The Soundsphere Magazine Podcast

Rick Maguire discusses Pile’s sonic growth, the power of political protest music

Rick Maguire of Pile chats to Soundsphere's Dom Smith about the impact of the band's earlier material, the power of protest songs and much more!

Kevin Smith reflects on Dogma’s legacy, Tusk and Moose Jaws similarities between comedy and horror

Soundsphere’s Christina Brennan chats to actor, director and comedian Kevin Smith about the 25th anniversary of his iconic film Dogma (1999).
It’s been twenty-five – or as Kevin Smith jokes, “twenty-six, but like the Catholic Church, we stretch our truth a little” – years since the release of Dogma. The film’s brilliant and eye-catching blend of theology, satire, and slapstick first satirized Catholic theology, and scandalized the devout, and delighted cinephiles in equal measure.
Now returning to cinemas for its anniversary release, Dogma remains a lightning rod for debates about faith on film and the limits of free speech. When I catch up with Smith over Zoom, he’s relaxed and sipping from a giant mug emblazoned with “Clerks Forever” (a nod to the film that cemented his place in indie cinema history). He’s just wrapped a U.S. tour celebrating Dogma’s re-release, and though he’s older and mellower, he’s still the same compelling storyteller he’s always been.
More here: https://www.soundspheremag.com/features/interviews/kevin-smith-on-faith-satire-and-25-years-of-dogma-1999

Inside the World of Princess Goes: Theatre Roots, Cinematic Sounds

Princess Goes is a band that defies easy labels. Rooted in the art-rock tradition associated with New York, the trio crafts music that blends synth-driven textures with a theatrical sensibility that reflects their shared history on the theatre stage, both as a trio and as individual musicians. More here:
 
https://www.soundspheremag.com/spotlight/inside-the-world-of-princess-goes/

Have a Nice Life talk Manchester debut at Outbreak Fest 2025, TikTok & AI

Have a Nice Life are on Mancunian soil. A touchstone moment in their 25 year existence, Outbreak Fest provides the setting for their long-awaited, yet inevitable encounter with an artistic home from home. 
Full chat here: https://www.soundspheremag.com/features/gaining-a-second-life-have-a-nice-life-discuss-manchester-tiktok-ai/

Gavin Rossdale discusses BUSH's enduring legacy, 90s reflections and 'I Beat Loneliness'

Bush's Gavin Rossdale talks 90s nostalgia and present day inspirations with Soundsphere's Océane Adams.
Read more at https://www.soundspheremag.com/

Greet Death’s Logan Gaval doesn’t hate everything anymore, he’s still pretty vitriolic on 'Die In Love'

#greetdeath
“Pain and loss. Everyone feels it; it’s a very human thing. At the end of the day, we’re lucky to lose people we care about.”  Interviewer: Dom Smith This quote comes from Logan Gaval of Greet Death, a Michigan based shoegazing/slowcore leaning rock band formed by two lifelong friends. Logan Gaval and Harper Boyhtari debuted this band in 2011, and they return this month with their third album, Die in Love. Their first album in six years. Release is set for Friday, June 25th, 2025. In this album they tackle the difficult sides of humanity- living knowing that we will one day die, and loving, knowing that we will one day lose it all. Yet despite these deep themes, it’s their most uplifting album yet.  
“It is our duty to experience loss and people don't like hearing that. But yeah, life is hell. I'm sorry if I'm the first person to tell you that, and it's difficult, but it's still worth doing. There's still joy to be had.”  Greet Death is a diverse group in terms of genres, covering shoegaze to classic rock. They’ve toured with Say Anything, Low Animal and Clearbody, and Prize Horse. Coming up this fall, they will be joining Nation of Language as a supporting act. To mix with all these different bands, Gaval attributes it to necessity.   “I think that's not really something that's our design. We don't get a ton of opportunities to open for bands, so the reason why the support tours that we get are so different is because when we get an offer, we pretty much have to say yes, right? You know, our influences are pretty eclectic. And I think it has a mixture of shoegaze, and classic rock like Guns and Roses.
And then it has a mixture of Nirvana and modern such as Cloak Room. I don't know, earlier Spirit of the Beehive. So, I don't know. I mean, I think we do a lot of things.  I think maybe that's why. But I do think the actual answer is because we don't have a lot of opportunities.”  Photo credits: Kat Nijmeddin Gaval used to define success as being measured by the dollar, although he admitted that in that regard, the band is an abject failure. For a long time, he thought that he couldn’t consider himself a real musician unless he was making all his money from touring.   “Since we put out New Low, I’ve reprioritized a lot of things... I think the true measure of success is whoever is having the most fun. If having fun were dollars, then I’d probably still be a failure. So, I’m trying to have the most fun out of making music, because it’s unbelievable what we’re able to do and it’s a huge blessing...  “What makes everything worth it is performing for people who care... I’m incredibly lucky to get to trudge through hell to bring our music to people that care.”   After years of touring, the band has seen firsthand how deeply their audience connects to their music.
Themes of home and alienation, love and death, all through a lenses of humour and catharsis, make this a secure safety blanket for fans.   “I wanted to try to write something less fatalistic, because I feel some kind of responsibility to help,” says Logan.  “I'm a blue, angry, lonely, confused person. And so, every time I try to write happy songs, they come out hella bad. So, this is a journey that I've been on ever since New Low, trying to write a happy song, an uplifting song that doesn't have some tinge of, like, nihilism or pessimism. Some people would say it's not important. I would strongly disagree. The words you put into the world are important, the sound of the words and the meaning of the words.”  Die in Love's Cover Art, credits: Olivia Sullivan Illustration,  Keeley Laures Gaval said that he pushed away any expectations for the album before its release. It’s a lie he tells himself to avoid any disappointment, but as a human, there are still things he hopes fans take away from the album.  “I would like a lot of people to hear the record and enjoy it. I’m so close to the project, at this point I can only hear mistakes. I hope that Pitchfork reviews it positively, so that more people will hear it and connect with it, and then more people will join the Greet Death subreddit.” 
Although there are currently no scheduled UK tour dates, Gaval promises to UK fans that the band is on their way.  “What I'd like to leave everyone with is, try your best to get rid of your delusional perspective of what success is, because it's straight up not real and you're going to be broke no matter what. So, if your idea is like, ‘All I want is to tour all the time and make all my money through music and have a career in music,’ the things that you're going to have to do and the kind of person you're going to have to become to get to that point... you basically have to be a bug.”

Youth Code’s Sara Taylor talks “coming back hot” on ‘Yours, With Malice’ + the state of modern industrial music

Nothing hits harder than life, as they say, and the series of bloody-knuckle bouts to get to the release of Yours, With Malice led to some deep introspection by YOUTH CODE regarding who they are, what they’ve accomplished and their next steps.“I think a lot of people’s stories during the pandemic were about self-reflection, but the ironic thing is we were already in a state of reemergence and re-imagination of self before the rest of the world was forced to do it,” says Ryan George. “We took time and began to workshop and demo vocals on some of the material we had. We never stop writing and are sitting on a mountain of tracks that we can rework and tweak. Not having deadlines surrounding us and in no hurry to get our material out there, all of a sudden the partnership with Sumerian arrived. That sort of ignited a fire and got us to where we are now.”These last few years of self-reflection found YOUTH CODE stewing in a simmering cauldron of bile and vitriol as Yours, With Malice is clearly their most intricate, well-crafted and blood-thirsty release to date and their first offering for Sumerian Records.Sumerian Vice President Julien O'Neill adds: "YOUTH CODE have long been a commanding voice in both electronic and heavy music, and we are incredibly honoured to welcome them to Sumerian Records with the announcement of their latest release, 'Yours, With Malice'. We believe this marks a powerful new chapter in their already illustrious career and are excited for what the future will bring for both new and longtime fans alike."While some of the sounds and references on Yours… come from classic 90s influences such as Nine Inch Nails’ classic Broken/Fixed duality, the untouchable middle period Ministry era that spawned The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, in addition to a plethora of others like Front 242, Cabaret Voltaire, and Portion Control, the core attack has not changed much for the Los Angeles-based duo.If the music of YOUTH CODE is the sketchy, yellowing passenger van luring in unsuspecting listeners, then the melodies on Yours… are the out-stretched hand of unlimited candy that growing legions won’t be able to resist. Sara Taylor shares: “I started exploring more melodic vocals on our record with King Yosef [the 2021 collab A Skeleton Key in the Doors of Depression], but I’ve always felt somewhat insecure in my voice… At the same time, Eartha Kitt had a gravelly voice and she was the epitome of a vocalist that ably captured attention – she understood the song and how to make the most of it with what she had.”What has changed is YOUTH CODE's attention to detail and their hyper focus on execution in songwriting, two things that can only come from the wellspring of knowledge found in a band that has been at it for more than a decade. The group began in 2012 as a project between partners George and Taylor, inspired by the classic sounds of New Order, Depeche Mode and the hardcore punk that soundtracked so much of their youth. What emerged was a demo cassette that led to a 7” release on Angry Love, the first band unrelated to the legendary Psychic TV to be released on that label. A self-titled album followed, then 2014’s A Place to Stand EP, and 2016’s Commitment to Complications LP, all while touring with a diverse groups like Chelsea Wolfe, HEALTH, Skinny Puppy, and more, in addition to arena shows with My Chemical Romance and main stage appearances with Nine Inch Nails. Heaps of press accolades followed before the pandemic hit, and now, in 2025, YOUTH CODE return with their magnum opus.

Bdrmm talk 'Microtonic', the music industry's North/South divide and more

The 10 song “Microtonic”, recorded with long-term band collaborator Alex Greaves and featuring guest appearances from Sydney Minsky Sargeant of Working Men’s Club and Olivesque of Nightbus, is unquestionably a bold leap for the group, who have embraced a fuller spectrum of tones and atmospheres. “I felt very constrained writing a certain type of music to fit the genre [we were known for] but something lifted and I felt more free to create what I want,” says Ryan.
“And what I seem to be doing at the moment is a lot of electronic music – taking influence from different spans of electronica, from dance music to ambient and more experimental sources.” Bdrmm’s trademark sound hasn’t disappeared by any means, the band’s more guitar-heavy beginnings a blueprint and influence on many of the groups breaking through in the here and now, a time when shoegaze is enjoying its strongest revival since its inception in the 80s, but those guitars are now incorporated into a broader, more expansive and varied sonic palette. “Microtonic” follows 2023’s “I Don’t Know”, an album that arrived to critical acclaim with the likes of Consequence calling it “one of their most enticing successes yet” and Rolling Stone UK describing it as “a chaotic, thrilling evolution”.
The lead single “It’s Just A Bit Of Blood” was also playlisted on BBC Radio 6 Music, and Brooklyn Vegan made the record their Album Of The Week saying that “I Don’t Know” saw them “not only avoid the sophomore slump but deliver a second album that is miles better their debut.” “Microtonic” will be available on digital, CD, classic black LP and on indie stories exclusive coloured LP. You can pre-order the album now via Rock Action: bdrmm.lnk.to/microtonic

The Horrors’ Rhys Webb talks ‘Night Life’, in-store shows and 20 years of the band

The Horrors are a band that you cannot pin down to one genre, and bassist/producer Rhys Webb confirms that.  “I certainly don’t believe in any musical boundaries, and I think that’s always been the ethos of the band, and there’s never any limits, or rules or any right or wrongs of what we should do.”
 
More here: https://www.soundspheremag.com/features/the-horrors-rhys-webb-talks-about-the-new-record-night-life-in-store-shows-and-20-years-of-the-band/

Jaret Reddick talks Bowling For Soup HEADLINING Wembley, getting fit and his love for Chris Burney

#bowlingforsoup #jaretreddick #wembley Bowling For Soup are Wembley bound! They've headlined festivals, sold out shows the world over, and have never been more popular in their three decades as a band; Now the Texan pop punk legends are headlining a show at one of London's most famous arenas for the first time.
 
Bowling For Soup will hit the stage at OVO Arena Wembley on the 13th of December 2025. "BFS" will be bringing all the hits - Girl All The Bad Guys Want, 1985, High School Never Ends, Phineas & Ferb and so many more. They're also bringing a fantastic supporting cast of Wheatus (who will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of their debut album) while cover superstars Punk Rock Factory will get the party started. It is set to be a perfect pre-Christmas night out for rock and pop punk fans of all ages.
Tickets will go on general sale at 10am on Friday 31 January and will be available from: AEGPRESENTS.CO.UK | AXS.COM | TICKETMASTER.CO.UK
Here's Bowling For Soup frontman Jaret Reddick on the excitement of their upcoming first London arena headline show: "Wembley…What can I say?!? When we first started playing the UK in 2000, you could never have told me that one day, we would be headlining the coveted Wembley Arena! More over, that it would take us 30 years to get there!! I don’t have a bucket list anymore. My dreams have all come true. I have a beautiful family, I’m still making people smile, and the future is bright. But let’s just say there is a little part of me that still has some things to mark off…Wembley is at the top." Prior to the OVO Arena Wembley show, Bowling For Soup will be in the UK in February 2025, finishing the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of their celebrated hit album A Hangover You Don't Deserve. The tour, which is almost completely sold out, is playing arenas and venues all across the UK. Full details and last tickets for that tour are available from the Bowling For Soup official website: https://www.bowlingforsoup.com/