Articles by Sandra Blemster

It was a love of punk-rock music that brought this four-piece from Shreveport, Louisiana together a few years ago. In a city of no fixed musical genre gigging in the same circles at local barbecue […]

Its Facebook page cites: “Great bands, great people, no rip off festival prices and a damn good vibe…a big, big love” and this is what I was expecting for this event. I’d been wanting to […]

Catfish and the Bottlemen sprung onto the music scene in 2014 with their debut album The Balcony which sold 250,000 records. They are Van McCann (vocals/guitar), Johnny Bond (guitar), Benji Blakeway (bass) and Bob Hall […]

It’s April 2016 and London based band Treetop Flyers are on tour to promote their second album Palomino which I reviewed recently for xsnoize. The band have been through, in recent years, divorce, bereavement and […]

The Joy Formidable the Welsh trio (now based in London) are back with their third album Hitch which they made in their Red Brick studio in Mold, North Wales. Fronted by Rhiannon “Ritzy” Bryan it […]

Does Wendy James really need any introduction? We knew her back in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the punky vixen of Transvision Vamp who had hits with I Want Your Love and Baby […]

Future Elevators and their self-titled debut album is the invention of Birmingham, Alabama born Michael Shackleford who was raised on music. His grandfather ran a music school in Birmingham, his uncle plays guitar for the […]

Back in the late 1960s apart from London, there were no other professional recording facilities at the time. Strawberry Studios began its incarnation in 1967 in Stockport, Manchester when local man Peter Tattersall (who had […]

The Treetop Flyers burst onto the scene with their debut 2013’s the Mountain Moves to rave reviews. Taking their name from a Stephen Stills song they captivated the music press. Now in 2016 they are […]

I’m sat backstage at the 02 Ritz in Manchester whilst various roadies pass by up and down the stairs. I’m waiting to interview Matt Shultz, lead singer of Kentucky based Cage the Elephant whose fourth […]

Hard to believe it’s been 20 years since we heard the dulcet tones of Dah dah dah Fun Lovin’ Criminals and the album Come Find Yourself. First released on 20th February 1996 and incorporating an […]

The Jezabels were conceived almost 10 years ago when students Hayley Mary (vocals), Samuel Lockwood (guitars), Heather Shannon (pianist/keyboardist) and drummer Nik Kaloper met at Sydney University. They took their name from the Biblical character […]

Mt Doubt was created at the beginning of last year by Edinburgh-based Leo Bargery and his debut album My Past is a Quiet Beast produced by Mark Morrow (of The Winter Tradition) has picked up […]

Recorded in Broen Studio in West Norway January 2015 in the aftermath of a hurricane that ravaged Bergen on New Year’s Eve it’s not hard to see why this album has so much energy: it […]

Somewhere along the line I’ve missed this band. How so? I must have had my back turned. However I’m glad I’ve discovered them. Tell Me I’m Pretty is the fourth album from Kentucky based rock […]

It’s been almost 20 years since we’ve heard anything from the inimitable indie band Lush. Not since their split in 1998 following on from the tragic death of their drummer Chris Acland in 1996 they […]

Tucked away in a venue in Manchester you will find me and approximately 40 plus people feverishly following a 30-something year old guy in very wide trousers around the room. Sounds like an episode of […]

Some might argue that the Doors Morrison Hotel album was not their best as no hit singles came from it. But for me, I think it will always be my favourite as it spawned the likes of […]