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.

Supposedly their best and most ambitious album that they have made so far, ‘Too Cold To Hold’ incorporates polyrhythmic grooves of gqom, which is a South African style of house music, as well as incorporating elements of hip-hop and jazz along with their punk-funk. The album has been produced by the group’s bassist, Benjamin Romans Hopcraft, along with Jamie Neville.

Speaking about the first track to be released from the album, ‘Fashion Week’, singer Clams Baker Jr. said: “Those that will do anything to become that thing. That creation. And live it. It’s real artistry when you don’t have the means and you’re doing it. You’re hustling to get on the guest list, you get in, you’re done up by means that you can’t really afford, whatever you do… It’s a celebration of people who will do whatever to look good and feel good and step above wherever they are in their own minds.” Watch the official music video for ‘Fashion Week’ below.

The upcoming record sees contributions from various artists which includes British singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas, Confidence Man’s Janet Planet, and Jeshi. Fans can pre- order or pre-save the forthcoming album now in various formats here.

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The full track list for ‘Too Cold To Hold’ is below:

1. ‘An Introduction By Irvine Welsh’
2. ‘Fashion Week’
3. ‘Pure At Heart’ feat. Janet Planet
4. ‘Top Shelf’
5. ‘Body Shock’cfeat. Lianne La Havas
6. ‘Cleopatras’ feat. CouCou Chloe
7. ‘Immaculate Deception’ feat. Jeshi
8. ‘Out Of Body’
9. ‘Staying Alive’
10. ‘Too Cold To Hold’
11. ‘Weeds In The Garden’

Along with the announcement of the post-punk band’s fifth album, they also announced that they will be embarking on a headline UK and European tour in October and November to support the release of ‘Too Cold To Hold’.

The string of UK dates will kick off in the south-west with a show in Exeter before the group play dates in Oxford, Leeds, Manchester, Swansea, Nottingham, Newcastle and Glasgow. The band will then commence their EU leg of the tour with a performance in Dublin followed by gigs in France, Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. The whole tour will be concluded by a set at The Troxy in London on the 29th of November. Tickets for the tour are on sale now and you can buy tickets here.

The full list of Warmduscher’s 2024 UK and EU tour are:

OCTOBER
29 Phoenix, Exeter, UK
30 Cheese & Grain, Frome, UK
31 Papillon, Southampton, UK

NOVEMBER
1 Cambridge Junction, Cambridge, UK
2 Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, UK
5 O2 Academy, Oxford, UK
6 Project House, Leeds, UK
7 The Ritz, Manchester, UK
10 Patti Pavillion, Swansea, UK
12 The Leadmill, Sheffield, UK
13 Rock City, Nottingham, UK
14 Newcastle University Student Union, Newcastle, UK
15 QMU, Glasgow, UK
16 Opium Live, Dublin, Ireland
19 Trix, Antwerp, Belgium
20 L’Aeroneuf, Lille, France
21 Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
22 Urban Spree, Berlin, Germany
23 Neues Schauspiel, Leipzig, Germany
24 ISC Club, Bern, Switzerland
26 Petit Bain, Paris, France
29 The Troxy, London, UK

BAUHAUS STAIRCASE UK & EU TOUR

We are thrilled to announce the UK & Europe legs of the Bauhaus Staircase Tour!

Tickets will go on sale on 22nd September.

More details at https://t.co/63Az6qhwgE pic.twitter.com/iJuOIqDWGN

— Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (@OfficialOMD) September 18, 2023

OMD have released 13 albums, including Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark,  Architecture & Morality and Organisation, over an astonishing 45 years, and are considered one of Britain’s most loved pop groups. They have sold over 25 million singles and over 15 million albums, making them legends in the electronic music genre.

The new album will mark the duo’s first music release since their 2017 LP The Punishment Of Luxury. Lead singer Andy McCluskey shared in a press release,“‘Slow Train’ is a bonkers song and the video is stunningly crazy! It feels nice to be able to challenge people’s expectations of the band after 45 years of creating music.”

McCluskey continued, “We are so excited to be able to tour again with a brand new album to showcase. It’s been six years since we learned new songs for live performances. The songs from Bauhaus Staircase will fit beautifully into our setlist – we just have to choose which five to play, as we have to treat people to the hits as well!”

OMD will be joined on their upcoming tour by Walt Disco, and Howard Jones, who will only be supporting in London. Tickets for the Bauhaus Staircase tour will go on sale on Friday September 22nd at 10am. For more information and to buy tickets, click here.

Tour dates:

22/01/2024 – Rockerfeller – Oslo

24/01 – Munchen Brewery – Stockholm

25/01 – Tradgar’n – Gothenburg

27/01 – Grey Hall – Copenhagen

29/01 – Sparkassen Arena – Jena

30/01 – Jahrhunderthalle – Frankfurt

01/02 – Mitsubishi Electric Halle – Dusseldorf

02/02 – Sporthalle – Hamburg

03/02 – Stadhalle – Chemnitz

06/02 – B90 – Gdansk

07/02 – Stodola – Warsaw

08/02 – ICE – Krakow

10/02 – SaSaZu – Prague

11/02 – Haus Auensee – Leipzig

12/02 – Tempodrom – Berlin

14/02 – AFAS – Amsterdam

15/02 – Cirque Royal – Brussels

16/02 – La Cigale – Paris

27/02 – Ulster Hall – Belfast

28/02 – 3Olympia Theatre – Dublin

01/03 – O2 Apollo – Manchester

03/03 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool

05/03 – First Direct Arena – Leeds

06/03 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh

08/03 – Royal Concert Hall – Glasgow

09/03 – O2 City Hall – Newcastle

10/03 – City Hall – Sheffield

12/03 – De Montfort Hall – Leicester

13/03 – Royal Concert Hall – Nottingham

15/03 – Civic Hall – Wolverhampton

16/03 – Swansea Arena – Swansea

17/03 – Cliffs Pavillion – Southend-On-Sea

19/03 – Beacon – Bristol

20/03 – New Theatre – Oxford

22/03 – Guildhall – Portsmouth

23/03 – Regent – Ipswich

24/03 – The O2 – London

26/03 – Dome – Brighton

27/03 – Winter Gardens – Eastbourne

The band announced the stretch of dates on social media with the caption, “For the first time ever – playing #Bossanova & #TrompeLeMonde in their entireties + others from the catalogue, 3 night residencies in intimate venues.”

The noisy American alt-rock band will be taking their classic 90s albums on the road in March next year. The band will start with a three-day residency at the Olympia in Dublin on the 8^th March, then play three shows at the Albert Hall in Manchester starting on the 12^th March, and before playing three consecutive dates at the O2 Forum Kentish Forum in London starting on the 16^th March.

They will then travel to Amsterdam playing three shows at the Paradiso and conclude the tour in Paris with a residency at the L’Olympia.

Tickets will be on sale from Friday 9^th June at 9 am BST / 10 am CET. For tickets see here.

Nearly 33 years ago, Pixies released their third studio album Bossanova on 4AD featuring the two energetic singles “Velouria” and “Dig for Fire”. The record reached number 3 in the UK and 70 on the US Billboard 200. Listen to the single “Velouria” below:

The following year the band released Trompe de Monde also produced by Gil Norton and released via 4AD. The critically adored album is the last Pixies record to feature bassist Kim Deal and the last album recorded before the band’s decade-long hiatus. Stand-out tracks include “Alec Eiffel” about the engineer who designed the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty, “Letter to Memphis” Black Francis’ take on Chuck Berry’s song “Memphis, Tennessee”, and the band’s upbeat cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Head On”. Listen to the cheeky single “Alec Eiffel” below:

Currently, Black Francis and the gang are embarking on the second leg of their North America in support of their latest and eighth studio album Doggerel. This March the band completed the European and UK leg of the tour at The Roundhouse in London. Released last year, the album was recorded during the pandemic in an eco-friendly studio in Gulliford and produced by English producer Tom Dalgety. The album included the three singles “There’s a Moon On“, “Vault of Heaven“, and “Dregs of Wine“. Listen to the album’s lead single “There’s a Moon On” below:

Pixies now consists of lead singer Black Francis, Joey Santiago on lead guitar, David Lovering on drums, and Paz Lenchantin on bass. In March last year, the band broke their 2 year long hiatus to drop the non-album single “Human Crime“.

See below for Pixies’ upcoming UK and Europe tour dates:

08/03/23 – Olympia – Dublin
09/03 – Olympia – Dublin
10/03 – Olympia – Dublin
12/03 – Albert Hall – Manchester
13/03 – Albert Hall – Manchester
14/03 – Albert Hall – Manchester
16/03 – O2 Forum Kentish Forum – London
17/03 – O2 Forum Kentish Forum – London
18/03 – O2 Forum Kentish Forum – London
20/03 – Paradiso – Amsterdam
21/03 – Paradiso – Amsterdam
22/03 – Paradiso – Amsterdam
25/03 – L’Olympia – Paris
26/03 – L’Olympia – Paris
27/03 – L’Olympia – Paris