Listening post

In introducing an interview with Treble founder Jeff Terich in the spring, I wrote about the need to celebrate dogged stalwarts/veterans of the music media landscape rather than merely moaning when magazines and sites fold. The same goes for new arrivals on the scene. It takes laudable courage to set up a new platform in the current climate, so hats off to the former Pitchfork staffers who've just launched Hearing Things.

The About page not only describes the new site in bold terms as "a bulwark against all the bullshit" and lays out the considerable credentials of the founders; it also (refreshingly) outlines its policy of editorial independence and clarifies exactly what that means.

A smattering of reviews and features have already been posted, including this engaging Julianne Escobedo Shepherd interview with Kathleen Hanna, which covers her recently published memoir Rebel Girl, the "really joyous atmosphere" of live gigs and getting the key to the city of Olympia (and an apology).

Better still is the conversation that Los Campesinos! frontman Gareth had with Ryan Dombal - the latter, like me, a long-time fan who clearly feels as though he's grown up alongside the band. Gareth talks lyrics, ethics and politics (remaining cagey on whether he's having a pop at Idles on 'Long Throes'), but perhaps most fascinating is the revealing insight into the economics of being a well-established mid-tier band and what being DIY at that level really means.