Spotlight!: Fieldlily

/ James Fenney

There’s something so revitalising about the first signs of spring. Seeing the blossoms and daffodils in bloom, new leaves beginning to bud on the trees, the clouds occasionally parting to remind you how uplifting a few warm rays of sun can be. Sometimes a grey, bleak winter can drag on for so long that it feels like it will never end. Yet spring arrives regardless. It always does. Flowers bloom, trees sprout leaves, the sun shines, that is their nature – and you can’t deny nature forever. The same is true of our own nature; no matter how the world may try and supress it, eventually it too will bloom like a beautiful flower. Fieldlily is a project with an air of spring renewal about it. After the book closed on indie folk trio Wildwood Kin, sisters Emillie and Bethany Key took a little while to reflect before starting over as duo. Music is their nature, as intrinsic and inevitable as the spring, and having taken time to process what once was, and what this new chapter means, it’s at last ready to bloom anew. Continue reading →

Live Review: Of Monsters And Men, Rock City Nottingham, 22nd Feb 2026

/ James Fenney

I’ve seen it said that the key to a happy life as you grow older is to rediscover the things that brought you joy in your younger years. Getting back into old hobbies that you let fall by the wayside, reconnecting with friends you’ve not spoken to in an age, revisiting old haunts to see if they’re still as you remember them. Or, in this instance, rekindling your love for a band that you’ve not properly listened to in far too long. Icelandic outfit Of Monsters And Men’s debut album My Head Is An Animal was one of the crowning jewels of the indie folk boom that soundtracked my teenage years. I’ve drifted away from their music in the years since – the band themselves also drifting from their folk roots – both of us exploring new sounds. But with the sweeping, cinematic indie folk of their new record All Is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade, seeing Of Monster And Men return to familiar ground, a little older and wiser, I though it only right I should follow suit. Continue reading →

Top Tracks: &Tilly – The Bitter Pill

/ James Fenney

Sometimes you don’t truly appreciate what you have until you’re faced with the prospect of losing it. Just because a relationship isn’t the perfect fairytale you hoped it would be, doesn’t mean it isn’t a love worth cherishing. Couples clash, they argue, they’ll have different needs and priorities. Sometimes you can be blinded by everyday quarrels and lose sight of what really matters – that the love you share is worth fighting for. ‘The Bitter Pill’, the new single from Czech duo &Tilly, is all about a renewed appreciation for a love shared. The world can be a bewildering, disheartening place, and finding someone willing to be by your side on that journey is worth a few bumps in the road. The track’s soft airy vocals and gentle folk arrangement perfectly captures the feel of two people picking up the pieces; rebuilding the love they share with real care and tenderness.

Top Tracks: The Brook & The Bluff – Can’t Figure It Out

/ James Fenney

We go through life almost constantly wanting to be some different version of ourselves. Someone more charming and confident, someone who works a little harder, loves a little deeper. We want to be the adult self we imagined when we were kids, who has everything figured out. It’s all too easy to look around at your peers and see people who seem happier and better off, and wonder where you went wrong. It’s exhausting always trying to fit into some ideal version of yourself – at some point you have to let it go. ‘Can’t Figure It Out’, from Nashville based outfit The Brook & The Bluff, is a song all about letting go and accepting the things we cannot change. Taken from their new album Werewolf, out 6th March, it’s about reconciling with the fact that you’re going to make more mistakes, more wrong choices, face more frustrating mishaps. There’s no such thing as perfect, no clear path forward, sometimes you just have to trust the process. With a warm, melody driven Americana sound drawing from the likes of CCR and the Eagles, it feels like shrugging off the world and breathing easy for the first time in a long time.

Top Tracks: Late Cambrian – Together

/ James Fenney

I love it when one piece of art inspires another. We all know what it’s like to put down a book, or walk out of a cinema, and have your thoughts completely consumed by what you’ve just experienced. So engrossed by a story, so intrigued by new ideas, so awed by the handiwork of a master of their craft, that it’s all you can think about. There’s something beautiful about letting that spark ignite your own creativity, letting it guide your hands in making something new. Brooklyn band Late Cambrian do just that with their new single ‘Together’ – inspired by the horror movie of the same name, wherein some supernatural force causes a couple’s bodies to fuse into one. The menacing, proggy lead riff perfectly captures the terror of such an unknowable force, before the song gives way to a lush, soulful sound as the couple surrender and embrace the twisted romance of two becoming one.

Top Tracks: Holly Humberstone – To Love Somebody

/ James Fenney

With her most recent single ‘Die Happy‘, Holly Humberstone closed 2025 by teasing an exciting new era. It truly felt like she was tapping in to something special, and it left me eager for more. Thankfully Holly hasn’t left us waiting for long, as her latest release ‘To Love Somebody’ is quick to build on the rapidly growing hype and anticipation for her sophomore album Cruel World (out 10th April). Inspired by the age old wisdom that “it’s better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all“, ‘To Love Somebody’ is a reflection on accepting the bad with the good. How heartbreak is as much an essential human experience as falling in love is. How knowing that kind of pain and sadness gives a better frame of reference, and a greater appreciation for, all the joy and happiness in our lives. The track is home to some stunning synth work, a wonderfully expressive rhythm section, and an addictive call and response pre-chorus. Best of all though is the incredible music video, drawing inspiration from Nosferatu and classic Hammer horror, which perfectly captures the enchanting gothic romanticism of this new era.

Live Review: Biffy Clyro, Nottingham Arena, 12th Jan 2026

/ James Fenney

I’m increasingly convinced that the key to getting through this absurd thing called life is simply having something to look forward to. I think that’s doubly important this time of year; we start the new year with such optimism, only to be faced with a cold, bleak January. These dull winter months need to be spiced up with a bit of excitement, and what better way to do that than an evening spent with one of Britain’s best live bands. Scottish alt rockers Biffy Clyro have been on my list of must-see live bands for the longest time, but somehow the stars never aligned for me to catch them on previous tours. Given how much fun I had with their latest record Futique, it felt like the time was finally right to see the Biffy lads in action. Continue reading →