Reviews

The third weekender of September, Hamburg’s St. Pauli neighbourhood turns into one ginormous, gloriously chaotic stage. For four days, Reeperbahn Festival takes over clubs, bars, churches, theatres, fan shops, and even bank foyers, transforming the streets around the Kiez into a constant soundtrack of discovery. In 2026, that familiar sense of musical adventure was very much alive. With hundreds of …

Until March this year, I hadn’t heard a single note from Brigitte Calls Me Baby. With a name that sticks out like that, you’d think someone working in music would at least have stumbled across one of the hottest bands on the indie circuit, especially with their second album just around the corner. Yet somehow, they had completely passed me …

Today you get to follow me, Emil Gustavsson, a man in his off-peak years, as I head to Göteborg Brinner, a metal festival at Frihamnen in Gothenburg. It’s also my first time writing for Messed!Up – should be fun. My alarm goes off at 8 a.m, and I crawl out of bed and sit down to play some video games. …

Gothenburg’s Way Out West Festival opened the gates to the 18th edition in Slottsskogen – three days of music madness, overpriced beer, and bantering with people you meet once a year. For many, Way Out West is as much about meeting up as it is about the music. For someone growing up in Gothenburg, the festival is equal parts music and …

Let’s get it straight from the start. I’ve been a massive The Wombats fan since they released their debut album Girls, Boys and Marsupials in 2006 (yes, it’s the first album, not A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation) but for some reason I can’t understand at all I’ve never ever been to a The Wombats show. And that is …

Three decades after starting out in Düsseldorf’s punk scene, Broilers reached a milestone few would have imagined back then: 48,000 fans packed the Merkur Spiel-Arena for the band’s biggest headline show to date. The “Ultrabowl” was equal parts punk rock celebration and stadium spectacle. And against all odds, this rarely felt like a contradiction. First up were New York hardcore …