Music / 04/05/2021 ALBUM REVIEW: Squid – Bright Green Field

It’s been a couple of years since Squid’s breakout single ‘Houseplants’, an expertly organized mess of post-punk and jazz, but the band formed in Brighton has pushed their experimentation and genre-dabbling to a whole new level on their debut Bright Green Field. The first single, ‘Narrator’, is a sprawl of shrieking instrumentals, cryptic song writing,...

Music / 04/05/2021 An interview with Grammy nominated Wolf Alice: talking Blue Weekend, returning to live performance, and more

Wolf Alice is a band that needs no introduction (but here’s one anyway). For the past decade they’ve showcased their exceptional versatility, first as a duo of frontwoman Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, then later expanding to form a four-piece with bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey. Their music is a marvel to...

Music / 04/05/2021 It’s a love story: Taylor Swift kicks off re-recordings with ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’

When Scooter Braun bought Taylor Swift’s masters for an alleged $300 million in 2019, there was no doubt in Swift’s mind that she would be reclaiming her first six albums through carefully constructed re-recordings. This would both make the original records worthless and give Swift full ownership of her back catalogue. It makes sense that...

Music / 04/05/2021 The best albums to study to

Studying is such a personal thing, and what you do to help you study looks a little different for everyone. For some, they need complete silence, or to listen to a TV show, or to listen to their favourite pop album. For me, it has to be something more instrumental. I have to listen to...

Music / 13/04/2021 SINGLE REVIEW: Collars – Hey Lizzie, Lay It On Me

Collars’ new single ‘Hey Lizzie, Lay It On Me’ is dynamic, energised, and complex, all in the best way.  The track opens with a guitar melody and effortless vocals that are reminiscent of  the song ‘Bitch’ from the Plastiscines. There is then a switch to a sound more Florence + the Machine-esque with its strong...

Music / 13/04/2021 ALBUM REVIEW: Middle Kids – Today We’re the Greatest

Middle Kids’ recent release Today We’re the Greatest is better produced than their first work Lost Friends, but there’s not much deviation here in terms of style, and the song structures are unvarying, causing the album to blend into itself. The album’s opener ‘Bad Neighbours’ is an interesting albeit slow start, an acoustic piece which...

Music

“Music is overlooked more than it should be”: Lucas Fox on the importance of music, and why Lockdown didn’t stop him from being creative
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Music

“Music is overlooked more than it should be”: Lucas Fox on the importance of music, and why Lockdown didn’t stop him from being creative

In the age of COVID, when everything is online, someone always must have technical difficulties. This person was me, and no more was this apparent than when I tried to video call Lucas Fox, independent musician and first year UEA student, on Zoom for an interview. Owing most of it to my technical incompetence, and…

You need to listen to LONG SEASON
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Music

You need to listen to LONG SEASON

LONG SEASON is an album and the name of its only track, produced by the Japanese dub group Fishmans in 1996. It’s the spiritual successor to their ’96 single, ‘SEASON’, which is similar in tone but not in ambition. LONG SEASON is a well-known piece among indie circles and online music forums, and certainly Fishmans’…

SINGLE REVIEW: Within The Outer
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Music

SINGLE REVIEW: Within The Outer

Billy George, lead vocalist and guitarist for the Norwich-based band Sleemo, has recently started a solo project under the name One Man’s Stop Sign. With three singles out so far, One Man’s Stop Sign is also set to release an EP very soon. Here is a quick look at the most recent of the three…

What do you miss most about live music?
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Music

What do you miss most about live music?

For this issue, we asked three of Venue’s writers what they miss most about live music. Enjoy! There’s nothing that can make you feel more alive than the incredible atmosphere of live music. Of course, there’s the building excitement as you queue outside the venue, waiting to buy a t-shirt of your favourite band’s logo….

ALBUM REVIEW: Black Honey– Written & Directed
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Music

ALBUM REVIEW: Black Honey– Written & Directed

Written & Directed, Black Honey’s sophomore album, saturates the cinematic tone established in their acclaimed self-titled debut. The suggestive name and cover foreshadow the album’s glamour-and-gore sonic landscape and match the Tarantino-esque music videos Black Honey adore (death, discos and POV shots) – the opening track even references Django Unchained. Throughout the album Black Honey…

The importance of “WAP,” Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s unapologetic masterpiece
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Music

The importance of “WAP,” Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s unapologetic masterpiece

Conservative white men certainly needed a bucket and a mop to wipe up their sweat marks as Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” discomforted and infuriated them last summer. Here came everything they feared: sexually liberated Black women shamelessly voicing their desires, making plentiful use of expletives and reclaimed racial language. Against all odds,…

‘Music makes me present’: Kitty Fitz talks about dissociation, girl gangs, and the positives of quarantine
Photo: Alfredo Guzman
Music

‘Music makes me present’: Kitty Fitz talks about dissociation, girl gangs, and the positives of quarantine

Kitty Fitz is an alternative pop musician based in South East London, currently on her third release. Her Spotify biography describes her as a ‘self-confessed liability’. Kitty’s music blends electronic synth and electric guitar. The production, often done by Kitty herself, is layered with dreamy vocals and poetic lyricism about love, mental health, and loneliness….

SOPHIE: The legacy of the pop pioneer
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Music

SOPHIE: The legacy of the pop pioneer

On the 30th of January, the world lit up in tributes for the pop producer known mononymously as SOPHIE, who died after a tragic fall from a balcony while staying up to watch the full moon in Athens.  The artist is hailed as a visionary in pop music, famously playing an intrinsic role in the…


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The University of East Anglia’s official student newspaper. Concrete is in print and online.

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