Years & Years

As 2022 begins and New Year's resolutions are made, and just as quickly broken, the first batch of eagerly awaited new musical releases are set to arrive to delight our ears. After a festive fill of Ed Sheeran, Elton John, Jona Lewie, Mariah Carey, Slade, Wizzard, Wham and even The Pogues it's almost a relief to know that there's something fresh on the horizon. 2021 was an incredible year for new music with standout releases from the likes of Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey, Little Simz, Olivia Rodrigo, Halsey, Arlo Parks, Tyler the Creator and Nick Cave but 2022 looks set to be just as exciting with new music expected from The Weekend, Mitski, Cardi B, Lizzo, Alt-J, Arctic Monkeys, Avril Lavigne and breakthrough band Wet Leg. Whilst those releases are not expected just yet (we'll have to wait a little longer until we have confirmed release dates) there are plenty of new albums due out in January and the following are the pick of the bunch.

Years & Years - Night Call.

Continue reading: Upcoming Releases: Check Out Our Five Favourite New Albums Due For Release In January

Years & Years singer Olly Alexander has hit back at a recent picture that appeared to show a record shop labelling the band’s music as ‘gay’.

One of the band’s fans posted a picture taken in an unnamed record shop on Thursday evening (May 26th), with the three-piece group’s debut album Communion filed under the category ‘gay’. While the authenticity of the image isn’t verified – the BBC claimed that it was taken in Germany - the band’s frontman Alexander responded to it.

Continue reading: Years & Years' Olly Alexander Reacts To Album Being Categorised As 'Gay' In Record Shop

The 23rd edition of the Netherlands' Lowlands Festival sees yet another wave of incredible artists hit the bill ahead of the date this summer. Hot Chip and Kendrick Lamar are among the major new additions, with seventeen more acts also announced.

Following the enormous success of his worldwide number one third album 'To Pimp A Butterfly', Kendrick Lamar is bringing his hip hop talent to the festival circuit with Lowlands just being the latest in a string of gigs this summer; he will also be playing Bonnaroo, Summerfest, Outside Lands and Reading Festival in the UK. Hot Chip will be supporting their own new album, 'Why Make Sense?', which is set to be released on May 15th 2015.

Continue reading: Lowlands 2015! We Have Good News And Bad News...

All headliners for Wales' Festival No. 6 have now been announced, with Metronomy now heading the bill with Grace Jones and Belle & Sebastian. Further new acts have also been added to the line-up, while many more acts are yet to be announced.

British electronic collective Metronomy head the bill with Jamaican crooner Grace Jones and Glasgow pop group Belle & Sebastian as a host of other new bands are added to the festival line-up. The fourth instalment of this uniquely cultured festival is set to hit Portmeirion from September 3rd to 6th, bringing with it some fine artists such as Catfish & The Bottlemen, Jame Bay, Stornoway and Blossoms to name but a few.

Continue reading: Metronomy Round Off Their Album Tour As Festival No. 6 Headliners

Sam Smith has scored a rare ‘double Number 1’ in the UK’s Official Charts this week. His recent single ‘Lay Me Down’ sits atop the UK Singles Chart and his debut LP In The Lonely Hour has returned to the summit of the Official Albums Chart as well.

A re-recording of ‘Lay Me Down’ as a duet with soul singer John Legend was released as the official Comic Relief / Red Nose Day single for 2015, and his live performance of it on Friday night helped it achieve sales of 105,000. The song dislodged last week’s Number One ‘King’, by newcomers Years & Years.

Sam Smith sits atop both the UK Albums and Singles chart

Continue reading: Sam Smith Scores Rare 'Double Number 1' With Album And New Single

Hype Hotel Presented by Feed the Beat aims to connect SXSW 2015 festival goers with the social media world in their 'Fast Pass' giveaway; a limited chance to gain immediate access to the venue where they'll be first in line to see some of the best new bands the world has to offer.

Hype Hotel is coming next week (March 17th - 21st)

While Austin's SXSW week may be one of the most sought after festivals to gain attendance to in the world, there's also that issue of pesky admission queues which are quite scary to think about. However, don't let that dampen your spirits if you're set to attend next week because Hype Hotel have teamed up with sponsors Mazda to offer a select amount of attendees a 'Fast Pass', with which they can jump those endless lines. 

Continue reading: Enjoy A Queue-Free Session At SXSW 2015's Hype Hotel With Limited 'Fast Pass' Giveaway

Hot on the heels of their recent tour supporting chart sensations Sam Smith and Clean Bandit, UK band Years & Years prepare to embark on their own sell-out headline tour in February 2015, while attempting to finish their highly anticipated debut album.

Years & Years have a very busy year ahead of them

Years & Years first started creating a buzz back in 2012 with their debut single 'I Wish I Knew', and while their unique brand of synthpop is truly a breath of fresh air, so is their attitude towards the music industry, having released a series of free downloads alongside their singles in recent times. 'We're precious about what we make but we're not that precious about the internet and stuff because I think that's just the way it is, and it's kind of cool. 'I kind of enjoy that', says keyboardist Emre Turkmen, about giving away their music for free. 'You want people to hear it', frontman Olly Alexander says in agreement.

Continue reading: Years And Years Aren't 'Precious' About Releasing Free Downloads

The three nominees for this year’s Critics’ Choice award at The Brits have just been announced. Cambridge-educated “urban wordsmith” George The Poet will face off against electropop trio Years And Years and singer songwriter James Bay for the award,  the winner of which will be announced on December 4th.

Sam Smith won the critics choice award last year

Last year the award was won by Sam Smith, whose debut album In The Lonely Hour went on to become 2014's best-selling debut. Previous recipients have also included Adele, Jessie J, Florence and the Machine and Emeli Sande.

Continue reading: Years And Years, George The Poet And James Bay Shortlisted For Brit’s Critics Choice Award

Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian presents his directorial debut with music drama 'God Help The Girl', starring 'Pompeii' star Emily Browning as an emotionally complicated budding young singer-songwriter.

Olly Alexander & Hannah Murray both appeared in the hit series Skins

The film shares its name with Murdoch's current side-project, whose well-received self-titled album was unveiled back in 2009. After five years we're glad that the project has finally resurfaced - and especially in the form of a film. The movie stars Emily Browning as Eve, a girl who finds solace in songwriting while struggling to come to terms with some emotional issues for which she is being treated in hospital. She meets city musicians Cass (played by Game Of Thrones actress Hannah Murray) and James (Olly Alexander Years & Years frontman) and together they form a pop band, with Eve setting out on a journey of success, love and friendship.

Continue reading: Belle And Sebastian Musician's Side-Project 'God Help The Girl' Is Translated To Film [Trailer]