The name Black Sabbath is synonymous with the four original members - Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward. Yet they began under a different name, Earth Blues Company, which was later shortened to Earth. The Black Sabbath name comes from their song with the same title, which originally derives from a 1963 Boris Karloff film. The name was more unique and aligned closer with the aesthetic the band sought out as they began to visualise the style they became known for.
Erin’s sound is angelic, demonstrated by her striking vocal power and atmospheric production. Drawing comparisons to artists like Ethel Cain and Florence & The Machine, she layers synthetic sounds with vocal echoes, creating a sonic world that’s both dreamy and intense.
Together, they craft riff-heavy music that fluidly shifts between grunge, contemporary indie rock, and subtle hints of Britpop. Their latest single, ‘Beyond Our Lives’, is a vivid embodiment of the hybrid style, delivering an exciting and immersive sonic journey.
Emerging from the deluxe edition of their 2024 album ‘Romance’, this track delves into themes of memory, identity, and emotional transformation.
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From folk-punk to last-generation electronica, from cabaret and spoken word-influenced acts to noise and shoegaze, those who frequently haunt grassroots venues across the country will have by now compiled a very long list of up-and-coming acts which are more than worth the time to get acquainted with. For those who are just now dipping their toes in the excitingly turbulent waters of alternative UK music, however, The Great Escape is perhaps the best possible introduction.
Running in Brighton from May 14th to 17th, the multi-venue festival has packed its line-up with some of the most intriguing names on such a list – a perfect way of discovering what lies under the tip of the iceberg. Here are five picks to get you started.
Chief among those influences are Gang of Four, the iconic Leeds post-punk band with whom JJ Sterry - vocalist and half of Rear Window - fronted from 2012 to 2020.
The imprint of that band is always legible: the sharp rhythm section of ‘Head Above Water’ echoes Gang of Four’s ‘I Love a Man in Uniform’, and its even sharper lyrics similarly reveal a bleak, repressive England, where once Thatcher and now a new government keep people “hanging by a thread”. Sterry’s speak-singing is, like that of original GO4 frontman Jon King, loaded with cynical wit, and is just as concerned with incisive political commentary as it is angular phrasing; it is an instrument unto itself, as much a component of the slinky grooves as the bassline or guitar parts.
At the heart of the project lies the title track ‘Poster Girl’, a bold, emotionally charged single that pulls no punches in its exploration of fame’s glittering allure and shadowy underbelly.