Welcome to the Jungle.

Welcome to my new blog - No New Wave No Fun. My name is Stephen Birch and I've been writing about and reviewing music, both new and old, for several years. I've written for various websites and blogs including Evilsponge, Middleboopmag, Getintothis and most recently, Popped Music.

I'm a big fan of music of all genres, but being a child of the 90s - my real passion lies in the alternative realm. Britpop was formative to my musical understanding - bands like Blur, Pulp and Supergrass were the first bands that really got me excited.

From there came some very obsessive years as a devotee of The Smiths. Morrissey became the antihero I craved with his lyrics cutting through like a knife. The gorgeous and sometimes incredibly sad melodies of Johnny Marr fitted any mood. 

As any music fan will be aware, obsessions come and go as quickly as the seasons - but the next was to take me further into any intense fanship than I had previously ventured.

I first heard ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead in early 2000. I was a University student struggling with a crippling shyness and depression. My Mother was terminally ill with Cancer; it's fair to say I didn't feel too happy with the world.

'Mistakes and Regrets' was an intense rush of a single getting coverage from both the NME and Kerrang in the UK and album 'Madonna' soon followed - I was hooked.

It was only when I saw them live later that year at Reading Festival that it all made complete sense. Chaos..sheer and utter chaos. It thrilled me beyond any band I've seen since. 

As this was intended to be no more than a mere introduction to the blog; I'm going to stop there. As the blog evolves, more stories from the 25 years or so I've been listening to and watching live music will appear no doubt.

However I don't want this to just be a newspaper headline from an episode of The Simpsons. I fully intend to review new Singles and Albums as I have done previously. After all, as sublime Welsh punks mclusky once noted,  if there's no new wave..there's no fun. 

SB