Ranked

Charli xcx's 20 Greatest Songs

"With pumping synths and pulsing bass, it introduced us to the unapologetic 360 party girl we would come to know better." The rise of…

Rough Trade Essential: Greatest Guitar Albums

"Replace the generic cliches with genuinely raw lyrics, the pristine, over-the-top production, with grit and power, and the trite, self-indulgent guitar solos, with a style…

On The Rise: Blue Bendy

Six cool cats defy genre. Ranking between the "7th and 2nd best guitar bands in London" and with fans including Franz Ferdinand's…

On The Rise: Fabiana Palladino

An anticipated arrival weaves sensuously soulful pop threads into the sleekest of sonic fabrics. After being approached by friend and confidant Jai Paul in 2014, London…

Sad Indie-spensibles

Not reserved for January alone, embrace the blues and beauty of some of our favourite wistful vinyl albums featuring Gothic tones, 'sad indie', melancholy folk and sadcore rock - the downbeat melodies we all lean into, to feel more understood.…

Rough Trade Essential: Shoegaze

One of indie-rock's finest subgenres. With warm waves of distortion, limitless guitar texture and the most ethereal vocals - shoegaze is music for dreamers.…

Rough Trade x Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)

Help save a life. Someone in the UK dies by suicide every 90 minutes. Artists, musicians and entertainers have an increased risk of suicide. Rough Trade…

Album of the Month - January 2024

SPRINTS - Letter To Self City Slang Energetic and abrasive with driving guitars and spiky punk poetry, SPRINTS mix up a brilliant concoction of gothic-tinged melodies…

In Conversation with Thurston Moore

"I always thought Sonic Youth started that way - what is the band that we would like to see on stage? And it wasn'…

2023 Roundup: Bestsellers and Hot Tips for 2024

All-female goth glam, future shoegaze stars, anticipated solo projects, and electrifying live energy. We round up the biggest releases of the past year and cast an…

Album of the Month - December 2023

Jangle Bells - A Rough Trade Shops Christmas Selection Rough Trade Shops "Chris and Jack, who I work in an office with at West, always…

Staff Picks: Best of 2023

"Ethereal soundscapes that linger like the warm afterglow of fire. Best consumed with a pint of Guinness and a small selection of loved ones."…

Shoplifting with Model/Actriz

"...[Purple Mountains] It's just a really good example of contrast, it's so funny, yet so dark, and so horrifying. It'…

On The Rise: Brigitte Calls Me Baby

A stylish, shimmering, era-defying musical awakening. Taking their name from French beauty muse Brigitte Bardot, the Chicago five-piece fronted by Wes Leavins have had their hearts…

Dolly Parton's 20 Greatest Songs

"So to all the fools out there who never took her seriously, 'this dumb blonde ain’t nobody’s fool'. Remember, Dolly always…