As 2023 began to fade, US doom/stoner metal band The Holy Nothing arrived with a genuine force. Their debut EP, ‘Vol 1: A Profound and Nameless Fear’ brought plenty of heaviness, but the band often worked their riffs in a more inventive way than a lot of other doom-centric acts.
Even on the EP’s most predictable cut, ‘Unending Death’, their gift for delivering a weighty sound was more than clear.
In many ways, Russ Ballard’s ‘Since You Been Gone’ feels like a song that just won’t die. From its humble pop-rock beginnings on Ballard’s own (drastically overlooked) ‘Winning’ LP from 1976, the song has passed through several talented hands.
Despite being 100% DIY, US alt-pop band Autoheart have become a cult sensation thanks to social media. Their albums mix indie, pop, piano ballads, nods to synth based material and disco in a concoction that, according to their own press, makes them hard to categorise.
In the second half of 2023, following a handful of digital singles, alternative rock band Pollyanna Blue released their long anticipated debut EP. It did not disappoint. With four songs melding the sounds of 90s grunge with the light electronica of bands like Metric, the material had a brilliant crossover sound, but with very conscious lyrics dealing with themes of depression and other mental health issues, it also had an edge that some new, young bands lack.
Keeley’s ‘Floating Above Everything Else’ was one of the best albums of 2023. With a love of 90s shoegaze and dreampop, augmented by a very narrative writing style, the band – fronted by the charismatic Keeley Moss – delivered a very mature and distinctive work that rose above its collected influences.
With new material already being worked on, 2024 promises to be just as great for Keeley. The band have confirmed a run of dates for March, and if they’re playing anywhere near you, it’s worth putting in the effort to see them!
A full press release and a list of confirmed dates can be found below.
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