View this post on Instagram

A post shared by (@wetlegband)

Any new music would be their first original material since their 2022 self-titled debut album, which propelled them into the mainstream with hits like ‘Chaise Longue’, and earned them various awards, including multiple Grammy and Brit awards, and even more nominations. On the back of this, they embarked on over 200 live shows. These included headline slots, festival appearances at Glastonbury, Coachella, Truck Festival, and shows supporting Harry Styles on various legs of his Love on Tour tour.   Harry Styles covered the group’s ‘Wet Dream’ in the Radio 1 Live Lounge in spring of 2022. His cover went viral, with over 2 million views on TikTok and nearly 14 million on YouTube. Less than a year later, Styles would introduce them to crowds, saying, “It has been the most wonderful, wonderful tour, getting to watch them play every night. They’re one of my favourite bands.”  

@bbcradio1 HARRY STYLES COVERING @WET LEG IN THE LIVE LOUNGE AHHHHHH @HSHQ #harrystyles #livelounge ♬ harry styles covering wet leg in the live lounge – BBC Radio 1

Along with the enigmatic Instagram post, Wet Leg’s website has also undergone a transformation. It now consists of a picture of a small house sat halfway up a hill, and features a pop up overlay reminiscent of the Windows 95 GUI. The dialog box features yet another clue about their upcoming project, reading, “Salutations, lonely heart. You have wandered far, but you are home now. Enter Moisturizer Valley – where the skin never cracks, and the body never withers. Enroll now and learn how to live forever.”

Along with the title, there is also a tab labelled ‘Moisturize’, again with the American spelling, hinting at a name for the project. Stereogum also speculated that the phrase “and learn how to live forever” may be a reference to the Oasis song ‘Live Forever’, and that its inclusion could be hinting at a role in the band’s 2025 reunion tour. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by (@wetlegband)

Just two days after they teased the new project, the band also announced that they would be visiting the US. They will be playing two shows, one in New York on 31 March, and another In Los Angeles on 8 April. This takes their current upcoming schedule to 20 shows, including appearances at Glastonbury, Radio 1’s Big Weekend, and TRNSMT Festival.

Whatever shape the upcoming project takes, be it a song or an entire album, fans online are excited. One Reddit user said: “Excited about this! Loved their debut album and saw them open for Harry, which they absolutely killed. Can’t wait.” For now, speculation is continuing to swirl as fans desperately try to decipher the various clues that have been left.

The Dartnall brothers, Henry and Thomas Dartnall, now form the core of the band. Young Knives initially gained recognition within the Oxford music scene, and their 2006 album Voices of Animals and Men earned them a Mercury Prize nomination. Landfill reflects a thematic shift, focusing on topics such as mortality, identity, and the transience, according to vocalist Henry Dartnall. The singer says the album “is about letting things go before they are taken from you, including the carefully curated images of ourselves. Embracing everything the world throws at you and not taking it to heart.”

And these themes are crystallised in the name of the lead single from the album, ‘Dissolution’, which the band launched alongside the album and tour announcement. The track takes inspiration from a quote in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy—“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so”—and blends playful ideas with deeper philosophical undertones. As Dartnall tells Clash Magazine, “What an amazing way to present such a deep idea but also make it fun. I just wanted to experiment with doing our version of that.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Young Knives (@youngknives)

‘Dissolution’ was recorded live using an old tape machine, adding a rough, spontaneous energy to the song. The recording took place as the band was packing up their long-time studio, a process Dartnall described as feeling like “dismantling everything about our band and music.” This sense of transition is reflected in both the song’s lyrics and its raw production. The song explores the theme of ego dissolution, a concept drawn from Eastern religions and described in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey. Dartnall notes the irony in performing rock music—an art form closely tied to ego—while singing about ego death.

“The idea of my big ego mouth shouting words about ego death is ridiculous,” he admits, “but that contradiction was kind of fun too,” he said.

In addition to the new music, Young Knives will be touring the UK to support Landfill. The tour begins on January 28 at Southampton’s Joiners and includes dates in major cities such as Bristol, London, Birmingham, and Manchester before concluding in Glasgow on February 8. Tickets for the tour will go on general sale on October 11, with a presale starting earlier in the week.

The set was confirmed by the festival on Thursday but still took some festival goers by surprise, even though the indie legends had previously hinted at a possible return to Reading and Leeds last month on Twitter (X).

If only there was a way we could play this on stage @OfficialRandL this year let’s work something out https://t.co/RGHxqQTqzA

— Bombay Bicycle Club (@BombayBicycle) July 21, 2023

The North London based indie heavyweights blasted their way through an eight track setlist, incorporating well-known classics like “Always Like This“, “Luna” and “Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You)” with material from their upcoming album, My Big Day, set to be released later this year on October 20th via Island Records, including the lead and title track from said album, “My Big Day“.

Frontman Jack Steadman, perhaps referencing their previous Reading and Leeds set back in 2014 when they played to an empty tent, admitted part way in the set, “We weren’t sure anyone was going to show up”. This time, however, the gates were well and truly open and the indie legends filled the dance tent with ease, with Steadman offering his thanks for making this a reality, saying, “This is wonderful. Thank you, guys. It’s good to see you”.  Watch footage of Bombay Bicycle Club’s opening set below:  

@officialrandl Welcome back @Bombay Bicycle Club ❤️ #randl23 #readingfestival #festival ♬ original sound – Reading & Leeds Festival

The full setlist can be found below:

“Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You)”
“Shuffle”
“My Big Day”
“Lights Out, Words Gone”
“Evening / Morning”
“Luna”
“Carry Me”
“Always Like This”

Earlier this week on Wednesday Bombay Bicycle Club also released a brand new single, “I Want To Be Your Only Pet“, another track, the third released to date after “My Big Day” and “Diving“, a Holly Humberstone collaboration, that will feature on the band’s upcoming sixth studio album.

The indie rock group, consisting of Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Jamie MacColl (guitar), Ed Nash (bass), and Suren de Saram (drums), formed in 2005. After releasing demos of songs on Myspace, the band entered the music scene for good after winning Virgin Mobile’s “Road to V” competition in the summer of 2006, enabling them to perform at the 2006 V Festival with the opening slot. And now here they are opening Reading and Leeds to a set of adoring fans, the very definition of full circle.

Our sixth album, My Big Day, is coming out Oct 20. It is a shared endeavour with old and new friends and we can’t wait to share it with you. The title track is out now and you can preorder the album here – https://t.co/7DjzS4qaEj pic.twitter.com/xqTCyS12wy

— Bombay Bicycle Club (@BombayBicycle) June 14, 2023

The North London based band have also shared the title track from the upcoming LP, complete with an absurdist music video that combines frontman Jack Steadman (or Mr Jukes as he is known by those who know) as a newscaster, the song’s lyrical content and wacky headlines and stories.

Watch the music video for “My Big Day” below:

The indie rock group, consisting of Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Jamie MacColl (guitar), Ed Nash (bass), and Suren de Saram (drums), formed in 2005 with all but Nash attending the same secondary school, with Nash joining the band a year later. After releasing demos of songs on Myspace, the band entered the music scene for good after winning Virgin Mobile’s “Road to V” competition in the summer of 2006, enabling them to perform at the 2006 V Festival with the opening slot.

Bombay Bicycle Club then released their debut EP, The Boy I Used to Be, in 2007 and recorded their debut album, I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose, the following year, eventually releasing it in the summer of 2009. The LP received a reasonably positive reception, peaking at number 46 on the UK Albums Chart, and the lead single, “Always Like This“, released two months prior to the album, reaching number 97 on the UK Singles Chart.

Watch the music video for “Always Like This” below:

The band’s next album, Flaws, an acoustic dive into indie folk, came in 2010, reaching number 8 on the UK Albums Chart, marking a significant increase in the group’s popularity. The group then returned to their electric guitar based indie rock beginnings with their following two albums, with A Different Kind of Fix released in 2011, and So Long, See You Tomorrow in 2014.

Bombay Bicycle club announced an indefinite hiatus in 2016, with Steadman and Nash each releasing solo material, before returning in 2020 with the group’s fifth studio album, Everything Else Has Gone Wrong. 2020 also saw the band release a charity EP, Two Lives, covering Bonnie Raitt, release a live album wherein they performed their debut album in full at Brixton, and perform a virtual livestream at Konk Studios. They also headlined Latitude Festival in 2021. Their sixth and most recent album, My Big Day, will be released on October 20th and you can pre-order the album here.

See below for summer tour dates:

15/06/2023 – Concert Hall, EartH – London
16-18/06 – Festival 8 2023 – Vilnius
24/06 – Hangar 34 – Liverpool
06-08/07 – Mad Cool Festival 2023 – Madrid
07-09/07 – Otherside 2023 – Slane
26/07 – Project House – Leeds
28-30/07 – Low Festival 2023 – Benidorm
28-30/07 – Y Not Festival 2023 – Matlock
17-20/08 – Pukkelpop 2023 – Kiewit-Hasselt

You can purchase tickets for these live shows here.

Red Sun Titans will include 12 new tracks alongside the singles “A Ladder” and “In The Moment”. It’s the band’s first album since 2020’s Sanctuary. Click here to pre-order the album.

For the album’s full track list see below:

1. Alkali
2. Red Sun Titans
3. From Beruit (Interlude)
4. A Ladder
5. In The Moment
6. Heels To The Moon
7. Floating In The Undercurrent (Interlude)
8. White Lightning
9. Suburbia
10. In My Way
11. The Interview
12. Haunted Spaces (Interlude)
13. Napoleon
14. Collapse

Frontman Felix Bushe described the album as “caught in between two worlds” in a press release. Red Sun Titans was mixed and produced by British recording engineer Matt Glasbey, who has worked alongside alt-J, Ed Sheeran, Maisie Peters, and Coldplay, and executive produced by Charlie Andrew, who has worked with Wolf Alice, London Grammar, Bloc Party, and alt-J.

The UK tour was announced via the band’s Instagram on the 21^st April. “We cannot wait to see you and play songs old and new”, the band captioned the post. Starting with Leicester in late September, Gengahr will play nine dates around the country concluding in London in October. Gengahr is also on the bill for several festivals this summer including Truck, Ventnor Fringe, Brighten the Corners, Live at Leeds, The Great Escape, Kendall Calling, and Secret Garden Party. For tickets see here.

So far two singles have been released from the album. Sunny single “A Ladder” dropped back in February giving fans a first taste of the album’s poppy psychedelic sound. The music video for the track (directed by Billy Howard Price, founding member of three-piece alt-rock band Puppy, and childhood friend of Bushe) sees the band donning lab coats and examining fuzzy pastel-coloured bacteria under microscopes.

The second bliss-filled melodic single from the album, “In The Moment”, was released on the 13th April. The video (also directed by Price) was shot on an iPhone in Mallorca featuring Bushe wearing a suit made for Brad Pitt’s role in the film The Councillor (2013).

“In The Moment” reflects upon the necessity to break away from our daily routine and create meaningful memories,” said the singer in a press release. “As much as sunny days and laughter with friends, “In The Moment” celebrates the late hours without inhibition, where dreams lead and tomorrow lingers“.

Watch the video for “In The Moment below:

The band from Stoke Newington first formed in high school back in 2013 naming themselves after the adorable purple Pokémon Gengar. They quickly caught the press and public’s attention with their comforting and trippy psych-pop sounds and stood out thanks to Bushe’s unique falsetto. Their debut LP, A Dream Outside, was heralded as one of the best UK indie pop albums of 2015 by the likes of The Guardian, DIY Magazine, Far Out Magazine, Clash Magazine, and The Line of Best Fit.

For all Gengahr’s upcoming UK tour and festival dates see below:

13/05/23 – The Great Escape Festival – Brighton
27/05 – Live at Leeds in the Park – Leeds
09/06 – Brighten the Corners – Ipswich
20/07 – The Secret Garden Party – Huntington
21/07 – Truck Festival – Oxfordshire
27/07 – Kendall Calling – The Lake District
28/07 – Ventnor Fridge Festival – Isle of Wight
25/09 – Academy2 – Leicester
26/09 – Hare & Hounds – Birmingham
27/09 – Wardrobe – Leeds
29/09 – Band on the Wall – Manchester
30/09 – Garage G2 – Glasgow
01/10 – Cluny – Newcastle
03/10 – Trinity – Bristol
04/10 – Concorde 2 – Brighton
06/10 – Electric Ballroom – London

Since then he has released many new songs, each different from the last, that will go towards his debut album Cub due out on Communion Records on September 16th this year. His latest single “Leader Of The Pack” came out today and is another stormer from the surfer that usually calls Newquay his home.

Set up on a blistering guitar riff reminiscent of early naughties American rock, it’s an immediate foot stomper that really kicks up a gear when Slater’s chorus sings “Some people have a special kind of knack, Of getting what they wanted, Just to stab you in the back, 9 times out of 10 it’s the leader of the pack, Leader of the pack”.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by WUNDERHORSE (@wunderhorse_)

Speaking with Dork, Slater said: “Leader of the Pack is a song about betrayal, about not being able to escape the thing that eats away at you, it’s a song written as a means of getting even”, before further clarifying his current emotional status on Instagram by saying “I’m glad I wrote this when I was still a teenager, otherwise I would have probably calmed down before it came out of me“.

Maturity is certainly a hallmark of Wunderhorse and something Jacob has gone through many different guises to acquire. Previously the frontman of British post-punk band Dead Pretties, and now ironically starring in his first acting role as Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook in Danny Boyle’s “Pistol”, he is a multifaceted character that has seen many sides of the industry on his road to becoming Wunderhorse. His mileage seems to be paying off, with dexterous new music and slots supporting the likes of Sam Fender, Foals, Fontaines DC, and Sorry, his momentum and notoriety is building, especially as a live performer of which I can wholeheartedly verify having been blown away by his performance at The Lexington in London earlier this year.

In short, Wunderhorse seems to be a pony well worth backing, so make sure you hop on board and listen to his new single “Leader Of The Pack” before you fall behind.

You can catch him performing at his upcoming headline show this year at London’s Lafayette on the 20th of October. Grab your tickets here.