Category: news

On New Year’s Eve of 2024, I wrote, “If we finally get a Taxi Girls full-length next year, it may very well be my album of the year for 2025!” Well, I was a year off in my estimation, but my prediction is surely looking spot-on. In what has been the best first six months of a year for new music in recent memory, Taxi Girls have my absolute favorite release of the half-year with their fantastic debut long player Static (out today on Stomp Records in North America and the great Wild Honey Records in Europe). 

Jamie Radu, Vera Bozickovic, Lynn Poulin, and Gabrielle Noël Bégin were smart to take their time and make their debut album something special. As good as the debut EP Coming Up Roses and follow-up single “Rainy” were, Static blows those releases away. It’s that rarest of things: an album that carries the appeal and influence of late ’70s/early ’80s punk rock yet sounds genuinely current in the contemporary punk/garage/rock ‘n’ roll universe. Influences run the gamut from classic punk and new wave to power pop to ’90s feminist punk and alternative rock to modern-day garage rock. Yet Taxi Girls aren’t trying to be anyone but themselves. Jamie Radu, in fact, described the album to me as “us on a plate.” And that’s what I love about this record. The influences are all over the place, but these songs are uniquely and undeniably Taxi Girls. These four women are not just extraordinarily talented; they also have a chemistry and kinship with each other that is immediately palpable. You’re getting different musical influences from everyone in the band, and it all coalesces into something that only these four individuals working together could have created. I’ve never heard a record that sounds quite like this. 

Whichever corner of the punk and punk-adjacent underground you gravitate to — whether that’s old-style punk, power pop and pop-punk, garage rock, or the more rock ‘n’ roll side of punk — you are sure to find much to love about Static. It’s full of superb songwriting with killer hooks. It rocks hard. It’s got punk rock attitude all day long. The lyrics are meaningful and relatable. The production is incredible. And Vera and Jamie, as co-lead singers, have an amazing hot sauce & honey dynamic going on. Their styles are contrasting yet also beautifully complementary. Both individually and in harmony, they make a formidable tandem. I can’t think of many bands with two lead singers/songwriters where I don’t like one a little (or a lot) more than the other. But with these two, it’s a dead heat. Add in a lead guitarist who totally shreds and one of the best drummers in punk rock, and you’ve got yourself a band that ought to be huge. 

Taxi Girls certainly chose well with the three singles it has released off the album. But I’m hard-pressed to find any song on here that wouldn’t have been a fine choice for a single. The sequencing of this record is flawless. It comes roaring out of the gates with a great mix of powerhouse rockers (“Say It!” and “Red Flag Crush”) and energetic, super-catchy punk tunes (“Try Harder” and “Auto-Hysterics”) before taking a surprising turn with the sweet, sentimental power pop of “So Quaint” and the delightful, effortlessly cool new wave throwback “Midnight Mixtape.” And from there, the ride remains a great time but never gets predictable. By the time I got through the four-song run which includes the furious punk scorcher “Kill Your Darlings,” the poppy punk earworm “Secret Handshake,” the punk rock ‘n’ roll fireball “It Makes Me Think,” and the genius New Order/Go-Go’s mashup “Highs//Lows,” I started to wonder if this band has secretly been together for 15 years and is just compiling greatest hits! And one thing that is always a deal-clincher for me is when an album offers an extraordinary pair of bookends. I always love an album that starts off with a song that makes you want to listen to the whole record and closes with a song that makes you want to immediately play it again. “Say It!” opens the record with a proverbial bang, and album closer “Other Heart” is this simple, unassuming little ballad that just tears your heart out. It’s beautiful, tender, and instantly memorable — a perfect punctuation mark on the best album I’ve heard in a long, long time. 

So is Static everything I thought it would be? Yes and then some! I have been known to sometimes overstate things a little bit (ha ha). But it’s not hyperbole to suggest that this album puts Taxi Girls right in the thick of the “best band out there” conversation. For people my age, this is one of those records that reaffirms that it’s a healthy thing to keep up with new bands and not assume that music stopped being good 30 years ago. If you have young daughters, granddaughters, nieces, etc., this is the kind of album that could very well inspire them to start their own bands and grow up to be total bad-asses like Jamie, Vera, Lynn, and Gabrielle. Honestly, I have a hard time imagining any regular reader of this blog not being into this record. It’s just so freaking good! I have a different favorite song every day. You hear a record like this, and you believe in rock ‘n’ roll again. You’ll want a tattoo —or at least a t-shirt! When I see the critical and fan acclaim Taxi Girls are receiving, it makes me happy because it shows that even in these times when algorithms are king, talent and hard work still matter in music. There are still some huge albums due out later this year, but it’s going to take something truly out of this world to top Static.

Bloodstock Bound: Technologist

As Bloodstock gets closer, we delve deep into the line up to find out more about some of the bands playing the New Blood and EMP stages at this years event.

Today we chat with Technologist

Please introduce yourselves.

HI I’m Eddie J and I play guitar, then we have Andy on vocals, Benjamin on Bass, Josh on guitar and currently Joe Bills (session) on drums.

How would you describe your sound?

It’s heavy progressive metal. It’s progressive music you can bang your head too.

How did you land your spot on the Bloodstock bill?

We won M2TM Manchester

How tough was the competition this year?

M2TM has always been difficult and unpredictable. This was our forth year and just like previous years the standard of the bands was very high.

What does playing at Bloodstock mean to you?

It means a huge amount, not just as a good opportunity band wise but also as a fan and patron of Bloodstock for 20 years (this year)

For people who’ve never seen you live, what can they expect at Bloodstock?

You can expect heavy riffs with groove, you can expect melodic hooks and aggressive growls. We flirt between light and dark and like to make a real show of it. We love playing live, absolutely love it and we like people to feel that.

What day are you performing?

Sunday

What other bands are you looking forward to watching at Bloodstock this year?

Nevermore are a top one for me. Huge return for them and very glad they are now on main stage. Their new vocalist is incredible, I’m sure Dane would of agreed. Saxon on the Thursday, I have a huge classic metal soft spot. So many bands, could list many many more.

Playing the New Blood Stage is just the first steppingstone in a bands journey. What’s next in your plans for world domination?

We want Sophie next year of course.

Outside of Bloodstock it’s about releasing new music quicker. We do need more people working with us, management perhaps, a label would be nice. More reach, to be totally honest, that’s what we need.

Festivals in Europe, we definitely want to get that in the works next year. Also beermageddon and uprising would be good. More reach, more fans, bigger gigs! Although, we love our local circuit. Very lucky here in Manchester. Shout to the 0161.

Are you camping with the fans? Which campsite are you heading for?

With the fans, that’s what we are. We have friends and we don’t wanna miss those camp site chills with them. This year Ironwood or jotunheim perhaps. Me and Andy had our 1 year olds last year so we headed to the family camp (was brilliant). But we are doing things differently this year.

You’ve gotta keep hydrated at Bloodstock, what is your drink of choice for the weekend?

Brew in the morning, water til 11. Beer onwards. The occasional camp site rum and if the suns out the mango cider is the way forward.

See you at Bloodstock in a few weeks!

Thanks very much, we really appreciate all this. If you see us at BS please come and say hello!

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Bloodstock Bound: Technologist appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Monday we received the news that Carly Rae Jepsen has a new double album in the queue. Day And Night boasts 24 tracks: 12 daytime jams described as “organic and raw, with live instrumentation and hints of ’70s-inspired psychedelic pop,” plus 12 for the nighttime “exploratory and intense, shifting into a sleek, synth-driven world of dance-pop.”

The post Carly Rae Jepsen – “On Wires” appeared first on Stereogum.

Return To Dust are continuing to their ascent to the very top with a new anthem for the ages.

‘Sweet Escape’ see the band continuing down the grunge-riddled rock and roll path that they have trodden so well since their inception, but adding plenty of modern pop flair to proceedings, allowing the melodies to get even more lodged in your frontal lobe. It is freeing, fantastical and brimming and all of the hope and promise that is allowing them to so many amazing things right now.

A real rip-roarer of a rock hit.

The band had this to say about it, simply stating, “Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to stop holding on to a losing situation,”

It follows on from their sensational cover of Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya!’, which sounds a lot like this:

The band are making their way around Europe right now, with some festivals, some support slots with Breaking Benjamin and some headline shows. Here is where you can see them.

28 – HELSINKI Tuska Festival *

JULY

03 – GALICIA Resurrection Festival *
06 – PARIS Pan Piper ^
07 – PARIS Bataclan
08 – AMSTERDAM AFAS Live
10 – BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
11 – GLASGOW O2 Academy
13 – BELFAST Telegraph Building
14 – DUBLIN National Stadium
16 – MANCHESTER O2 Victoria Warehouse
17 – LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
18 – LONDON Camden Assembly ^

* Festival Date
^ Headline show

The post Return To Dust Share Huge New Track ‘Sweet Escape’ appeared first on Rock Sound.

We’ll have Charli XCX’s Music, Fashion, Film in four weeks. Until then, the rollout continues to roll. Following the controversial creative turns “Rock Music” and “SS26” (and their non-album B-sides “I Keep Thinking About You Every Single Day And Night” and “Playboy Bunny“), a new single has materialized today.

The post Charli XCX Shares “Wink Wink,” Smokes With Madonna, Teases Unexpected Album Feature appeared first on Stereogum.

Bloodstock Bound: After Smoke Clears

As Bloodstock gets closer, we delve deep into the line up to find out more about some of the bands playing the New Blood and EMP stages at this years event.

Today we chat with After Smoke Clears

Please introduce yourselves.

Thanks for having us! We’re really grateful for the support from The Razor’s Edge thanks for giving us a platform!

We are After Smoke Clears, an energetic and hard hitting metalcore adjacent band from the UK. 2026 has seen After Smoke Clears launch with a new lineup, and with this comes some more geographical spread. Joe, our new vocalist hails from the south west but nowadays calls Brighton his home. The rest of us, Aaron (Bass) and Dave (Drums) both live in Brixon, South London, and Kiran (Guitar) lives in Eltham, South East London. We have a pretty strong relationship with the South!

After Smoke Clears has been a band since around 2019 when we released our first EP, ‘Disillusion’ with our super over the top music video production for the single ‘The Crusher’. In 2020 (Covid years) we released our debut album ‘Edification’ with a 7/10 from Metal Hammer, which was pretty fkn great. Fast forward a few years, in 2022 saw Kiran join the band and our EP release ‘The Fear’ which then got an 8/10 from Metal Hammer, extra fkn great, which we followed up in 2024 with our sophomore album ‘Intentions’ which received ‘Album of the Year’ from Novacane. Joe joined us in early 2026, and we quickly released the new single ‘Sanity in safety’ which brings us to where we are now.

How would you describe your sound?

The music we make as After Smoke Clears is constantly evolving, we float in between metal subgenres like Nu Metal, Hardcore, Metalcore, Tech Metal, so we find it difficult to describe our sound in one ‘easy to define’ genre. Our songs range from hardcore adjacent ‘Soap Bath’ to anthemic ‘Animal’ all the way to tech-laden breakdowns ‘Serenity’, to classic metalcore ‘Sanity in Safety’. But what we do have that is a consistency, is an unmistakable groove, everything must be danceable, designed to have a good time. Maybe that’s what makes us unique?

How did you land your spot on the Bloodstock bill?

After Smoke Clears has been grinding in the underground scene for several years now, finding our audience across the UK playing loads of shows up and down the country. Quietly grinding out new songs, refining our craft, improving with every release. Along this journey, we’ve been in touch with the Bloodstock team, initially from just an email introduction, to each year making sure we’re in their faces.

This year we re-introduced ourselves, shared our new sound, new promo, and new team. As a band of our size, this was one of many emails we send, which rarely we hear back…

…We found out we were selected to play at Bloodstock, when the email from Simon popped up, that Kiran saw immediately, and went into the group chat saying something like, ‘DID I READ THAT EMAIL RIGHT? BLOOOOOOODSTOCK BABYYYY’ to which Aaron said ‘Fuk’ and then we had to wait a couple of hours to see if David (our drummer) was actually available… luckily he was.

What does playing at Bloodstock mean to you?

Playing at Bloodstock 2026 is an amazing achievement, each year the festival showcases the best and brightest upcoming talent from the UK. The festival is a superb supporter of the underground scene with their various metal to the masses, Sophie Lancaster, EMP and New Blood stages, so it’s reassuring to be part of this festival amongst these burgeoning bands. It will be a performance we’ll never forget, but also hopefully the start of the next chapter for After Smoke Clears.

For people who’ve never seen you live, what can they expect at Bloodstock?

The After Smoke Clears live show is bursting with energy. We can’t stand still and are constantly moving around the stage, engaging with each other and the audience. We play tight and hard and we aren’t afraid to get amongst it and get in the crowd. The fact that the music is danceable, you’ll find yourself unable to stand still when we start playing songs like ‘Unintelligent’.

What day are you performing?

So we’re appearing on the EMP stage, on Friday the 7th of August, alongside headliners Lamb of God, one of our early inspirations. Hopefully Randy will be around to catch our set

What other bands are you looking forward to watching at Bloodstock this year?

We’re keen to see so many great bands at Bloodstock 2026, there are so many bands who have directly inspired our sound such as Lamb of God, Sepultura, Northlane, Body Count and Leprous, also bands who we’ve played with and made friends with along our journey like, Wrex, Graphic Nature, Seething Akira, and Dream State.

Playing the EMP Stage is just the first steppingstone in a bands journey. What’s next in your plans for world domination?

Oh yeah this performance will be the starting point for the new era of After Smoke Clears. We have a brand new EP we’re recording this year which we’ll be debuting a few songs at Bloodstock (be there to see it!), the first single will drop some time later this year. We’re already starting to plan out 2027, and it’ll be bigger and better than ever.

Are you camping with the fans? Which campsite are you heading for?

I believe we’ll be fortunate enough to be camping in the artist area, which will be a huge honour to be surrounded by the other bands on the bill, obviously we don’t expect to be in the tent next to Rob Halford, but you never know who you’ll meet!

You’ve gotta keep hydrated at Bloodstock, what is your drink of choice for the weekend?

To be fair we each have our own favourite drinks, Joe loves a Monster, Kiran loves a lager, Dave loves a Guinness, and Aaron will have a Tequila. Otherwise we’ll just take what’s on the rider and have a party.

See you at Bloodstock in a few weeks!

Can’t wait! Thank you!

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Bloodstock Bound: After Smoke Clears appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Heavy hitters Big Noter will see the release of their debut album in September, but before that the band is doing a three-day run of shows in the east coast capitals in August.

Kicking things off is new single FMD which takes aim at the myths and racism shaping the nation’s conversations about Aboriginal people. Check it out below and pre-order the album Songs in the Key of Wrestling here.

Bloodstock Bound: Troll Mother

As Bloodstock gets closer, we delve deep into the line up to find out more about some of the bands playing the New Blood and EMP stages at this years event.

Today we chat with Troll Mother

Please introduce yourselves.

Yo! Derg and Roman.

How would you describe your sound?

Powersludge man. Its like an alloy, all the best bits of all the other metals

How did you land your spot on the Bloodstock bill?

We just got that email from Simon, we said that just sounds swell. Next thing we
know we’re on the goddamn poster.

What does playing at Bloodstock mean to you?

We met because of bloodstock many moons ago. It’s a whole love story. Maybe
we’ll just re-enact it on stage instead of actually playing. Long story short, its
pretty dope.

For people who’ve never seen you live, what can they expect at Bloodstock?

You’ll cry and fart at the same time. You wont know what you’re more shocked
about.

What day are you performing?

Saturday

What other bands are you looking forward to watching at Bloodstock this year?

Body Count and Judas Priest. Definitely some bucket list bands for us.

Playing the New Blood Stage is just the first steppingstone in a bands journey. What’s next in your plans for world domination?

We don’t want to dominate the world. We want to dominate your hearts!

Are you camping with the fans? Which campsite are you heading for?

Where ever we can park our van

You’ve gotta keep hydrated at Bloodstock, what is your drink of choice for the weekend?

Buxton… where’s our sponsorship?!

See you at Bloodstock in a few weeks!

See you there!

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Bloodstock Bound: Troll Mother appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Crown The Empire are back with their first new music in three years, and things are a little bit different round here.

The track is titled ‘Raw’ and is the first song from the band as a two piece, that being vocalist Andy Leo and guitarist Brandon Hoover. And you can tell that the pair are taking things in a fresh direction based on the beautifully glacial pace of this new offering.

A wonderfully brash pop hit that manages to feel discomforting and curious as much as soothing and sentimental, it’s a moment that will take you by surprise but also feels ultimately fresh and fierce.

The new chapter of CTE is here, and it is off to a stellar start.

The band had this to say about it:

“‘raw‘ is the first step into the final form of Crown The Empire, taking everything we’ve learned from the emo alt rock space, and reinventing ourselves yet again in what’s our most ambitious project to date. We loved making this song and we hope y’all enjoy it too.” 

Enough talk, let’s get into it.

The post Crown The Empire Share Chilled New Track ‘Raw’ appeared first on Rock Sound.

Italian Classic Hard Rockers Voodoo Highway have released the first single and video, ‘Serpent’s Choir‘ from their new album ‘The Satan Inqviesta‘ (out: Septeber 18th, 2026) via Pride & Joy Music today. Voodoo Highway was formed in Ferrara, Italy, in 2010. In the same year, the band released their self-produced debut album, ‘Broken Uncle’s Inn‘. […]

The post Voodoo Highway Release Single & Video – ‘Serpent’s Choir’ appeared first on ROCKPOSER DOT COM.