SYS Exclusive Stream: Lions and Creators – “Better Days”

We’re excited to share with you the debut record from Minneapolis ambient-indie duo, Lions and Creators. Made up of Tanner Groehler & Ryan Worthley, they first released an EP, Growing, in 2011. Now, they’re ready to share their debut album, Better Days, after a two year break. It will be released on the 18th of December, and can also […]

Live Review: Mates of State (Leicester, 01/11/15)

Mates of State are an indie-pop duo from the US, and consist of husband and wife, Kori Gardner (vocals/keys) and Jason Hammel (vocals/drums). The band have a long and wide back catalogue, flitting between emo, indie and pure pop. They kicked things off at the Scholar Bar in Leicester with the dark and brooding “So Many Ways”, […]

Run Wild: Lydia on change, songwriting, and the past

Arizona’s Lydia are used to change. They started out as a rocky emo band with their debut, This December; It’s One More and I’m Free which set them up perfectly for the follow-up: the cult classic, swelling winter record, Illuminate. In 2010, backing vocalist and keyboardist Mindy White, who now fronts States, decided to leave […]

Album Review: Lydia – Run Wild

Lydia are best-known for their 2008 cult classic Illuminate, an incredible album which weaves pop, emo and ambience to create the perfect winter sound. After an EP, a brief split, and a new record, the band returned with a brand new sound on the vastly underrated Devil [2013]. On Devil, the band moved towards a […]

Album Review: Ralph Cola – National Zero

You may be asking: “what is a DIY Punk webzine doing, writing about pop-music?” My answer is: “fuck you”. You like Mac DeMarco? Good, you’ll be digging the newest adventure of Ralph Cola, National Zero. Well, maybe ‘adventure’ is a bit of a strong word. As delicious and sweet as opener “Doing Nothing” sounds, it […]

Album Review: Great Cynics – I Feel Weird

From the slick feel-good tunes of debut album Don’t Need Much in 2011 to the summery punk hits of sophomore record Like I Belong two years later, London & Devon based trio Great Cynics are set to release 11 new tracks full of pop hooks and youthful simplicity in the form of third record I Feel […]

Band Interview: Scribble Victory

Scribble Victory are an acoustic-folk/pop band from Derby. Made up of Jamie Thompson (vocals and guitar) and Tomas Ward (percussion and backing vocals), the band have a unique sound which transcends multiple genres. We caught up with the band to talk about their DIY roots and their future plans. How did you guys meet? We […]