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THE RODEO

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Most of my recent writing has been for The Rodeo, an independent online and in-print music magazine. I have been published regularly in the magazine since Volume 2, interviewing artists such as Alfie Templeman, Ezra Furman and Marika Hackman - I most recently wrote the cover interview for Volumes 13 and 15, where I interviewed ​The War On Drugs and MUNA respectively.

While print content is exclusive to the magazine – which you can buy here – below are some examples of written pieces I've had published on The Rodeo's website. 

Alongside the writing itself, I have been an Editor for The Rodeo since June 2019, starting out with the online pieces and moving more recently into the proofreading and editing of each magazine volume. 

Visit their main site here, or my author's page here.
MUNA for Vol. 15. Credit: Caity Krone.
MUNA for Vol. 15. Credit: Caty Krone.

Declan Welsh and The Decadent West – Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold

28/2/2020

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“Who even listens to guitar music anymore?” Dude, I hear you. After years of aggressively romantic twenty-somethings in white T-shirts, I was ready to throw in the towel on indie-rock. What more can these guys really do? Another Alex Turner wannabe? Lovely. Can we stick on BBC2 for a change?

It was getting a bit samey, as can be the nature of a genre if you only half-listen to what’s playing. But that’s not to say there aren’t a few remaining flowers in the muddy field of indie-rock: Glasgow-bred Declan Welsh has teamed up with The Decadent West to prove us all wrong. Their sound is varied, the music delicately composed; familiar, yes, but with just enough flare to set them apart. Put your synths away, sir, kindly pick up a Fender.

Gritty in parts, seductive in others, the band’s first album, Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold, is a testament to the indie-rock we fell in love with before it all got too much. Sitting comfortably as the pendulum swings from upbeat to down-tempo, showcase anthem to bedroom overture, I’ll come right out and say it: it’s a joy to listen to...
Read the full article on The Rodeo here.
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Lord Huron took me on a journey out West

28/2/2020

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To celebrate National Album Day, we’re going through the albums that mean something to us and telling the stories behind what makes them so special.

I like to think I have a broad scope for music, traversing both decades and genres in what has become a rather confused Spotify collection. Playlists a-plenty, of course, but I count myself as a big believer in the strength of a well-thought-out LP. Running themes and song reprises make me want to do cartwheels on the side of the road; I would fight a mighty dragon for the fair hand of a ‘concept album’. Luckily, we’re not short of them: artists have been desperate to prove they can pull it off ever since The Beatles started the trend with Sgt Pepper back in ’67, with varying success among them. I’ve browsed the board, partial to many, but no album has ever branded itself into my heart quite so deeply as Lord Huron’s sophomore LP, Strange Trails.

In an unknown land, somewhere between the barriers of life and death, fiction and reality, we join Lord Huron on a journey out West. Driving through the night, heart-broken and lost, we enter a world of distinctive characters and profound magic: men come back from the dead, hell-bent on revenge as they roam the desert; romantics pick fights and trek for miles through dangerous terrain; mortals play with dark forces and suffer the consequences.
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​While fictional in many aspects, there is no struggle to be had in relating to the album’s recurring themes: lust, love, fury, heartache. Haven’t we all at some point felt as though under some unshakable spell, no longer in our right minds at the hands of a lover? ...

Read the full article on The Rodeo here.
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Bon Iver – i,i

28/2/2020

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August is upon us: summer has passed her prime; normality and routine loom just beyond the corner of our calendars. And just as we feel like the best of the season is over, Bon Iver graces us with something truly worth falling for.

Expectations were high for i,i, Bon Iver’s fourth album to-be, which was originally set for release at the end of this month. Instead, the group surprised us all across streaming platforms last Friday morning (9 August 2019), gradually dripping in each of the LP’s remaining tracks. Almost three years since their last album, i,i brings the project round in full circle, according to the band itself: “from the winter of For Emma, Forever Ago came the frenetic spring of Bon Iver, Bon Iver, and the unhinged summer of 22, A Million. Now, fall arrives early with i,i.”

What once began forever ago as the solo project of a heartbroken Justin Vernon has since evolved into one of the most exquisite collaborative works around – a progression which is almost palpable. Without ever overdoing it, the production on i,i is simply formidable; breaking even further away from the raw, folksy sound of For Emma, Forever Ago, Vernon & co. opt instead for a fuller, more layered composition...
Read the full article on The Rodeo here.
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KAINA TALKS MULTI-LINGUAL MUSIC AND GETTING THROUGH THE BAD TIMES

7/7/2019

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"Kaina has a voice that few others have. She tells stories few others can. She’s a unique talent, on the verge of something special.
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Though you were born in Chicago, I understand your parents are from Guatemala and Venezuela. This definitely comes through in your songwriting, was it important to incorporate your Latina heritage into the music? Did it feel natural, for example, to write lyrics in both Spanish and English?
I think when I write I am not thinking about ways to incorporate my Latina heritage into my music, it sort of just happens because everything I make will be influenced by who I am no matter what..."
Read the full interview on The Rodeo, here.
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THE RHYTHM METHOD ARE UNAPOLOGETIC

7/7/2019

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"Tackling the big subjects our nation is currently facing (pubs and not shagging), The Rhythm Method’s How Would You Know I Was Lonely? is a bold and unapologetic debut.
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It’s unclear, at first, whether the album is complete genius or just a bit crap: over a strange medley of nineties’ hip-hop lies a Cockney spoken verse and a cheesy, vanilla, suburban chorus..."
Read the full article on The Rodeo, here.
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SINGLE REVIEWS, MAY AND JUNE 2019

23/6/2019

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Palace - Running Wild
Beneath the signature guitar leads and dusty vocals rumbles a gentle yet prominent bass-line, and Palace once again has us running with them. An incredibly exciting and promising track to tease the trio’s third album, “Life After”, due mid-July.
Metronomy - Salted Caramel Ice Cream
I scream, you scream, we all scream for Metronomy. The kind of track that’ll have you too busy bopping along to catch the drips running down the cone. Pass my shades.
​Crumb - Fall Down
In a gooey trip of psychedelic bliss, Crumb returns with ‘Fall Down’. But we don’t so much ‘fall’ as we do ‘sink’ into this new release, easing into a dreamy haze led by the title track. A mellow start that eventually uncovers a short, sweet glimpse into the bands more up-tempo potential.
Wives - The 20 Teens
Diving into a deep rolling guitar from the offset, the track heads for a slightly more power-ballad feel than the usual hard rock. In saying that, while simpler in premise than their previous singles, ‘The 20 Teens’ could well be a new entry for those late night sing-alongs among the indie crowds. WIVES are off on a tangent with this one, but we’re intrigued to see where it’s going
Swim Deep - To Feel Good
With choirs, keys and spoken verse, this is not the Swim Deep we thought we knew. Dreamy and direct, this new track will hit you hard.
Featured across The Rodeo's Weekly Roundups, from end of May to late June 2019. Find them here.
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NBHD: CLASS OF 2019

23/6/2019

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"Spanning fifteen venues with over 100 acts, NBHD is back, slamming Manchester with another belter of a line-up. Just picture it: the attitudes, the guitars, the blazers. It’s almost too much. So, who made this year’s cut? The results are in.

Most Likely To Break A Bone On Stage: Sports Team
There is nothing more epic than an enthusiastic frontman. Alas, there is also nothing more dangerous. Sports Team’s Alex Rice is the perfect example, his footwork alone from is like something from a 60s rock n roll gig: gloriously groovy, but prime opportunity for a twisted ankle. We hope not, of course, so… break a leg?"
Read the full article on The Rodeo here.
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FROM AFTER-SCHOOL TO AFTER-PARTY, MILEY IS COMIN'

5/6/2019

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"I grew up with old-school Disney Channel but sadly, my generation was the last to bask in its final golden years. Kids today will never know the frantic run downstairs to the TV as the theme song started: the beat, the guitar, the limo out front. If Hannah Montana was the Queen of after-school telly, my brother and I were her peasant followers, watching in awe.

​But now a decade has passed and the wig is off - Miley Cyrus is back again. Long gone are the preteen bops, mini-album 
SHE IS COMING, is a whole frickin' mood..."
Read the full article on The Rodeo here.
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A SONIC BOOM FROM LIAM GALLAGHER? OF COURSE NOT

4/6/2019

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Hi. Are you stuck in the 90s? Have you been involved in a music evolution that wasn’t your fault? Why not try Liam Gallagher's newest single, ‘Shockwave’.
"LG is back and is still ‘fucking mega’, but only if you ask LG himself; fantastic news for all those die-hard Oasis fans who can’t let go. Fuck Noel with his clever albums, his commendable song-writing and his High Flying Birds, we want the same old shit we’ve heard since 1994. 

It’s just as well, then, that Liam has teased a clip of his awaited new track, ‘Shockwave’..."
Read the full article on The Rodeo here.
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"OH MY CHRIST" GAVIN AND STACEY IS BACK!

4/6/2019

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​"Everyone has something they revisit each Christmas. What is it, Love Actually? The Muppet Christmas Carol? It’s A Wonderful Life? (very original, well done you). All valid answers, but all wrong. Christmas is a time for Gavin and Stacey.
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Its Christmas special has sparked annual joy since it was first broadcast in 2008. Now – almost a decade later – Christmas has come early, as co-writers James Corden and Ruth Jones announce a one-off Christmas special, due to hit the BBC on Christmas Day 2019. Fuck. Yes. 

SO, as the good news settles in, let’s look back on some of the most iconic scenes from G&S in the only way we know how: with its soundtrack..."
Read the full article on The Rodeo here. 
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