It's only a few days after Tramlines Festival and the city and its inhabitants are still recovering. Bottles and flyers litter the streets, everyone seems to still be hungover but Liberty Ship are already back in the practice room after playing the main stage on Sunday.

*Credit to Glenn Ashley*

Liberty Ship are Sheffield's very own indie four-piece, including Lewis Hancock (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Jack Eddison (lead guitar) , James Brown (bass) and  Kierran Bond (drums). They were still doing their GCSEs when they played their debut gig and  the lads have been no strangers to the music scene since. Before they could even drink at their own shows, they'd toured with a number of established legends, King Charles and Reverend and The Makers, as well as supporting Coventry's The Enemy, whilst still playing a number of their own headline gigs. Eight years on and they're now releasing music that demands attention.

With a lot of hard work these lads seemed to have found a way to break away from the typical mainstream 'indie' sound and make a strong impact. 'We've grown up and our sound has grown up a bit too', lead guitarist Jack explains. It's easy to get drowned in the Soundcloud generation of musicians where anyone can upload music at the click of a button, but Liberty Ship seem to have their heads safely above the water. So now, leaving their teenage years behind, they're breaking the mold and placing their stamp on the music scene. 

Even during their rainy Tramlines set there was a certain exemplary warmth in the crowd. Their mix of songs gathers a diverse audience, with crowd pleasures such as, 'Neon Light' and the band's favourite 'Fire Your Love', matched with slower love songs, 'For You'. 'We've got quite a large audience', says Kierran. Which is true, standing in the crowd you could see an array of different people, from students to bearded men in flat caps and I 'm pretty sure a Tinder first date were dancing next to me. 

What's noticeably admirable about Liberty Ship is their attitude towards music, and not just their own either. After spending some time with them you quickly  get a sense of how laid back they are, but it's matched with a passion which is clearly exhibited in their live performances. They'll try their hand at anything if it means promoting their music and having fun, such as playing an acoustic set on the tram during the Tramlines weekend. Alike other 'new generation bands' they seem to realise that platinum records aren't handed out on silver platters, but unlike the majority they're more than willing to work hard to produce quality music which demands recognition and that they love themselves.  'We'll definitely get a collection of songs we're happy enough with to put together for an album in the distant future' Brown claims. 

If you want to create your own sound in Sheffield then you first have to find a way to break free from the shackles of being compared to the Arctic Monkeys, as Liberty Ship found out. 'It's literally only cause we're from Sheffield and we play our own instruments!', they laugh when being asked about this bold yet common comparison. Whilst they claim that the Arctic Monkeys aren't a huge influence to  their own unique sound, they're  quick to show respect for the High Green A-Listers. 'When we first started playing as a band, at places like The Boardwalk, there was a load of Sheffield bands knocking about such as the Arctic Monkeys and Milburn. That was definitely inspiring cause it made it clear that you can do it when they're making it', Jack explains.
'Our sound isn't really like anyone else', bassist James says. 'We get asked to compare ourselves to other bands a lot, but that's not reyt something we can do', Jack adds. You would certainly file 'the Liberty Ship sound'  as indie, but they're quite right when they claim their sound is somewhat undefinable. It combines an established sound of old school rock mixed intensely with the wild exuberance of being a teenager in today's society. 

It’s not just a particularly dedicated portion of Yorkshire that’s coming round to the quartet’s charms either. Liberty Ship have been showing up on the radars of those across the nation, playing festivals in Wales and even being asked to play private parties by eager moon-eyed fans. 'It's all just a lot of fun', the band tell me.  As passionate as the band seem to be, you can't deny they're having a lot of fun. In between writing songs and (probably not) revising in school the band gathered some rock n roll stories. 'There was a story involving a table and a window', Jack laughs, going on the explain how the band decided to throw a table and an ironing board out of a window after playing The Leadmill in their teens. 'We went round with a bunch of flowers to say sorry though', Lewis quickly reassures us. 

You can expect to see a lot more from Liberty Ship in the following months, not only are they darting across the nation to play festivals, they're headlining their own gig at The Leadmill in Sheffield. The very same venue which has played a host to Arctic Monkeys and Pulp  is welcoming Liberty Ship back after two years, this October. Get yourself a ticket online and for a fiver you can become part of their inevitably promising story.

*Credit to Colin Wright*

This year I made a great sacrifice. Instead of waking up on Easter Sunday and forcing my body into a chocolate-based coma, I decided to spend my Easter funds on experiencing what Britain's Best had to offer.
Two favourites meet the new kid on the block.

Catfish and The Bottlemen (Little Comets) - O2 Academy, SheffieldHere we go again!
Festivals aside, this is by far the biggest venue I've ever seen Catfish and The Bottlemen fill.
Classically, the band opened with Rango and closed with beloved Tyrants and packed the rest of the setlist with The Balcony hits. One thing you can always expect from a Catfish and The Bottlemen gig is energy and diversity- mums, dads, teenagers, awkward first Tindr dates (just to the left of me) and grandads all dancing together and shouting back the lyrics to belters like 'Kathleen'

As always, the band were flawless with their performance. A particularly significant moment was Van's performance of the acoustic track, Hourglass, from their debut album- which was like caramel to the ears. Somehow the audience all seemed to harmonise and it created an unforgettable atmosphere that isn't easily forgotten or created.

Circa Waves (Genghar, Ratboy) - Leadmill, Sheffield
The chances are that if you haven't heard of Circa Waves then you've still definitely heard them. There is pretty much no escape. These four young uns from Liverpool are flooding  our stereos and will certainly be part of your summer soundtrack!
I'd been impressed by Circa Waves upon seeing them perform as support to The 1975 in September, but here I was only months later in the audience to one of their own sold-out shows. Hats off to them! What the setlist maybe lacked slightly in variety was completely made up for with enthusiasm! Their hits, 'T-Shirt Weather' and 'Fossils', particularly had the crowd moulded into a ball of energy. I noticed that these lads may be the 'newbies' but he dynamics of the group itself works perfectly! There didn't seem to be a member that was lacking in confidence or talented! That was impressive to witness...Their support act 'Ratboy', aka Jordan Cardy seemed to kick up a fuss too! Expect big things from this lad!

The Wombats (Darlia) - Leadmill, Sheffield
This is a band that I, personally, had been so excited about seeing live that before even entering the venue I think I'd used all my energy on bouncing about on the bus into town. Now, taking off my fourteen year old fangirl hat and slipping into my objective boots, did I truly think that The Wombats performed well?
Yes. They provided an absolutely explosive set.
The setlist weaved between quirky classics, 'Techno Fan' and '1996', and their ardour filled Glitterbug tracks, 'Give Me a Try' and their latest hit, 'Greek Tragedy'. All in all, this was probably one of the best gigs I've ever attended and definitely my favourite Leadmill gig.
I only hope that I have the privilege of seeing them again!

I'm a firm believer that you should never judge a book by its cover, however any judgement you pass upon setting eyes on the enigmatic front man of King Charles is probably pretty accurate in framing his music. 

Packed inside Sheffield's Plug King Charles' support act, Sasha Siem, warmed up the crowd with haunting folk-esque vocals. Funnily enough, red stripe in hand, I watched this lovely lady perform inches away from Charles himself (although he was somewhat less easy to recognize without his bouffant hair and I'm not sure why he was choosing not to wear shoes on Plug's sticky dancefloor...)

The band themselves kicked off their set with the effortlessly gorgeous, Carry Me Away. Odd choice for an opening song? Arguably. As the first chords were played I was surprised with such a slow tune to kick off the band's set. Hey ho though, the song itself was perfectly executed, it's always a bonus when you can't here the 20 Marlboro and the litre of rum in a musicians voice at a gig in the middle of their tour.
The band carried out a high-level performance, flitting between new poetic love songs and high-tempo LoveBlood classics. King Charles' accent seemed to compliment lyrics such as; 'with a guitar in my hands or a gun in my hand, I would give it all up for your hand in my hand' or 'the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows'.
I was particularly fond of Loose Change for The Boatman and the live performance of Bam Bam had so much energy. 
Well played, KC.

All in all, the gig was £12 well spent- plus, happily to meet fans after his set and shouting out to his previous support acts, King Charles actually seemed like a really sound guy. Aw. 


(apologies for the lack of original footage, my camera died at 30%, cheers Apple)

Much like fur coats and turtlenecks, you either love them or your kidding yourself...it's PEACE. 

The band, made up of the lovely Koisser brothers, Dom Boyce and Mr Douglas Castle, released their debut album 'In Love' in 2013 and to the delight of long haired, Doc-Marten-wearing indie lovers everywhere, their new album 'Happy People' is released on the 9th of February 2015!

It's worth taking note that Peace have really captured the essence of creating your own sound and running with it, mixing funky beats with synthy tones this band oozes summer and makes you feel utterly in love with tracks; such as, Lost on Me, Float Forever and Wraith. Not only this they're known for conveying political messages in many of their songs. You can easily find pro-peace (funnily enough), anti-capitalist and feminist tones in their music- which is completely refreshing and simultaneously stimulating. Who doesn't love that?

Whilst the band have received a lot of publicity recently and are the midst of a UK tour right now (which I somehow managed to get tickets for!!) the sheer number of people who do not know about these guys shocks me! So spread the word and give them a listen:

1. Lost on Me ☮

2. Fur ☮

3. Follow Baby ☮

4. California Daze ☮

5. World Pleasure ☮

6. Wraith ☮

7. Flirtin' USA ☮

8. 1998 ☮

PEACE'S SECOND ALBUM 'HAPPY PEOPLE' IS AVAILABLE HERE!