Spencer Hughes
Spencer Hughes is a freelance writer specialising in indie, punk and folk music. He has contributed to NME since 2019, with bylines also appearing in the Guardian, Pitchfork, Billboard, NPR, Stereogum, Bandcamp and more.
Snail Mail: “A lot of the new album is trying actively to keep myself human and unjaded”
Lindsey Jordan on leaving New York, confronting mortality, and the years-long process of writing her third album ‘Ricochet’
Mandy, Indiana’s speaker-blowing noise-punk is here to galvanise
Intense, abrasive and incendiary, the French/Mancunian band make their rage danceable as they keep their eyes on what’s worth fighting for
They Are Gutting A Body Of Water are grounded in reality
As the Philadelphia shoegaze band prepare to hit the road in the UK and Europe, frontman Doug Dulgarian explains to NME why collaboration, physical interaction and faith in humanity are key to their latest album
For The Belair Lip Bombs’ hooky indie rock, simplicity is key
The first Australian signing to Third Man Records are making unpretentious rock’n’roll that puts live authenticity front and centre
Militarie Gun – ‘God Save The Gun’ review: Los Angeles punks reach new heights on ambitious second album
Go-for-broke rock songs and total vulnerability make the Gun’s second LP their most compelling yet
Rocket – ‘R Is For Rocket’ review: a satisfying entry in the ’90s alt revival
Los Angeles four-piece Rocket deliver a promising debut album that’s got more going for it than nostalgia
Sprints – ‘All That Is Over’ review: a newly controlled version of the incendiary Dublin rockers
The second album by the noise-rock breakouts is sculpted and anthemic, but loses some fire in the process
Water From Your Eyes contend with the universe: “We, as a species, don’t understand as much as we think we do”
The New York-based indie duo’s sixth album, ‘It’s A Beautiful Place’, finds the band getting existential. They tell NME about accepting their place in the cosmos and their own delicate ecosystem that’s now a decade in the making
“I’m always undergoing intense changes”: the pop visions and personal upheaval of Indigo De Souza’s ‘Precipice’
The North Carolina singer-songwriter beloved for her open-hearted indie rock is no stranger to “quick shifts into totally different realities”
Superheaven – ‘Superheaven’ review: a spark of a new life
The cult grunge-gaze band widen their scope and trade fire for maturity on their first new album in 10 years
Scowl: “There’s always going to be people who don’t fuck with our success”
On their new album ‘Are We All Angels’, the Santa Cruz hardcore band sound radio-ready. But, as they explain, their punk values are never far behind
American Football: “We fell into this thing totally backwards 25 years ago”
As the luminaries of Midwest emo kick off a UK tour, frontman Mike Kinsella talks to NME about celebrating 25 years of their influential debut album with covers by Iron & Wine, Ethel Cain and more