Tom Phelan

Writer and Music Journalist

United Kingdom

Hello! I’m Tom: a writer and all-round music obsessive based in London eternally exploring the fringes of culture and delivering work which grabs you with its humour, social commentary and distinct voice.

My work has been featured on numerous sites including Far Out, Still Listening, RGM Magazine, In Stereo, and New Noise Magazine, plus have contributed creative writing to award-winning films. Be it from the depths of the musical subterranean or mainstream ubiquity, I've delivered comprehensive critical work on a myriad of genres, from Ariana Grande to Gutter Pig.

Over six years ago I founded the project 'Heads on Sticks', a moniker/alias dedicated to showcasing the "uncharted, offbeat, and bawdy in new music", branching out into residencies with Aaja and Noods Radio, a podcast (guests include Paul Barker, Alison Statton, Chris Cowey, VR Sex, Zolar X and more!) and curated nights of live music.

If you want to get in contact or send me some music, please don't hesitate!

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Portfolio
Far Out Magazine
02/25/2025
What are the paintings the Vatican is hiding?

In a curious chapter of the Catholic Church's history, the trifacial Trinities that were painted were deemed so unorthodox and aberrational they were outlawed.

Far Out Magazine
02/13/2025
Civilistjävel! - 'Följd' album review

Swedish artists Civilistjävel!'s new album Följd masterfully illustrates ambient dub's evocative power wrought from minimal arrangements when executed right.

Still Listening
09/27/2024
MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks Review - Still Listening

MJ Lenderman returns with another effortless slice of country-slack that reaches emotional affect from unassuming places. At just 25, North Carolina's MJ Lenderman already has an impressive volume of work behind him. Listing collaborations with indie acts Wednesday and Waxahatchee, coupled with thr

Still Listening
05/23/2024
Lip Critic - Hex Dealer Review - Still Listening

Electropunks Lip Critic crush dense, aural collages of combative hardcore and hazardous breakbeat into an enthralling, confounding mess. New York electropunk misfits Lip Critic's very conception was born from mishap and blunder. When half of their predecessor outfit Chalklit hadn't shown up for a g

Still Listening
04/16/2024
Khruangbin - A LA SALA Review - Still Listening

Psych-dub trio Khruangbin offer another shallow traipse through middling surf noodling that feels forever one-note. The title of Khruangbin's latest album A LA SALA comes from the abrupt Spanish announcements made by bassist and co-founder Laura Lee Ochoa when as a young girl would ushe

Still Listening
04/05/2024
Ariana Grande - Eternal Sunshine Review - Still Listening

Ariana Grande's latest pop offering examines the messy, complicated self with the aid of a subversive, sonic palette. Few have reached the stratospheric fame and pop adulation heights Ariana Grande has scored. Easily casting aside the stubborn associations with former children's TV stardom immediat

RGM : REYT GOOD MAGAZINE
04/03/2024
WE REVIEW THE NEW SINGLE FROM CHASING KITES

According to an interview with Post-Burnout magazine back in July, Bristol indie fourpiece Chasing Kites formed as a counter to frontman Matt Donnelly's former poppier project, pursuing a "raucous, aggressive sound" akin to his professed love for Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes. Headlining their home

Still Listening
03/28/2024
Shabazz Palaces - Exotic Birds of Prey Review - Still Listening

Latest Shabazz Palaces album opens another portal into synth-soaked dimensions and Afrofuturist, celestial reach. Initially, it doesn't appear that there's much connecting Seattle rapper and producer Ishmael Butler's former jazz hip-hop group Digable Planets with current intergalactic project Shaba

RGM : REYT GOOD MAGAZINE
03/29/2024
WE REVIEW THE NEW SINGLE FROM MAYFIRE

Boasting plays on Radio 1 and X with an upcoming date at Islington's O2 Academy before a third single is no mean feat. From playing grassroots venues like The Fulford Arms to slots at Eurosonic Festival in the Netherlands with dizzying pace, York indie quartet Mayfire clearly are hungry for success.

RGM : REYT GOOD MAGAZINE
03/22/2024
WE REVIEW THE NEW ALBUM FROM HAVE MERCY LAS VEGAS

Scotland's Loch Lomond area isn't usually the locale one thinks of when considering barn-stomping country and rootsy Americana, but Dumbartonshire folk six-piece Have Mercy Las Vegas has spent the last ten years indulging in their shared passion for bluegrass pop, amassing an ever-growing fanbase an

RGM : REYT GOOD MAGAZINE
03/17/2024
WE REVIEW THE NEW ALBUM FROM ZEROPOLIS

Conjuring drama from conceptual themes of ennui and weathered dissatisfaction is a difficult task for any artist, let alone inspiring hope and solidarity amidst the contemporary swirl of cultural inertia, but London post-punk duo Zeropolis have been unleashing smoggy blasts of synth-soaked darkwave

Heads on Sticks - Exploring the uncharted, offbeat, and bawdy in new music!
05/04/2023
Benefits 'Nails' - Heads on Sticks

Debut from noise punks Benefits is an explosive statement of incendiary invective that explores the contemporary rot with validating anger. Check the word!

Heads on Sticks - Exploring the uncharted, offbeat, and bawdy in new music!
11/25/2022
Metal Preyers 'Shadow Swamps' - Heads on Sticks

Latest album for Metal Preyers is a haunted meander through Afrofuturist murk and weathered soundscapes, check the word

Bristol In Stereo
02/01/2020
Lynks at Crofter's Rights 2020

Live review of Lynks Afrikka's (now just Lynks) set at Bristol's Crofter's Rights. Was featured in the monthly print version.

Tap the Feed
09/16/2019
Astral Festival 2019

Cover of Bristol's Astral Festival for now defunct Tap the Feed Magazine

Tap the Feed
07/02/2019
Ministry at SWX 2019

Review of industrial act Ministry's live set at Bristol's SWX