DrownedInSound — For Independent Venue Week, indie-pop kings Frankie and the Heartstrings toured the UK. This is their tour diary. more info

NME — The band have tackled 'Stand On The Horizon' from last year's 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action' more info

Stereogum — Sunderland indie rockers Frankie & The Heartstrings have covered a song by their friends and neighbors from the north, Franz Ferdinand. Frankie Francis and company’s favored Franz song is “Stand On The Horizon,” a typically swaggering disco-pun... more info

The Music Fix — Performances from Franz Ferdinand and Maximo Park announced. more info

Sweeping The Nation — To round off reminiscences of things just past, a sprint through another 75 tracks that we loved this year that didn't appear on one of our top 50 albums. All that are there of these, plus a track from each of that top 50 that are streaming on th... more info

Sweeping The Nation — We've been anticipating a third album for a while now and now we have confirmation - Motto (we've already heard the title track), 16th September, produced as usual by John Goodmanson and preceded by a week by this single, perhaps more immediate than ... more info

DrownedInSound — This is a collection of elegantly assembled, fat-free pop songs, made from light and air and heart, and great choruses. It's the soul and centre of indie pop and deserves your immediate attention. Read the full story on DrownedinSound.com more info

Guardian Music — Other winners at independent British music awards include Enter Shikari, Wiley, 4AD, and Bella Union boss Simon RaymondeAlt-J, Enter Shikari and the record label 4AD took home trophies at Monday's Aim awards, honouring independent British music. The ... more info

Guardian Music — A lot of thought and planning, that's what. Allan Glen explains the clout behind Sunderland's progress towards becoming music's new Liverpool or ManchesterWhat is it that transforms an area's local musical landscape into a national credible scene? We... more info

NME - Radar — Frankie And The Heartstrings' Frankie Francis reveals his new band tip for 2012, Spoken Words: There’s a local band in Sunderland called Spoken Words - they’re walking around town looking like the Lost Boys. They’re really young, 17 or 18 but ... more info