Friday 28 February

Helloooooo, it's Friday, woohoo! Almost buckled under the weight of announcements this week (festivals, albums, singles, memoirs, biopics and all the rest) but we made it through, just in time for the awards season double whammy: The Brits + the Oscars.

We've been doing a collaboration with Brits Week for War Child 25 (colleagues were absolutely raving about Rachel Chinouriri's gig at Omeara in London) so I chatted with War Child's live music lead, Clare Sanders-Wright, about the work they do behind the scenes to make these shows happen.

The Somerset House Summer Series has announced their lineup ft St Vincent, Giggs, Rizzle Kicks and The Snuts (super eclectic), while Green Man has an absolute stonker with Kneecap, TV on the Radio, Perfume Genius, English Teacher, John Grant, Gwenno... Heidi Montag is playing Mighty Hoopla?! It's all kicking off.

Our features from the past few days: hopefully you saw Ellie Muir's brilliant interview with pop star Tate McRae, who is very overwhelmed by the Britney Spears comparisons she's been getting of late. From Sports Cars to Sports Team: the indie rock band caught up with Mark Beaumont to talk about their new album + being caught up in an armed robbery while on tour in the States. And I love love love this chat between Hannah Ewens and Julien Baker & Torres about their queer country album (yeehaw), Send a Prayer My Way.

A breeze through some new singles/albums: Lizzo meets The Strokes with a little Prince thrown in on "Love in Real Life" (I don't hate it), Little Simz returns with the dark and menacing "Flood", BANKS drops her new album Off With Her Head, which I adore (sadly our albums critic Helen Brown was less convinced). Grimes has dropped a surprise track ("idgaf"), Joe Keery's band Djo have another single, "Delete Ya", which I really like, especially The Police-y vibes in those lush guitar tones. Craig David and Tiwa Savage seem to be declaring spring early (fine by me) on the warm and breezy "Commitment". And I'm wowed by sibling trio Neckbreakers' new single "Elephant", some of the most superb harmony work from a rock band I've heard in a long time, very catchy, all-round excellent work. 

We are finally about ready to launch some new episodes of Music Box, starting with James Bay who's playing a Brits Week show on 5 March. Other guests on our very packed lineup include the brilliant Stephen Wilson Jr, rapper Strandz, Oracle Sisters, Brooke Combe and Chesney Hawkes. Stay tuned next week.

It's also time for a new episode of Roisin O'Connor's Good Vibrations! British actor and musician Ben Barnes is known for starring roles in The Punisher, Shadow & Bone, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Critic. On the latest episode of Good Vibrations, we chatted about his venture into music with his debut album, Where the Light Gets In, the themes behind the project and the joy he found during the recording process. He also reflected on his acting career to date, dubious Wikipedia entries, and a painful childhood memory...

I had a stinking cold at the time but thankfully Ben seemed to emerge unscathed, as he's been out on the road for his headline tour - the final show is next week in LA on 5 March. Listen to the chat here.

Written by Roisin O'Connor

Skunk Anansie's long-time bass player Cass Lewis has revealed that he was diagnosed with stage four cancer while recording the band's just-announced new album, The Painful Truth.

The musician shared the news with fans and journalists at an emotional Q&A and playback of the rock band's seventh record – their first in nine years – in London on Monday (24 February).

Appearing with his bandmates, including singer Skin, guitarist Ace and drummer Mark Richardson, Cass said he thought his "f***ing cards had been marked" when he received the diagnosis.

"During the process of recording I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and so I was having chemo while we were making the album," he said. "I thought my f***ing cards had been marked, actually, and so I was just, I was happy with having had a good life, and I was quite content, you know, I accepted whatever my fate was.

"I wouldn't think about the work, the record, I would think about my life. I'd had some very intensive chemo sessions, and no one knew [anything]. I just thought, I'm on this long road of chemo. And that took a year."

Full story.

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Subscribe to the official Now Hear This playlist on Apple Music and stay up to date with all the best new releases

1. "Elephant" - Neckbreakers

2. "Delete Ya" - Djo

3. "Delulu" - BANKS

ON THE RECORD

As I've gotten older my interest in defending the tenets of Christianity or a specific religious dogma have gone down to zero

Julien Baker to The Independent, February 2025

They pointed the gun at our tour manager... we took cover

Sports Team to The Independent, February 2025

And they can call me delulu

Banks, February 2025

Spotlight on... Sebastian Schub

Hello! Tell me about yourself

Hey, I'm Sebastian Schub a solo artist. I grew up in Hamburg but moved to London in my mid teens, and spent about 10 years busking and gigging in pubs and bars. And now I'm finally managing to make my own music. So that's wonderful. 

What are your inspirations and influences?

There are artists like Hozier, Jeff Buckley and Glen Hansard - but mostly I was shaped by the musicians I met in London's and Dublin's Folk and Blues scene over the past few years. Those places like Spiritual Bar in Camden or The Zodiac Sessions just off Grafton Street are still at the forefront of my mind whenever I write.

What do you have lined up for 2025?

There is a bunch of music coming out this spring, before I finish the recording of my debut album. Recording it in Barry in Wales of all places. And then it's gigs, gigs, gigs. Playing live till I drop dead.

The new Powerbeats Pro 2 are better than the AirPods in many ways

Tate McRae: 'I find the Britney Spears comparisons so flattering and scary'

Boygenius's Julien Baker and Torres on their queer country album: 'We committed to the bit and here we are'

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