https://t.co/f9OkPvChzg

— Two Year Break (@TwoYearBreak) July 7, 2023

Two Year Break have been absent for a while but the band are now ready to share new music with the world and get back to stoking the momentum that saw them labelled as one of the most promising young acts to come out of the UK. With the release of their new single, the Two Year Break are ready to kick start a new chapter in what is described by the band as a ‘levelling up.’

Speaking of their first new material in nearly two years, the band said, “we chose this song to be the first single release of the band’s new era because we feel it nicely bridges the gap between the TYB you know and the new to come. In terms of meaning, honestly, it’s still up for interpretation. The song lyrics and themes have been born out of our frustrations. Frustrations in relationships, in ourselves-even with the way the world currently is.”

The band further revealed that the song is part of a larger concept-complete with a music video to accompany the song. The themes of a dystopian, bleak city will be further explored and revealed in upcoming singles that the band will drop sometime in the near future. For now, Two Year Break have revealed some of the ideas, evident within the video for “Don’t Bring Me Down.” The story revolves around two warring factions, on one side The Resistance-ready to stand up to The Regime whose rule is responsible for the societal decay shown throughout the video for the single. “Don’t Bring Me Down” represents the first chapter in the larger story, yet to unfold.

The London five-piece pop punk alternative rock group formed when most of the members played in bands while attending the same school. Inspired by the likes of heavy hitters You Me At Six and Twin Atlantic, Two Year Break have built up a steady following by releasing songs that have catchy hooks and energetic pop punk tempos that will leave their tunes ringing in your ears for days.

SURPRISE
CO-HEADLINE TOUR ON SALE NOW.

We’re hitting the road with @glassheartuk for a 4-date tour and we can’t wait!

Which one are you coming to? https://t.co/TpOP5CpNxG pic.twitter.com/859X2On82n

— Two Year Break (@TwoYearBreak) May 15, 2023

The band will be on a co headlining UK tour with Glass Heart beginning in mid July. Find tickets here.

Two Year Break UK Tour:

13/07/2023 – Suburbia – Southampton
14/07 – Le Pub – Newport
15/07 – The Cobblestones – Bridgewater
16/07 – SX Bar – Great Warley Street

A source from The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column has given the following information, “Things are very much a work in progress but over the past few weeks they have been secretly writing and recording in Scotland. As things evolved it became clear a double album-style release could be the way forward. Each will have a different sound, with one being more synthy than the other.” The source went on to state the double album would “most likely” be assigned a release date in the “second half” of next year.

The band was formed in 1992 and originally comprised of the trio vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray on drums. All three founding members are the group’s current lineup, at various intervals, the band have performed and recorded as a quartet with vocalist and musician Charlotte Hatherley.

Ash’s debut album 1977 was released in 1996 via Home Grown and Infectious Records, a UK-based independent label known for its work within British rock music. The label’s roster includes a long list of esteemed artists including The Subways, a Uk indie band often regarded as Ash’s successor. The album sired five singles including one of Ash’s most popular tracks “Girl From Mars”, the song was released on 31st July 1995 and became the band’s first UK top 40 single. Written by Wheeler as a teenager, “Girl From Mars” has become a vital part of rock music’s cannon and has been featured in countless TV shows and films.

After the release of Wheeler’s debut album solo album Lost Domain, the singer decided to re-instated his creative relationship with albums. Wheeler then decided that it was time to start recording albums again and subsequently the realisation made him release further music. Speaking in 2018, the singer explained further, “I guess when I did my solo record that was when I started to think about albums again. When we decided to go off and to the singles thing with the ‘A to Z’ series it seemed like albums were dying off and people were downloading single tracks. I do think with streaming becoming popular there is an option to listen to complete records and with vinyl making such a strong comeback we saw albums making a comeback.”

Wheeler continued, “Also, I think our fans were well up for us making another one. We did explore the single thing to a significant extent by doing twenty-six singles in a year – that gave us a creative break that we wanted. Around the time after ‘Twilight of the Innocents, I think if we had done another album it wouldn’t have felt very empowering for us at the time but by going off and doing something so different, it cleared our heads in a way to come back to albums.“

The group took to their social media to announce the release of their new single.

‘All these days are turning into years!’

NEW SINGLE ‘CITY LIGHTS’ OUT NOW EVERYWHERE!!!

What do you all think to this monster then? https://t.co/6YyXMp0jTJ pic.twitter.com/EOqfq4gShp

— The Sherlocks (@TheSherlocks) August 14, 2021

The band’s new track sees a return of the group’s melodic alt-rock formula and features a unique ethereal twist to the catchy guitar hooks. The message of The Sherlocks’ release appears to be of hope whilst fortifying the band’s overall theme of resurgence. The news of the group’s new track comes five months after the release of their comeback single, in March 2021 the band released their first track in two years. The song ‘End Of The Earth’ was not the only signal of the band’s restoration but the release date also saw The Sherlocks return to Twitter. The group’s triumphant return came after a drastic line-up change, founding members and brothers John and Andy Davidson left the group in 2020 but were replaced by guitarist Alex Procter and bassist Trent Jackson. Lead vocalist Kiaran Crook has spoken on the new album and how timing and fate affected the group’s forthcoming release. “This record was all about timing, it would have been impossible to make it at any other time than this, Everything felt like it happened for a reason and I genuinely believe we made our best album to date. In years from now, I think we’ll look back on this release as the one where it all changed and took us to the next level…” The band took to their Twitter to share the news with fans regarding the band’s third studio album, within the post the group also provided the link to pre-order their new album.

Delighted to announce our new album ‘World I Understand’ will be released on November 19th! We’re so proud of this album & we can’t wait for you all to hear the rest of it!❤️ Pre-order the album now -https://t.co/dsoQ0K9A9M pic.twitter.com/t2ritIPqVo — The Sherlocks (@TheSherlocks) August 13, 2021

The group’s upcoming album, ‘World I Understand’, will be the newly reformed group’s first album since the departure of John and Andy Davidson. The album will be released by TeddyBoy Records and has already received support from Radio DJs and presenters Annie Mac from BBC Radio 1 and Steve Lamacq from 6 Music. On the group’s new album, the band have worked together with celebrated English producer Dave Eringa, the Essex born producer is known for his work with various English Alt-rock bands including the Scottish group Idlewild and Nine Black Alps. Eringa has also worked with some of the biggest names in English rock, the producer worked with Manic Street Preachers on many of their albums including their fifth studio album ‘This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours’ and one of their most successful albums ‘Everything Must Go’ released on 20th May 1996.

Crook has spoken further concerning the group’s upcoming album release, the singer described the recording process taken whilst commenting on the importance of the record for the group’s newest band members. “We pulled up at Rockfield Studios in Wales with only a handful of practices together and a bunch of songs that felt strong but were certainly rough around the edges. But once we started, I knew we were onto something special. Part of the magic of this record is that even though Brandon [Crook, the drummer] and I arrived to make our third album, Trent and Alex were making their debut record. Their passion was infectious, and we were getting the songs down at such a rapid pace. Everyone playing out of their skin!”

The band have also announced news concerning their upcoming UK tour, ‘Keep Our Independent Venues alive’. The group will be performing at 15 venues in support of not just their new album but also of Independent Grassroot music venues within the UK.

The Sherlocks Uk Tour

20/08/2021 – Kenwood House – London
03-05/09 – Neighbourhood Weekender – Warrington
01/10 – Electric Church – Blackburn
02/10 – Albert Hall – Manchester
04/10 – Portland Arms – Cambridge
05/10 – The Forum – Tunbridge Wells
06/10 – The Face Bar – Reading
07/10 – The Black Prince – Northampton
08/10 – Met Lounge – Peterborough
14/10 – The Parish – Wrexham
15/10 – Bedford Esquires – Bedford
16/10 – The Fulford Arms – York
21/10 – KU Stockton – Stockton-on-Trees
22/10 – Independent – Sunderland
23/10 – The Ferret – Preston
28/10 – The Venue – Derby
29/10 – Docks Academy – Grimsby
13/11 – Stag And Dagger Glasgow 2021 – Glasgow
11/12 – Sonic Wave Festival 2021 – Birmingham

The album features 11 new tracks from the Simon Neil fronted band who emerged in the early 2000s with an alternative sound informed equally by 90s Grunge, anthemic hardcore and time signature diverse progressive rock. Tracks on the album include ‘Tiny Indoor Fireworks,’ ‘Space,’ and ‘Instant History,’ and manages to impress throughout despite the circumstances overshadowing its release.

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A post shared by Biffy Clyro (@biffy_clyro) on Nov 7, 2020 at 10:25am PST

The album reached UK number one making it the third of theirs to receive such accolade. According to the Official Charts, writing in August this year, the album had clocked ‘26,000 chart sales (…) including 8,000 copies on vinyl.’ Placing the Scottish Alt-Rockers decidedly at the heart of Britain’s vinyl revival which has being growing for a number of years now.

The reasons for the revival of vinyl in Britain are complex and many but can largely be put down to a frustration with declining audio quality in recording mediums which comes with increasing levels of compression, with the harshest culprit being the super-compressed MP3 which is used for online streaming or downloads. Many music fans find that Vinyl produces a much more pleasing sound and can deliver the true dynamic range and subtitles that the artist really intended.

Furthermore, many are also frustrated with the raw deal dealt to artists, particularly those outside of the mainstream by streaming companies. According to Digital Music News ‘Spotify pays most artists between $.003 and $.005 (one-third of a penny to one-half of a penny) for each stream,’ which for an 11 track album would still only amount to around $0.033-$0.055 per person who streams the entire album once. Therefore, knowing this it is understandable that many fans are willing to opt to purchase a vinyl copy since, according to the American New York Post, vinyl sales generated ‘$416.2 million in royalty revenue,’ in the states.

Biffy Clyro are likely to be well aware of this fact, since vinyl copies of the album are available on their website amongst other physical formats like CD and Cassette. The value of Merch is clearly too a fact not lost on the folks at Biffy Clyro who have made a number of deluxe packages of the album available which include bonus extras like art prints, sheet music, extensive sleeve-notes and drawings plus more. In fact, Simon Neil even has his own signature guitar people up for sale on the website too.

Biffy Clyro are due to begin touring in support of the album in April next year, full UK dates are as follows:

11/04/2021 – University (Mountford Hall) – Liverpool
12/04 – O2 Forum Kentish Town – London
13/04  – Corn Exchange – Cambridge
15/04 – O2 Academy – Sheffield
16/04  – O2 Guildhall – Southampton
17/04 – O2 Academy – Bristol
05/06 – Download Festival – Derby
25/06 – Bellahouston Park – Glasgow

Shame played BiL live from Electric Brixton, one of London’s token live music venues. Ja Humbly, also known as his alias, Molten Jets, directed the live video, which is said to be the first teaser of Shames’ upcoming Shame live session film. 

Molton Jets shared the live video of BiL directly to his YouTube channel today. Gathering over 4700 views, the live version of BiL can be watched here.

The track opens with a defiant, repetitive percussive beat, setting a riotous tone to the song. With no time to waste, Shame play a jagged riff on the electric guitar, building the anticipation, before taking BiL down a notch to a low tempo transition led by lead vocalist Charlie Steen. 

Steen’s raw vocals encapsulate a person lost and confused. Steen croons the forlorn lyrics, seemingly singing to a lost love: “I’ve been waiting outside for all of my life, And now I’ve got to the door there’s no one inside, When are you coming back?”

This theme continues throughout the song. Steen questions the unknown persona, singing “When are you coming home? I’ve been kicking the curb, I’ve been chipping the stone.”

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BiL, live from Electric Brixton. Our newest offering into the world is available now via link in bio. Thanks to @molten_jets for providing the vibes, to @makeness_ and Kai AH for giving the goods and to the venue for allowing us to perform on stage again.

A post shared by shame (@shame) on Oct 29, 2020 at 5:05am PDT

Shame took to Instagram today to ring in the release of BiL. The South London group shared a snippet of their live performance, announcing the new track’s arrival in the caption: “BiL, live from Electric Brixton. Our newest offering into the world is available now via link in bio.” The post, which has already received over 6000 likes, elicited an excited reaction from fans. One overjoyed fan wrote: “Wow! I am in love with this tune already!” 

Thankfully, BiL will not be a standalone single from the band, because Shame has confirmed that there will be a live session film recorded entirely from Electric Brixton. The release date of the live session film remains unconfirmed, and fans can only hope it comes out sooner rather than later. 

Meanwhile, Shame are set to return to the Electric Brixton in April 2021. Naturally, the upcoming show is already sold out.

According to Hannah Overton from the Secret Group, a record label that manages the band, said fans can expect a new Shame album in 2021. In an interview with Music Week in August, Overton relayed Shames’ eagerness to put out new material.

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BiL 29/10/20

A post shared by shame (@shame) on Oct 28, 2020 at 11:15am PDT

Overton declared that “We’re really excited to be able to put out new music from them, and they’ve been working really hard on an album.” Overton also relayed that the coronavirus pandemic “has been difficult for Shame” who take great joy in playing insane shows. 

Overton said that “Lockdown has been difficult for them because obviously they’re a brilliant live band and should have been playing this summer. I really hope they will be able to play some live shows, if not towards the end of this year then definitely next year. There will be more music coming from them really soon.”

Alternative rock band Shame consists of Charlie Forbes, Eddie Green, Charlie Steen Sean Coyle-Smith, and James Finerty. Songs of Praise, their showstopping debut album, came out in 2018.

BiL is out now.

I’ll Be Fine completely moves the listener. Opening with a stripped back, acoustic chord progression, the delicate instrumentation instantly drawing you in. Swimming in beautifully melancholic guitars and quietly powerful percussion, I’ll Be Fine is Palace all over.

An emotive track, I’ll Be Fine ponders moving on, and dealing with the ebbs and flows of life. Whilst it meditates upon the difficult topic of loss, the single is not Bitter about such things, it is accepting of it instead. 

In a statement on Genius, “Leo claims that this song is about balance—about finding personal bliss after loss, yet taking time to reflect on a journey with someone.” It certainly has a universality to it, such as the relatable lyrics: “I wouldn’t change anything, the story that we had.”

 Frontman Leo Wyndham croons the surrealist lyrics: “I’ve seen your face underneath my dreams/I’ve held the hands swept it all away”, encapsulating a broken bond between two people. The track then builds to its moving bridge, slowly but surely swelling with delicately powerful instrumentation. 

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‘I’ll Be Fine’ is out now to download and stream so go listen if you haven’t already. For anyone who’s been wondering what the artwork crops have been about for the last release ’Someday Somewhere’ and the latest track ’I’ll Be Fine’, they were taken from this painting, and these tracks are going to be part of an EP along with a new track called ‘Flesh To The Fallen’ that is being released on October 23. The awesome artwork is by the man himself @wilm_danby, and the beautiful sleeve design is by @jane_hass. It’s going to be a digital release, but for the vinyl collectors out there we’re also doing a limited 12” vinyl edition which will include the bonus track ‘Trouble On The Water’ from the ‘Hoxa Sessions’ acoustic EP. The ‘Someday Somewhere’ EP was mixed by @caesaredmunds, at @assaultbattery, apart from ‘Trouble On The Water’ which was mixed by @dani_rbs at @hoxahq, and it was mastered by Miles Showell at @abbeyroadstudios. You can pre-order the full ‘Someday Somewhere’ EP now by hitting the link in our bio.

A post shared by PALACE (@wearepalace) on Sep 4, 2020 at 2:13am PDT

When the song reaches its chorus, the band’s heartbreaking lyricism continues to resonate deeply. Wyndham sings “Cause I’ll be fine/Under my mind/Sorry that I’m inconsistency/Remember it’s always you and me”, a powerful poignancy that is impossible to ignore. 

Additionally, if the release of I’ll Be Fine isn’t wonderful enough, Palace has also confirmed that they have some new music around the corner, announcing their return with a brand new EP. 

Although details of the new album are still kept tightly under wraps, Palace has confirmed that it will be entitled Flesh To The Fallen. Hitting streaming platforms on October 23rd, so far the band released Someday Somewhere on July 16th, ahead of their anticipated third studio album. 

Palace took to social media to ring in the release of I’ll Be Fine and the forthcoming Flesh To The Fallen. In a post to Instagram, Palace shared a photograph of the EP artwork, as well as some insight towards the beautiful painting, which was crafted by Will Bilby. 

Gathering over 3,000 likes, the post was met with a warm response from fans. Prints and artwork from the talented Will Bilby, who also designed the cover art for Life After, can be acquired here. 

Palace also confirmed via Instagram that they will release a 12” limited edition vinyl for their record-collecting fans. The vinyl will include also a bonus track from their recent Hoxa Sessions called Trouble On The Water. 

Palace were formed in London 2012, and consists of frontman Leo Wyndham, lead guitarist Rupert Turner, and drummer Matt Hodges. Known for their musical stylings of acoustic blues and alternative indie, Palace charmed the scene with their debut album, So Long Forever, back in 2016.

I’ll Be Fine is out now.