Some people just have a way with a tune, don’t they? You know that, when it’s time to release an album, it’ll be chock full of earworms. Step forward, Marc Valentine, former Last Great Dreamer, with his third long player, the second on Little Steven’s Wicked Cool label. After 2024’s ‘Basement Sparks’, it should be clear that he knows his stuff.
With ‘Uncommon Side Effects’, you get ten quality tunes, the kind you used to hear on the radio. From ‘NY UAP’, with its simple keyboard melody, we’re straight into territory from the notebook of The Boys. An understandable influence, given Marc’s recent tour dates with the band. ‘High On The Underground’ shamelessly nicks from ‘Sweet Jane’, and reminds these ears of ex-Boy, Duncan Reid.
Marc knows the power of the key change outro, as ‘The Other Side’ shows. Simple, effective and very catchy. In fact, that is the thread throughout the album. Writing simple, memorable songs is anything but easy. Another top songwriter, Chris Catalyst, would, I suspect, enjoy these tunes. ‘Loneliest Part’ and ‘Tiger On Glass’ have echoes of his work and Eureka Machines. They’re responsible for some of my favourite songs ever, so this is no random comparison.
‘Half Moon Pendant’ is a lovely, brief acoustic interlude, before ‘Temporary Buzz’ clouts you round the head like it’s shouting “potential hit single!”. ‘When The Light Has Gone’ ends on a glimmer of hope and a minimal, Buzzcocks-style melody; another EM motif, and a great song. Marc should be proud of this collection of songs. In troubled times, we need a little spark of optimism and joy. Preorder, and catch him on tour in April and May.
New DWARVES LP drops JUNE 5! Hello, are you paying attention? ‘The JENKEM’ album harkens back to the hard, fast sound of the ‘Blood, Guts & Pussy’ era DWARVES! Thirteen short, sharp bursts of madness, and one mid-tempo classic to rope in the masses. Look for an avalanche of cool live and animated videos and a slew of cool 7″s! Get them all signed at thedwarves.com
Well, we’re a few months into a new year, and there’s already been plenty of quality new music, but I think there’s a big contender for album of the year already, up step Isle Of Wight finest the brilliant Grade 2 with the excellent ‘Talk About It’
This 3 piece are going from strength to strength and just keep getting better with every album. Being well into over a decade of making music from the earlier Oi! And Street Punk influence Grade 2 are now fully cementing themselves as one of the UK’s finest melodic high-energy punk rockers.
Sid (Vocals/Bass), Jack (Guitar/Vocals) and Jacob (Drums) are certainly honing their craft, and since singing to legendary Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong label Hellcat Records a few albums ago, they just keep stepping it up a notch. I could give lots more superlatives, but let’s get down to it, the new album.
First up we get one of the singles ahead of the release and it’s a banger ‘Cut Throat’ starts with guitar feedback and you immediately sense this is going to be aggressive and in your face and that it is, a opening guitar lick that will be stuck in your head and a brilliant and prominent bass line throughout that Matt Freeman would be proud of. This sounds huge and brilliantly produced, these boys aren’t messing about here with the message being even in this Cut Throat world, Grade 2 are here to stay.
Next up, we have the insanely catchy ‘Hanging On To You’ which showcases both Jack and Sid exchanging vocals on the verses, and with a chorus, I dare you to try not to sing along to.
‘Standing In The Downpour’ will surely have audiences bouncing up and down on the band’s current UK and European tour. I’ve had a smile on my face every time I’ve heard it, it took a few listens to notice, but when the chorus kicks in, I’m sure fans of The Clash will also have that same grin as well.
‘Better Today’ is up next and has a great message for anyone who’s struggling in this world, be it with mental health or loneliness. Speak to people, you are not alone, this is euphoric stuff.
Title track ‘Talk About It’ comes in close to the halfway mark and is my personal highlight, with a brilliant opening riff that bursts into a “Nah Nah Nah” right out of the Lars Frederiksen playbook, with the surprise of piano playing throughout, this 2:37 song will have everyone pogoing around the room, no doubt about it.
‘Don’t Worry About Me’ lyrically is brilliant and is a middle finger to the naysayers and people who try to push in certain directions. “I mean everything I say, I’m doing it my way, I never need anyone to validate me, so don’t worry about me”.
We’re getting deep into the album now and the next three songs “Crash And Burn”, “Smugglers Haven” and “Rotten” show off how tight this band have become, Jacob the man with the sticks keeps the pace up throughout and Sid’s bass-lines are right up front in the mix and of course there’s some monster riffs in here from Jack and some great vocal exchanges, this is like going back to the Rancid classic 2000 album and that’s a big compliment.
And to finish this superb album, we get a double salvo of the dark, brooding atmosphere of ‘Wasteland’, which tackles the dying towns and cities of the UK, whether it’s the Isle of Wight or the country in general, it’s very apt. The writing is on the wall indeed. This is followed by the light at the end of the tunnel, the excellent ‘Otherside’, which is a song full of hope and looking forward, not backwards, overcoming difficulties. Grade 2 have made it through to the other side and is exactly where they should be!!!!
There we have it, ladies and Gentlemen, 11 songs, 25 minutes, and we have one of the albums of the year with Grade2 and ‘Talk About It’. Once this album is in your head, it will be on repeat. Catch them on their current tour and buy yourself a copy, it’s an absolute banger.
NOW CONFIRMED TO PLAY THEIR FIRST UK FESTIVAL APPEARANCE AT 2000 TREES IN JULY
“No kings, No masters / Kick against fascist bastards”
Following their packed-out first EU and UK headline tour last month, Dead Pioneers, the Indigenous fronted band from Denver, are now preparing to unleash their third album ‘Wagon Burner’, set for release June 26th via Hassle Records.
Succeeding the album’s first statement with the initial single ‘Nazi Teeth’, a powerful attack on the upsurge of the far right and white supremacists, Dead Pioneers are back with a second single ‘No Kings’, which delivers an equally powerful punch to right-wing politics.
“Last summer, there were protests all over the United States called ‘No Kings’, in opposition of the current administration, the policies they’ve been implementing, and the rights they’ve been taking away from citizens,” explains frontman Gregg Deal. “While the issues are obvious, it’s important that we all say it out loud. It’s important that we show up and make our opinions known, that we won’t allow our inherent rights to be trampled upon for the benefit of the Epstein Class.
“Not unlike ‘Nazi Teeth’, ‘No Kings’ is meant to bring the points home,” he continues. “ICE, rights being taken away, mass shootings, greed over life, demonising immigrants, black, brown and queer people, widened economic gaps by the Epstein class, and the sincere frustration Americans feel over this. While this is happening, we realise that the right-wing politics coming out of the United States is emboldening conservative right-wing politics all over the world. We are against dictators, authoritarian regimes, Nazis, fascism or any other power structure, political, social or otherwise that seeks to take away the rights, freedoms or lives of human beings trying to live their lives. To that, we keep it simple: NO KINGS.”
Dead Pioneers is rooted in a 2020 piece called The Punk Pan-Indian Romantic Comedy, a deeply personal work that dealt with Deal’s upbringing. Following an embryonic performance of the piece, Deal secured a grant to expand it to include music created especially for the work. “The idea was to mix spoken word with punk music,” explains Deal, who hooked up with drummer Shane Zweygardt and guitarist Joshua Rivers during lockdown and began kicking the concept around.
A miraculous, natural chemistry made this supposed one-off project an actual band almost as soon as they cut what became their 2023 eponymous debut album (“We approached it like I approach my visual art: execute quickly, first thought is best thought,” Deal says), but they didn’t necessarily take it seriously until, unexpectedly, the outside world did. “I was like, we’ve made this record – what should I do with it? Put it online?” Deal remembers. The response was vigorously positive, and soon came demands to commit this noise to vinyl. A first thousand-copy pressing sold out in minutes. “So, then we pressed another thousand,” he adds, still marvelling at it all. “And then they were gone, too.”
What followed was “a series of strange accidents” that led to the group signing to Hassle, befriending Jello Biafra and touring with kindred spirits like Pennywise, Propaghandi, and even Pearl Jam. “Punk-rock had made everything seem so accessible when I was a kid,” says Deal. “Like, simply having the balls to get up on stage and stage dive and then be carried off by people that become your best friends once they get your feet back on the ground.” Now, punk-rock was reaching out its hands to Dead Pioneers and pulling them onto larger and larger stages. The group returned that favour by simply getting better and better: their second album, 2025’s PO$T AMERICAN, was sharper, angrier, funnier than the debut, a riot riveted with punch-a-Nazi thrills.
And now, Wagon Burner, their fearsome third album. Described by Deal as “more collaborative”, it’s a heavier, harder but also more accessible set, vicious hooks scattered among the punk-rock melee and guest appearances by kindred spirits Cheap Perfume (on the righteous ‘Nazi Teeth’), The Interrupters (on the shout-a-long anthem ‘Never Alone’) and, bringing it back to the group’s beginnings, Sleaford Mods (on the searing slow-burn of ‘The Worst Among Us’). The world might be darkening by the day, but Dead Pioneers are rising to that miserable occasion, casting their empowering light into the gloom.
New LP The Bridges That We Burn Arrives May 1, 2026 via DC-Jam Records / Virgin Music Group
Band Consists of Greg Norton (Hüsker Dü), Derek O’Brien (Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Adolescents) and Ryan Smith (Soul Asylum)
Ultrabomb have unveiled the music video for their latest single “no cap,” a melodic, driving anthem that balances urgency with hook-heavy punch. The track is the latest preview from their forthcoming full-length album The Bridges That We Burn, due May 1, 2026 via DC-Jam Records / Virgin Music Group.
Built on soaring guitar lines, driving rhythms, and a chorus that hits with clarity and conviction, “no cap” showcases Ultrabomb’s ability to fuse melody with muscle. The song channels frustration with the modern noise cycle into something focused and forward-looking — less about shouting over the chaos and more about cutting through it.
“There is a lot of noise to keep us distracted. Everyone has an opinion, informed, and not informed. I’m at capacity with all the bs, let’s start real conversations.” — Greg Norton
Ultrabomb brings together underground legends and alternative stalwarts:
Together, the trio channel decades of punk and alternative rock history into music that feels immediate and relevant rather than retrospective. Melody and momentum move in lockstep — sharp, anthemic, and emotionally direct.
As Magnet observed, Ultrabomb delivers “a swift blow to the sternum that harnesses both the speedy energy of Norton’s early Minneapolis days and the ragged hard-rock sensibility of Twin Tone-era Soul Asylum.”
The Bridges That We Burn was recorded at Creation Audio in Minneapolis and produced, engineered, and mixed by John Fields, with mastering by Justin Perkins (Mystery Room Mastering). The album broadens the band’s dynamic range while maintaining the tight, high-impact songwriting that defines Ultrabomb.
With “no cap,” Ultrabomb prove that conviction doesn’t require chaos — just clarity, melody, and the willingness to say what matters.
Fresh off the GRAMMY-nominated success of ‘Happiness Bastards’ in 2024, The Brothers Grim Chris and Rich Robinson wasted no time getting back to work and mining this seam of Rock n roll they happened upon. Returning to Nashville to reunite with producer Jay Joyce and recapture the spark that powered their last record, they just got on with business in a much happier place these days and left all their bullshit and background noise in the rear view mirror. The result is another glittering prize that to their credit, is banger after banger. Gone are the long beards and dope fueled jams, and a leaner more back to their roots, rock n roll homage to the Keif and Ronnie and Faces days rock n roll are front and centre.
The Black Crowes have created a rock record that’s loose and loud, and from the off, ‘Profane Prophecy’ is as good a rocker as they’ve delivered in decades, and time will testify that it’s right up there with the really early rockers, all be it with a modern production. The record stays true to the rockier edges of the band’s sound with only a couple of fleeting forays into the acoustic world, but like the early days’ big ballads, they really don’t touch the style. Rich brings the Telecaster riffs on the opening songs, absolutely killing it, on the Keith Richards inspired ‘Cruel Streak’, leaving enough room for his Brother to wail and deliver a stonking vocal as good as anything he’s delivered for decades. It gets funky, dark and heavy with the girls helping out on the chorus and leaving enough room for some honking keys. The breakdown is huge and had me nodding with approval as the fuzzed-up licks keep coming.
We get the first acoustic haze much more in keeping with ‘Exile’ era Stones than any Deadhead workout. ‘Pharmacy Chronicles’ is another excellent performance from Chris as he seems focused and emotional in the best possible way. The arrangement with the keys is impeccable. The rock is then turned up with some fantastic riffage from Rich Robinson on ‘Do The Parasite’. We then have a couple of more laid-back moments for the listener to take stock and catch their breath, ending with the epic of the mellower moments being ‘Queen Of The B Side’, but another thing is that the songs are kept lean and to the point, and none overstay their welcome.
‘It’s Like That’ gets its groove on for a very loud and chaotic workout where the music bounces off the vocals and sparks fly as they jostle for the limelight with some awesome BVs just to make the song kick you even harder in the nuts. Jagged, rock n roll at its finest. The tempo is raised again as we head into the homestright ‘Blood Red Regrets’ makes way for classic riff n roll Crowes style ‘You Call This A Good Time’ before ‘Eros Blues’ picks its way through the intro before shaking any cobwebs away and being the only hippy tinged tune but in the best possible way as it twists and turns before signing the record off with ‘Doomsday Doggerel’ and a levvy breaking drum beat twists your mellon with some fucked up vocal melodies before clearing ones head and stamping a full stop on what is a mightily impressive record and a step up in quality forom their last mightily impressive offering of ‘Happiness Bastards’ and offers a record of variety and impeckable quality ‘A pound of feathers’ is heavy and light and shows that form is temporary but class is permanent and this is class – Buy it!
New Album ‘Talk About It’ Out April 3 via Hellcat Records
EU / UK Tour Dates Confirmed
Grade 2 share new single “Better Today”, a track that explores the impact depression can have on relationships and the fragile process of recovery. The song contrasts the experience of hitting rock bottom with a more hopeful present, capturing both accountability and progress.
Guitarist Jack Chatfield explains:
“Better Today talks about the damage that depression can have on a relationship. It contrasts between the recent past of being at rock bottom to a now hopeful present.”
The single is taken from the band’s fourth album Talk About It,setfor release on April 3rd viaHellcat Records. Over twelve years since forming as schoolmates, bassist Sid Ryan, guitarist Jack Chatfield, and drummer Jacob Hull reflect on growth, resilience, and the realities of life on and off the road.
Talk About It captures a defining chapter of growth for the band — shaped by touring through uncertainty, navigating relationships at home while building momentum on international stages, and channeling personal struggles into direct, honest songwriting. From festival appearances to sharing stages with longtime heroes, Grade 2 turn experience into urgency and reflection into songs built on grit and melody.
The album stands as a statement of survival and evolution — raw, focused, and forward-looking.
Grade 2 will hit the road in support of the new album, with UK dates kicking off at the end of the month before continuing across Europe throughout spring and early summer. The run spans Ireland, the UK, mainland Europe, and festival appearances, marking one of their most extensive touring periods to date. Please see below for the full list of dates. The tickets are available via the band’s Website.
Tracklisting – Talk About It
Cut Throat
Hanging Onto You
Standing In The Downpour
Better Today
Talk About It
Don’t Worry About Me
Crash And Burn
Smugglers Haven
Rotten
Wasteland
Otherside
Grade 2 – 2026 Tour Dates
20.03 | The Deers Head | Belfast 21.03 | Lost Lane | Dublin 28.03 | The Bodega Social Club | Nottingham 29.03 | The Key Club | Leeds 30.03 | The Deaf Institute | Manchester 31.03 | The Garage Attic | Glasgow 01.04 | Exchange | Bristol 03.04 | O2 Academy Islington | London 04.04 | Strings | Isle Of Wight 25.04 | Zakk | Dusseldorf, Germany 26.04 | Don’t Panic | Essen, Germany 27.04 | Hansa39 | Munich, Germany 29.04 | Arena Wein | Vienna, Austria 30.04 | F-Haus | Jena, Germany 01.05 | BETA Club | Copenhagen, Denmark 02.05 | Bahnhof Pauli | Hamburg, Germany 03.05 | Mikropol | Berlin, Germany 06.05 | Paradiso | Amsterdam, Netherlands 07.05 | Hall Of Fame | Tilburg, Netherlands 18.06 | Graspop Metal Meeting | Belgium 20.06 | Letzigrund Stadium | Zurich, Switzerland
Bright, bold and unashamedly glam with punchy synths but caustic time changes adding some Crass to the party. This is the second album from Daemönik Fonce. The album is my first introduction to the band, and whilst it doesn’t shy away from the Big Bowie Glam rock, it has hooks, big chords, swirling keyboards and a dramatic edge. Look no further than ‘Speck’, there is a 70s feel to proceeding, no doubt about it.
Whilst there is a dream-like quality to some of the arrangements, it doesn’t always agree with me, but that’s ok. It also has a down-to-earth working-class feel to proceedings, and if one can’t dream big, then why dream at all? The quirky sound on ‘On The Skids’ is very 70s in spirit, reminding me of Roxy Music and various hits from the Top Og The Pops albums you’d pick up in the 70s.
At the heart of Daemönik Fonce are twins Paul Summers (guitar) and Stewart Summers (vocals), whose rock ’n’ roll journey stretches far beyond the band itself. Raised on Welsh anarcho-punk, they cut their teeth in Shrapnel before moving through Ten Benson and The Sharp Tongues. Alongside this, they’ve travelled the world looking after countless other bands, from escapades in Lemmy’s dressing room to bowling with Jack White – sometimes reality can be more absurd than fiction.
But the brothers aren’t the only ones raised from the sewers of rock + roll. Bassist Sam Mansbridge was a member of The Rumblestrips, Keyboards and vocals Hannah Edgren previously served with the magnificently named Tits of Death and latest recruit Andy Prestidge weaves his drumming between Warning, Osiris Club and Angel Witch. All bringing their distinct personalities to the Fonce cat-faced table.
Imagine your influences are Thin Lizzy, Bowie, Bolan, Roxy Music and then the Pistols, maybe the energy of Stiff Little Fingers, and the edgy John Cooper Clarke, now the challenge is to mix these influences together and make a cohesive album that might not always make sense but offers the listener a good time and one they want to hear again and again. I particularly like ‘Solar Man’. It’s retro and nostalgic, and the time changes and sound changes can be bonkers, but in a good way. Besides, who doesn’t like hearing a wailing saxophone in their Rock n Roll?
The record is perfectly summed up by describing ‘DFII’ as a band embracing who they are: thinkers disguised as glam rockers, punks grown older but not quieter, and storytellers still in love with the noise that made them. Amen to that, go check em out at the link.
After signing with Serial Bowl, Dealing With Damage serve up their first helping of music on their ‘London Particular’ album. After making yourself comfortable, sit back, relax and let the introduction wash over you before we get down to some serious post-punk post hardcore business, call it what you like, it all sounds good to me. There are elements of what was happening in DC several decades ago, there is melody not too distant from early Lemonheads and No Means No, and of course, anything Bob Mould laid his hands on it’s that ballpark if you want references.
There sounds like a joy to the album as well as if the guys in the band know what they’re doing and are just dishing up the best they can as they go from straight edge hardcore to radio-friendly melodic harmonies of ‘Nickey Nickey’ where you can sing along as the band just gives it plenty of welly and the thumping Bass workout is a pleasure. Also, the keys help soften the sound and add flavour.
This record doesn’t sound like they had any difficulties with their third offering, and on ‘Wrong Sometimes’, with the keys, they stray into a very appealing International Noise Conspiracy territory, and that’s never going to be a bad thing, as the keys work well alongside the dirty riff.
It’s not all abrasive sounds and edgy moments ‘But Fear This Art’ is laid back, sprinkled with technology-enhanced soundscapes. Spread out over fifteen tracks, you absolutely get your money’s worth as the ebb and flow is excellent, going from the more aggressive ‘Be Careful’ and ‘Hate Can Set You Free’ where the Dads can get a pit going in their lounge and body slam to the rhythm section work out of ‘Headful Of Feedback’.
As we reach the album’s final breath, ‘The Off Switch’ meanders, taking you on a journey right to the album’s closing track ‘One Bump At A Time’, where you get eased back to reality with some soothing Acoustic guitar, reminding me of Jim Bob or TV Smith, which is never a bad thing. Get some Dealing With Damage in your ears and start with the here and now, ‘The London Particular’.
Venom needs no introduction, from their birth in Newcastle in ’79 they paved the way for extreme metal and created their own genre, Black Metal. Which is arguably more popular now than it has ever been globally, with their influence ever far reaching as the originators.
‘Into Oblivion’ is Venom’s sixteenth studio album and features the long-standing line up of Cronos (bass/vocals and founding member), Rage (guitar) and Dante (drums) and marks their first new recordings since 2018’s, ‘Storm The Gates’. Into Oblivion consists of thirteen songs that are signature Venom: heavy, evil and catchy. There’s a combination of their classic 80’s sound adjacent to a more modern, progressive approach but without losing any of their fire and brimstone of old.
The album has been in the works for some years now, but a number of factors held back its completion until now; the Covid pandemic, recording setbacks and the hunger to nail it to perfection, but in the words of Cronos ‘This album has really pushed the boundaries, but if you want to make a killer album, you pay for it in blood, sweat and tears.’ However, Venom true to form have overcome adversity to release an album worthy of their legacy as Rage affirms ‘I’m so proud of this album, it’s astounding! It feels so different, yet so familiar. The sonics are a step up, no song sounds the same, but they all work together.’
The lead single, Lay Down You Soul is a thunderous first offering and harks back to the band’s formative years, and the song Black Metal. While being slightly tongue in cheek, it bears all the hallmarks of a soon to be live classic with its rousing sing-along chorus. Cronos states, ‘I think it’s healthy to recognise things from back in the day and bring them into a new setting that gives it a whole fresh approach. The fans are going to go mental for it!’
The chemistry on ‘Into Oblivion’ is undeniable and is a musical testament to the longevity of this lineup, which now eclipses any other, clocking in at seventeen years. Dante clicks his fingers, ‘It’s gone like that, seventeen years! It’s all down to friendship and mutual respect.’
‘Into Oblivion’ will be released on 1st May 2026 via Noise/BMG and is available for preorder now and is available in these formats.
Double, gatefold smoke vinyl
Double, gatefold clear, black & red splatter vinyl (Limited Edition)
CD digisleeve with 16-page booklet
Digital
Preorders of both vinyl and CD will come with a limited photo card, signed by Cronos, Dante and Rage only from the Noise Records store, while stocks last!
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