Formed in 2015, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes quickly became a formidable force in the alternative music scene, known for their raucous live performances and fearless approach to genre fusion. Across five studio albums, the band consistently pushed the boundaries of their sound, carving out a niche that mixed raw aggression with moments of introspection. Their most recent album, Dark Rainbow, became their fourth UK Top 10 release, a fitting testament to the band’s growing stature and continued relevance just at the time of their disbandment.

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The announcement itself reads more like a farewell letter than a simple pause in operations. “It is with sadness we announce that The Rattlesnakes are taking a hiatus,” the statement begins, acknowledging the weight of this decision after nine years and five albums together. “From the deepest lows to highest highs, in grief, in anger, and in joy, our band has been a celebration of being alive no matter the circumstances,” the note continues, carrying over some of the emotional sensitivity that has shaped the band’s lyrical output.

The band, rounded out by drummer Gareth Grover, bassist Tom “Tank” Barclay, guitarist Elliot Russell, and producer-bassist Thomas Mitchener, have been praised for their tight-knit performances and musical chemistry. Together, they helped shape the band’s distinctive sound—one that oscillates between explosive fury and nuanced vulnerability, with Carter’s voice often serving as the bridge between those extremes.

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The band’s live performances have become legendary for their ferocity and Carter’s ability to turn a gig into an experience of cathartic release. As much a collective ritual as a concert, their shows are where Carter’s punk ethos thrives most vividly. “Please join us all in celebration of the songs that changed our lives,” the band urged in their statement, directing fans to make the most of this final tour, which will continue through October and November.

Carter, formerly of Gallows, formed The Rattlesnakes in the aftermath of leaving his previous band, seeking a fresh start that allowed for more personal and artistic freedom. The band’s debut album, Blossom (2015), was an immediate success, earning acclaim for its raw energy and emotional intensity. Over the years, the band evolved their sound, with follow-ups like Modern Ruin (2017) and End of Suffering (2019) showcasing their willingness to experiment with more melodic and expansive arrangements without losing the visceral punch that marked their earlier work.

Their most recent release Dark Rainbow (2023) saw the band at the peak of their powers, balancing fierce punk energy with moments of vulnerability. In a glowing review, NME hailed the album as “a riotous, kaleidoscopic journey through joy, pain, and everything in between, proving once again that Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes are a band unafraid to evolve.”

The band’s final tour for the foreseeable future will kick off in mid-October with UK shows in Brighton and London, before the band hits the continent, with the group finally saying goodbye in Eindhoven in the Netherlands on November 16. Fans hoping to seize their last chance to see the band can find tickets here.

The renowned Shepherd’s Bush Venue had been under threat for several months, having first appealed on its Instagram page on 1 March that funds were running short. The owners then started a Crowdfunder campaign, which eventually raised over £45,000 from around 900 supporters.

But eventual relief came when ticket sales for two planned performances by Sex Pistols members Glenn Matlock, Paul Cook, and Steve Jones, featuring vocalist Frank Carter, provided a funding runway for venue management to begin planning shows for the next few months. Initial shows were slated for August 13 and August 14, but the decision came this week to add a third date on August 15. Remaining tickets to the third show can be found here.

Carter is best known for fronting a slew of punk and hardcore outfits including Gallows, Pure Love, and Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes. He will join three of the founding members of the legendary London punk band in place of singer John Lydon, with whom the band has been feuding for many years. Despite co-writing most of the songs on the band’s seminal debut Never Mind the Bollocks, Matlock left the band early in the recording process and was replaced by Sid Vicious.

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The Sex Pistols have played several reunion shows since their original disbandment in 1978, including a successful live album recorded at the Brixton Academy in 2007.

“I’ve been [to Bush Hall] many times over the years, being a local lad. I’ve seen unsigned acts, I’ve seen international acts, and it would be a shame if anything happened to it,” Sex Pistols guitarist Paul Cook said on the Bush Hall Crowdfunder page, which also saw pledges of support from producer Youth Glover and rock band Wolf Alice.

“Running a grassroots venue in the UK right now is harder than ever, GMVs are currently closing at a rate of two per week (MVT 2023 annual report), 0.5% profits across the sector and 38% of remaining venues reporting a loss of earnings. Despite our tireless efforts Bush Hall is now in danger of being next,” Bush Hall management said in March when announcing the venue’s predicament.

“We have run a completely independent venue, without funded support (except during the pandemic) or external investment, for almost 23 years. It is with heavy hearts, but with a mind to a possible future, we are reaching out to those who love music and enjoy going to intimate gigs for help to keep the live music going,” they continued.

With the news of the sell-out of the two Sex Pistol shows, however, venue management took once again to its Crowdfunder page to express gratitude to supporters.

“The support we have had has been phenomenal and we are hugely appreciative to have reached our target ahead of time! Any contributions above our original target will go towards further sustaining Bush Hall’s musical future, by allowing us to focus on bettering our in house facilities and supporting emerging artists through reigniting our Bush Hall Presents’ programming,” Bush Hall management said on its Crowdfunder page after the new broke.

The announcement comes just 24 hours before the Kent double act are set to perform at download festival in Leicestershire and will see them perform 13 dates up and down the UK. Kicking off the tour in Brighton at The Dome, they will then play dates in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow and Norwich before concluding the run with a Halloween show at the O2 academy Brixton, in London. The whole tour will see support from Cardiff based punk band Panic Shack.

“HERE WE FUCKING GOOOO” the band said on their Instagram when announcing their first UK headline tour in six years. Fans will be able to get tickets on pre-sale on Wednesday the 19th of June at 9am BST if they pre order their upcoming album ‘Heavy Jelly’ before 3pm BST on the 18th of June which you can do here. General sale for the tour will open at 9am on Friday the 21st of June.

HERE WE FUCKING GOOOO

Pre-order Heavy Jelly from our store before 3pm on Tuesday June 18th to gain access to pre-sale for our 2024 tour – pre-sale opens Wednesday June 19th at 9am. https://t.co/nSD1ZBA1FY pic.twitter.com/tFQZLPIJbz

— SOFT PLAY (@softplayband) June 13, 2024

Check out the bands full list of dates for their 2024 tour below:

October

15 Brighton The Dome
16 Cardiff The Tramshed
18 Birmingham O2 Institute
19 Bristol O2 Academy
20 Leeds O2 Academy
22 Sheffield Tramshed
23 Manchester O2 Academy
25 Liverpool O2 Academy
26 Newcastle NX
27 Glasgow Barrowland
29 Nottingham Rock City
30 Norwich UEA
31 London O2 Academy Brixton

The tour will follow a busy summer festival period for the punk duo including sets at Download festival this weekend, Glastonbury later this month and Victorious festival at the end of the summer.

The tour will support their new album ‘Heavy Jelly’, which we have already seen four singles from, to give us an idea of what to expect from the album and it’s all been very promising so far. The singles of of the album so far are ‘Punk’s Dead’, ‘Mirror Muscles’, ‘Act Violently’ and their latest release was the very emotional track ‘Everything And Nothing’ which was a bit of a switch from the slightly punchier tracks we saw recently.

Isaac Holman, the band’s singer, said that their latest single, ‘Everything And Nothing’, was inspired by huge losses that both members of the band experienced: ““I started writing the words in lockdown in the depths of a mental health breakdown, my good mate Bailey had just passed away, Laurie had not long lost his partner, Emma, to cancer. It was one thing after the next.”

He added “We demo-ed the tune and took it to the studio, lyrics still unfinished. During that stint, I kept seeing people that looked like Bailey, which unlocked the next line of the tune and allowed the rest to come out.”

Although it would seem that punk has sold out to the punks.

Colchester-based indie punkers Pet Needs have released their new Album ‘Intermittent Fast Living’. The album debuted on the 16th of February 2024 and in that time, it has already seen more online streams than their debut album ‘Fractured Party Music’ did in a year. The album is their third full-length one to date and is far and away their most successful.

The album is currently sitting at number seven in the mid-week UK charts, largely due to having a comitted, fervent, fabulous fan base. The Facebook group, ‘Fractured Party People’, has been a driving force behind this meteoritic rise, and the band themselves have a very close and direct link to the fans. Fractured Party People is more than just a standard group; it is a collective, and the band are very active in providing updates, videos, and replies to anyone and everyone within the group.

Absolutely speechless. What is happening?

Thanks to you, we are number seven in the midweek charts.

Thank you ❤️ pic.twitter.com/xRGn605YTj

— PET NEEDS (@wearepetneeds) February 19, 2024

However, take nothing away from their earlier efforts, Fractured Party Music and Primetime Entertainment. And if you haven’t heard the band before, then check them out here:

Pet Needs was founded from humble beginnings just a few years ago, and they signed with Xtra Mile Recordings in January 2019. They share a label with other notable acts such as Against Me!, Beans on Toast, and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. and, of course, Frank Turner himself having won him over with their explosive, passionate live performances.

The band comprises brothers Johnny (vocals) and George (guitar) Marriott and later joined by Jack (drums) and Ryan (bass) and since their humble beginnings, they have travelled the world and shared stages with the likes of Frank Turner, The Hives, The Lottery Winners, Skinny Lister, The Bouncing Souls, and Flogging Molly.

The band are currently on tour and can be caught here:

APR16TUE Stockton-on-Tees, Georgian Theatre

APR17WED Leeds, Boom

APR18THU Manchester, Night & Day Cafe

APR19FRI Bristol, Exchange

APR20SAT Brighton, The Hope & Ruin

APR23TUE Cambridge, The Portland Arms

APR24WED Oxford, The Bullingdon

APR25THU London, The Underworld

APR26FRI Birmingham, Hare & Hounds

APR27SATSouthampton, The Joiners

JUL07SUN Derby, The Hairy Dog

Known for their energetic, passionate, and powerful live performances, they are not a band to be missed, and it is well worth catching them at a smaller venue while you still have the chance.

The original drive for the new album was dubbed the ‘Bottom of the Pops’ campaign, but right now, they are very much not Bottom of the Pops at all.

Water in the Well is the latest offering from the immensely anticipated Drunk Tank Pink, Shames’ next album. Shame have also shared the high energy Alphabet, another song released in the wake of  Drunk Tank Pink, and the album’s confirmed opening track. 

Water in the Well is unmistakably Shame. The riotous guitar, hard, strong percussion, and headbanging chorus reward all the key ingredients for a smash hit Shame song. One listen and you cannot deny: Water in the Well is the music of modern rockstars, a reputation that rock band Shame is getting closer to year by year. 

Shame premiered a music video in tandem with the release of Water in the Well. The Angie rockers shared Water in the Well to their official YouTube channel earlier, the video in question gathering over 4000 views in a few short hours. 

Directed by cinematographer Pedro Takahashi, the video features a series of grainy-looking home videos of the band. From Charlie Steen flicking between green fields and rainy streets, to the group pushing a broken down car, to some bizarre shots of old school computers through the ages, the music video to Water in the Well is as bizarre and compelling as the track itself. The visualizer to Water in the Well can be watched here. 

Shame also took to Instagram to announce Water in the Well to their devoted fans. Sharing a clip of Takahashi’s music video, the band confirmed in the caption that Water in the Well is “Number 1 in the charts currently.” 

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Shame start Water in the Well with a few short bars of manic percussion, and frontman Charlie Steen belts the song’s opening words with not a moment’s hesitation. Steen sings the devilish lyrics: “There’s something, in the hills/I feel it linger and I’ve seen it kill.”

Steen continues, singing: “There’s water in the well/ I see it float on, float on, float on for you/Tried to call you late last night/I heard you shiver/I gave you a fright”. Steen’s mighty roar parallels the croons of punk legends that inspired the very band we know and love today. 

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The high energy chorus paired with the raucous electric guitars and aggressive percussion knocks your socks off. Brooding and biting, Water in the Well has only increased fans’ anticipation for Drunk Tank Pink. 

Luckily, Shame have already established the release date of their new extended play. Drunk Tank Pink will arrive early next year, on January 15th, via their label Dead Oceans records.

Water in the Well is out now. Drunk in the Tank will be made up of eleven tracks, including both Water in the Well and Alphabet. The full tracklist for Drunk Tank Pink will go as follows:

1. Alphabet
2. Nigel Hitter
3. Born in Luton
4. March Day
5. Water in the Well
6. Snow Day
7. Human, for a Minute
8. Great Dog
9. 6/1
10. Harsh Degrees
11. Station Wagon