Articles by Michael Barron

The media coverage of Anvil over their forty-plus years in the music industry has been a poisoned chalice for the Canadian trio. On the one hand, they have been parodied as pioneers whose songs, including […]

Changing your name for legal reasons can be a nightmare for bands, but it can lead to brainstorming innovative ideas that would not have otherwise emerged. Whilst not the first artist to do so, Alt-J, […]

Consistency, work ethic, teamwork, innovation and the ability to evolve musically by defying trends have made Radiohead an international success story. After all, how many bands that found their footing in the early nineties still […]

From writing a song about a “Funny Little Frog”, the Glaswegian septet have been known for their entertaining live antics. At the 2015 Bonnaroo Music Festival the band invited actors John Hamm and Zach Galifianakis […]

Neil Hannon came on stage dressed in a plain suit, a matching plain tie and a white shirt. Now 51-years-old, he barely looked a day older than when he posed with similar attire for the […]

There are several milestones including being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and winning copious awards (including a BRIT) which define the success of an artist. Leonard Cohen not only achieved these, […]

It’s seven o’clock in the evening and the doors to the Brixton Academy have just opened and the queues are longer than a snake on the Nokia 3310 game that’s about to meet its maker. […]

How did Bowling for Soup come up with the title Pop Drunk Snot Bread for their latest eleventh LP? The Texas-based quartet wanted to base the title around the “Pop Punk’s Not Dead” theme. When […]

Twenty years ago, when Bowling for Soup entered the top ten single charts with “Girl, All The Bad Guys Want”, the British public fell in love with them and vice versa. There was immense sadness […]

With Reef’s latest material going in a heavier, rockier and almost AC/DC direction, it seemed appropriate for the first support act to be a rock band dressed in black. Whilst their name doesn’t have black […]

Whilst it’s been over 70 years since George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair) died, his legacy appears to be eternal. We are barely in the first quarter of 2022, and Orwell has already been referenced copious […]

The opening sentence “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” from the Dickens classic A Tale Of Two Cities best summarises Pavement’s atmosphere when they made their fifth and final […]

Following an audio recording of the Manchester City Champions Chant, the stage suddenly went black. The opening track “Fuckin’ in the Bushes” from Oasis’ first album of the twenty-first century: Standing on the Shoulder of […]

One can tell how great a noble cause is judging by the people who get involved with it. So far, in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust, the Royal Albert Hall has seen Don Broco, Deaf […]

After an unwanted three year hiatus, the annual series of gigs at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust has finally returned. Don Broco, with support from Deaf Havana, got things going […]

In 2006 Later with Jools, Holland introduced a unique artist most in the UK had never seen before: a young Jewish man from America in his mid-twenties wearing ultra-orthodox clothing who could beatbox, rap and […]

One of the reasons Paul Draper’s latest, second solo effort, Cult Leader Tactics, impressed was its ability to pay homage to both his debut solo efforts and Mansun material whilst also venturing into new territory. […]

In 2019, XS Noize was invited to see some of the most specular live music the Royal Albert Hall had to offer that year in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. They provide specialist care […]