when it comes to live rock n roll.

Firstly, I’d like to applaud the members of the band for hitting the UK for a proper UK tour and venturing into deepest, darkest South Wales for a show. The band take the stage and gets right down to business, playing like they are headlining the Phoenix Festival (remember that one?) and not a small but cool club in Swansea. Let’s also deal with the elephant in the room: Daily Thompson clearly loves Nirvana, and the whole Grunge scene is embraced, but in a respectful and influential way. At times, they really hit the Kurt vein hard, but it doesn’t detract from the quality of the songs because I also hear a lot of the likes of Dinosaur Jr. in the melodies and equal amounts of Sonic Youth when they were at their ‘Dirty Boots’ peak. Songs like ‘Siam’ and ‘Workout’ hit the spot, and I wonder why there aren’t more bands hitting this groove.

They play for just over forty-five minutes and hit the peak with the excellent ‘BTK’ and ‘Heart Of Bones’, two standout tracks from their pretty extensive catalogue. When the band ease into the fuzzy, heaving riffs that are rhythm-led like some of the more melodic stoner bands, they are locked in, but when they lean into that Grunge thang, it’s where they seem most comfortable, and the earworms take effect. It’s Europe next for the band as they take ‘Glue’ to the mainland I hope many more people join the Daily Thompson appreciation society because this was an excellent night that I was glad I made the effort to attend give these three a Gold medal for a wonderful album and great nights entertainment now to dig into that catalogue of music they have amassed.

Author: Dom Daley

Little Angels – ‘Big Bad & Back EP’ (Big Bad Music)

Little Angels – ‘Big Bad & Back EP’ (Big Bad Music)

Legendary UK hard rockers Little Angels are back with brand new material. An EP of five tracks, their first new recordings since 1994. I got to see Little Angels live a few times back in the early ‘90s and they were a constant of the rock press and TV shows. Their popularity has never waned with their hardcore fans, and frontman Toby Jepson has certainly kept himself busy and visible over the years. The band made a low-key acoustic appearance at last year’s Steelhouse festival and have since announced a UK tour that begins in November.

The band admit that making new music had to be done right –  “We would never make a new record unless we felt we still had something to say… and it turns out we do. Toby started writing new ideas, and while we were rehearsing the set for the tour, we started to jam around this new material, and it just felt great.”

The EP was recorded at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire and mixed by the renowned Mike Fraser in Vancouver. The EP sounds very fresh and relevant, with nostalgic lyrical content around the band’s glory days. Toby Jepson explains the thought process behind the new material: “Lyrically, the challenge was always going to be: how do you take what Little Angels represented back then and bring it into the modern world with guys that are now in their mid-50s?

“We discussed what the past meant to us and the penny dropped. This wasn’t about youth anymore, of course not; it’s about reflecting on where we had come from, and the kind of people we are now and all of a sudden, it made sense – this is about returning home.”

Opening track All For One kicks off the EP in style, big keyboard riffs, solid as fuck drumming from Mark Richardson, who has been Skunk Anansie’s tub thumper since the ‘90s, and we get a huge anthemic chorus to boot. Next up is the single Hero (That Was Then, This Is Now), which is another fist-pumping track, some great guitar work from Bruce Dickinson and some gospel-style BV’s really elevate the song to another level.

Small Town Boys features a Who-like feel with its wistful keyboard opening. We soon get back to familiar ground with another earworm of a chorus. Great stuff. You Want Love takes me back to the early ‘90s. I think back to those days of consuming Kerrang!, Metal Hammer and RAW magazine, buying albums and heading off to gigs with mates. I just see Little Angels in the Marquee Club with sweat dripping off the walls…

The EP closes with the fantastic Raised To The Ground, another barnstormer. The band sounds revitalised, powerful and ready for a full album? We shall see.

 Pre-order CD & Vinyl HERE
 Pre-Save EP HERE

Author: Kenny Kendrick

Guerrilla Teens – ‘Sympathy For The Decebel’ (Sonic Jett Records)

Guerrilla Teens – ‘Sympathy For The Decebel’ (Sonic Jett Records)

Scott “Deluxe” Drake and guitarist Jeff Fieldhouse have been rock n roll lifers from The Humpers through Lovesores and now as Guerrilla Teens. True Garage punk n roll legends whose output and CV are absolutely class and right up there with the best of em. Quite simply, they don’t do bad records, and that’s a fact I’ll fight you for.

When the email dropped to announce new music from the band, I was excited, and that fire wasn’t extinguished when I saw it was merely an EP and not a full-blown record of new tunes. Quite simply, these guys, ably assisted by Saul Koll on guitar, Tim Connolly on drums, and Anna Andersen on bass, have sold their collective souls to the devil in exchange for the secret spices that cook up this unholy racket we call garage punk rock n roll handed down by the spirit of Little Richard and Chuck Berry through the Dolls and Stooges and a dash of those MC5s. The Guerrilla Teens have the chops, and it would seem the tunes.

From the opening salvo of unadulterated, blissed-out rock n roll of the title track, it shows that history matters and if you are locked in like Jagger and Richards or McCartney and Lennon or Thunders and Johansen, then the music will take care of everything else, and it’s the only reason you need to plug in and create an unholy racket that’s addictive and bloody great to shove into your ears.

Saul has been part of the furniture since way back when 8 ft tender and lovesores were delivering the business, and his work here, trading licks with Fieldhouse, is the perfect foil for Drake to be the ringleader, throwing out the words that bring it all together into one wonderful, beautiful noise. It’s rock n roll, baby – it’s loud, aggressive, and often thunderous but always wonderful. From ‘Under The Dagger’ to ‘Monkeys Paw’ to the here and now, Guerrilla Teens should be on your most wanted list. ‘Ghost Of New Orleans’ tells the tale of Johnny Thunders through the medium of some pretty awesome guitar licks borrowed from the good and great. Simply awesome, and it’s followed by the rumble of ‘Gravedigger’, which is the sound of a runaway steam train thundering down the tracks, sounding vital and with boundless energy; it’s a joy to hear that some bands still give a shit and can deliver in spades.

I won’t spoil it for you if you promise to get out there after reading this and pick up a copy, and if you need to, I highly recommend picking up the rest of the catalogue; it’s essential listening. Looking and sounding more than good, Guerrilla Teens are bang on the fuckin money; just get em in your ear.

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Author: Dom Daley

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Hanoi Rocks – ‘THE COMPLETE COLLECTION 1981-1984’

Hanoi Rocks – ‘THE COMPLETE COLLECTION 1981-1984’

FINNISH ROCK ICONS HANOI ROCKS TO RELEASE 6LP AND 6CD BOX SET

‘THE COMPLETE COLLECTION 1981-1984’ SET FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 13TH VIA BMG

PRE-ORDER THE BOX SET HERE:

Originally formed in 1979 in Helsinki by singer and multi-instrumentalist Michael Monroe, Finnish rock superstars Hanoi Rocks are proud to release ‘The Complete Collection 1981-1984’, a deluxe compilation of their influential first five studio albums, set for release November 13th via BMG.

Featuring the bands much fabled albums Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks (1981), Oriental Beat (2022 ‘The RE(AL)MIX’), Self Destruction Blues (1982), Back To Mystery City (1983) and Two Steps From the Move (1984), the 6LP and 6 CD set includes a bonus album comprised of rare and unreleased tracks, titled Motorvatin’!!!. The bonus album includes songs from rare BBC live sessions as well as never-before-heard demos.

To preview the set, the band have released the BBC recording of ‘Underwater World’ on DSPs this week. Recorded that same year at the famous Maida Vale BBC Studios, Michael Monroe recalls the session…


“The BBC Session was recorded by Dale Griffin (‘Buffin’), who was the drummer of Mott The Hoople, one of our absolute favourite bands of all time. He and Overend ‘Pete’ Watts had produced our previous album ‘Back To Mystery City’, since we couldn’t get Ian Hunter at the time, whom we’d asked first. However, when we were recording the ‘Two Steps From The Move’ album, produced by Bob Ezrin, Bob brought Ian Hunter to the studio to write some lyrics for us, since Bob knew that we were huge Ian Hunter fans. We were of course totally thrilled about this, and Ian was super cool, as expected. He co-wrote 3 songs with us: ‘I Can’t Get It’, ‘Boulevard Of Broken Dreams’ and ‘Underwater World’.  After hearing the rough mixes of the songs, with the demo vocals, Ian said that he’d get back to us in about a week with his lyrics.  However, he was so inspired by the songs that he wrote them all the same night when he got back home.  So, the next day we got the lyrics written by Ian Hunter, and they were absolutely brilliant!  That was exactly what we needed, and we were ecstatic about it.”

“At the time of the BBC Session the band was in a good place in many ways,” continues Monroe. “However, the substance abuse had increased quite a bit among the band, and this surely has to do with the tempo of this version of ‘Underwater World’ since it’s incredibly slow!  Haha, some of us must have been on some pretty heavy downers. I wish we had sped up the tempo a little bit in the mastering, but I guess it’s best to present the band just as it was – perfectly flawed at times.  So, here it is for you to enjoy!”


The physical version of The Complete Collection 1981-1984 includes a 36-page photobook featuring many previously unseen and rare shots, as well as studio album art cards from Hanoi Rock’s legendary initial run as a band.

The Complete Collection 1981-1984 displays in full the enduring impact of Hanoi Rocks’ songwriting craft, ballistic energy and colourful, glamorous flair for fans of old and future generations to discover and enjoy.

Nasty Insects – ‘Bite ‘Til They Bleed’ (Self Release)

Nasty Insects – ‘Bite ‘Til They Bleed’ (Self Release)

Australian thrashers Nasty Insects’ debut album has the appropriate title: Bite ‘til They Bleed. The album is a vicious little bastard too. With elements of old-school thrash like Exodus, Kreator and Sacred Reich, Nasty Insects inject some well-used synths into the mix.

We get eight tracks that crunch and grind their way through the listener’s brain. The muddy production adds to the charm; it reminds of the notoriously lo -fi recordings of Neat and Ebony records. The band are competent musicians, and there are some real crackers on the album. Trauma Dreams is a great track with vocals not a million miles away from those throaty contortions that Mike Patton does so effortlessly. Dead Soul is another belter, a huge moshy riff in the middle that had me reaching for my skateboard (not really, I’m far too old for that now), but in the ‘80s it would have been a different story!! Adidas is the album’s closing track, and it’s another highlight. More Cavalera-style riffing and thundering drums end the album in style.

I really like what I’m hearing, and I love the band’s aesthetic, their logo is very ‘80s thrash, and the cover art by Cal Sinadinovic reminds me of the classic Morbid Angel sleeves. 

Go and check ‘em out for yourself. Mosh it up!!

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Author: Kenny Kendrick