Matty Pywell

In late-1970s Sheffield, a 15-year-old Jarvis Cocker was concocting a masterplan. Wanting to reach for stardom, he dreamed of being in a band called Pulp, whose sole mission was to “subvert and restructure both the music-business and music itself,” a bold claim for any artist in the music industry, never mind a teenager. It’s fair to say that the band never quite achieved that goal, but that isn’t to say they didn’t leave their mark on music in a way that a teenage Cocker may not have expected. As the story goes, despite getting early radio play from era-defining DJ John Peel, Pulp had to wait

The last time DIY spoke to Katie Crutchfield (aka Waxahatchee) back in 2020, the Alabama-born artist was trying to be a little kinder to herself. Having made the leap into sobriety in 2018, 2020’s ‘Saint Cloud’ was a career-high record that saw her embrace her newfound perspective and begin to rekindle a bond with her southern roots. Her imminent follow-up, ‘Tigers Blood’, meanwhile, is her most confident to date; an album inspired by the revelations that the musician has encountered more tha...

When we go through loss, how do we pick up the pieces? How do we begin anew? These are a few of the questions posed on Future Islands’ concise seventh album People Who Aren’t There Anymore, a record which situates us in the disorienting final throes and aftershocks of vocalist Samuel T. Herring’s breakup. Since forming back in 2006, the band—Herring, guitarist William Cashion, and keyboardist Gerrit Wilmers—have been leaving their mark on a continually growing audience. Having initially started by making experimental bedroom pop, they soon evolved into propulsive, stadium-filling synthpop...

For those in the know, PACKS have quietly become one of the most intriguing bands to emerge from Canada in recent years. Headed up by Madeline Link, they have released two albums—2021’s Take The Cake and 2023’s Crispy Crunchy Nothing—and introduced us to a songwriter who not only picks up on and accentuates the mi...

For the first Speedy Ortiz album since 2018’s Twerp Verse, Sadie Dupuis has been manifesting a bit of good fortune. Their new record Rabbit Rabbit is an ode to the songwriter’s monthly ritual where on the first of each month she’ll repeat the title’s phrase as a way of bringing good tidings, acting as a charm of focus and protection.

Home to bands such as Friko and Horsegirl, who released their celebrated debut album ‘Versions of Modern Performance’ in 2022, the music venues of Chicago are currently a hive of DIY activity. And the newest prospect making waves far beyond their homeland? Lifeguard.
In July, the trio of Kai Slater, Asher Case and Isaac Lowestein released a composite of two EPs; ‘Crowd Can Talk’ and ‘Dressed In Trenches’. Together they are a searing fireball propelled by unrelenting, youthful energy. The band...

Since forming in 2009, Beach Fossils have always favored songs devoid of traditional forms, favoring something more deeply atmospheric and engrossed in the stories Payseur was telling, often without branching off into choruses. But all of that changes on their fifth album Bunny, as Payseur wanted to challenge himself, in doing so pushing the band toward one of their most rewarding efforts to date.

The road to Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s fifth album ‘V’ is one littered with palm trees. Where lead single ‘That Life’ quickly swept you away to warmer climates with its breezy guitar ripples and poolside sense of chill, the record it’s housed within comes as an audible bi-product of Ruban Nielson’s move to the desert city of Palm Springs.

In the dim purple hue of London club XOYO, in the middle of her first-ever headlining show in the UK, Samia has lost all sense of composure. “When did you guys learn the words?” she asks the packed venue with a wide-eyed stare of surveying disbelief. It’s the kind of night that solidifies how successfully her critically acclaimed debut album The Baby has reached audiences far away from home.

The UK has always been a second home for cult indie heroes Pavement. Rising to prominence in the early 90s with their grungy and abrasive style, one of their earliest supporters was John Peel, who picked up on their early single ‘Box Elder’ and kickstarted the band’s transatlantic love affair.

Molly Rankin is taking DIY through some of the various reasons as to why the world has had to wait five years for Alvvays’ new album ‘Blue Rev’. With no new music arriving since 2017’s ‘Antisocialites’, die-hard fans may have been tempted to put up ‘Wanted’ posters, but much of that delay, it turns out, was due to a series of very unfortunate events…

In 2019, Julia Jacklin released Crushing, a record that in its most volatile moments navigated an emotionally eviscerating sense of heartbreak. From that devastation, it charted the uneasy journey of regaining one’s sense of self-esteem and confidence after undergoing such a turbulent time. It also led Jacklin to forge the foundation for her next and latest album Pre Pleasure, a title that suggests she’s on the precipice of happiness but not quite able to fully grasp it.

Having switched camps from a major label to Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory and with a new self-titled LP in tow, MUNA are releasing their most confident outpouring to date.

The third album from LA band MUNA is self-titled. And while it’s common practice for most artists to notch up an eponymous release at some point, you can’t help but feel as though deploying the statement at this juncture acts as a signifier: third time around, MUNA are finally able to fully realise their vision.

“It’s ju...

Stuart Murdoch and Chris Geddes discuss the impact of COVID, spirituality, and everyday life on the band’s first new album in seven years.

The NYC-based trio discuss the experiments and newfound confidence contained within their third album.