Category: news

Blues Rock Review presents an exclusive premiere of “Shoot From The Hip,” the new single from Luke Winslow-King’s upcoming album, Coast of Light, set for release on March 27.

“Shoot From The Hip” charges forward with urgency and cinematic flair, driven by cracking snares, swaggering guitars, and searing lead lines that feel ripped straight from a high-noon showdown. Inspired by the wide-open landscapes of the Iberian Peninsula, the track blends dusty western imagery with a psychedelic edge, nodding to spaghetti westerns and frontier justice in a world gone reckless.

At its core, the song grapples with the idea of frontier justice as a reflection of modern times. As tensions rise and lines blur, “Shoot From The Hip” offers a commentary on a world where people increasingly feel compelled to take matters into their own hands, capturing both the danger and the allure of that mindset.

“The song came through an exploration of the subconscious and a desire to be receptive on a more esoteric plane,” said Winslow-King about “Shoot From The Hip.”

The single serves as a compelling preview of Coast of Light, an album that continues Winslow-King’s evolution as a songwriter, guitarist, and storyteller. Known for weaving blues, roots, folk, and global influences into a singular voice, he once again expands his sonic palette while remaining grounded in vivid narratives and human themes.

The post Premiere: Luke Winslow-King – “Shoot From The Hip” appeared first on Blues Rock Review.

Formed in 2015 by two Scottish sisters Brèagha Cuinn (Guitar and vocals) and Onnagh Cuinn (Bass and vocals) outside a small whiskey village called Tomintoul in the Highlands, Bratakus have been fiercely DIY since their inception. Following the release of their incendiary ‘Final Girls’, ‘Tokened’ and ‘Turnstile’ singles in 2025, which marked their first recordings for […]

The legendary underground trio Zidar Betonsky has returned to the spotlight with the definitive vinyl release of “I sanjam i gledam i ne dam.” This carefully crafted edition marks the 30th anniversary of the band’s formative years, documenting their rise as one of the first Split-based acts to ditch the live drummer in favor of […]

LORD OF THE LOST extend their latest journey with yet another innovative collaboration, coming in the shining form of I’m A Diamond. For the latest single leading up to OPVS NOIR Vol. 3, which releases on April 10, 2026 via Napalm Records, the genre-defying band teams up with German medieval metal torchbearers SALTATIO MORTIS. Featuring […]

Skate-punk band TeethOut have released a newly reworked version of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You,” featuring PEI indie-pop powerhouse KINLEY, revisiting a cover that originally appeared on their 2025 EP Here We Go. The original version marked a bold departure for TeethOut, reimagining the iconic track as a fast, melodic pop-punk anthem. While the band […]

Central Arkansas quartet LEVELS — Kolby Carignan [vocals], Jager Felice [guitar], Jacob Hubbard [bass], and Dalton Kennerly [drums] — are thrilled to announce the April 10 release of their new album This Will Make You Feel Again via SharpTone Records. Pre-order it here. Today, the band shares the video for the double single “Fume” and “Death Dance.” Regarding “Fume,” the band states, “The song explores the emotional weight of a relationship […]

A.A. Williams & Spotlights — Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, 03.02.26



Spotlights (9) opened the evening with a set that immediately established the tone: immersive, textured, and quietly powerful. Formed originally in San Diego before relocating to New York, the band: Mario Quintero (guitar/vocals), Sarah Quintero (bass/vocals), and Chris Enriquez (drums) have built a reputation for blending shoegaze ambience with heavy, slow-burn metal, drawing comparisons to bands like Deftones and Pallbearer.

It’s no surprise that DIY punk supergroup YAKKIE’s debut offering, ‘Kill The Cop Inside Your Head’, is a political, feminist melting pot of anti-capitalist rage. The band is fronted by Dream Nails founder Janey Starling, who returns to the stage after stepping away from making music to focus on full-time anti-prisons activism. Starling is joined by drummer Maeve Westall of Jasmine.4T and Itoldyouiwouldeatyou, guitarist Robin Gatt, previously found fronting Personal Best and on bass for Petrol Girls, and bassist Laura Ankles of Colour Me Wednesday.

The concept of the “cop inside your head” originates from Brazilian theatre director Augusto Boal, whose framework of the “theatre of the oppressed” puts the focus on active observation of theatre over passive spectating. Boal suggested that people do not act upon their political beliefs because they have internalised external oppressions. The cop in your head is preventing you from taking action, and YAKKIE are telling us to destroy the restrictions that it’s enforced on our behaviour.

The opening and title track is a short, staccato call to action. It’s political, absolutely, but it’s also melodic, riff-laden and foot-tappingly addictive. This theme is constant throughout the record; smart musicianship and powerful lyrics sitting side by side, buoyant rhythms and infectious licks underpinning heavy subject matter with skill and sensitivity.

‘Criticise Me’ leans heavily into the sound of a 90’s movie score with an up-tempo challenge on controlling relationships. Described as an “anti-fuckboy anthem”, ‘He Sleeps Alone’ picks apart the notion of the male loneliness epidemic and puts the focus on the culture of “situationships” created by men’s insecurities and desire for superficial validation. ‘Lean Out’ mixes up the tempos, as a propelling rhythm section accompanies a lyrical snarl declaring “they call it care, we call it unpaid work.” This track shines the spotlight on performative feminism and the capitalist rhetoric of individualism.

Juxtaposing the powerful rejection of toxic societal norms and calls to tear down patriarchal aggressions, there’s a vulnerability in ‘Atlas’, which opens with two minutes of stripped-back, delicate bluesy melodies before dropping into a solid grunge beat. The raw emotion of the lyrics, “I’ve outgrown the deepest love I’ve ever known,” show a sensitive and stark contrast to the ferocity of the previous track, hinting at the softness that can coexist with fury.

The pace picks up again with big riffs on the second single to be released, ‘Rabbit’s Got The Gun’, a textured anthem of resistance. ‘Right of Reply’ is a righteously angry delve into the reporting of fatal domestic violence, highlighting the way the media often shapes the narrative in a way that seems to blame women for their own deaths. ‘Secrets’ is another slower track awash with reverb, the tender vocals rising into a primal crescendo. The melody carries echoes of Skunk Anansie’s ‘All I Want’, a suggestion of the influence of the 90s political rock scene on YAKKIE’s music.

Another similarity between this confident debut and the music of bygone decades is that it was all recorded live onto reel-to-reel tape in just four days. This return to analogue feels critically relevant for the overtly anti-capitalist sentiment that embodies YAKKIE’s songwriting. There’s an authenticity from the fuzzy guitar string slides and a palpable energy in every track. It’s impossible to listen to this album without picturing the band bouncing around in the studio, fuelled with ardent vigour and a whole lot to say.

‘Take It All’ opens with the the spoken words “Yeah y…OK fine” over residual feedback and a rhythmic reset, a moment that cements the live nature of the recording. A rare imperfection, an unrehearsed beginning that makes the track feel that much more tangible, real and personal. Final track ‘Under The Pavement Is The Beach’ is an upbeat, singalong anthem. In a world of digital streams and commercially driven single releases, this album was written to be listened to in order and it’s clear that this concluding track is an intentional parting message of hope. It’s the ultimate act of rebellion and resistance: “We’ll scream…and we’ll plant some seeds…we’ll find a way out.”

It’s one thing telling you to kill the cop inside your head, but to do it so convincingly and in such an enjoyable manner is quite something else. YAKKIE write the kind of music that really does make you want to join a union, reject authority, gather the masses to protest and stand up for the oppressed. ‘Kill the Cop Inside Your Head’ is a call to action to mobilise, to find a collective voice and believe in your own power. Get ready to join the revolution.

ELLIE ODURNY

UK-based Australian trio Howling Bells has just released their latest single Melbourne, marking the final release before the arrival of Strange Life, their first album in over 12 years, on February 13. Juanita explains: “Melbourne is a song about deep yearning and ultimately grief. It explores a unique inner conflict many of us feel when […]

“Time Is a Thief” Lyric Video Premieres Alongside Full EP Release on February 10th, 2026.

Melodic Hard Rock Statement from Living Room Rockstar Who Never Stopped Believing.

Cairo, Egypt – February 10, 2026 – On his 50th birthday, Andrzej Citowicz’s CITOVITZ AND FIREFLIES OF FEBRUARY releases “My Revenge,” a five-song EP that maps fifty years of refusing to disappear. Citovitz and The Fireflies of February—the project comprising Citowicz, his wife and lyricist Shereen Shoukry Citowicz, and longtime collaborator bassist Patryk Szymański—premiere the complete EP alongside a lyric video for “Time Is a Thief,” a song about survival when survival felt impossible.
“My Revenge” arrives not as celebration but as statement: proof of existence after everything that said existence shouldn’t continue.

“My Revenge” EP is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and all major streaming platforms.
The lyric video for “Time Is a Thief” premieres simultaneously on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmOpZ09ethk

FIFTY YEARS: AGAINST ALL ODDS

February 10th, 2026 marks Andrzej Citowicz’s 50th birthday—a milestone that once felt unreachable.
“Some years, fifty felt impossible,” Citowicz reflects. “When grief sat heavier than breath. When loss carved holes I didn’t know how to fill. When the world said stop and my heart barely whispered keep going. But here I am. Fifty years of refusing to disappear.”

The journey to this moment has been marked by profound loss—the death of his son Jonasz, documented in his deeply personal album “Living Room Rockstar Part 2″—and the sustained survival that followed. “My Revenge” transforms that survival into sound.

“Revenge isn’t about anger or bitterness,” he explains. “My revenge is existence after everything that said I shouldn’t exist anymore. It’s breathing when breathing felt impossible. It’s creating after everything tried to silence me. It’s still standing with a guitar in my hands after fifty years of being told this was impossible.”

The EP title carries layers of meaning beyond defiance.
“Fifty isn’t what it was for our parents’ generation,” Citowicz observes. “Our 50 is different. Still unfinished. Still learning. Still proving something. These five songs are rehearsals for whatever comes next—not endings, but preparation. Fifty doesn’t mean done. It means experienced enough to know what matters. Scarred enough to understand survival. Humble enough to keep learning.”

THE FIREFLIES OF FEBRUARY: LIGHT IN THE DARKEST SEASON

The project name—Citovitz and The Fireflies of February—carries its own significance, drawn from the only fireflies that shine during dark winter months.
“Fireflies of February are the rare lights that appear when everything else has gone cold,” Citowicz explains. “That’s what we are: me, my wife Shereen who writes the words I can’t say, and brothers like Patryk Szymański who became family through music. We’re the lights that refused to go out in the darkest season.”

This collective survival—personal, creative, collaborative—forms the foundation of “My Revenge.”
“Marriage, brotherhood, music—these are what kept me breathing when nothing else could,” he states. “Shereen held me through the worst of it. Patryk stood beside me when I couldn’t stand alone. The guitar gave me a language when words failed. This EP is all of that woven together—survival as collaboration, creation as revenge against everything that tried to destroy us.”

“TIME IS A THIEF”: EVERY WORD MEANS A LIFE

The lyric video for “Time Is a Thief” premieres alongside the full EP, offering visual accompaniment to one of the project’s most personal tracks.
“Every word in this song means the world to me,” Citowicz states quietly. “More than that—it means my life. My fight. My dreams. My hope. Being broken and getting up every single day. When people watch this lyric video, they’re not just reading words—they’re reading fifty years of survival translated into language.”

The song confronts mortality, loss, and the passage of time with unflinching honesty while maintaining hope that creation can transcend what time steals.
“Time takes everything eventually,” he reflects. “But music—what we create—that stays. That’s the only revenge against time that works. You can’t stop it from stealing. But you can make something that outlasts the theft.”

MARRIAGE AS SURVIVAL: SHEREEN’S VOICE IN THE DARKNESS

Throughout “My Revenge,” Shereen Shoukry Citowicz’s lyrics provide the emotional core—words that map not just her husband’s journey, but her own fifty-three years of being overlooked, unappreciated, and surviving anyway.
“Without my wife, I literally would not have made it to fifty,” Citowicz states with absolute certainty. “She held me when I was breaking. She wrote words I couldn’t find. She believed in this music when belief seemed impossible. Every song on this EP exists because she kept me alive long enough to create it.”

The collaboration between husband and wife—his melodies, her words—creates something neither could achieve alone.
“Shereen sees what I feel before I can name it,” he explains. “She writes the truth I’m trying to play. After all these years together, we’ve learned to speak the same language through music. Her lyrics on this EP are some of the most powerful she’s ever written. They carry weight because they’re earned through actual survival.”

Their marriage—seventeen years and counting—provides the foundation for creation that transforms pain into art.
“Jon Bon Jovi taught me you can be devoted to one person and still create wild, passionate music,” Citowicz notes. “You don’t have to choose between commitment and creativity. Shereen is proof of that. She’s my partner in life and in music. My revenge against loneliness is still being married to someone who knows my darkness and stays anyway.”

PATRYK SZYMAŃSKI: A DECADE OF BROTHERHOOD

Bassist Patryk Szymański’s presence throughout “My Revenge” represents more than musical collaboration—it embodies over a decade of genuine brotherhood forged through shared survival.
“Patryk makes my songs complete,” Citowicz states. “Not just musically—though his bass work is phenomenal—but humanly. He’s been there through the moments when music was the only thing keeping me alive. Through the loss of Jonasz. Through grief that had no words. He stayed when staying was hard. That’s brotherhood.”

The musical chemistry between Citowicz and Szymański reflects years of playing, creating, and surviving together.
“We’ve shared more than stages and studios,” Citowicz reflects. “We’ve shared grief, joy, silence, sound—everything that makes up a life in music. You can hear that connection in every track. You can’t fake the kind of chemistry that comes from genuine brotherhood. Patryk understands what I’m trying to say before I say it. That’s what a decade of friendship becomes.”

Szymański’s bass lines throughout “My Revenge” provide the foundation that grounds Citowicz’s guitar work while allowing it to soar—a perfect metaphor for how brotherhood supports individual expression.

MUSICAL PHILOSOPHY: BON JOVI, DEF LEPPARD, AND THE CRAFT OF SURVIVAL

Musically, “My Revenge” honors the classic rock traditions that shaped Citowicz while embracing modern production techniques—creating melodic hard rock that feels timeless but sounds current.
“I grew up with Bon Jovi and Def Leppard posters covering my walls in Wałbrzych, Poland,” Citowicz recalls. “Those bands taught me about melodic craft, about hooks that stay with you, about guitar-driven rock that still serves the song. But they also taught me something deeper—Jon Bon Jovi showed me you can survive anything if you stay true to yourself. You can honor commitment while creating passionate music. That philosophy runs through everything I make.”
The production balances raw emotion with polished execution—never sacrificing feeling for technical perfection, never abandoning craft for pure confession.

“Desmond Child and Jon Bon Jovi taught me about hooks—those moments that grab you and don’t let go,” he notes. “But they also taught me that commercial appeal and emotional honesty aren’t opposites. You can write a song people want to sing along to that still means something real. That’s what I’m always chasing—music that connects immediately but rewards deeper listening.”

The result is an EP that bridges generations: appealing to listeners raised on 80s rock anthems while sounding vital and contemporary.
“I wanted these songs to feel timeless but sound today,” Citowicz explains. “The melodic sensibility, the song structure, the way guitars and bass work together—that’s pure 80s hard rock influence. But the production, the sonic clarity, the way everything sits in the mix—that’s using everything we can do now. It’s respecting where I came from while living in the present. Just like turning fifty—honoring the past while refusing to be finished.”

THE LIVING ROOM ROCKSTAR AT FIFTY

Throughout his career, Citowicz has embraced the identity of “living room rockstar”—someone who never achieved mainstream success but never stopped believing music matters.
“I never became the rockstar on those posters in my teenage bedroom,” he acknowledges. “I never played stadiums or signed major deals. But I’m still here. Still writing. Still recording. Still finding people who connect with what I’m trying to say. After fifty years, I’m still standing with a guitar in my hands.”

This persistence—creation without guarantee of recognition—forms its own kind of revenge against a world that measures worth by commercial success.
“My revenge isn’t about proving them wrong,” he clarifies. “It’s about proving that creation itself matters more than recognition. That making music because you have to is more real than making music because it sells. I’m a living room rockstar because that’s where the truth lives—not on stages, but in small rooms where you play because stopping would mean death.”
The EP’s five tracks collectively represent this philosophy: songs created not for charts or fame, but for survival and connection.

TRACK-BY-TRACK: FIVE SONGS, FIFTY YEARS

While “You’re Not My Friend—You’re My Brother, My Friend” and “Time Is a Thief” serve as the EP’s emotional anchors, each of the five tracks carries its own weight and purpose.
“Every song has its own story, its own reason for existing,” Citowicz notes. “But they all connect around this idea of revenge as creation—of refusing to let pain, loss, or being overlooked have the final word. Of still standing with a guitar after everything that tried to knock you down.”

The collective statement is clear: survival itself is creative act, and creation itself is revenge against everything that tries to silence you.
“These five songs are my line in the sand,” he states. “They say: I made it here. I survived everything that tried to stop me. And I’m not finished—I’m just getting started. Fifty isn’t an ending. It’s preparation for whatever comes next.”

FROM “MY STORY” TO “MY REVENGE”: A CREATIVE PROGRESSION

“My Revenge” arrives less than six weeks after Citowicz’s surprise album “My Story,” released January 1st, 2026, which featured lyrics entirely written by Shereen chronicling her fifty-three years of survival.
The rapid progression from one project to the next reflects creative urgency born from survival.

“‘My Story’ was Shereen’s voice—her fifty-three years, her truth, her refusal to stay silent after being overlooked for so long,” Citowicz explains. “‘My Revenge’ is mine. But they’re connected. Both are about refusing to let pain write the ending. Both prove that even when life tries to destroy you, you can still create. Both say: we’re still here, still making music, still refusing to disappear.”

The thematic and sonic continuity between projects demonstrates that survival isn’t singular achievement but ongoing practice.
“You don’t survive once and finish,” he reflects. “You survive every day. You create every day. You choose to keep going every day. ‘My Story’ and ‘My Revenge’ are both part of that daily choice—the choice to make something from what tried to break us.”

A BIRTHDAY THAT MEANS SOMETHING

For Citowicz, releasing “My Revenge” on his 50th birthday transforms what could be arbitrary date into meaningful marker.
“I know sometimes a birthday is just a date on a calendar,” he acknowledges. “But hopefully not this time. Hopefully this one means something. Fifty years survived. New music released. Still standing. Still married to someone who tolerates my hair and my dreams with equal patience. That feels like more than just a date. That feels like winning.”

The decision to premiere the EP on his birthday wasn’t strategic marketing but personal necessity.
“This EP had to come out on my fiftieth birthday,” he states simply. “These songs are proof I made it here. They’re the evidence that I survived everything that tried to stop me from reaching this day. Releasing them on any other date would miss the point—they are my birthday, more than cake or candles or celebration. They’re what fifty years of survival sounds like when you turn it into music.”

THE LYRIC VIDEO: MAKING WORDS VISIBLE

The premiere of the “Time Is a Thief” lyric video alongside the full EP release serves specific purpose: making Shereen’s words visible, readable, present.
“I wanted people to see the lyrics as they listen,” Citowicz explains. “These words matter. They deserve to be read, considered, felt. This isn’t background music. This is someone’s life—my life, Shereen’s life—translated into language that might help someone else survive theirs.”

The lyric video format emphasizes the collaboration at the heart of the project: his melodies, her words, their shared survival.
“Every word you’ll see in that video represents something real,” he states. “Every line earned through actual living, actual suffering, actual survival. When people watch it, they’re not just reading lyrics—they’re reading fifty years of refusing to let pain have the final word.”

LOOKING FORWARD: WHAT COMES AFTER REVENGE

While “My Revenge” serves as definitive statement about reaching fifty, Citowicz makes clear this isn’t conclusion but continuation.
“These five songs are rehearsals for whatever comes next,” he explains. “Fifty doesn’t mean finished. It means ready for the next chapter. Ready to keep creating. Ready to keep surviving. Ready to keep turning pain into something beautiful.”

The future remains unwritten—and that’s precisely the point.
“My revenge against time, against loss, against everything that tried to destroy me is simple,” Citowicz states. “I’m still here. Still creating. Still believing music matters. And I’m not stopping. That’s the best revenge I can imagine—refusing to be finished when the world expected me to disappear.”

CRITICAL RECEPTION AND INDUSTRY RECOGNITION

Recent recognition adds context to “My Revenge” release: Metal Pedia named both “Living Room Rockstar Part 1” and “Part 2” as Albums of the Year, while Citowicz’s YouTube channel recently surpassed 100,000 views—milestones that validate persistence without mainstream support.

“These recognitions mean something,” Citowicz acknowledges. “They say that music made in living rooms, released independently, created from survival rather than strategy—that can still matter. That can still reach people. That’s its own kind of revenge against an industry that said you need major labels and radio play to matter.”

But the real measure of success remains more personal.
“If these songs help even one person survive their own darkness,” he states, “if they remind someone that creation is possible after destruction, if they give hope to someone who lost it—then everything was worth it. That’s what music is for. Not charts or streams or recognition, but connection. Human to human. Survivor to survivor.”

AVAILABILITY AND PREMIERE DETAILS

“My Revenge” EP is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and all major streaming platforms.
The lyric video for “Time Is a Thief” premieres simultaneously on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmOpZ09ethk

++++++

About Andrzej Citowicz:
Andrzej Citowicz is an acclaimed Polish guitarist and songwriter currently based in Cairo, Egypt. As a former recording artist for DownBoys Records, he has built a reputation for emotionally resonant songwriting and distinctive guitar work. His music combines classic rock influences with contemporary production, creating a sound that bridges generational and cultural gaps while maintaining artistic authenticity. His YouTube channel has garnered over 70,000 views from an international audience.

Connect with Andrzej Citowicz:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7aIeg5DyI7xwkYLsBgJNWf
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AndrzejCitowicz
Instagram: https://instagram.com/citovitz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/citovitz/

℗© 2026 Citovitz and The Fireflies of February / Andrzej Citowicz