Niamh Pillinger

Journalism and events.

Manchester based.

The most defining debut albums of the 21st century (so far). | Gigwise

Picked by the Gigwise team for National Album Day

Since 2001, music has changed a lot. Just like the fashion cycle, musical trends have come and gone and comeback again as nostalgia seems to reign supreme.

Kids born in 2001 are now 21 with blossoming music careers, taking inspiration from the current century we’re speaking through. Birthing some of the most exciting new musicians around as well as enduring the talent and impact of 00s voices - who said all the best music was made in the 60s?

Gigwise Predicts: Arctic Monkeys' New Era | Gigwise

The band are about to make their live return

The time has come. Arctic Monkeys are returning. After years of silence, the band are about to set out on a string of live dates that fans are predicting will be the launch of a new era. Expecting (read: hoping) to hear some new tracks from whatever project they’ve been busy working on, it seems like we’re about to get our first clues of what's to come.

But will it be leather jacket clad indie? Suck It And See style rockabilly? Or something totally

Album Review: Maisie Peters - You Signed Up For This | Gigwise

Maisie Peters’ debut album You Signed Up For This is an insight into young relationships and her own coming of age, with songs that feel like they've come straight out of a teenage diary.

After working with artists such as Ed Sheeran and James Bay as well as producers Afterhrs (Niall Horan) and Brad Ellis (Jorja Smith, Little Mix), it is easy to see that Peters’ is full to the brim with talent, and her influences are clear in her music.

The beautifully delicate vocals of ‘Hollow’ paired with a

Album Review: Orla Gartland - Woman On The Internet | Gigwise

At every turn, something new and exciting comes along

For a generation who spent their teenage years on Tumblr and Instagram, the titular character of the Woman On The Internet is somebody familiar; a stranger behind a screen who seemingly has their life together, someone who can seem like a great source of inspiration when you’re not entirely sure what you should be doing...but someone who you would benefit from breaking free of.

The way Orla Gartland navigates her way through so many differe

Unpopular Opinion: these classic rock albums are overrated | Gigwise

Our writers share their most controversial music opinions

What if your favourite record is actually a load of old shit? Someone, somewhere definitely thinks so. Here, our writers out their dirtiest secrets and write about why some of the best records of all time are some of their absolute worst.

Radiohead’s 2000 album, Kid A is totally and utterly overhyped. Stop reading here for a moment and give Pitchfork’s review a read - it's a total chin-stroking, Brewdog-drinking, love-in for music bores

In Defence of 'Embarrassing' Bands | Gigwise

Some bands get a real hard time of it, don't they? Tagged 'embarrassing' and written off. It's not a new phenomenon, but it's one that is growing in power. Sometimes, as in the case of my own late coming to Dire Straits, you're only informed that something is a bit cringey after you've already got into them.

Other times, they become uncool as their career progresses, and you're left with a fondness for an artist that you might feel suddenly ashamed of. Why does this happen? We don't have the an
The Colour of Spring •

Review | Chemtrails Over The Country Club – Lana Del Rey

Following the controversial Instagram post in which Lana Del Rey asked if she could “go back to singing about being embodied” without “being crucified”, where she was going to go after the Grammy nominated Norman Fucking Rockwell! was anyone’s guess.

The outcome? Chemtrails Over The Country Club, a pensive meditation on the perils of fame, Del Rey’s upbringing, and past relationships. Drawing influence from a multitude of her previous albums as well as 2020’s Violet Bent Backwards Over The Gras

17 of the best new artists from Australia | Gigwise

Save for a few stand out tracks like Tones and I’s 'Dance Monkey' or The Chats’ 'Smoko', it feels as though the presence of new Australian music has really stagnated in the UK scene at the moment.

Unless it’s by Tame Impala or King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, we don’t seem to be hearing much of it - so what’s been going on in the country that gave us Nick Cave, Kylie Minogue, AC/DC, and INXS?

Grab yourselves a Vegemite sandwich and some Tim Tams because here’s 17 bands and artists from down

What makes Kate NV tick? | Gigwise

'I don’t listen to the music that much'

It landed back in June. Kate NV's convention-defying, mellifluous new album Room For The Moon. Hooky, otherworldly and exuberant, it's a 50-minute carnival of sound that shows off the out-of-the-box thinking of this Moscow-based multi-disciplinary artist.

What drives such an eclectic spirit? What powers someone to write such astonishing music - and create such magnificently stylised visual art along with it? We caught up with Kate NV to talk about her in
Guilty Feet •

I Wanna Live Like Common People: Class tourism in politics

From Boris Johnson citing The Clash as one of his favourite bands to David Cameron quoting The Smiths, politicians aligning themselves with bands that don't seem to share their politics is an idea that we're familiar with but are these favourites nothing more than sneaky PR?

Back in 1997 when Tony Blair took over as Prime Minister, it is no secret that his alignment with Britpop was a major part of what secured the election. After being hit with two recessions under Thatcher, unemployment level
Guilty Feet •

Should artists use their platform to encourage voting?

In the dystopian world of 2020, has there ever been a more important time to use your vote? Systemic racism, a pandemic that closed down the world, and being lied to by the Tories have all been major features of this year and it's only June. Now that we're 17 seasons into Keeping Up with The Kardashians, it would appear that we are still very much engaged in celebrity culture and so if more of our favourite artists discussed politics within the public eye, would artists and celebrities discussin
Guilty Feet •

Paris Hilton’s 2006 album, ‘Paris’, is genuinely full of pop hits and you will not change my mind

If you open up Paris Hilton radio on Spotify, you are greeted with a whole host of pop star royalty; Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, and Nelly Furtado to name a few. If artists that did so well in the early 2000s pop sphere are being recognised as Hilton’s peers, why is it that nobody ever took Paris as a serious venture into the music world? Is it the fact that Hilton was born into an empire that gave her the opportunity to explore any avenue that she pleased that caused people to discount it as
Guilty Feet •

Izzy Bee Phillips (Black Honey) Interview

Back in May I spoke to Izzy Bee Phillips, the iconic front woman of one of the indie scene's coolest bands, Black Honey.

Your videos and cover artwork for your singles all have a very distinctive style; is visual art something that you’ve always been interested in? Yeah, I love art, I had an art scholarship at school and it’s something that comes very naturally to me.

There has been a narrative flowing through quite a few of your videos, was this a conscientious decision when choosing which si
SpeakerTV •

Hinds @ The Curtin, 22/02/2015

With a packed room and only four released songs, it was easy to see that Hinds’ performance at The Curtin on February 22nd was going to be something special.

Right from the moment the girls in Hinds stepped out of the crowd and onto the stage, there was an almost electric excitement flowing through the room. With the fuzzy opening guitar riffs of ‘Warning With The Curling’ lighting the fuse on an explosive crowd, a wave of jumping and dancing took hold of all who were present. Ordinarily, it is
SpeakerTV •

Hinds Offer Us Their Knowledge Of Aussie Slang

You can’t really blame Hinds for their lack of familiarity with Australian slang, i.e. the English language’s disfigured cousin. Hailing from Spain, the sugary quartet recently made the switch from the title of Deers, bringing with the new name a string of Australian tour dates to promote their released singles ‘Bamboo/Trippy Gum’ and ‘Castigadas En El Grandero’. To prepare them for their maiden trip down under (or out of Europe, for that matter), we quizzed the band on the basics of, well, Auss
SpeakerTV •

Carl Barat & The Jackals - Let It Reign

Most well known for his work in The Libertines, Carl Barat is back again with his new group The Jackals. Carl Barat & The Jackals‘ debut album, Let It Reign, is an Orwellian nightmare down to the ‘Victory Gin’, with a power to evoke feeling that is matched by few other albums.

The running theme of anarchy throughout Let It Reign suggests a punk influence, but it’s guitars that confirm it. All through the album, guitar riffs that would sit comfortably on an album by The Clash are featured, defin
SpeakerTV •

Charli XCX - Sucker

Charli XCX stormed into the public eye with her collaboration with Iggy Azalea on one of 2014’s most inescapable pop tracks, ‘Fancy’. The pop star then went on to keep an effortless grasp on the world’s ears with singles ‘Boom Clap’, featured on the soundtrack for The Fault In Our Stars, and ‘Break The Rules’. Finally, it is time for the release of Charli XCX‘s sophomore album, Sucker.

In short, Sucker may be one of the best indie pop albums of 2014/15. With each and every song as catchy as the

Album Review: Mamalarky - Mamalarky | Gigwise

Fronted by ex-Cherry Glazerr bassist Livvy Bennet, Mamalarky fuse a multitude of influences to create a unique prog-indie rock sound. With the rest of the band members having their own musical backgrounds – keyboard and synth bass player Michael Hunter plays with White Denim, and drummer Dylan Hill with Big Wy’s brass band – there is no shortage of inspiration on their eponymous debut.

Penultimate track ‘Drug Store Model’ is a joyful spin on the feelings Bennet experienced following her post-co
Guilty Feet •

Black Honey 'Beaches' first listen

At 11:30pm 28/07/2020, Black Honey invited their fans to a Zoom party for the premiere of their latest single, 'Beaches' that premiered at midnight on Radio 1.

'Beaches' is a groovy, bluesy bop of a lead single that you'll find yourself unable to stop yourself dancing to. At exactly 3 minutes in length, it's the perfect burst of serotonin for the stolen summer and dare I say, Black Honey may have single-handedly saved it. There is a familiarity in 'Beaches' in the form of the bad bitch persona
Guilty Feet •

Hooked On Your Mind by Ruby Joy

Ruby Joy's debut single 'Hooked On Your Mind' is set to carve the songstress' name into the Manchester music scene when it's released on July 3rd.

Fusing together elements of indie, pop, and jazz, 'Hooked On Your Mind' is a passionate, aural representation of the inner turmoil you experience when you start developing feelings for somebody you know you shouldn't. With the sensual guitar riffs provide a perfect representation for the spell that is cast by the love interest, they manage to reel yo
Musik Magazine •

The Tubeheads – Strollin’

If garage rock and 60s vibes are up your street, The Tubeheads will be well worth a listen. The man behind the music, Reece Clayton, sees the 1960’s as potentially the most exciting time in music, most specifically for garage rock, and The Tubeheads epitomise this.

‘Strollin’ is your quintessentially 60s inspired, guitar driven bop. Easy to bop along to and with that ephemeral summery feeling you get from the likes of The Kinks or The Doors, ‘Strollin’ somehow seems to have a little bit of suns

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