Brighton band Lime Garden have shared their new single, ‘Bitter’, alongside an accompanying video. The track was produced in collaboration with Theo Verney (English Teacher, Deadletter, Hallan). Check it out below.
“Jealousy, anger and frustration are all channeled through this song,” lead singer Chloe Howard explained in a statement. “I think it’s important to indulge those feelings as you then realise that everything passes eventually – hence the line ‘because the grass is greener once it’s rained’.”
‘Bitter’ marks Lime Garden’s first new music since January’s ‘Marbles’.
Manchester art rock quartet Dutch Uncles have announced a new album, True Entertainment, and shared its title track. The follow-up to 2017’s Big Balloon arrives on March 10, 2023 via Memphis Industries. Listen to ‘True Entertainment’ below.
“True Entertainment behaves like it knows it’s been away for some time, and doesn’t apologise for that,” vocalist and lyricist Duncan Wallis said in a statement. “Ultimately, it’s written with the mindset that on our sixth album, we’re only in competition with ourselves when it comes to finding satisfaction in our craft.”
“I know too well myself the mountainous task these poor sods have, and the mental gymnastics required to envision it being remotely successful, so in a way, this pays tribute to the craft,” Wallis added of the title track. “I was determined to fashion a goatee beard for the shoot, to separate myself from the character – it is a character. But I was mortified to see myself in the gold suit, immediately understanding Elvis’ pain.”
True Entertainment Cover Artwork:
True Entertainment Tracklist:
1. True Entertainment
2. Damascenes
3. Tropigala (2 to 5)
4. Poppin’
5. Exit Row
6. I’m Not Your Dad
7. Deep End
8. In Salvia
9. End Belief
10. Dead Letter
Taylor Swift has shared a new music video for the Midnights track ‘Bejeweled’. In the self-directed clip, Swift takes on the role of Cinderella, with HAIM playing her stepsisters and Laura Dern as the evil stepmother. Jack Antonoff, Dita Von Teese, Pat McGrath, and others also appear in the visual. Check it out below.
Speaking about the track to iHeartRadio, Swift said: “‘Bejeweled’ is a song that I think it’s really about finding confidence when you feel that it’s been taken away, for whatever reason. You know, you’re feeling insecure, you’re feeling taken for granted… One of the things we love to do at night, ‘cause we love to go dancing, we love to put on an outfit that makes us feel good, and we love to feel like we’re still bejeweled.”
Midnights, Swift’s 10th studio album, arrived last Friday, October 21. Following its release, she shared the ‘3AM Edition’ of the album as well as a video for the lead single ‘Anti-Hero’.
Last night, Swift also sat down for an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she talked about the ‘Bejeweled’ video, getting her honorary degree from NYU, and a potential tour in support of Midnights. “I think I should do it,” she said. “When it’s time, we’ll do it. I miss it.” Watch clips from the interview below, too.
If you’re looking for a photography studio in London, there are plenty of great options to choose from. But why should you hire a professional photography studio? Here are 10 reasons:
One compelling reason to hire a professional photography studio in London is to gain access to a controlled environment that ensures optimal lighting, backdrops, and equipment, resulting in high-quality and consistent photography offered by a reputable studio hire service.
1) Professional photography studios have the latest equipment and software.
When it comes to photography, quality is key. Hiring a professional photography studio in London can ensure that your photos are of the highest quality. Professional studios have the latest equipment and software, which means that your photos will be sharp and clear. In addition, professional photographers have the experience and expertise to know how to use their equipment to get the best results. They also have access to a wide range of props and backdrops, which can add an extra level of interest to your photos. Whether you’re looking for family portraits or headshots for your business website, hiring a professional photography studio in London is the best way to ensure that you’re getting high-quality photos.
2) They have talented photographers who can help you capture the perfect shot.
Hiring a professional photographer is a great way to ensure that you get the perfect shot. They will have the experience and expertise to know how to position you and your subject in order to get the best possible angle and lighting. They will also be able to help you choose the right backdrop and props to create the right mood and atmosphere for your photo. In addition, they will be able to edit your photos to perfection, ensuring that they are ready for print or social media. With so many benefits, it’s easy to see why hiring a professional photography studio in London is a great idea.
3) Studios offer a wide range of services, from portrait photography to product photography.
When it comes to professional photography, there are a lot of reasons to hire a studio. First of all, studios offer a wide range of services, from portrait photography to product photography. There’s specific studio types available, for example, you can hire green screen studios in London, and kitchen studios in London as well. This means that you can get the specific type of photography that you need, without having to worry about finding the right photographer for the job. Secondly, studios have a lot of experience and expertise in both photography and post-processing, which means that you can be sure that your photos will look amazing. Finally, studios typically have a lot of high-quality equipment, which means that your photos will be taken with the best possible quality in mind. In short, there are plenty of reasons to hire a professional photography studio in London – so why not give it a try?
4) They often have spacious studios that can accommodate large groups or complex setups.
When you need to hire a professional photography studio in London, there are several reasons to choose a studio that has ample space. First, it can accommodate large groups or complex setups. Second, the studio will have plenty of room for all of your gear, making it easier to get the perfect shot. Third, the staff at a spacious studio will be more than happy to help you with anything you need, ensuring that your experience is top-notch. fourth, a large studio will likely have a variety of backgrounds and props available, giving you the opportunity to really get creative with your shots. When it comes to professional photography studios in London, size does matter!
5) Studios offer excellent value for money, and their rates are often very competitive.
Hiring a professional photography studio in London can be an excellent way to get high-quality photos at a reasonable price. Studios typically have a wide range of props and backdrops, which can help to create unique and interesting photos. In addition, studios often have access to professional lighting equipment, which can help to ensure that photos are well-lit and look their best.Finally, studios typically employ experienced photographers who know how to capture the perfect shot. As a result, hiring a studio can be an excellent way to get professional-looking photos without breaking the bank.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a top-notch professional photography studio in London, there are plenty of great reasons to choose one over going it alone. For starters, studios have access to the best equipment and lighting possible, ensuring that your photos come out looking flawless. They also have a team of experienced professionals who know how to get the most out of every photo shoot, meaning that you’ll end up with beautiful, high-quality photos that you’re truly proud of. In addition, studios typically offer a wide range of services beyond just taking photos, such as photo editing and retouching, so you can be sure that your photos will look absolutely perfect before they’re even printed. Ultimately, there’s simply no substitute for working with a professional photography studio when it comes to getting the best results possible.
Before the clock had even struck midnight, the pressure was on to assess how Taylor Swift’s latest release fit within her catalog and what this new era would represent. (It’s always a “new era.”) Swift is a master at playing the game, and though she opted not to release a single since announcing the album back in August, she kept driving fan speculation with a steady stream of cryptic teasers, a carefully curated visual aesthetic, and a clear throughline: “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life.” Still, the sound and tone of Midnights was harder than usual to predict, especially since it arrives after a tasteful pivot to the indie folk of folklore and evermore but also in the midst of her revisiting her earlier material through her re-recording project.
Though some aspect of the release was always going to land as a surprise – anyone who’d made up their minds right upon the album’s arrival was treated to seven more songs just hours later – it shouldn’t be entirely shocking that it finds her returning to the glistening pop of Lover (and Reputation, and 1989) while imbuing her songwriting with the mature, nuanced perspective that elevated her last two albums. After all, it’s Jack Antonoff, who has had a hand in producing all of those albums, who serves as her main collaborator on Midnights. But this effort to immediately determine the album’s place in the pop star’s canon is as inevitable as it can feel frustratingly inane. As critics, we should be able to contextualize new music without digging too deep into a single artist’s mythology, which can be fun but distract us from what this particular moment has to offer.
That said, Taylor Swift is a uniquely self-conscious pop artist and her self-consciousness matters because it infuses much of Midnights, a reflective album that turns to autobiographical narration as a means of contending with, breaking out of, and amplifying her own image. ‘Midnight Rain’, where she describes fleeing the confines of small-town romance, opens with a stark declaration: “He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain/ He wanted a bride, I was making my own name,” she sings, voice twisted in one of the album’s most memorable uses of vocal manipulation. She realizes the archetypes that would come to haunt her had their roots before she ever found fame. On the devastating ‘You’re on Your Own, Kid’, she lays out the fantasy she both fell and fought hard for: “I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this/ I hosted parties and starved my body/ Like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss,” she admits, recognizing it was the same thing that lit the spark for her own creative path.
If Midnights wasn’t an album bound by Swift’s awareness of her own journey and stature, ‘Anti-Hero’ wouldn’t be its lead single. It’s a fitting but somewhat dumbfounding choice: the song deals with self-loathing in a way that’s both pensive and playful, leaning into but also poking fun at her own tendency to draw out a character. When she announces herself in the chorus – “It’s me/ Hi/ I’m the problem,” it comes through not in the cheekily bombastic manner you might expect from the ‘Me!’ singer, but rather jaded and emotional: “I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror,” she sings. Although she’s peering back through time, she’s not interested in reclaiming her narrative so much as considering how it’s affected her mental health and relationships on a more intimate scale – why is why Midnights is best enjoyed as a curiously understated, slow-burning affair than a triumphant return to pure pop.
The album (mostly) shies away from extravagance because the things it finds to be subtly tantalizing exist in a whole other realm. The stunning ‘Lavender Haze’ sets the stage by fixating on a partner with a gift for drowning out the noise that surrounds them and who avoids “read[ing] into my melancholia.” Accordingly, the production casts her in a radiant, almost muted glow for much of the album, a quiet shade of magic. There’s more than one edge to it: it can be lonely and dazzling, revelatory and doomful. ‘Snow on the Beach’ travels back to a scene of romantic enchantment, “weird but fuckin’ beautiful,” evoking the strange comfort of a moment frozen in time. Though it could benefit more from Lana Del Rey’s presence, her breathy backing vocals complement the dreamy, star-lit atmosphere. ‘Maroon’, by contrast, sounds more like a nightmare, the warped sense of time breeding a different kind of dizziness: “When the silence came, we were shaking, blind and hazy/ How the hell did we lose sight of us again?”
More often, though, Midnights treats silence as precious and uncomplicated, a space to revel in and disconnect from society’s expectations. “They said the end is coming/ Everyone’s up to something/ I find myself running home to your sweet nothings,” Swift sings endearingly on ‘Sweet Nothings’, which was written with her partner Joe Alwyn (under the pseudonym William Bowery), simplifying the sentiment of ‘Lavender Haze’ towards the record’s conclusion. What transcends the mundane is the couple’s shared understanding: One of the album’s most satisfying twists comes on ‘Mastermind’, where she lays out her elaborate scheme to get a lover’s attention until she realizes, through a simple smile, that he knew all along. The song is accented by vivid production flourishes, brushes of synth that strike just the right tone between giddy and mischievous.
The subject matter and Antonoff’s production will invite comparisons to Lorde’s Melodrama, whose grandiosity and resonance Midnights doesn’t come close to (nor does it try) reaching. At its best, the album utilizes the moody restraint that’s more reminiscent of Pure Heroine, though one of its most breathtaking cuts, ‘Labyrinth’, lies somewhere between those two touchstones. Swift captures the relationship’s disorienting dynamic with a single question – “I thought the plane was goin’ down/ How’d you turn it right around?” as potently as the production revolves around it. It stands out on an album where the music can feel more like a protective blanket than part of the same living body, and where Swift’s metaphors – though for revenge more often than love – can grow unruly and overwrought.
For a record about “13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life,” however, Midnights is a surprisingly consistent album, one that grew on me over repeated listens. The songs I still couldn’t connect with are the ones that step into darker, more scathing territory – ‘Vigilante Shit’ and ‘Karma’ – and it’s less to do with Swift’s clunky lyricism than how out of step they feel with the rest of the project. That sort of awkward vindictiveness can be part of the fun on richer songs like ‘Anti-Hero’ and ‘Bejeweled’, but when it’s just a single layer, the idea feels half-baked. Though this review doesn’t cover the ‘3AM Edition’, songs like ‘Glitch’ are better at taking a silly concept and being creative about it. If the original album mirrored the variety of styles housed in those seven extra songs, it might have more closely resembled a “collage of intensity, highs and lows and ebbs and flows,” as Swift has described it. It would probably be a more adventurous and also messier project. As it stands, it has the flow of a dream rushing onto the page, simmering with desire and untainted faith but haunted by every fragment of reality that seeps in with each ticking second. When Midnights works, you find yourself pursuing it, too.
In life, nothing is free. Or is it? Certainly, you’ll find some kind citizens and groups who will offload their unwanted goods for free, or even good samaritans who will give you a helping hand with a chore or job to do just for the rewards to the heart. But when it comes to business, free doesn’t usually mean free.
A free drink at a bar is a watered down affair to get you in the door and have you paying over the standard going rate for slightly less watered down other drinks. A free month subscription makes you put in your credit card details in the hopes you’ll forget you subscribed and lead to an automatic deduction in the next month. A free gift with purchase is literally that – requiring you to buy something first. And casinos? Why would they give away money for free?
What’s a wager-free bonus?
Wager-free bonuses are a bit of a new introduction to the world of online casinos. You may have read, watched, or heard about ridiculous wagers to claim bonuses when playing slots or table games at various gaming sites. Things like playing through $50,000 on one game (a free $1000 but with a 50x wager attached) just to be able to claim rewards.
Obviously, word got around that this was a bit ridiculous with little to no chance of a win. After the customers caught on, of course the casinos also caught on, which means that some have advertised wager-free bonuses to hook the critical crowd.
So are these wager-free bonuses free as in beer? No, that’s not the case here generally. Instead there’ll be a laundry list as long as your arm of terms and conditions which you’ll have to meet to be able to grab that bonus for free free.
Finding a low or wager-free no deposit bonus is half the battle (so to speak!). Before you commit to something that seems almost too good to be true, you must make sure you’re well-informed on the promotion. This will avoid any confusion and give you a realistic expectation of what’s to be gained from the offer.
Tip: Wager-free bonuses are also known as no wager bonuses
What are the terms of a wager-free bonus?
To avoid a completely watered down bonus that just leaves you thirsty rather than satisfied, you’ll need to get out your detective outfit and have a snoop around in the terms and conditions to see what’s up. Let’s take a look at an example.
A casino offers a wager-free no deposit bonus: 200 free spins (50+150). That’s 50 free with no deposit, and 150 when you deposit $10. And you can’t claim without For a start, this isn’t free, is it? You still have to put down $10 to get the bonus. It’s kind of like that gift with purchase. Which is all well and good if that’s what you’re after.
Next up: the T&Cs. If you have a look at the tiny fine print down the bottom you’ll actually see what’s up. Okay, so you’ll need to verify your identity, get just 50 of the free spins up front with seven days to use them. If you want the extra 150 spins then you will need to opt in to the offer, then use your debit card to deposit at least $10, then use that $10 to play on the one game stipulated in the terms that you get the free spins on. Not only that, it says that the free spins themselves are only valued at 10c a pop (so value = $5) and the RTP is 92.46%, when other games on the site are as high as 97%.
What’s more, it turns out that you can’t withdraw funds without registering a debit card, and you can’t register a card without a depost. Ack.
So, after all that, you can only play the one game, you have to deposit money to claim a win, the free spins are almost worthless, and the RTP on the game itself is definitely on the low end. Worth it? Maybe not, but that’s up to you to judge. If you’re super interested in the game and don’t mind playing for a few hours then you might be pretty keen to claim.
The other thing to note is that for many casinos you get just one such bonus – on sign up. If they have a better match bonus (i.e. $100 for your $100) with a low wagering requirement across a wider range of games with higher RTP… Well, that’s what we’d be looking at instead. But hey, everyone’s casino experience is different and subjective. Roulette bores some while others can be at it for hours. A cutesy game could win over nan, while you’re playing a rock-themed powerhouse.
Our advice? Do whatever floats your boat when it comes to casino gaming online, but just make sure to read the terms of any freebies. Make sure that you’re getting something that you’ll actually enjoy and that will be worthwhile for enhancing your gaming experience.
Sophie Jamieson has shared ‘Runner’, the latest track from her forthcoming debut album Choosing. It follows previous entries ‘Sink’ and ‘Downpour’. Check it out below.
“This song is a note to self, not to leave the body just when things are getting hard,” Jamieson said of the new song in a statemet. “It’s catching yourself, looking yourself straight in the eye and in that honest moment there comes real life, real release, real joy. I wanted this song to feel like the heart opening up and all the colours coming out.”
Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this best new music segment.
On this week’s list, we have Kelela’s ‘Happy Ending’, a hypnotic track that’s more upbeat than last month’s ‘Washed Away’, produced by LSDXOXO with additional production from Bambii; John Cale’s lush and transfixing ‘Story of Blood’, the Weyes Blood-featuring lead single from his upcoming album; ‘Labyrinth’, a shimmering highlight from Taylor Swift’s Midnights; Caroline Polachek’s flamenco-inspired, radiant new track ‘Sunset’; ’Nobody’, the stunning opener of Knifeplay’s new album Animal Drowning; Tenci’s ‘Sour Cherries’, which stretches out over a mesmerizing six minutes; ‘Go Find Yourself or Whatever’, a heartfelt, Rostam-assisted standout from Carly Rae Jepsen’s new album; and Macie Stweart’s vulnerable, delicately searching new song ‘Defeat’.
Ahead of the release of their new album The Car, Arctic Monkeys played their first headlining US show in four years at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn on September 22. They captured the performance in a concert film directed by Ben Chappell and Zackery Michael, which was previewed in the video for the single ‘I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am’. The 45-minute film is out now in full, and you can watch it below.
The Car, the follow-up to Arctic Monkeys’ 2018 album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, came out last Friday via Domino. Read our review of it here.
Drake and 21 Savage have announced a new joint album, Her Loss, which will be released on October 28. The album title and release date and release date were revealed in the new video for ‘Jimmy Cooks’, their collaborative track from Honestly, Nevermind. Check out the Mahfuz-directed clip below.
Drake and 21 Savage have teamed up several times over the years. 21 Savage joined Drake on his Certified Lover Boy track ‘Knife Talk’, while Drake appeared on ‘Mr. Right Now’, from 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’s 2020 album Savage Mode II. They also joined forces on 2016’s ‘Sneakin’’ and 2017’s ‘Issa’ with Young Thug.
