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April has arrived, and with it Spring may have finally sprung! The weather is looking better, temperatures are a bit more mild, and most importantly it’s a new month of music! However, not all things revolve around music, and this month it is Autism Awareness Month. Autism and other forms of neurodivergence affect millions of people in all sorts of ways, so if you aren’t aware of how autism can manifest and affect people then this month is a good time to educate yourself on it! It’s also Girls Behind The Rock Show's Diversity Awareness Month, which we are huge fans of. Diversity in music lineups and music journalism is enormously important, and whilst it is improving we can all do better. There’s also some big news on UK venues, with the new Co-op Arena in Manchester opening its doors for the first time, and London’s Brixton Academy reopening too!
Now, onto the music. Bob Vylan are heading on tour to celebrate their new album ‘Humble As The Sun’ which is coming out tomorrow, and sure to be a thoroughly enjoyable listen. The grime-punk duo cover incendiary political messages which have rarely, if ever, been as important as they are now. With Palestine being occupied, LGBT rights being encroached upon, and discrimination at a UK high, Bob Vylan are a band of our time and signify the changes we need to make. Oh, and they also happen to be fucking brilliant live too.
Not to leave Bob Vylan as the only group with a new political punk album of late, Kid Kapichi released their third LP ‘There Goes The Neighbourhood’ in late March and, having just embarked on a record release tour, are off again on a full UK tour supported by Dead Pony and Dumb Buoys. Tackling immigration issues, the police and even love, Hastings’ own aren’t afraid to talk about anything - the one consistent theme is how great every song is.
Another early April tour is the Dream State and Graphic Nature tour, which is one hell of a lineup, and also fits wonderfully into this month - Dream State have one of the coolest female vocalists in the game, Jessie Powell, who is ceaselessly promoting diversity, and Graphic Nature’s song ‘Fractured’ is about struggling with autism. Both bands are live powerhouses, and having them tour together will make for a phenomenal set of shows all across the UK this month.
One of the heaviest tours of the year is hitting this month, as Spite roam the United Kingdom with Bodysnatcher, Boundaries, and Mouth For War all tagging along. The colossal weight of this tour cannot be overstated - each band could comfortably wreck a building with the sheer aggression of their music, so putting them all on one lineup is quite possibly a safety hazard that should absolutely be witnessed. Any fans of the various -core’s will particularly enjoy this, going from Mouth For War’s metallic hardcore brutality to Boundaries’ metalcore, and deathcore from Bodysnatcher and Spite. This is likely to be an intense, visceral show, and will need to be seen to be believed.
Speaking of heavy tours, the all UK lineup of Sylosis, Burner and Harbinger is not one to trifle with. Opened by technical deathcore merchants Harbinger, and followed by Burner’s pulverising blend of blackened death metal and hardcore, with British heavyweights Sylosis headlining the whole thing. After supporting Lamb Of God and Malevolence, Sylosis are taking themselves around the country on an almost entirely sold out tour, so any spare tickets should be grabbed ASAP!
April has far more than it’s fair share of excellent heavy lineups, but this one provides a little more than the rest: Pupil Slicer are playing with Coilguns and God Alone, but won’t be playing any old set - the London group are playing their stunning second album ‘Blossom’ in full at every show on the tour. On what is their first ever headline tour, they’re taking Swiss noise band Coilguns and Irish mathrock group God Alone to make up the rest of the bill. Don’t wait any longer than you need to to grab a ticket, this will be wonderful.
For a slightly less heavy evening, you could go and see punk rockers Millie Manders and the Shut Up who are touring across most of this month! They’ll be taking the Angry Side Tour all around the UK from the 10th of April right up till the 27th, and will be joined by either power-punk band Voodoo Radio or emo pop riffers All Ears Avow as main support, so check out both and catch whichever show you can!
Finally, NOIZZE UK are celebrating their tenth anniversary as an online publication and are running their very own day festival, NOIZZEFEST. With an amazing lineup of bands including VEXED, CLT DRP and Burner, as well as some friends of Out Of Rage in Wallowing and our first cover artist Death Goals! If you’re near Cardiff on April 27th then you’d best get yourself down to see this phenomenal lineup of bands, and support the British scene!
Words: Jake Longhurst
Cover Photo: Jake Griffin
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