State has not had an overwhelmingly positive start to our day at Belasonic. Due to a sporadically puking taxi driver (he pulled over and chundered all over the pavement) we were forced to miss local boys come good Two Door Cinema Club. We did hear from a few wagging tongues that they were great but…

Fight Likes Apes opening for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs? Flippin brilliant. In fact it was so flippin brilliant that swells of superlatives rushed to the front of State’s skull and left us feeling a little queasy with excitement. However after the initial elation we were hoping to God that they could live up to our…

The reunion conveyor belt is in full flow in 2009, rife with mid life crises and faulty produce. Depeche Mode, Spandau Ballet, The Pet Shop Boys and way too many more haggard 80′s pin ups are flapping about on the jetty hoping to re-live their heyday with dubious albums, hair cuts and delusions that anybody…

Finally we have M Ward back on his own terms. The previously underground lo-fi genius has climbed into the mainstream with the critical acclaim of 2006′s Post-War… and notable collaborations with American music glitterati such as Conor Oberst, Jenny Lewis and Zooey Deschanel. His rise from obscurity has been somewhat of a slow ascension in