Huw Baines
Ebbb’s euphoric synth-pop hits you where it hurts
The London trio search for joy in connection through transportive choral hooks, thrilling live shows and hyper-relatable lyrical catharsis
Chanel Beads – ‘Your Day Will Come’ (2026) review: woozily brilliant indie-pop from an experimental darling
The second Chanel Beads album might share its name with its predecessor, but here the New York artist is all about refinement rather than repetition
Lifeguard’s vital noise-punk won’t play by your rules
Driven by a multi-disciplinary need to make art and forge community, the Chicago trio are thriving by doing things their own way
Microtonal pop innovator Maddie Ashman wants to mess with your brain
On her new EP ‘Her Side’, the London composer seeks to provoke and delight with emotionally intelligent songs that attack convention
Cardinals are indie’s next great storytellers: “Vulnerability might be the only valuable thing when creating art”
Emerging from Cork with a debut album that embraces emotional ambiguity and granular storytelling, Cardinals won’t be pigeonholed as just another Irish band
Snocaps – ‘Snocaps’ review: Crutchfield family reunion is a fabulously melodic indie-rock celebration
Allison and Katie Crutchfield reconnect on a record that is both a throwback and a vision of two brilliant songwriters in the here and now
Wednesday – ‘Bleeds’ review: hard-won catharsis and thrilling noise
With more eyes on Wednesday than ever before, Karly Hartzman has delivered a record that’s lean, confrontational and lived-in
Die Spitz’s anarchic fun can’t be contained
This snarling, genre-mashing Austin quartet are the most exciting new rock band on the planet, and they’re doing everything their way
TikTok folk hero Jesse Welles: “I’m trying to find a through-line that’s honest”
NME meets the Arkansas singer-songwriter who’s become a viral sensation by “singing the news”, delivering songs about Gaza, capitalism, tariffs and United Healthcare in bite-sized videos on social media
Knocked Loose: “We’re a heavy band and we’re always going to be a heavy band”
Bryan Garris speaks to NME about the band’s banner 2024, throwing a curveball with Poppy and why sticking up for hardcore values feels like second nature
Friko are learning how to bring people together: “The songs live night by night”
Since its release last year, the indie-rock duo’s debut album has become a sleeper hit that’s taken them around the world and built community from Chicago to China
Our Girl – ‘The Good Kind’ review: an indie-rock unicorn that rewards close listening
Fronted by the Big Moon’s Soph Nathan, the London trio’s second album is nuanced, melodic and comfortable in its own skin