Fanzine 27 doc

ISSUE TWENTYSEVEN
FEB//MAR
FREE
BABYSHAMBLES GLASVEGAS
HOLY FUCK BRITISH SEA POWER
YOUNG GALAXY METRONOMY BELLA UNION
KARIMA FRANCIS
LOWLINE GOFASTER
DENIS JONES
ISSUE TWENTYSEVEN
FEB/MAR
“Next
issue of
High Voltage
is out 1st April
Fool!”
features
Introducing… Karima Francis
& Lowline SIX
Introducing… Gofaster
& Denis Jones SEVEN
Young Galaxy & Metronomy NINE
British Sea Power TEN
Holy Fuck TWELVE
Glasvegas THIRTEEN
Babyshambles FOURTEEN
Bella Union label profile TWENTYSIX
Regulars
Cover up!
Manchester news FIVE
Single reviews SIXTEEN
Album reviews EIGHTEEN
Live reviews TWENTY
New Noise TWENTYTHREE
Manchester Listings TWENTYFOUR
This issues cover is not only brought to you in
amazing technicolor, but is by, none other than the
mighty Chris Drury, Fingathing’s silent but no less
conspicuous third fiddle. Chris has built up a fresh and
distinctive visual profile for Fingathing that’s as unique
as the music they produce.
The Fingathing sound is Parker (turntablist supremo)
and Sneak (Jazz double bassist). Between them they
produce, arguably, the most original sound to come out
of Manchester, a Jazz/Hip Hop combo that shakes the
most solid of foundations.
For more artwork, music, info and an opportunity to
buy a limited edition A2 print by the cave troll himself, check
www.fingathing.com
For more reviews, interviews,
comment and info on all
HighVoltage activities log on to
highvoltage.org.uk
See highvoltagesounds.co.uk for
label info and new
HighVoltage releases
Andy Cake
EDITOR - Richard Cheetham - [email protected] ASSISTANT EDITOR - Alistair Beech - [email protected]
FEATURES EDITOR - Adrian Barrowdale – [email protected] REVIEWS EDITOR – Fran Donnelly – [email protected]
NEW BAND EDITOR – Stephen Eddie – [email protected] LISTINGS EDITOR – Mike Caulfield – [email protected]
DESIGN - Andy Cake | Soap | www.soapforall.co.uk
CONTRIBUTORS - Alex Barbanneau, Hannah Bayfield, Hannah Clark, Neil Condron, Richard Fox, Jade French, Kelvin Goodson,
Chris Horner, James Morton, Sophie Parkes, Liam Pennington, Andrew Porter, Simon Pursehouse, Gareth Roberts, Alexia Rogers-Wright,
Jamila Scott, Benjamin Thomas, Simon Smallbone, Jack Titley, Megan Vaughan, Will Wright
two
three
Feb/Mar
_News...
Welcome to the original renaissance city of
Event of the Month
Manchester – where everybody is going to
want to be in 2008.
The first to make the trip from London,
gothic girlies Ipso Facto and smart
artrockers XX Teens make Up The Racket's
Retro Bar agenda over February. At Night &
Day, it's worth keeping on eye out for the
most fashionable of indie kids in These New
Puritans (12/02) and Cazals (06/03), whilst
the more subtle, alternative substance of the
Twilight Sad calms things down on 24/03.
That's right. Now you've no excuse for being
met in Berlin, heading for France) represent
uncool on a Saturday night. Down at Night &
their trendsetting label on the 16th February.
Day over the next two months, High Voltage
have a right couple of gems lined up for you.
Expect both dates to boast up-and-coming
surprises in support.
Meanwhile, exciting Brooklynites MGMT and
their weird twist of indie magic are making
waves, so it's a good job HV got 'em booked
well in advance for the 1st March. Their aptly-
If you're missing The Warehouse Project
then miss no more, for they've reopened the
First up, Thieves Like Us bring their shady
titled debut album 'Oracular Spectacular' is out
old Factory HQ for some great nights of
dance-pop. Describing themselves as "Half Daft
now, but you'll watch to catch them live so you
dancing. In particular, Australian electro-
Punk. Half Factory. All Kitsuné", the
can say you "was there" this time next year…
behemoths The Presets play 21/03 and it's
cosmopolitan trio (two Swedes, one American,
gonna be mental. If you prefer your
electronics more "intelligent" however, then
tech-veterans Autechre head for Music Box
29/02. For your ever mind-boggling
indie/dance fusions, console-bothering
Crystal Castles make a strobe-lit dash to
Club Academy (13/02) whilst currently
cresting the hype on all fronts, Foals play
their first Manchester show of the year on
the 11th March. Love odd-ball indie? check
out Misty’s Big Adventure on the 1st March
at Academy 3.
In the record shop, keep an eye out for
singles from the local likes of Lowline, The
Rascals, Modernaire, The Ting Tings, whilst
Orphan Boy's debut album 'Shop Local' isn't
far away. Our very own The Maple State
play the Roadhouse 21/02 in support of their
sharp mini-album 'Say Scientist', released
on HV Sounds in March. It'll keep you happy
until The Whip's hotly anticipated debut
album 'X Marks Destination' arrives
at the end of the month.
Words: Fran Donnelly
four
five
introducing...
Karima Francis
With the kind of traffic-stopping voice
that has earned comparisons with
Tracy Chapman, Karima Francis’s
harrowing tales of romance and
alcoholism make for haunting
performances. Whilst Kitchenware
Records understood her magic
when they added her to their roster
in mid-2007, just a few years ago
Karima was drumming in a band.
That was, until she sang Lenny
Kravitz to her partner, booked a gig
at The Thirsty Scholar, and
everything changed.
“I always had this craving.
Whenever I was in bands I always
used to direct anyway. I used to just
hear all this melody. You know
when you were a kid and everyone
sings, and you want to but you’re so
shy? It’s one of those things; it
never crossed my mind that I would
ever do it. At my first gig there was
this Irish guy sat there, all dressed in
black. He was like, ‘Woooah!!’ He
said, ‘you know, you’re gonna go far,
you’ve really touched me’. From
that moment I just couldn’t stop
doing it every night. I could say it’s
therapeutic but it’s more like an
adrenalin rush. My whole body
works in a different way when I’m up
there.”
Having been busy recording her
debut album with Ken Nelson
(Gomez, Coldplay, Badly Drawn
Boy) in Liverpool’s Parr Street
Studios, there have been few
opportunities for Karima to gig. A
short support slot with Newton
Faulkner won new fans around the
country, but extensive touring is
planned to coincide with the album’s
six
springtime release. It would be an
understatement to say that Karima
is excited.
“Basically, I don’t care if it’s just to
one person, or ten thousand people,
I just want to be gigging every night
now. I’m really excited to write my
next finished song too. When I write
that, I’ll relax, because I’ve cramped
up. It’s been such a hard
experience.”
The energy expended at Parr Street
has been worthwhile. Sneak
previews currently available on
Karima’s MySpace prove that she is
fast becoming one of the UK’s
foremost songwriting talents. “The
first single is going to be The
Author,” she says with a smile, “and
the new version is amazing!
There’s a little bit of Hammond in
there and the main guitar line is
backed by electric, but subtly, so it’s
thicker, and then when it gets to the
bridge it just rushes up your back
and everything!”
Words: Megan Vaughan
www.myspace.com/karimafrancis
Lowline
"I don’t think there's been anything in
the mainstream over the last five
years that's turned us on musically,"
reckons Lowline drummer Sam. "I'm
not interested in some sweaty 23year-old telling us what he’s done
day to day."
"You get bands like The Courteeners
sounding like The Libertines. There's
no atmosphere. There's no denying
there's talent about, it's just nobody's
writing the tunes that we wanna
listen to right now. So that's what
we're doing."
Tired of mediocrity but driven with
self-belief, Lowline are a band to be
reckoned with. Having gigged and
re-jigged for the past twelve months,
these four lads are ready to cause a
stir in 2008. Their powerful debut
single 'Monitors' is released in March
and characteristically taking no halfmeasures, the band simply went
straight into the studio with legendary
Oasis/Verve producer Owen Morris.
What Lowline are doing follows a
very particular local lineage.
Beginning when Howard Devoto
started Magazine, their sound takes
influence from the post-punk of The
Chameleons and the lush sound of
Doves. It's a wash of guitar forced
through five effects pedals over
Robbie's cry of euphoric resentment.
Scummy social commentary it is not.
"There's ambiguity there and that's
important," Mike emphasises. "The
world will get sick of lyrics like "I got
the 192 / I went to the post office / I
went to the Late Shop". No one's
arsed. Music's about touching loads
of people, not about buying
a 40p pick ‘n’ mix."
"It's a bang on single but the tunes
we're writing now are better really,"
claims bassist Mike. "Previously
we've all been playing in other
bands, and it's taken a long time to
get us where we are, but we're
getting there and we're the complete
outfit now."
And it's really starting to show.
Recording the video for 'Monitors',
the band played a guerrilla gig in
Ancoats one Saturday afternoon –
joined by one Nick McCabe on
guitar. Alienated by the way their
hometown seems headed, Lowline
have taken things into their own
hands. "Manchester just doesn’t
have a sound going for it at the
moment," says their bassist.
Words: Fran Donnelly
www.myspace.com/thisislowline
Lowline release their debut single
‘Monitors’ in March on 1-2-3-4!
Records
Go Faster
This year is set to be a very big one
for our Scouse neighbours. The
next 12 months will see Liverpool
wearing the crown of European
Capital of Culture, awarded largely
on the back of its musical heritage.
However, as the celebrations kick
off, goFASTER>> have headed out
on the road with best mates Elle
s'Apelle, leading a charge of new
bands that together are saying
more about the city in 2008 than a
million botched Mathew Street
festivals ever could.
In new single 'Flammable
Leisurewear', goFASTER>> have
probably captured the carefree
spirit of a rejuvenated Merseyside
scene better than anyone to date.
Singer Rich takes up the tale of
how a sorry spell in Liverpudlian
fashion history became a sugary
chunk of sherbet punk.
"I remember, as a child, watching
Watchdog, and they were setting
fire to shell suits, saying how
dangerous they are," says the
tousle-haired frontman as Chris
(guitars and keyboards) continues.
"The song's about wearing trackies;
it's about growing up in Liverpool,
with all your mates going on the
sunbeds. But it's also about taking
the piss out of ourselves - I mean, I
had a skinhead until I was 17!"
The band's satirical, selfdeprecating edge has attracted
early comparisons with former
tourmates The Wombats and Hot
Club de Paris, while the bands'
hometown gigs with the likes of 28
Costumes, My Amiga, The Delta
Fiasco and Arms At Last have
placed them at the heart of
Liverpool's emerging DIY scene.
Does the band foresee a return to
form for the city this year?
"Everything's pointing to it, but
you don't like to count your
chickens!" Rich cautiously smiles.
"The thing is, we're not anything
madly different from what's come
before," argues Chris. "Liverpool's
always been a pop city - and we
are a pop band. We're just putting
our own spin on things."
In truth, goFASTER>>'s ethic is
one that would win them friends in
any city - unless that city is
London and a certain jealous
electro act is on the bill. "Their
[band name removed for
punchline-related reasons]
dressing room was the size of a
school hall - you could have a club
night in there!" rues Chris. "We
thought, it must be for all the
bands, so we and the Neon
Plastics went in and helped
ourselves to some drinks. Next
thing, their manager comes over,
telling us to leave!'"
Did goFASTER>> offend them?
Yeah.
Words: Neil Condron
www.myspace.com/gofasterband
goFASTER>>'s single 'Flammable
Leisurewear' is out now on
Alcopop!
The music of Denis Jones
combines incredible technological
wizardry with traditional singersongwriter sensibilities. Breaking
such genre boundaries has
attracted admirers across the world
since the initial release of his debut
album, Humdrum Virtue, and Denis
has been compared to acts as
diverse as CocoRosie and John
Martyn.
“I’m massively flattered,” he says.
“Thinking of the time, a lot of folk
music of that era was stagnating
because it was looking too far back,
but he (Martyn) was one of the few
people who was looking forward
and I think he was probably
shunned, like Dylan was at the
time, for not doing the traditional
thing. It’s like, ‘come on guys, this
is what’s happening in your
generation.’ You either embrace it
or ignore it.”
When a fifteen year-old Denis
played Radiohead’s ‘Street Spirit’ at
his school’s Christmas Variety
Show, he took his first tentative
steps towards the unparalleled live
reputation that sees him flying to
festivals in Lithuania, supporting
bands like Efterklang and regularly
playing up and down the country.
As a live performer, the breadth of
his experience means each gig is
tailored to each audience, as Jones
alternates between low-key
strumming and rib-shaking loops.
Things have come on since that
inaugural school concert.
“I started doing gigs straight away,
but I was doing covers and slowly
writing my own songs. I don’t
remember an exact point, but
eventually there were more of my
songs than there were covers, I
guess when I was about seventeen
or eighteen.” It was while he was
living in London that Denis began to
explore electronic music. He was
lent a sampler by a friend, and
began to expand his listening
horizons with ambient elecronica.
“There was an album I was listening
to by Fennesz that summer – kind
of an ambient crossover between
electronica and acoustic music. I
listened to it non-stop.”
Denis’s distinctive sound soon
emerged, and the recording of
Humdrum Virtue followed.
A breathtaking album of looped
samples and lyrics about “Elvis
Costello playing the cello”,
enormous demand for the original
handmade copies has led to a
large-scale pressing and nationwide
re-release this coming spring.
Following that, a 12” is planned, but
you’ll struggle to find it on Google,
as Denis explains. “We’re going to
go under the name Menace Drones
for that!”
Words: Megan Vaughan
www.myspace.com/denisjones
Denis Jones is on tour throughout
February and March
seven
Young
Galaxy
“I’m just a big music fan” admits
Stephen Ramsey, one half of
Montreal duo Young Galaxy. A late
developer in song-writing terms
(picking up the guitar in his early
twenties) Stephen says it took time
for a musical career to become
reality; “I always assumed I’d have
a group of friends to write songs, a
gang to form a band with. I had
people that talked, but never went
through with it.” A couple of years
ago he become a touring guitarist
for Canadian super group Stars.
“Stars definitely opened the door
for me. At first I felt a bit of an
impostor, but it was a fast track to
Young Galaxy.”
ADVERTISING
£50 per issue!!
Catherine’s rural, earthy
beginnings in Vancouver and their
present home, the city bustle of
Montreal.
With label bank balances at their
most precarious, Arts & Crafts
artistic model of development is
applauded by their latest protégés.
“They (Arts and Crafts) always
encouraged us and never
interfered with the record. They
were hands off in a way. At the
moment there’s a legitimate need
for labels to manage and nurture
their acts. Just being a label is
hard to pull off now.”
Live, Young Galaxy seek a
connection and directness with
their audience, and despite picking
up the shoe-gaze tag “aren’t the
types to hide behind our sound, we
want to create an experience”,
says Stephen. “Our songs are born
out of a love of music” he beams at
the end of our transatlantic chat.
Love music? Then you’ll love
Young Galaxy.
Words: Alistair Beech
www.myspace.com/younggalaxy
Metronomy
Metronomy, code name for electro
pop creator Joseph Mount, is making
a return to our ears this year with the
release of a second album. “The
album will be called ‘Nights Out’ and
it's due out sometime in March. It's
got more singing and is hopefully a
bit more concise than the first album,”
Mount reveals.
Have your
say in these
pages from
In between breaks on Stars tours,
Stephen worked on songs with his
other half (personally and
musically) Catherine McCandless
at Jace Lasek’s (Besnard Lakes)
Montreal studio. Released through
super-indie Arts and Crafts (home
to Feist, The Dears, and set up by
Broken Social Scene’s Kevin
Drew) Young Galaxy’s self-titled
debut is a rich, heart-warming LP
perfect for winter sulking. Debut
single and album opener ‘Swing
Your Heartache’ is a 4am
Spiritualized come down, full of
sparkling melodies, broody verses
and an uplifting outro. The album is
a collision of Stephen and
Taking great influence from “science
fiction, Talking Heads, pictures of
space, David Bowie and growing up
in Devon”, Metronomy make music
that “sounds like a garage band
playing electro music”. Since first
album, ‘Pip Paine (Pay Back The
£5000 You Owe)’ was released in
2006 Metronomy has developed into
more of a band than a one man
machine, enjoyed SXSW ’07 greatly
and has been trying to avoid second
album syndrome. Not only that, but
Joe is a household name for his
remixing abilities. He has put a hand
to just about everyone from
Architecture In Helsinki to Kate Nash
with pretty remarkable results across
the board.
In a live setting Metronomy does not
adhere to the expected route of ‘man
on stage with laptop behaving in a
completely uninspiring manner’. To
compliment the funky, yet eccentric,
electro style sounds of Metronomy
the live line up (which consists of
Joe, Oscar Cash and Gabriel
Stebbing) is usually accompanied by
some form of dance routine and light
show.
Recent single ‘Radio Ladio’ has been
getting a fair share of attention from
the blogging community, yet
Metronomy is not concerned about
the possibility of getting swept away
amid a flurry of bandwagon fans or
sudden mass mainstream industry
interest. “There's been plenty of time
for us to be hyped, no one's taken
the bait yet. I can't imagine it'll
happen,” Mount explained as the
idea of a sudden Metronomy boom
was brushed under the carpet.
having impossible ambitions,
Metronomy are looking forward to the
opportunity to write with new people
on material and also anticipate a
whole host of headline shows over
the next twelve months.
Words: Jamila Scott
www.myspace.com/metronomy
Metronomy play The Roadhouse in
Manchester on March 1st
Not phased by potential hype or
Email [email protected]
for more info (design facility availaible)
eight
nine
BRITISH_
SEA_
POWER
_BRAVERY EXISTS
Admittedly, I'm not much of a
morning person. Or at least, not until
I've got a litre of coffee and hoops
on toast down me. However, Rock
waits for no man, and by the time
I've brushed my teeth, British Sea
Power have woken up in their
Travelodge, watched Trisha
Goddard and made their way down
to Night & Day for High Voltage.
When a band claims that only "one
in ten" interviews they give is
remotely enjoyable, HV wakes up
today expecting a quiet brew.
Instead we got a lesson in life and a
comprehensive discussion on the
merits of a Full English.
"The major priority was not to do it
in London again," Scott 'Yan'
Wilkinson starts, "so we went to a
water tower in Suffolk. It was a bit of
an adventure. Playing guitar inside it
was like standing on top of a
mountain. We recorded some
pigeons."
British Sea Power have been off the
radar. They've been over the Atlantic
and across the Carpathians. Their
2003 debut The Decline Of… made
them critically adored. Follow-up
Open Season proved how melodic
their pastoral rock template could
be. Third album, Do You Like Rock
Music?, began by attempting what
seems like the impossible. "We felt
we've never really captured the
sound of us live," explains guitarist
Martin Noble. "You can't do it really,
but we had a go. The original plan
was to record it all live and keep it
basic, but that didn’t seem to have
any magic. So we brought it back
from Canada to work on…"
"…and find the key place to put the
pigeons in. Then we made some
pigeon noises ourselves. Just a part
of trying to get closer to nature
really."
Stripped of their foliage and animal
motifs these days, it seems that
BSP are getting closer to human
nature than anything else on their
latest long-player. Its arrival was
announced with a single to begin
your 2008 with in 'Waving Flags' –
an epic-rock invite to global unity.
"Ideally, people would stop moaning
about eastern European immigrants
and stop being nasty about the
whole thing," Noble laments. "It's not
deadly politically serious, but the
repeated phrase is 'welcome in', and
it applies to any sort of alien."
An honourable sentiment from the
most British band of these shores,
but the Lake District via Brighton
quartet have ventured abroad
themselves. Pledging allegiance
with the drink-friendly fans of Slavia
Prague FC, a foreign affinity was
inspired by the band's decamping to
rural Czech countryside to mix the
album last summer. The motive was
simple according to Yan; "It was
cheap and it's got smashing beer.
We got told we could do two weeks
in London or five weeks in the
Czech Republic. Seemed pretty
obvious really."
"They'll have a few pints at
ten
We felt
we've never
really
captured
the sound
of us live.
You can't do
it really, but
we had a
go. The
original plan
was to
record it all
live and
keep it
basic
lunchtime," speaks Noble of the
culture, "You'd see this guy off his
head in the forest at one o'clock in
the afternoon doing this," [makes
agonised scream to the surprise of
the quiet bar] "I suppose it's an
Eastern thing. It's cold there." Not
only that, but it's the world's largest
consumer of beer per capita. And
not ones to forget their hosts'
hospitality, BSP recognised the
influence last month when they
launched Do You Like Rock Music?
on Czech soil, at their London
embassy. It followed a history of
unorthodox gigs that most recently
included shows on cliff tops, afloat
the River Mersey, and at Britain's
highest inn above sea level. "Of all
the embassies we approached, they
were the most up for it," recounts
Yan. "Romania and Poland were
having none of it, but then we asked
the Czech one and they just wanted
some tickets. They're the kind of
guys who think if it sounds fun, let's
go with it. I think that's what we
identify with."
Produced by Graham Sutton and
Arcade Fire's Howard Bilerman, Do
You Like Rock Music? is an
enormous achievement in the literal
sense. Guitars ring endlessly with
water tower reverberation whilst
Woody's drumming marches onward
across borders. The twin voices of
Yan and brother Hamilton share the
songs as usual, a lyrical collection
encompassing celebrated polarities:
cherry wood and Kevlar, kerosene
and acetylene, beers light and dark.
If this is Rock music, then just what
is Rock?
Yan: Rock is more than loud music
with guitars. Animate and inanimate
objects can be Rock.
Noble: For example, how was your
breakfast?
Y: It was a bit meaty really. And it
was about a fiver. Overpriced
breakfasts not Rock. Although
having a cooked breakfast is pretty
Rock.
HV: How about, say, Radio One?
N: Not Rock. Apart from Steve
Lamacq.
HV: Fabio Capello?
N: He's Rock. He doesn’t mess
about. He doesn’t take any shit from
anybody.
HV: OK, well how about Sven
Goran-Eriksson?
N: Difficult one. I'd say not Rock cos
he never questioned that corrupt
Thai Prime-Minister. Mark Riley was
contesting this….
myself. Avoiding routine."
But every lifestyle has its routines,
and even the singer admits that from
time to time, being in a band has
banalities that are somewhat like
"going to the dentist". So can British
Sea Power just carry on with the
band circuit? Exploring new places
and going to strange, exciting new
lengths even ten years from now? "I
think we can yeah," reckons Noble.
"I already feel like an old rocker now
who's been on tour forever. I'm
Lethal Weapon not one, but three or
four. By the seventh album we could
all have long hair and beards and do
an epic kraut rock album."
There's a moment of revelation
between the two bandmates. "That's
actually a great idea. Nobody does
stuff like that anymore," says Yan.
"But as for this album and sound,
I'm hoping people will find out more
what we're about now."
Words: Fran Donnelly
www.britishseapower.co.uk
‘Do You Like Rock Music?’ and first
single ‘Waving Flags’ are both out
now on Rough Trade.
Y: He's a bit like Dracula, that
Prime-Minister. Creepy. That's Rock.
N: It's a tie. No pun intended.
Famous football managers and hash
browns apart, there's a lesson to be
learned from all this. Where would
you be without the music that
inspires you everyday? Pay heed to
British Sea Power's timeless
philosophy; a space for heroics in
the home, and where bravery still
exists. As Noble states sagely, "Be
as Rock as you can be. It's
important to make sure you've lots
of good things in your life, but it's
difficult. There's a lot of Non-Rock in
your face."
"It's how you treat other people,
what your values are, how often you
take chances, have genuine
excitement and do something you'll
remember," adds Yan. "I'm up to the
point where I'm doing more things
that I want to do. It's a day to day
thing. You've gotta build up your
Rock batteries."
Blood-rushing excitement and
memories is all part of being in the
fanatical following that pursue Yan,
Hamilton, Woody and Noble to the
far-reaches of the country.
Continuing our lesson in Rock, we
ask Yan to lead by example.
"Sometimes it's good not to make
your mind up," he begins, "but it's
catch twenty-two cos then you've
made your mind up not to make
your mind up. It's like when I
decided to go to the caff for a fried
breakfast every morning. It was
quite exciting to begin with but then I
wasn’t enjoying it like I used to. So
then I thought it'd be better to go for
a walk by the sea, come home
hungry, and cook the breakfast
eleven
Holy
Fuck
we were doing and try something
different”. Different is an
understatement. Unique and
unprecedented are the most apt
adjectives for this band. They exist
in a state of splendid isolation, of
suspended animation, immune to
outside influence or cultural
context. When asked to discuss
their nationality, the response is
ironic and alkaline: “If you look
back through the subtext of just
about any major historical event
there is something to do with
Canada or Canadians in there.
If you dig deep enough you'll find
that the First World War was pretty
much provoked by Arcade Fire
lyrics”.
Who the fuck are Holy Fuck? Don't
worry if you can't answer that
question. You're not alone. They
are Brian Borcherdt, Graham
Walsh, Mike Bigelow, Glenn
Milchem, and Loel Campbell, a five
piece band from Toronto, Canada
and a band which made perhaps
the most astounding avant garde
album of 2007, their subtly untitled
UK debut, 'LP'. Its moodswings
veer in mere moments from the
placid bliss of 'Lovely Allen' to the
percussive aggression of 'Echo
Sam' and the frenzied paranoia of
'Royal Gregory'.
These sounds, constrained by the
outer limits of our language, can
only be described as electronic. Yet
the simplicity of black words on
white paper could never express
the intricacy of this music. So, in
search of a more relevant point of
reference, let's play the word
twelve
association game: Electronica.
Kraftwerk. Connotations of
anonymous boffins in labcoats
performing acoustic experiments in
underground bunkers. Hold it right
there. Holy Fuck are not the robots.
Their music is faulty, it is imperfect.
It is human after all. “I've been
thinking a lot about the creative
process, how to keep a bit of
timeless charm to things”, surmises
Borcherdt, spokesperson and chief
Holy Fucker. “I'd rather make beats
on shitty Casios than programme
every little detail on a laptop. I like
the shittiness of what we make. It's
honest”.
“We've played all kinds of different
music outside of this band”, he
says, a claim vindicated by his
impassioned acoustic folk solo
project, The Remains Of Brian
Borcherdt. “But with Holy Fuck we
just wanted to get away from what
Whilst 'LP' is Holy Fuck's first
transatlantic transmission, they
have previously released an EP
and a full length album in their
homeland, both eponymously titled
releases on the band's own label,
Dependant Records. “I started
Dependant in my teens as a
collective, promoting and helping
a handful of bands from the east
coast of Canada. It has been
successful, although it becomes
hard to maintain when everyone is
busy”, explains Borchedt. As such,
their music has been unleashed on
the UK by Young Turks, the
newborn offspring of XL
Recordings. “I feel lucky to have
gone from something very DIY to
something that's starting from the
ground up. We feel connected to
the drive and spirit”.
Unsurprisingly for a band who were
selected as a highlight of last year's
Glastonbury festival by the NME,
their stronghold is not in the studio,
but on stage. “We'd love to record
every show we play. We want our
records to be a mix of live stuff,
either radio shows or live on stage
or live in the studio. It's too fun
playing together to just try to do
a conventional album with prewritten songs. We want to capture
the energy of something
spontaneous”.
So, you're intrigued? And you want
to hear Holy Fuck for yourself?
Well don't stay tuned to your FM
airwaves, because radio friendly
unit shifting is most certainly not
their style. “We value success,
sure, and we welcome whatever
we can get of it. But I don't think
we ever expected it or wanted to
be burdened with the pursuit of it”.
Like notorious New Cross art
rockers Selfish Cunt, their very
name is sufficient to banish them
from Chris Evans' BBC Radio 2
drivetime playlist. Yet they remain
stubbornly unapologetic. “Why not
name our band something like Holy
Fuck? At least with a name like this
we can stay focused and not worry
about getting caught up in the
mediocrity of daytime radio and
mainstream mediums”. As for the
topic of controversy and censorship
in music, Holy Fuck are “not really
interested.” “It's boring now. Save
that one for 2 Live Crew, Tipper
Gore, and bad Saturday Night Live
skits from the nineties”.
GLASVEGAS
_WE ARE ROCK
Unsigned yet already playing to
crowds of 2000+ (Ian Brown
personally picked them to open his
recent headline tour) Glasvegas
have become one of the talked
about new UK bands in 2008. If
The Twang do docile lad-rock with
a Brummie accent, then file
Glasvegas under a shimmering
Spector-meets-Mary Chain Wall of
Sound. And then there’s singer
James Allan’s stark Glaswegian
vocal tone – you won’t hear a more
accented singing voice this year.
Glasvegas formed a couple of
years ago, with James writing with
cousin Rab (guitar), “totally learning
from scratch”. “When I was younger
I was never a massive record guy, I
was more into football. The first
album I really got into was Be Here
Now, my sister would make tapes
and when I heard ‘Don’t Look Back
In Anger’ things clicked.” James
says that his songs have to be
“soulful – I have to be able to listen
back and not be embarrassed”
before being presented to the rest
of the band (Paul Donoguhe – bass
and Caroline McKay - drums make
up the line-up).
Influences have grown from Oasis,
with James following his hero’s
inspirations right back to the
beginning – Elvis and Hank
Williams provide just as much
Ian’s
been really
good to us.
We got a
demo to him
and he
asked us out
on tour. He
phoned up
asking about
our sound
and how we
record the
songs
inspiration as Orange Juice and the
Reid brothers. Lyrically, James
goes over emotional ground, mainly
concerning adolescence. “You tend
to remember the daftest things from
your youth – our songs aren’t
meant to be social observations,
they’re just what I think about and
have experienced.”
“I write about common stuff – its no
big secret what I’m writing about”
(the brutal ‘I’m Gonna Get Stabbed’
needs little explanation, while
‘Flowers and Football Tops’ details
a mum’s despair after losing her
son to a murder). “These things
aren’t just about Glasgow, they
happen everywhere” says James.
The bands moniker might go on to
provoke some cynicism, but James
claims the name isn’t any big deal.
“I like Glasvegas, it’s easy to say –
simple as that.” Their songs have
gone down well from Glasgow to
Folkestone, says James. “The Ian
Brown tour allowed us to play all
over the UK to people we wouldn’t
have been able to get to. His fans
have been curious to check us out,
they seem to get it.”
out on tour. He phoned up asking
about our sound and how we
record the songs. It’s the same with
Andy Rourke (Brown’s touring
bassist) – he couldn’t believe we’d
recorded the songs in our living
room.” Explaining the groups ‘Wall
of Sound’, he drawls parallels with
orchestral music and heavy metal.
“To me Johnny Cash is heavy
metal – we make heavy music.
There’s a close connection
between Spector and orchestral
music, but it’s heavy as well. We’re
somewhere between the two.”
With second single ‘It's My Own
Cheating Heart That Makes Me
Cry’ landing in February, James
doesn’t see anything further than
his next song or gig. “I don’t have
an album on my mind just yet – we
have enough songs but signing
deals isn’t my job.”
Words: Alistair Beech
www.myspace.com/glasvegas
The quartet are whipping up
curiosity with respected industry
figures and senior musicians too.
“Ian’s been really good to us. We
got a demo to him and he asked us
Holy Fuck, quasi-nihilists, reject
and reinvent each and every
unwritten rule of songwriting, of
technology, of the recording
process and of the major label
music industry. Like the psychedelic
monochrome of a photographic
negative, light and dark in harmony,
they are strange and they are
beautiful. And in 2008 they will rise
to power with “Bionic powers. New
outfits.” and “Cameo appearances
on daytime soaps in foreign
countries”. You heard it here first.
Words: Benjamin Thomas
www.myspace.com/holyfuck
thirteen
With the move to Parlophone for
Shotter’s Nation, was there a shift in
band mentality, moving away from
your beginnings as a side project?
Adam: We never considered
ourselves a side project. It’s never
been like that. It’s always been the
same for us. Nothing’s really
changed from our perspective.
Mick: Pete only started doing
Babyshambles because he had so
made songs he wanted to release
when he was with The Libs but
and he wouldn’t take any shit but he
wasn’t in your face.
Reading the reviews of Shotter’s
Nation, the recurring opinion is that
it’s more “polished” than Down In
Albion. Do you think that’s a
reflection on your own progression or
of a major label budget?
Drew: It’s a reflection on the studios
that we recorded the album in.
Adam: That’s Stephen Street.
Drew: Yeah, we recorded the first
album on a hard disc. It wasn’t even
Protools. It was rubbish studios. We
wanted to go to a better studio but
Rough Trade wouldn’t pay for it. So
then, for this album, we went in with
a brilliant engineer who knew where
to place expensive, good mics and
proper pre-amps and everything. We
recorded in a big room where Jimi
Hendrix and Led Zeppelin had
performed.
What’s it like arriving for the first day
of recording where such legends
have worked before you?
Drew: It felt like home.
Adam: I was in the toilet and I saw
the ghost of Jimi Hendrix! (He puts
on an American accent) Groovy pee,
man… No, really!
Mick: I felt kinda humbled in a way,
cos it was really nice to have that
kind of opportunity. In fact, the ceiling
there was lowered or raised to alter
the sound of the room.
Adam: When you get in there, it
BABYSHAMBLES
Rough Trade weren’t able to release
the amount of songs that he wanted
to as quickly. They wanted to do an
album a year. He wanted to release
songs constantly.
Adam: We’re quite fluid really. We
want to record something then get it
out, the record companies squeeze
the stuff as much as they can.
They’re business people; that’s what
they do. Try to get as much money,
as much revenue from that single or
whatever, and tour and tour...
What was Stephen Street like to
work with in the studio? Was he a
disciplinarian?
Drew: He was great. He knew what
he wanted and he had confidence.
Life is full of surprises. Michael Jackson didn’t do
makes you almost… Well, you have
to rise to the occasion.
it. Jordan and Peter are still together. Keith
Did it put pressure on?
Richards has just turned 64, and according to
‘statistics’, is healthier than your average ten year
old. Similarly surprising, to those of you more
interested in the tabloids than your record
collections, is that there are four musicians in
Babyshambles. Drew McConnell (bass), Adam
Ficek (drums) and Mick Whitnall (guitar) have
quietly toiled behind their charismatic band leader
Mick: He was an easy-going
disciplinarian!
through two studio albums and more gigs than the
Adam: It was a good balance
because he knew what he wanted
arrest warrants would have you believe.
Adam: The pressure was already
on. We knew we had to do a good
album cos people were starting to
write us off.
It has been said that one of the most
exciting things about Shotter’s Nation
is that it sounds like there is so much
more still to come. Are plans already
being made for album number three?
Drew: Mick’s constantly writing
songs. You can’t tell, but right now
he’s thinking about chord
progressions.
Mick: There’s lots of songs ready,
nearly a whole album’s worth.
Is there going to be a quick
turnaround for the next one then?
Mick: We’re hoping it’s going to be
out this year at about the same time
that Shotter’s Nation was.
Adam: We hope so. That’d be
good. One album a year is perfect
for us. We get bored so it keeps us
on our toes. We’re always most
excited about songs that aren’t fully
formed yet. We get to the end of a
tour and we play by numbers.
Sometimes it’s nice to have those
songs that you can go to and work
on for a change.
Does it feel extra special getting
good feedback when, as you said,
critics had started to write you off?
Mick: Well, reviewing music’s a
difficult thing. You can talk about
music, and listen to it, but you judge
it for yourself. Like, with the NME; I’d
buy it when I was fourteen but then I
stopped buying it cos you know it’s
someone else’s view. Everyone
listens to different music. Who’s that
journalist with the stupid hair? He
was slagging us off, blah blah blah,
really put it down, but the next week,
in the same magazine, they were
saying the album was brilliant! That
guy can go and stick his head up his
arse…
Adam: It’s so subjective, isn’t it? I
might play something and hate it,
Drew might love it and Mick might
think it’s great or it’s shit but it’s not
fair. That the nature of it really, and
it’s hard to do so you can’t blame
them for doing it. It’s worse when it
gets personal though. It doesn’t just
say “I don’t like this but I can see the
merits in this part and in that part” but
some of them inflict on people’s lives.
Drew: Sometimes there’s a review,
where you’ll read a whole page and
they haven’t mentioned the music
once. They haven’t mentioned the
lyrics, they haven’t mentioned how
the guitarist sounds, they haven’t
mentioned the music!
Mick: “Bunch of junkie bastards
trying to create a new album even
worse than their last measly effort!”
It must be frustrating.
Drew: I think you have your own
personal belief about how good
something is and you should keep
steadfast to that because the bad
reviews, you can’t take them
seriously, but at the same time, you
can’t let the good reviews mean any
more.
On ‘The Lost Art Of Murder’, Pete
plays with Bert Jansch. Is there
anyone that you would love to
collaborate with in the future?
Adam: Ian Brown would be good.
There was an idea to have him
involved in ‘French Dog Blues’, cos
some of those lyrics are accredited to
him. We’re big fans of the Roses.
Drew: Baby Cham, a Jamaican MC.
It is at this point that Mick
accompanies Drew in some
dancehall singing, their accents
moving somewhere between
Bermondsey and Barbados. “Ay
remember dose dayyyyyys…” It’s
true that Babyshambles’ reggae
influences can be clearly heard, and
they’re openly dedicated to
continuing the ska tradition. The next
name mentioned warrants handclapping and hero-worship all round.
Drew: Terry Hall (from The Specials)
would be just brilliant.
Mick: Yeah!
Drew, how do you find the switch
from Babyshambles to playing in
Fionn Regan’s band?
One album a year is
perfect for us. We get
bored so it keeps us on our
toes. We’re always most
excited about songs that
aren’t fully formed yet
Drew: Well, this is my band,
Babyshambles, but I love Fionn’s
music. He’s an amazing musician
and I really enjoy playing nice
melodies. He’s a great guy who
writes some good songs, so when
I’ve got some free time I’ll join him.
Fionn calls Pete ‘Houdini’ and Mick
‘Top Gear’.
Mick: It’s because of my nice
clothes…
Drew: It’s not just me that does
other stuff though. Adam dee-jays
and Mick… talks to himself.
While they howl with laughter, it’s
difficult to imagine how the
Babyshambles dynamic is altered
with Pete around. High Voltage is
later informed that, had their
frontman been present, the interview
would have been terminated at the
phrase “side project”, yet Adam, Mick
and Drew joke around with one
another like a band bonding over 2Tone classics in their parents’ garage.
Priorities lie where they should, with
health, happiness, and chord
progressions.
Words: Megan Vaughan
www.babyshambles.net
Babyshambles play Manchester
Apollo on February 17th
High Voltage sat down with “the other three”
to find out where their heads are at.
fourteen
fifteen
singles
Single of the month
Air Cav _ Alliance
(Surbia)
It's hard to be in Manchester
and not notice the waves being
made by Air Cav at the
moment, and their debut
release on fledgling Surbia
Records is set to continue the
industry "buzz". 'Alliance' has
long been the band's signature
tune, and this polished
recording does it real justice.
Beginning with urgent, dirty
electric guitar, things develop
the way intelligent rock music
Rachael Kichenside
- Like The Tides EP
The most important thing in a young
songstress is not her songs per se but
the potential she packs in her pipes.
Rachael Kichenside doesnÅft so
much "pack" her marvellous talent as
she spins it like silk _ indelibly delicate
but tangible enough to wrap yourself
in for hours at a time.
Over this EP, not every song stands
Kid Harpoon
- The Second EP (XL)
On one hand, this is a great EP, full of
loping shanty choruses, quirky lyrics and
vocals ranging from Syd Barrett's
heightened Englishness to raw Captain
Beefheart growls. On the other hand, it
is forgettable radio-friendly boredom; its
soul castrated by the influence of David
Gray, Razorlight, Billy JoelÅc
This is a genuine shame. When he
Cut Off Your Hands
- Oh Girl (679)
It takes a cynical soul not to award a
song like 'Oh Girl' the full five flashes
of High Voltage electricity. A chorus
wrapped in treacly harmonies,
tinkling music-box xylophones,
guitars that could have been plucked
from some 50s high school prom what's not to like?
sixteen
should; regularly twisting into
something new and taking the
listener on the kind of journey
that would make lesser
musicians travel-sick. With
minimal vocals, the song is
driven by 'Bittersweet
Symphony' strings and
unassailable, unforgiving
percussion, along with
beautifully dark post-rock
guitar.
you off as a prisoner of
rock'n'roll. Simply brilliant.
Megan Vaughan
shores, and are busy filling dancefloors
with whistles, whoops and handclaps.
If ever there was a band to take us back
to the heady days of 1986, when lipglossed ladies in towering shoulder
pads threw balloons around on Top Of
The Pops, Alphabeat are that band.
Hailing from Denmark, where their
debut album has already gone platinum,
Alphabeat have now relocated to UK
'Fascination' is not groundbreaking, nor
is it even modern, having the misfortune
to sound like both Wham and Cyndi
Lauper at the same time. What it does
offer, however, is pure and undiluted
Saturday night glee. With unashamed
Europop roots, lyrics about "young
dudes in high boots" match supercharged disco cheese that should
Pete And The Pirates Mr Understanding
(Stolen)
Alliance will never be a song to
chill out to, if only because it
grabs your attention, flips you
upside-down, and then carries
Ah, the magic ingredient that is The
Chant. Few or no words are needed:
just take that killer hook, add cheap off
the back of a gold disc. It made The
Fratellis a lot of money, and it may well
do the same for our unlikely heroes
Pete and the Pirates.
out. But that doesnÅft matter. Where
'Frailty' might
Karima Francis. She's a subtly
different sweetness to Lucy & The
freeze you in your tracks, 'Measure Of
Me' might pass you by. But for not
one second during these four songs
can you not tap into the spectral folk
hush. 'Something To Say' resonates
with this crystalline simplicity, chimes
and all.
Caterpillar. Her songs' beauty is more
understated than Liam Frost's. Never
have we been short of songwriting
quality round these parts, but I think
Miss Kichenside is going to fit right in.
Kichenside certainly offers something
different to the robust emotionality of
Fran Donnelly
shines, Kid Harpoon is a powerful
lyricist, who can bring situations to life in
one or two lines, and whose 'Suicide
Grandad?' is a beautiful Pink Floyd
oddity: "I won't count the days till I fall,
piss my pants / I've got better things to
do". Elsewhere, honky tonk piano brings
'Her Body Sways' to life, and the chorus
of 'Fathers And Sons' is malt whisky in
aural form.
shouldn't be an EP. Kid Harpoon can
say everything he needs to say in three
gorgeous songs, and there would be no
great mourning party for the rest of the
MOR nonsense. Moments like 'Suicide
Grandad?' are in danger of getting lost
amongst asinine Johnny Borrell
"ooohs".
So why does it all sound so horribly
weak-ass? The answer is that this
Megan Vaughan
Very little actually - New Zealand's
Cut Off Your Hands are guided
effortlessly along by producer
Bernard Butler, and all appears well
in the land of lovely. The nagging
doubt (that'll be the cynical soul) is
that it's all just a bit too candyfloss
for a band last seen here ripping it
up with tour mates Foals.
monumental power pop of flipside
'Turn Cold' - a song that Idlewild may
well have crafted if they knew how to
dance. And therein lies the moral: if
you can't melt a cynic's heart, punch
him in the guts instead.
Indeed, those extra two bolts might
have been all theirs if the track had
not been so overshadowed by the
Alphabeat - Fascination
(Charisma)
Neil Condron
'Mr Understanding', you see, is nigh-on
indie perfection. The Reading five-piece
have already been building a reputation
among the purists for understated,
chiming folk-pop, but with this latest
release they've thrown their tattered
hats into the ring with their cheekiest,
most boisterous riff to date. And, of
course, there's that chant.
sound like a rowdy mess, but thankfully
doesn't. A brilliant slice of retro pop
gubbins, you will love 'Fascination' for its
sheer brainlessness.
Grab your ra-ra skirt. Let's party.
Megan Vaughan
could be to Pete and the Pirates what
'22 Grand Job' was to The Rakes. The
difference being, of course, that you'll
be hearing a lot about one of those
bands in 2008.
Neil Condron
Bittersweet enough to charm the
dreamers, rough enough to appeal to
the terrace mobs, 'Mr Understanding'
MGMT are yet another tip for 2008, but
they aren’t as easy to pigeon hole as
the likes of Adele and Joe Lean, et al.
Debut UK single ‘Time To Pretend’
(you’ve probably been charmed by it
already through 6Music playlisting)
sounds like The Flaming Lips
scratching around in a basement studio
with The Incredible String Band.
The duo (Brooklyn based Uni-pals
Andrew and Ben) sing about ‘Heroin,
the stars, and elegant cars’ on Time To
Pretend, whilst demonizing the 9-5
office job. ‘Live fast and die young.
We’ve got the vision, now let’s have
some fun. Inspired by duos, MGMT’s
sound has been hemmed together by
Dave Fridmann’s (Flaming Lips) studio
nous, while there’s a wide-eyed
optimism about them that’s difficult not
to be seduced by.
An intriguing first installment then, but
whether these boys can carry their
modern-hippy sermons through a full
album remains to be seen.
Los Campesinos - Death
To Los Campesinos!
(Witchita)
xylophones to the saccharine girl/boy
vocals, treading a fine line between life
affirming pop for it’s own sake and
nausea inducing tweeness.
discerning indie discos from now till
summer.
‘Death to Los Campesinos!’ is the self
referencing lead single from Cardiff
sextet Los Campesinos! forthcoming
Hold On Now Youngster LP. Forget
the frankly deluded press release that
proclaims this track ‘resolutely void of
indie pop clich_s’, DTLC! ticks all the
genres stylistic boxes from the
It’s a close thing but ultimately the
song comes good through the sheer
shambolic exuberance of its delivery.
The exaggeratedly fey vocal
affectations are undeniably irritating but
the sugar rush melodies and sing
along chorus are sufficiently catchy to
ensure patronage by all the more
The Ting Tings - Great
DJ (Columbia)
with huge tours and a debut album
release planned.
fall back on an old song to
announce their arrival on Columbia.
This re-recorded version of ÅeGreat
DJÅf hasnÅft changed a great deal
since its original b-side status, the
sound is bigger and Åethe drumsÅf
more prominent, but it still appears
fresh and is worthy of the
subsequent hype. With so much
going on around them, The Ting
Tings seem comfortable enough to
ItÅfll be interesting to hear what they
have in their locker on the album,
but we reckon they pretty much
have 2008 sewn up already.
MGMT - Time To Pretend
(Columbia)
We picked out Salford duo The Ting
Tings as potential stars with last
summerÅfs debut single ÅeThatÅfs
Not My NameÅf and, several
months on theyÅfve become
ÅetheÅf band to name check
among tastemakers. Now with
major label backing, Jules and Katie
are likely to enjoy a fruitful 2008,
Alistair Beech
Whether this sort of thing will be
palatable over the length of an album
remains to be seen, but for 2 minutes
45 seconds Death to Los
Campesinos! offers a welcome
injection of sunshine to these bleak
winter days.
Billy Idle
Alistair Beech
seventeen
albums
Clich_d business management
guff has it that if you try to
please everyone, you end up
pleasing no one. Consider
Muscles' debut album to be a
two-fingered salute (with
accompanying raspberry)
rebuke to such thinking. For,
the young Aussie (aka DJ Flex)
has created a dance LP that
appeals to both electro smartypants and Ministry of Sound
compilation buyers.
Album of the month
Muscles - Guns,
Babes, Lemonade
(Modular)
Hot Chip - Made In
The Dark (EMI)
Made in the Dark is full of great
songs, although perhaps only the
first single, 'Ready For The
Floor', will be sung badly by
groups of shirtless men at three
in the morning in the way that
'Over and Over' was. It too is an
irresistible call to the dancefloor
for those of us guilty of "carving
up the wall". It sounds like about
four different singles in one, each
of them fighting for presidence.
Yes, Kylie turned it down, but she
chose a pallid Goldfrapp rip-off
as her first single so what does
she know?
The album's title track and
'Whistle For Will' are both
minimal, slow burning soul
numbers that give Alexis Taylor's
voice the space it deservers.
They also show how far they
Dead Meadow Old Growth
(Matador)
eighteen
The most un-DC band to have
ever recorded in Fugazi's studio
have moved. Upping sticks from
their native Washington, Dead
Meadow have relocated to
California and recorded their fifth
LP in the middle of nowhere in
Indiana, places far more suited to
their out there slacker retro.
Sometimes it's like they can't be
bothered to go all the way back
to the 70s. They can be bothered
with plenty of solos and pedals,
though, as on 'Ain't Got Nothing'
and 'Between Me and The
Ground'.
The psych is less psyched than
on previous records (it's a lot
more, erm, -adelic though). As a
trio again, DM appear to have
have come as songwriters; from
quirky joke tracks about Stevie
Wonder to chord sequences that
wouldn't be out of place on a
Nick Cave or Rufus Wainwright
song. 'Out at the Pictures'
sounds like the manic opening
number from a non existant
musical, whereas 'Hold On'
sounds like its deranged disco
finale. 'Wrestlers' is the record
Timbaland would make if he
came from Putney. And was
white. And never got laid. 'Shake
A Fist' combines the unlikely love
triangle of kraftwerk melodies,
ravey synth stabs and dancehall
rhythms. As the sample says,
"you may be surprised".
solid groundwork of fantastic and
accessible songwriting. Despite
the huge range of music, it's still
immediately recognisable as Hot
Chip, and their best album yet.
An instant classic.
mellowed out to brilliant effect.
'I'm Gone' is both angsty AND
dreamy, and the best retro
throwback since who knows
when (Oasis, take notes). While
'Keep On Walking' and 'Either
Way' are homely Americana
numbers with hints of Jason
Pierce at his most tender. Pick of
the acoustic bunch though, is
'Down Here'. It'll make you
comfortably numb, for sure.
Not that the band which pretty
much hold the copyright on
'beardy weirdy' have completely
forgotten the art of rocking like
Led Zeppelin's first coming: the
garagey 'The Queen of All
Returns' does a better job of it
than the reformed Plant, Page
It was only so long before the
people behind the excellent
End Of The Road festival
started putting out excellent
records. They might only have
two artists, Alaskan Port
O'Brien and classically trained
Bostonian ensemble The
Young Republic, who are the
more than accomplished
authors of EOTR's first LP
release.
Alex Barbanneau
The Young Republic 12 Tales From Winter
City (End Of The Road)
Like the best of albums, Made in
the Dark is ambitious, fresh and
original, yet still built up from a
Granted the swelling rave
synths and thumping drums
with layered harmonised,
shouty vocals that uniformly fill
these eleven tracks will not
change the world of electronic
music, but it may well make it
dance. Like the album's title,
and Jones. While 'The Great
Deceiver' is a pub jam with soul
and 'Seven Seers', with bassist
Steve Kille taking up the sitar, is
a hypnotic trance out. This is
retro American style. Memory
lane's never rocked so well.
Stephen Eddie
These New
Puritans - Beat
Pyramid (Angular)
With eight people who met at
college and a menagerie of
instruments (mandolin, viola,
flute and, of course, an
accordion), Arcade Fire and
Montreal scene comparison are
probably inevitable, but that
would be to put TYR in a
Beat Pyramid is the debut LP of Dior
Homme darlings and forerunners to
the curiously London-centric
'Southend Scene' These New
Puritans. Still only 19 years old TNP
are a young band with big ideas,
drawing inspiration from a gloriously
pretentious gene pool where such
disparate entities as Steve Reich,
chain mail, Einsturzende Neubauten,
syntax and the Wu Tang Clan are all
reigned in beneath an archly fastened
top collar button. Yet for all their
aesthetic austerity Beat Pyramid is, as
its name might suggest, a record
steeped in that most primal of musical
elements: rhythm.
Album centrepiece 'En Papier' is grime
bleached white, metallic 2 step
the lyrics are somewhat inane,
("Ice Cream is going to save
the day, again") yet Muscles
has cleverly injected an extra
ingredient usually overlooked
within this genre, emotion. On
the face of it, these are throwaway electro party tracks but
Muscles unrefined singing style
and lyrics are so enthusiastic,
honest, and above all
endearing that the result is
hard to resist: "I'm sweaty, but I
still want to touch you if you'll
let me".
between pop and dance music
is a difficult area to navigate
seriously, as fellow Modularites
and Antipodeans, The Presets',
pretentious debut album
proved. We've little doubt he'll
succeed but don't anticipate
Kellogg's variety pack-like
eclecticism; Muscles' one trick
does begin to grate over forty
minutes, but expect it to slow
burn through 2008 regardless.
Simon Smallbone
The mantra-like repetition of
"Peace, Love, Ecstasy, Unity,
Respect" on 'Sweaty' illustrates
Muscles' clear intention to
make his music as accessible
as possible. The space
pigeonhole they a repeatedly
bust out of (although 'She
Comes And Goes' is probably
related to 'Wake Up' in some
way or other).
'Excuses To See You', a noncheesy country ballad, is what
they call Classic Song Writing,
preceded by spiky Pixies surf
vibes on 'Modern Plays' _ fitted
with unexpected jazzy
breakdowns. For the most part,
though, things take on a folky
alt. jangle, occasionally
frequenting Beirut's Balkan
territories ('Girl In A Tree'). And
Julian Saporiti's voice is almost
as idiosyncratic as Zac
Condon's, but his songs are
filled with even more romance.
rhythms pounding away like industrial
machinery while TNP orator in-chief
Jack Barnett fires cryptic missives of
misheard conversation over the top.
Forthcoming single 'Elvis' is a master
class in instrumental minimalism, one
chord bass and guitar riffs etch
themselves onto your consciousness
before the self restraint buckles to
make way for a freeform noise
freakout.
The knock-out 'She's Not
Waiting Here This Time' and
'Everybody Looks Better In
Black & White' are exactly how
boys' songs about girls should
be written. They're like audio
versions of cool, low-budget
American indie films. But it's
'Paper Ships' and 'When I See
Your EyesÅc' that possess the
most magnificent drama.
End of the road? No chance.
These are the only
Republicans worth voting for in
2008.
Stephen Eddie
Regardless, Beat Pyramid is a record
of striking coherence, subverting our
expectations for a 'guitar' record and
setting the bar high not only for the
band themselves, but for every other
release this year.
Billy Idle
This is indie by association only; on an
album featuring a track which appears
to be a field recording of a gentle
breeze and two pieces which
comprise of no more than two halves
of the same sentence the only real
oddity is 'MKK3' which sounds a little
like The Rakes.
nineteen
gigs
Just whom could promoters Pineapple
Folk/Hey Manchester bring in to ease
an audience into an evening of exotic
Balkan folk, a large percentage of
which may only be aware of them via
Jeremy Barnes' previous drumming
duties for mythic-alternative types
Neutral Milk Hotel. With the exception
of Beirut there are few options
amongst the alternative crowd,
making Montreal's Miracle Fortress as
good a choice as any.
Gig of the month
The Chemical
Brothers
- Apollo
6/12/07
It should perhaps come as no surprise
bearing in mind that they've been
plying their trade for nigh-on 15 years,
but it seems that even Ed and Tom
aren't exempt from using The Big
Book of DJ-ing's number one rule.
When a series of power failures
threatens to derail the evening's
pounding vibe by plunging the Apollo
into an uncomfortable quiet for 10
minutes, they mark the return of
normal service with 1997's (yep, it's
that old) Block Rockin' Beats _ when
things go wrong, hit back hard.
Tonight is one of the Brothers' more
backward looking gigs of late,
plundering 'Hey Boy, Hey Girl', 'Out of
Control' 'Music: Response' and more
from Surrender, as well as guest
appearances from 'Leave Home' 'It
Doesn't Matter' and the
aforementioned chart-topping big-beat
behemoth. That said, they also find
time to indulge in some of the more
anonymous house tracks scattered
across the last three albums, but
mercifully prevent them from dragging
in the way we've seen before.
electrical gremlins do appear to put the
fun-fest in jeopardy, the crowd only
remain silent so they can catch their
breath for one last volley; a thrilling,
apocalyptic finale.
Miracle Fortress /
A Hawk And A
Hacksaw
- Music Box
6/12/07
Adrian Barrowdale
The hits are out in force, with
'Galvanise', 'Do It Again' 'Star Guitar'
and 'Believe' each received with a
barrage of whistles and cheers and
there's very little left for anyone to
complain about. In fact, when the
Big Arm / Ian Brown
- Manchester
Central
7/12/07
Holy Hail / Crystal
Castles
- Liverpool Korova
2/12/07
twenty
Openers The Ghost
FrequencyÅfs intense electro
punk intercourse is a hard act to
follow, but New York new
wavers Holy Hail rise to the
challenge. Like the politicodisco of Le Tigre, their music
has more grrrl power than a
thousand Spice Girls reunion
tours. 'Big Guns', 'Born Of A
Star', and 'Cool Town Rock',
their recent release on
Adventures Close To Home, are
highlights one and all.
And by midnight, Liverpool has
become the next town to
capitulate to the Crystal Castles
worldwide invasion. As the
Toronto duo take to the stage at
Korova, an uber-trendy
underground Clockwork Orange
themed venue, the Droogs in
the basement go ultraviolent for
their synthcore sound.
Alice Glass, an iconic
frontwoman evolved from the
boys-wanna-fuck-her-girlswanna-be-her gene pool,
shrieks and yelps in perfect
disharmony with the pixelated
dystopic noises of her musical
partner in crime Ethan Fawn. As
'Air War' wreaks shock and awe
dancefloor destruction, the
Canadians' performance comes
to a chaotic close and peace
reigns again in this old town.
Benjamin Thomas
Make Model /
Malcolm Middleton Academy 3
10/12/07
Debuting tracks from their recently
released opening statement 'Five
Roses', the quintet's slow-burning pop
swept in shoe-gaze atmospherics (as
you'd imagine Belle and Sebastian
would sound if Kevin Shields was
calling the shots) kept to tempo by two
percussionists' frantic rhythmic
interplay draws quite a few impressed
murmurs in the crowd. Whilst it's
certainly not the most startlingly
original racket to be exported from
Canada recently, chief songwriter
Graham Van Pelt is one to keep an
ear open for.
Like gate crashing an eastern
European party, A Hawk And A
Hacksaw's exotic back catalogue
plays best when soundtracking a wine
and port fuelled shuffle on a
dancefloor, punctuated by drunken
roaring and raucous laughter rather
than as a spectacle to take in.
Mike Caulfield
Whilst the musicianship on offer is
dazzling as times, with wild flurries of
notes crammed into exotic timesignatures evoking a wide scope of
Rocketed from Dry Bar to Manchester
Central this evening, Paul Ryder's
latest venture sees him surprisingly
comfortable as a frontman. Big Arm
admittedly have a handful of songs _
'Sunrays' being one _ that have
enough lilted bagginess to be halfcatchy. If this was what the Mondays
had made their comeback with this
year, then it might have even been
listenable. Does the lesser-known of
the Ryders not have his right to a
comeback? No. Happy Mondays
have a legacy to explore, but Big Arm
have been created afresh with not one
trace of interest about them. If
Madchester is the be all and end all of
your tastes then Big Arm might be for
you, but the sane will avoid.
If anybody cannot be accused of
indulging in their glory days however, it
is Ian Brown. Songs as early as 'My
Star' and as recent as 'Keep What Ya
Got' are heights in his career that are
even capable of overshadowing quite
banally replicated Roses covers. This
sort of consistently challenging drive
from Brown has meant that in the
past, live shows have been thrilling
from the quirky to the anthemic.
First up, Scot newbies Make
Model confuse and delight in
equal measure. The last vocalist
to have baffled us with American
accented vocals in place of
Scottish was Idlewild's Roddy
Woomble, and the transatlantic
tones still make very little
sense. The band relax soon
enough though; 'Just Another
Folk Song' is reminiscent of a
poppier Biffy Clyro, whilst new
single 'The Was' shows that
major label backing isn't
quashing their emerging
originality.
full band arrive 'Blue Plastic
Bags' is evidence that Middleton
has a far more believable way
with social commentary than
those Arctic Monkeys ever will.
Recent singles are pulled out
early, including the surprisingly
chirpy (and radio friendly) 'A
Brighter Beat' and the sublime
'Fuck It, I Love You'.
A certain hush is required for
Middleton's opening number
with just the man himself and
Jenny Reeve on violin. As the
cinematic moods and emotions via
trumpet, violin and a cimbalom (yep
that's right, a cimbalom!), the
atmosphere unfortunately never
approaches anything closely
resembling a celebratory gathering
this evening, despite the group's best
efforts.
when his character gets the better of
him (as it has done so much this year)
that his objectionable side gets the
better of the show. A shame.
Fran Donnelly
Tonight however, the preachy
drabness of latest album 'The World Is
Yours' kills any atmosphere that might
have been. It's shocking how quickly
you can find yourself turning on this
homegrown hero, but even with
brilliant moments like 'Dolphins Were
Monkeys' finding him at his best, it's
sense of humour may not be to
everyone's taste, but his droll,
wry wit both conversationally
and lyrically is positively fresh
listening for jaded ears.
Hannah Bayfield
Elsewhere 'Burst Noel' provides
solace for anyone who's ever
spent the festive period alone,
possibly depressing onlookers
as Middleton taunts "You're
awfully quiet, just cheer up a
little!" before explaining to a
heckler who's pointed out that
he's not so chipper himself that
"that's where the joke lies". His
twentyone
NEW NOISE
Send your new band tips to
[email protected] to appear
in the next New Noise round-up…
Say, Scientist by The Maple State out on 25th Feb.
Featuring We Swear by the Light Life, Say, Scientist, Don't Take Holidays, Temperate Lives,
Starts with Dean Moriarty, You and Me and an X-ray Machine
Catch The Maple State on tour throughout February
with Tellison and Furthest Drive Home.
18-Jan - MANCHESTER Academy 2 w/ Hundred Reasons
29-Jan - BRACKNELL, Cellar Bar
13-Feb - BRIGHTON Freebutt
14-Feb - EXETER The Cavern
15-Feb - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
16-Feb - NORTHAMPTON Soundhaus
17-Feb - LIVERPOOL Barfly
18-Feb - LEEDS The Cockpit
19-Feb - GLASGOW King Tuts
20-Feb - BIRMINGHAM Barfly
21-Feb - MANCHESTER Roadhouse
22-Feb - NORWICH Queen Charlotte
23-Feb - TUNBRIDGE WELLS The Forum
24-Feb - LONDON Dingwalls
twentytwo
Indica Ritual
Hijak Oscar
Quartershade
Vessels
Rachael
Kichenside
From the mutant ambient
Afrobeat of ‘Huddersclam’
to the frazzled, proto-metal
rave of last year’s 7”
‘Trade Show’. From early
songs like ‘Num Lock’s’
blip & crunch spazzcore to
bastardised Hot Chip
numbers such as ‘Top
Forty’, Indica Ritual are
music to scare people who
want to live like they’re in
‘Skins’. Not to mention
confusing and upstaging
some of the hippest indiedance crossover bands in
the world: Shy Child, Foals
and Prinzhorn Dance
School have all been left
for dead.
In recent years, televised
talent competitions have
been responsible for some
of the most embarrassing
examples of lobotomy pop
ever to have monopolised
the near-redundant singles
chart. Thankfully, Hijak
Oscar made T4’s ‘Mobile
Act Unsigned’ competition
worth getting out of bed for
in the months running up
to Christmas, and are
about to head out on the
‘Hellbound’ tour that
should see their wild
harmonica-led blues rock
’n’ roll feed hungry ears
across the country.
Potentially the best thing
to come from
Loughborough since, erm,
Lawrie
To be The Next Big Thing
in post-rock you have to
be pretty big. Which is
what makes Vessels all
the more intriguing, rather
than building up with
ambient mush for eight
minutes before getting to
good bit, the five-piece
from Leeds ONLY do the
good bits (tumbling piano
riffs, haunting harmonies,
meditative calm and
magnificent cacophonies).
They do everything that
Explosions or Yndi Halda
can do, but all within the
confines of five minute pop
songs, with words and
beats and everything.
Have you ever known a
secret so good that you’ve
wanted to just shout it out
loud from the rooftops?
Rachael is that secret.
Their chaotic,
multicoloured live show
also means they’ve held
their own against some the
loudest bands on the road.
Seriously, they need to be
seen to be completely
believed. It’s like an
explosion in a WTF?
factory.
I’ve said it before and I’ll
say it again: they’re the
house party band of your
warped dreams. The one
from ‘About A Boy’ and the
one with the beanie won’t
know what’s hit them.
Forming in York around
the vocal duo of Tim Fox
and Emma KeaveneyRoys, the cream of the
local blues and acoustic
scene from the city swiftly
got on board, and in 2006
the band self-released a
foot-stampingly great
album that has sold
hundreds without any label
support. High Voltage
reckons that will change
pretty soon.
Check out Hijak Oscar’s
raucous party growls out
the ‘Hellbound’ tour, and
say you were there first.
Key track: ‘Trade Show’
Key track: ‘Bitter Carnival’
Web:
www.myspace.com/indicaritual
Web:
www.hijakoscar.co.uk
Words: Stephen Eddie
Words: Megan Vaughn
Sanchez, Quartershade
are one of those indie
bands that everyone uses
the word 'epic' to describe.
And they'd be right in all
fairness, but not that
"We're trying to sound like
the Editors" kind of epic.
Actually decent music
epic.
HV first witnessed them
when they played a shit
hole of a venue in
Liverpool, bringing with
them gear that was better
then what the venue
already had. They played
a blinding set and we'd
argue they are one of the
top unsigned live acts on
the current scene.
Setting up their own label
and self releasing a
number of tracks over
2007, they will self confess
that they didn't make as
much noise as they would
have hoped to. But with
songs as good as theirs,
it's only a matter of time.
Oh, also they're also really
tall. All of them. It's quite
weird actually.
Key track: ‘Hide And Seek’
Web:
www.myspace.com/quartershade
Words: Simon Pursehouse
Formed in 2005, they’ve
put out two well received
7”s (some how not sold
out) and a self-titled EP.
Just try not to be
mesmerised by the sonic
highs of ‘Yuki’ or ‘Two
Words & A Gesture’.
They’re best song,
however, is a B-side that
can also be found hidden
away on a Brew Records
compilation. ‘Forever The
Optimist’ is a moody Cure
gone post-rock, and it’ll
knock you out.
Key track: ‘Forever The
Optimist’
Web:
www.vesselsband.com
Words: Stephen Eddie
Fresh from touring last
year with the magnificent
Windmill, Rachael is now
back in Manchester
making her own beautifully
constructed folk. Limited
edition single ‘Long Time
Later’ was like hidden
treasure; showcasing a
voice so warm, so delicate
that it melted even my
bitter heart.
New EP ‘Like The Tides’ is
a triumph (co-produced by
the remarkable Stickboy)
and I urge you to MySpace
this girl quickly, if only to
hear ‘Something to Say’;
which I promise you will be
playing over and over
again.
With her twinkling
personality and heart
rendering lyrics, Rachael
Kichenside is an amazing
new talent that deserves to
be more than just another
well kept secret…and I’ll
be shouting it from the
rooftops, even if I do look
like a loon!
Key track: ‘Something To
Say’
Web:
www.myspace.com/rkichen
side
Words: Phill Daker
www.highvoltage.org.uk
www.myspace.com/highvoltageuk
twentythree
listings FebGIGLISTINGS
February
Fri 1st
Meet Me In St Louis @ Night & Day Cafe
Kerrang Tour 2008 (feat. Coheed &
Cambria) @ Academy 1
Angus and Julie Stone @ The Ruby
Lounge
Annie Mac In Session @ The Club (aka
Paradise Factory)
Dewa @ The Roadhouse
Sat 2nd
The Sleeves @ Night & Day Cafe
NME Tour 2008 (feat. The Cribs) @
Academy 1
The Rocket Summer @ Academy 2
Amplifier @ Academy 3
Paul Potts @ The Bridgewater Hall
Sun 3rd
Victorian Dad @ Night & Day Cafe
Allerjen @ Satans Hollow
Boy George @ The Lowry
Spear Of Destiny @ Club Academy
Nick Harper @ Academy 3
Mon 4th
Laura Veirs @ Night & Day Cafe
Blessed by a Broken Heart @ Music Box
Bullet For My Valentine @ Academy 1
Joan Osborne @ Academy 3
Tues 5th
David Bazan (Pedro The Lion) @ Night &
Day Cafe
Pete & The Pirates @ The Roadhouse
Wed 6th
The Rifles @ Night & Day Cafe
The Blackout @ Academy 2
American Music Club @ Academy 3
Black Acid @ Moho Live
The Naughtys @ The Roadhouse
Thurs 7th
Young & Lost Tour (feat. Noah & The
Whale) @ Night & Day Cafe
Justice @ Academy 2
Simian Mobile Disco @ Academy 3
Earth @ Zion Arts Centre
Roni Size- Reprezent @ Club Academy
The Deadstring Brothers @ The Ruby
Lounge
Prostitutes & Policemen Boy 8-Bit @ The
Attic
Sat 9th
Tues 19th
Fri 29th
Tues 11th
Fri 28th
Spektrum @ Night & Day Cafe
Basement Jaxx (DJ Set) @ The Club (aka
Paradise Factory)
Sons & Daughters @ Club Academy
Dropkick Murphys @ Academy 1
Michael Schenker Group @ Academy 3
Dieter & The Gadabouts @ The
Roadhouse
The Von Bondies @ Night & Day Cafe
The Ghost Of a Thousand @ Music Box
Dizzee Rascal @ Academy 1
The Satellite Towns @ The Roadhouse
This City @ The Roadhouse
Koffin Kats @ Satans Hollow
Uninformed @ Club Academy
Autechre @ Music Box
Siouxsie @ Academy 2
Hanoi Rocks @ Academy 3
The Vagabons @ Night & Day Cafe
Neil Young @ The Apollo
Ektomorf + Stuck Mojo @ Academy 3
Kris Kristofferson @ The Apollo
Van Morrison @ The Bridgewater Hall
The Sword @ Academy 3
Wed 12th
Sat 29th
Neil Young @ The Apollo
Infadels @ The Roadhouse
Richard Freeshman @ Academy 3
Scouting For Girls @ Academy 1
Hawkwind @ Academy 2
Dead Men Walking @ Academy 3
Thurs 13th
Sun 30th
The Mars Volta @ The Apollo
The Feeling @ Academy 1
Asia @ Academy 2
Casiotone For The Painfully Alone @
Charlies
Gogol Bordello @ Academy 1
Medals @ The Lowry
Wed 20th
Islands @ Night & Day Cafe
Jimmy Eat World @ Academy 1
Belladonna @ The Roadhouse
Sun 10th
Babyshambles NME Show @ The Apollo
MXPX @ Academy 3
Gabrielle @ The Lowry
Fuck Buttons @ The Phoenix
Mon 11th
Palladium @ Night & Day Cafe
Asobi Seksu @ Music Box
Flamboyant Bella @ Academy 3
Tues 12th
These New Puritans @ Night & Day Cafe
Mirrorview @ Music Box
Eamon Hamilton (Brakes) @ The Ruby
Lounge
Black Francis @ Academy 2
Polysics @ Star & Garter
Cut The Blue Wire @ The Roadhouse
March
Thurs 21st
Sat 1st
Cherry Ghost @ Night & Day Cafe
The Maple State @ The Roadhouse
Bring On The Dancing Horses present
Napolean IIIrd @ Cafe Saki
Eternal Lord @ Music Box
Gallows @ Academy 2
High Voltage presents MGMT @ Night &
Day Cafe
The Cult @ Academy 1
Tegan & Sara @ Academy 2
MistyÅfs Big Adventure @ Academy 3
Natasha Bedingfield @ The Apollo
The Beat & Neville Staple @ Club
Academy
Metronomy @ The Roadhouse
Fri 22nd
The Futureheads @ Night & Day Cafe
The Metros @ The Roadhouse
The Wombats @ Academy 1
Duffy @ The Ruby Lounge
Amy MacDonald @ Academy 2
The Audition @ Academy 3
Air Cav (Single Launch Party) @ The
Roadhouse
CLUBLISTINGS
Sun 2nd
Sat 15th
Anti-Flag @ Club Academy
Newton Faukner @ The Apollo
Bill WymanÅfs Rhythm Kings @ The
Lowry
The Grandmothers Of Invention @
Academy 3
Kelly Clarkson @ The Apollo
5th Annual St. PatrickÅfs Week Party @
Academy 1
Feb-Mar
Sun 16th
Monsters Of Mosh feat. Breed 77 @ Jillys
Rockworld
Mon 3rd
Kid Harpoon & The Powers That Be @
The Roadhouse
Mike Park @ Music Box
Editors @ The Apollo
Tina Disco @ Academy 3
Mon 17th
Tues 4th
Wed 19th
Sandi Thom @ Night & Day Cafe
Designer Magazine presents Sloganeer
@ Night & Day Cafe
Kate Nash @ The Apollo
Clannad @ The Bridgewater Hall
Jack Penate @ Academy 1
The Mexicolas @ The Roadhouse
Tues 26th
Wed 5th
Stephanie Dosen @ The Ruby Lounge
Designer Magazine presents The Circus
Electric @ Night & Day Cafe
Alicia Keys @ The M.E.N Arena
Sum 41 @ Academy 1
The Hold Steady @ Academy 2
The Bottomfeeders @ The Roadhouse
Dead Meadow @ Night & Day Cafe
Wed 27th
Fri 7th
Sun 24th
Royworld @ Night & Day Cafe
A Killer Fear @ Club Academy
Tonight Is Goodbye @ The Ruby Lounge
Family & Friends Live! @ Mint Lounge
I Was A Cub Scout @ The Roadhouse
Smashing Pumpkins @ The M.E.N Arena
Manchester Orchestra @ Academy 3
Ipso Facto @ Retro Bar
Band Of Horses @ Academy 3
Sat 16th
High Voltage Presents Thieves Like Us
(Kitsune) @ Night & Day Cafe
Mark Ronson @ The Apollo
Hot Chip @ Academy 1
Mentallica @ The Ruby Lounge
The Manyanas @ Club Academy
Mon 25th
Mon 18th
Inego @ Night & Day Cafe
Los Campesinos @ Club Academy
Thurs 6th
Cazals @ Night & Day Cafe
David Gray @ The Apollo
One Night Only @ Academy 3
Conil @ The Roadhouse
The Levellers @ The Apollo
Alec Empire @ Academy 3
Sat 8th
Fink @ Night & Day Cafe
Boyz II Men @ The Apollo
Akala @ Club Academy
Gary Numan @ Academy 1
Sun 9th
Yeasayer @ Night & Day Cafe
Guillemots @ The Ritz
Hayseed Dixie @ Academy 2
Tom Baxter @ Academy 3
Next deadline is January 18th
Compiled by Mike Caulfield
The Yashin @ Music Box
Fri 15th
Vast @ The Ruby Lounge
Please email your gig and club
listings for February/March 08 to
[email protected]
Fri 14th
Wed 13th
The Rascals @ Night & Day Cafe
This Is Seb Clarke @ The Roadhouse
Versus Cancer 2008 @ The M.E.N Arena
Bright Kicks @ Club Academy
Thurs 14th
Johnny Bramwell’s Valentine Massacre @ Megadeth @ Academy 1
Joe Bonamassa @ Academy 2
Night & Day Cafe
Juno Ashes @ Academy 3
Dillinger Escape Plan @ Academy 3
Ian Hunter @ The Lowry
Sub Humans @ Star & Garter
Mon 31st
The Torrents @ Night & Day Cafe
Kelly Clarkson @ The Apollo
Inspiral Carpets @ Academy 1
Sat 23rd
Curious Generation presents Out From
Animals @ Night & Day Cafe
Sun 17th
The Young Knives @ Academy 2
Vice Magazine Party @ Night & Day Cafe Dragons @ Academy 3
Genius: Arthur Lee & Love @ The Ruby
Eels @ The Bridgewater Hall
Fri 8th
Lounge
Bauer @ The Roadhouse
Airship @ Night & Day Cafe
Lightspeed Champion @ The Roadhouse
Airbourne @ The Roadhouse
Thurs 28th
Chrome Hoof Vs Invest Vs Spandecks Vs Jaymay @ Matt & Phreds
Late Of The Pier @ Club Academy
Sarabeth Tucek @ Night & Day Cafe
Lamb & Wolf @ Salford Islington Mill
Dionne Warwick @ The Lowry
Mayhem In Manchester @ Music Box
Devon Sproule @ Club Academy
Andy Parsons @ The Lowry
Yeti @ Dry Bar
Richard Hawley @ Academy 1
Reel Big Fish @ Academy 2
The Hoosiers @ Academy 1
The Other Smiths Vs Transmission @
The Nightjars @ The Roadhouse
Academy 3
Velvet Revolver @ The Apollo
Tues 18th
Sophie Ellis Bextor @ Academy 2
The Enemy @ The Apollo
Thurs 20th
You Animals (Formerly Komakino) @ The
Roadhouse
Fri 21st
The Fall @ Salford Maxwell Hall
Sat 22nd
Danse Macabre presents Las Pistolas @
Night & Day Caf_
101%- Pantera @ Ruby Lounge
Sun 23rd
Buck 65 @ The Roadhouse
Mon 24th
The Twilight Sad @ Night & Day Cafe
Wed 26th
Last Gang @ Night & Day Cafe
The Duke Spirit @ Academy 3
Chris Rea @ The Apollo
Thurs 27th
Young Heart Attack @ The Roadhouse
The Grid @ Academy 3
Dodge @ Club Academy
Van Der Graaf Generator @ RNCM
Van Morrison @ The Bridgewater
Monday
Revolver @ The Roadhouse 11pm- 2am
Monday @ The Ritz 10pm- 2am
Up The Racket @ Joshua Brooks 10pm2am
Tuesday
For all things Graphic
www.soapforall.co.uk
Sex With Robots @ The Roadhouse
11pm- late
Way Back When @ Po Na Na 9pm- 2am
Click Click @ Font Bar 9pm- 1am
The Alternative @ The Venue 11pm- late
Wednesday
Retro @ 42nd Street 10pm- late
Tramp @ Club North 10pm- 2am
Thursday
From Manchester With Love @ 42nd
Street 10pm- 2am
Don’t Think Twice @ Font Bar 9pm- 1am
Romp @ One Central Street @ 9.30pm3am
In The City @ The Venue 11pm- late
Friday
Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll @ The
Roadhouse
Friday Feeling @ 5th Avenue 10pm- 3am
Keys, Money, Lipstick @ Star & Garter
Glamorous Indie Rock n’ Roll @ 42nd
Street
Popscene @ The Brickhouse 10.30pm2.30am
Relief @ Club Alter Ego 11pm- 4am
Another Planet @ South 10pm- 3am
Homoelectric @ Legends 10pm- 4am
Twist and Shout @ The Venue 10pm3am
Don’ft Miss This @ Retro Bar
Guilty Pleasures @ One Central Street
10pm- 3am
HIGHVOLTAGE PRESS
Specialising in music/band online PR
and web promotion.
National & regional PR services available
Mon 10th
The Matches @ Academy 3
Eva @ The Roadhouse
twentyfour
Mar
[email protected]
for more information
twentyfive
Bella Union was created
by Cocteau Twins
Simon Raymonde and
Robin Guthrie after their
contract with 4AD came
to an end in 1997.
Since then, the label
has supported close to
fifty acts; often music
that ordinarily would not
be heard outside of
local scenes and niche
markets. A decade
after its conception, HV
spoke to co-founder
Simon about just how
far they have come.
HV: Hello Simon. You
originally conceived Bella
Union as an outlet for your
own music but then your band
dissolved. Was there ever a
moment where you shrugged
your shoulders and thought
‘oh well, it was a nice idea
while it lasted’?
Simon: ‘Yes, absolutely. Since
the beginning of Cocteau Twins
the learning curve was a weird
shape. Not steep, but a bit
unusual. We made two
cassettes, one after another, sent
one to 4AD and one to John
Peel. Then we got signed by
4AD and a week later did our
first Peel session. So we had no
idea that you don't always get
what you want! Slowly, things
started to go wrong and by the
time we broke up after drug
addictions, label fall outs, punchups, break-ups and kidnappings,
twentysix
we worked out that things don’t
always quite work out. I figured
for a few days that maybe this
was one of those situations. But
then we met Dirty Three, put out
their album and never looked
back.’
Early releases from Fran_oiz
Breut, The Czars and Dirty
Three were all pretty sad and
moody. Were you ever worried
that Bella Union would become
known for releasing only
melancholic material?
‘No! But I see what you're
saying. I think I am drawn to that
side of art in general. We did
release some hip hop but I guess
even they were fairly thoughtful,
contemplative records.’
You pride yourselves in
allowing your artists to
develop at their own rate. Has
this philosophy ever bitten you
on the arse?
‘Haha! I guess you mean did any
band take nineteen albums to get
any good? Not really. I don't
really just sit back and do nothing
all the time you know!! Seriously,
no one band or release is the
same and I just take the attitude
that trying to push a band into
something doesn't always work.
If they want guidance, they'll ask
and I'll give it.’
Did you get to the bookies
when Fionn Regan’s ‘The End
Of History’ was nominated for
the Mercury last year?
‘I put a grand on the Klaxons. I
wish. Yes, I did put some money
on Fionn but didn't get very good
odds. He should have won. But
then I should have been signed
by Spurs when I was fifteen.Åh
How has Regan’s success, as
well as hefty sales of Midlake’s
output, affected the prospects
of Bella Union’s smaller acts?
Do you have more freedom to
take chances now?
‘No. You cannot for a second
think you have this game
cracked because no one cares
about your last release or how
well it did, only your next one.
You just need to be aware that
you can't always have an artist at
Midlake's level, and keep
developing the new bands.’
You celebrated your tenth year
in 2007, but with the future
viability of record companies
looking uncertain, how do you
think Bella Union will change
in the next ten years?
‘Unlike everyone else, I don't
think we'll change the philosophy
because truly that's why we do it.
If we just signed things because
we felt they'd do well, we'd
ultimately fail because it couldn't
sustain. While we don't sell the
numbers of the bigger, funded
labels, we can release music that
wouldn't otherwise be heard.’
burgeoning scene in Cleethorpes
and I will be astounded. That's
the beauty of this business. One
minute of the day you know one
thing and then a minute later you
hear a band, a song, and you're
never the same again.
Words: Megan Vaughan
www.bellaunion.com
The Best of Bella Union:
Dirty Three - Ocean Songs
Fran-oiz Breut - Une Saison
Volee
Explosions In The Sky - All Of A
Sudden I Miss Everyone
Midlake - The Trials Of Van
Occupanther
Fionn Regan - The End Of
History
Bella Union artists come from
all over the world, making
music in a huge range of
genres. How do you find
them, and what qualities do
you look for in the music?
‘They just look me up in the
Yellow Pages. We're there under
Homes for Artists Who Want to
Make A Difference’
In all seriousness, I guess we're
looking for a band that doesn't
sound like any other, that we all
agree we want to push the boat
out for... I don't really care where
they come from, but maybe
subconsciously there is
something more romantic about
signing a band from Texas than
Cleethorpes. Perhaps there is a
twentyseven
ISSUE TWENTYSEVEN
FEB//MAR
FREE
BABYSHAMBLES GLASVEGAS
HOLY FUCK BRITISH SEA POWER
YOUNG GALAXY METRONOMY BELLA UNION
KARIMA FRANCIS
LOWLINE GOFASTER
DENIS JONES