Last week I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing the incredibly talented musician Liz Davinci. Listen to what Liz says about music (including her own, especially the new album), jazz, classical, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Marilyn Monroe, and many other things! Click here to listen to the complete interview and click here to check out Liz’s fabulous new album ‘Fata Morgana’ on Spotify.
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A short while ago I had the pleasure of interviewing one of Yorkshire’s, and probably the UK’s, finest musical talents, Laura Kindelan. We met up in the Vinyl Cafe in York which provides the background ambiance and is where I last interviewed Laura back in March 2018. In July this year, it will be six years since I very first experienced Laura performing live when she supported Billie Marten at City Screen Basement in York. I have seen her quite a few times since then and she just gets better and better. Click here to take a listen to the interview and when you have heard it all give the new Kindelan EP, ‘You Can Reach Me If You Try‘ a spin.
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Liz Davinci‘s new album ‘Fata Morgana’ is an absolute delight and one of those great albums where you need to listen from start to finish and do not feel the need to skip a single track. Is Liz Davinci descended from Leonardo? I don’t know, but she is certainly an incredibly talented artist. The album opens with the recent single “Pain Reliever” which I reviewed a few weeks ago and said that “This tune is beautiful and almost baroque in its construction. I love the way that Liz is not afraid to use the space between the notes” and having listened to it plenty of times since then I stand by that statement! “Mirage”, like much of the album showcases Liz’s stunning vocal style backed by just her classical keyboard notes. Lyrically she weaves wonderful stories that are reminiscent of Kate Bush. Has there ever been a song about the journey of a coin? I’m not sure but with Liz Davinci’s “One Silver Dollar” there is now, this definitely has some influence from Ms. Bush but whilst it doesn’t have the full-on Mael Brothers attack it does remind me of the softer moments from the Sparks canon, notably “Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth”. If you have been searching for a dark summer anthem look no further than the wonderful “Cherry July”. Davinci’s voice here feels innocent, open, and yet deeply exciting at the same time. I love tunes that are kind of wished-for or desired travelogues and “Another Lollipop” is one of those. How many songs fit in lyrics about working on a laptop and album drops and also manage to give a verbal tour of Europe? None until now! “I’m Through With Love” has the feel of an epic 1970s ballad that might have been composed by Lynsey de Paul had she decided to go down a less pop-driven route.
An earlier single “Purple Jesters” is currently my favourite track from the album. It sums up everything that is great about Liz Davinci. Great hooks, great harmonic vocals, keys that are content to explore and expose open spaces, and wonderfully clear and fresh production. It has a medieval jazz feel something like a Tudor period Steely Dan might have created. “Interlude – March 24” is a really strange spoken word piece that feels like it might have been taken straight from the pages of Liz’s diary, is it about a lost love or an unrequited love? I have no idea but I love its romantic quirkiness. Liz channels the quiet and less manic moments from Lene Lovich in “Fly On The Wall”. I have never been an aficionado of musicals or cabaret but “After You Get What You Want You Don’t Want It” feels like it has jumped out of the kind of stage musical that even I would like, and I am not a big fan of the genre. I can sense Sparks in the words here and Marcella Detroit in the voice. Perhaps one of the most gorgeously chilled tracks in this collection is “Body Lines”, although there is a menacingly dark musical motif toward the end. If Kate Bush was ever to write a song with Leo Sayer it might well have sounded like “Dixie Theatre”. It has the Baroque Bop feel of some of the earlier tracks and exudes Liz Davinci’s wonderful weirdness. The album closes with an emotionally charged tune in “End Of The Sea” which appears to be drawn from the deepest recesses of the Davinci mind with a voice that raised memories of Suzanne Vega for me. This is not the first Liz Davinci album and I hope it won’t be the last. But it will always be one of her finest and is definitely a contender for Album of the Year 2023! Get some Liz Davinci in your life now, you won’t regret it. I hope we get to see Liz play some UK dates sometime and I also hope to interview her soon, so watch out for that!
UPDATE – My musical education continues. There are actually three covers on this beautiful collection, all three were sung by Marilyn Monroe and one was actually written by her too. Liz Davinci provided me with this information shortly after I had posted this review. I want to make it clear though that Liz has very much made these covers her own! “One Silver Dollar” was written by Marilyn Monroe, “I’m Through With Love” was written by Fud Livingston, Gus Khan, and Matty Malneck, and “After You Get What You Want You Don’t Want It” was written by Irving Berlin. I am so pleased that I can still learn new stuff every day!
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I have never reviewed an EP or Album review in two parts before, however, when I wrote the EP review part 1 I thought it was the actual EP. Thanks to Spotify (and I believe that Apple Music and other streaming sites do the same) badging it as an EP. But no, that is just how streaming services badge it. Anyway Kindelan’s entire EP, ‘You Can Reach Me If You Try’, is now complete. Strangely it is now badged as an album on Spotify! You can click here to read the EP review Part 1 and see what I had to say about “Listen”, “The Other Side”, “Hazel Frustration” and “Feast”. In the meantime let me give you my views on the remaining three tracks that complete the EP. First, it is “Far Too Sweet” which is a beautifully harmonic tune in which Laura’s vocals are close to perfect and the string arrangements just add something really special. There is a great jazz vibe underpinning the girl group harmonies at times. Next, it is the shortest track on the EP, “She”. A song that is more chilling in its delivery than it is chilled. I am hearing it as an attack on misogyny via an iron fist in a lace glove. It has the kind of lyric that far more established and experienced songwriters would kill to have written. Right now this is probably my favourite Kindelan track. The EP closes with “Can’t Sleep” which builds slowly into a gorgeous story in a song. It feels like quite a personal lyric, as do many on the EP. The playing is wonderfully understated and Kindelan proves that there is no fear in using the silence. This is a really classy release and for me shows with great clarity that Kindelan will simply get better and better.
There are still a few Kindelan live dates to come (Hull, Leeds, London, and York), I will be at the EP launch gig at the Brudenell in Leeds on Friday 2nd June, will I see you there? I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Kindelan recently, keep a look out for that, it will be posted here very soon!
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This was the first time I had been to a gig at the Micklegate Social in York since before Covid and it is still a wonderfully intimate basement venue. It is almost perfect for smaller shows, but I really hope they can sort out the toilet issue, two toilets for the whole venue upstairs and down really isn’t good enough. Anyway, that is enough of a toilet rant, let me get on with telling you about the gig! First up was Rowan, who has been featured on these pages before. This talented troubadour weaves some great tales in his 21st Century folk-style songs. “Skeldergate” is epic, contemporary, and topical (in a York sense for the latter). While many of Rowan’s tunes have somewhat dark themes, “Once A Rock Star” proves that he can write stuff that is a bit lighter, although even here there are some dark elements, but this was a great song with a hint of Jonathan Richman behind it. Tom Gulliver was next and he has a great collection of songs. “Place Of Peace” was damned good indeed. At times Tom’s vocal phrasings reminded me of Elton John, Mark Everett a.k.a Mr. E, and even Marc Almond. Everyone one of those inflections fitted perfectly with his well-played maniacal acoustic guitar playing. My highlight from his short set was probably “Cemetry Song” which I thought was sublime.
Next on stage, was Marnie Glum who says in her socials that she writes “sad songs for sad saps”, which I think is a little self-deprecating. She does write some sad songs, but for me, they work for everyone on many emotional levels, not just for sad saps. Marnie’s voice has the quality of a 21st-century Joni Mitchell in her phrasing and a hint of jazz in her styling, particularly on the new songs. She tells kitchen sink dramas and heartfelt soap opera tales with her infectious tunes. She is a Clifford T Ward for our troubled times. “Polaroid Ghosts” is gorgeous, heartfelt, and soul-baring. If you love great music then you need Marnie Glum in your life!
Finally, it was the turn of headliners Everything After Midnight to take centre stage. Their opening song showed the depth of musical quality they now have as a band. It was largely acoustic and fucking beautiful as it built to a fabulous 1970s rock-styled crescendo. The wah-wah style guitar licks were ace. The way Everything After Midnight have grown in confidence, skill, and stature since I first saw them a mere 15 months ago is incredible. Tonight is the fifth time I have seen them live. They possess a great maturity of thought and attitude that belies their age and adds to the compelling complexity of their rather wonderful tunes. I really loved “Sale Sign” with its mostly spoken word vocal, an awesome track. The band was joined on stage by two of the support acts for “Still Sleeping”, Marnie Glum and Tom Gulliver. The latter of whom produced the first Everything After Midnight EP. The final song of the evening was a cover of Razorlight’s 2006 UK number one “America”. It was a chilled take of Razorlight’s greatest tune. Some might say the only decent tune Razorlight ever did! But enough of Johnny Borrell’s boys, Everything After Midnight played a perfect set for such an intimate venue, another mark of a great band.
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This was promoted as a bit of a Goth night bringing together four acts that might bring in punters on their way home from Whitby’s Goth Festival that weekend. While we didn’t get one of the headliners of the Goth Weekend such as Christian Death, we got four great bands thanks to promoter Velvet Sheep and the fabulous Fully Arms! First, it was a duo with a brilliant and very goth name, the Hagley Wood Vampires. They gave us acoustic goth folk full of incredible hooks and melodies. Lots of songs about vampires. “Vampires Kiss” would be perfect as a soundtrack tune if ‘The Hunger’ was ever remade. My favourite song was probably “Portrait Of Youth” based on Oscar Wilde’s novel ‘The Picture Of Dorian Gray’. (Incidentally, did you know that the story was considered particularly scandalous when first published in 1890? Largely because it had a theme of homosexual desire. Sadly, even in the 21st Century, some people are still angered and upset by such things!). The band’s choice of covers was truly inspired Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and Eurhythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”. I believe this duo is also in a band called VampiricA, which I will be checking out very soon!
The second act to take the stage was Hanging Freud. This lot gave us Deep obsidian-hued, brooding, sometimes menacing, industrial cinematic synth tunes. This was all underpinned by a dark heartbeat of rhythm. This was overlayed with some rather spiffing vocals which were ethereal, funereal (at times), and truly epic. If you are in that kind of mood where only those dark tunes will help then listen to Hanging Freud as the perfect accompaniment, I love them! Following that it was the turn of Feather Trade, who while they may not have ticked all the goth boxes are a brilliant band and one of the most original that I have seen recently. If post-punk had begun in the 21st Century Feather Trade would have been its vanguard. There were angular Keith Levene-inspired guitar sounds and bass playing worthy of Jah Wobble in his Public Image Limited days. On top of that, there were grunge elements with an occasional nod to Kurt Cobain vocally and drumming that Dave Grohl would be proud of. I felt elements of both Iggy Pop and Ren vocally, particularly on “Dead Boy”. After that song the main highlights for me were “Just Like Film” and Big Nobody”. But I need to make a special mention of the bass player, she is one of the finest that I have ever witnessed and I have seen many, like Tina Weymouth on speed, bloody awesome!
Finally, it was the turn of Whitby’s own, Westenra. On their website the band describes themselves as having “emerged out of the shadows of Whitby Abbey in autumn 2019, three lost souls each drawn to the dark mysteries and legends of that most magickal place: Luciferia (vocals), Karl (guitars), and Dominique (bass)“. That kind of sums up the Westenra vibe perfectly it was like watching and hearing Siouxse Sioux fronting a classic British heavy rock band from the 1970s. Great songs and a very tight band. “The Last Beat Of Our Hearts” is a beautiful tune with some incredible lyrics. Luciferia was briefly overcome with emotion while singing it, but bass player Dominique stepped in to comfort her and the show went on. The Westenra cover of Iron Maiden’s “Number Of The Beast” was a brilliant take on a British metal classic. Finally, all those years ago no one expected the Spanish Inquisition, right? Well at least according to Monty Python, anyway I digress. With a similar logic to that regarding the Spanish Inquisition, no one would expect a Cliff Richard song at a goth gig, would they? But we got one, the band covered Cliff’s UK and US top ten hit from 1976, “Devil Woman”. But this was never going to be a bland facsimile cover, Westenra took the song, dissected it, rearranged all its internal organs, and turned it into a very heavy, very dark tune and they really owned it! I must confess that before tonight I had not heard of Westenra, but now I am most definitely a fan!
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Delilah Bon is, in my opinion, a true superhero. She is not afraid of anyone and is precisely the heroine the world needs right now. In the past, I have likened her to punk styles, Eminem, and others, but the bottom line is she is Delilah Bon and there ain’t no one quite like her! Delilah’s new single “Brat” kicks off with a spoken word section that kind of sets the tone for the track. But the opening salvo in the first verse smashes through misogynist walls and glass ceilings that currently hold back women, girls, gay and trans people among others. It is not just the industrial hammer drill sounds and beats that do the smashing it is the lyrics, which for me provide the opening to the Delilah manifesto, “It’s me, it’s Delilah. Coming in with the flavor. Coming in with the real shit, Delilah the savior. Delilah the queer coming into your living room. Screaming, “I don’t think so”. Yeah you probably never, probably ever. Met a woman as dedicated, whatever the weather, to bringing rage to the rooms of the girls just like me. Oh, baby, I don’t think so” Has there ever been more anger in the opening verse of a song? Maybe the Pistols and the Clash came close, but Delilah takes that righteous anger into the stratosphere. The song grabs you by the throat and shakes you until you rightly succumb to the message. Is this the best Delilah track to date? Very possibly.
Delilah has finally begun to take the world by storm. Two of her songs (“Dead Man Don’t Rape” and “I Don’t Listen To You”) now have more than one million streams, “Brat” has more than 60,000 Spotify Streams after just a few days, and she has appeared on prime time French TV, she will be playing festivals and gigs outside the UK soon and that is just the highlights. Should misogynists and their ilk be scared? Yes they fucking should, we are all equal and Delilah is a true champion of real equality and true inclusion for repressed minorities. I think my favorite line from “Brat” is probably “But you know I’ll never be the girl that was before. I’m a star surrounded by these dinosaurs“. She really is surrounded by so many dinosaurs in the current music industry and has got this far totally independently and without any help from those dinosaurs. Go, Delilah! If I could, I would vote Delilah, how about you?
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Another night and another great lineup at the Fulford Arms in York. The first to hit the stage, and they really did hit it hard, was the Apocalypse Disco. This hard electro-dance duo created enough energy to power York for a week. There was barely a let up in their powerful, pulsating sounds and the audience was lapping it all up. This was not just a simple set, but a full performance. Robin and Ian wore matching black boiler suits as they slammed through their take on 90s trance and big beats sounds. The new song “The Bridge” even gave a nod to Erasure in its sublime hook. If this bunch are not yet on your end-of-the-world playlist they need to be!
Flat Cap Carnival was next and who knew York could do Latin music so well? Actually, I did, as I have seen them before. This abundantly talented 7-piece is an incredible party band that it is impossible not to shake your arse to. But it is not just latin, there are parts of Cuban style, skanking, and ska-punk to name just a few. Their original songs are perfect, but their covers take them to another universe completely. “Careless Whisper” and “Spice Up Your Life” were masterclasses on how to cover a song. On social media, they describe themselves as “a Latin-infused Skanival band from York. Dancing is compulsory.” That seems a fair description to me. If Carlsberg made party bands they would definitely make Flatcap Carnival.
The headliners tonight are a band that I had never seen before, Bethlehem Casuals. They are like Polyphonic Spree or Animal Collective after a huge injection of raw, unpasteurised jazz funk juice. Probably the perfect band to follow the mighty Flatcap Carnival. The Bethlehem Casuals takes me right back to my jazz funk period, but probably with a touch more jazz than funk, a la Norman Connors’ “The Creator Has A Master Plan”. For a band that is steeped in complex and well-executed jazz tropes and some complicated time signatures, they are incredibly danceable. I have enjoyed listening to their music on line, but the live setting is where they excel.
Many years ago, I saw the Bluetones (at Reading Festival 2000), so I jumped at the chance to see them play an acoustic set at the fabulous Fulford Arms in York. But before we get to them let me tell you about the support acts. First on stage was Pete Lambert, he is a folky storyteller with an exquisite skill for weaving great tales with his lyrics. I really loved “Ghost” and the bluegrass styled “Without The Whiskey” was a fine way to end a delightful but short set. He was followed onto the stage by Lissy Taylor, she is a wonderfully charismatic singer from Manchester. “She’s A Stunner” and “Healer” were outstanding and her cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black” was a great version of a classic tune. Before I get to the Bluetones I need to have a little rant. Why do so many punters at gigs talk loudly and persistently when an act, particularly a support artist, is on stage? Why don’t they just go to the pub?
This acoustic gig featured 50% of the Bluetones, which was Mark Morriss and Adam Devlin. Morriss announced it as a game of two halves with set 1 featuring no hits and a 2nd set after a cigarette break with all the hits. Although that was not strictly true as part 1 included some loud and enthusiastic crowd singalongs to “Down At The Reservoir”, “Bluetonic” and “Cut Some Rug”. The high point of the first half for me was “Carry Me Home”. But the one that seemed to hit the capacity crowd right in the heart was “A Parting Gesture” from the band’s debut album ‘Expecting To Fly’ from 27 years ago. After a brief nicotine break, Mark and Adam took the stage for the 2nd set. The cover of the Flying Burrito Brothers, “Hot Burrito #1” (a favourite song of Morriss for 30 years) was stylish and sublime. “Into The Red”, a song about the last great recession taken from the band’s last studio album ‘A New Athens’ sadly is still so relevant. But maybe that is helped by the fact that it is a great song. Incidentally, that last album was released in 2010, when will we see the next one lads? Thehighlight of the second half for me was “Keep The Home Fires Burning”. The one song that will probably never be left off a Bluetones setlist is “A Slight Return” and for this show, it was an absolute peak for a peach of a song which was probably the most popular tune of the night. The Fulford Arms roof was close to being lifted by 150 souls singing the magnificent refrain “You don’t have to have the solution. You’ve got to understand the problem. And don’t go hoping for a miracle. All this will fade away. So I’m coming home. I’m coming home” I was singing it in the car all the way home too. “A Slight Return” is the Bluetones song that even people who claim not to remember the Bluetones know. An intimate and perfect acoustic show from half of a great band. There a still a few dates left on this acoustic tour, grab yourself a ticket if you can, it will definitely be a worthwhile purchase!
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I think it’s time for another Mayhem singles round-up, don’t you? Here comes the fourth for 2023, it includes a baker’s dozen of tunes that have been passed on to me or recommended during the previous few weeks and months, there are some rather spiffing tracks.
It features many artists and bands that have appeared on Mayhem’s pages before. There are also four great cover versions in this collection. There are new tracks from Avalanche Party, Apollo Junction, Vaquelin and Liz Davinci who I think all have new albums coming out sometime this year. Judging from their latest offerings, choosing Mayhem’s album of the year for 2023 will be very difficult! Let me know what you think of this great collection of tunes!
You will find a YouTube link to each song in the title (or a link to the audio of the track) and a link to the artist’s website or one of their social media pages when you click the artist’s name. You can also find the link to a Spotify playlist of all these songs by clicking here.
Ain’t no party like an Avalanche Party and the AP boys are back with what is most definitely a tune for partying to. You probably wouldn’t play this at a work event! I sense an Amazing Snakeheads influence in this fast-paced, frenzied, frenetic, funky, feral, fest of a song. The band all seem to be in top form, especially Kane’s drumming. This is the first single from their upcoming sophomore album, ‘Der Traum Über Alles’. The video is very classy indeed.
The Apollo Junction lads are back with another offering that will feature on their third album, due out later this year. For the first minute, it is soft, acoustic, mellow, and pensive. Then the sound continues to build with an almost drone-like guitar sound underpinning it. It finally builds to an immense orchestral-sounding, epic finish. The harmonies are superb and I can imagine this sound echoing across festival fields for years to come. Possibly my favourite Apollo Junction song so far.
This is a fine slab of fuzzy, dirty, electric blues. If you are not doing the Grayston Boogie by the end of the track then frankly you should seek medical help. The video has a few fleeting tips as to how to boogie in a Grayston way!
A brave choice to cover this one. No one could ever hope to emulate the original Amy Winehouse, so the Palava choose to take the song in a different direction. An immaculate blues rock vocal and some gritty, scuzzy garage rock style guitars. I have seen the band play this live and they do it well, but this recording is so very much better than that! I bloody love it!
This bunch is from Adelaide, Australia and this track is reminiscent of the softer side of Blink 182. It is a close-to-perfect amalgam of great pop punk and emo. A heartfelt tale of heartbreak. I am looking forward to hearing more from Sad Like You.
Is Liz Davinci descended from Leonardo? I don’t know, but she is certainly an incredibly talented artist. Vocally there are elements of Kate Bush, Suzanne Vega, and Marcella Detroit here. This tune is beautiful and almost baroque in its construction. I love the way that Liz is not afraid to use the space between the notes. This augers well for her forthcoming album ‘Fata Morgana’.
This is the second cover in this singles selection (there will be more) and it does what I think makes a perfect cover in that it isn’t a simple facsimile of the original. This is the first track to be released from the Easy All Stars forthcoming album of a reggae reimagining of Bowie’s ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’ album. This one works perfectly and bodes well for the album. The Dame’s rarely touched reggae, and when he did it was never particularly good in my opinion. But Easy All Stars with Steel Pulse show with absolute certainty that Bowie can work in a reggae style.
We have another cover in the singles round up. This time it is smoky, heavy, swampy, garage rock version on Nina Simone’s iconic classic “Feelin’ Good”. For me this version takes back ownership of the song from Muse after Matt Bellamy’s somewhat histrionic and over-the-top take on the tune from a few years ago.
Witch Of The East return with a fabulous new song. This is punk, post punk, electro, dance with a goth icing and a pinch of New Order. Based on this, if there is another Witch Of The East album in development it will be bloody wonderful.
Get into this band now, then when they break big you can impress your mates by saying you were there at the start. This song is full on rock with large shots of Yard Act and Sleaford Mods and a shady undercurrent of mounting anger. Go see them live as soon as you can!
Gemma, Danny and Aaron return with a stonking cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”. It feels like the Velvet Underground made the song originally back in the 60s and then Isaak covered it in 1989. OK, I know that isn’t true, right? This must be top of the list to be on the Twin Peaks soundtrack if there is ever another remake, prequel or sequel. I love that in the blurb to the video on YouTube the band state “Dear lovers, snoggers and nighttime doggers. We’ve recorded a cover of one of our favourites in light of the smoooochin’ season” that cracked me up, well the nighttime doggers bit anyway!
Another banging tune from Vaquelin, it kicks off like Led Zeppelin on Quaaludes and the vocals are classic 70s rock style with a dash of Bowie’s Tin Machine Style. The screaming lead guitar, particularly in the last part of the track is something Mick Ronson would be proud of. The second album from Vaquelin looks like it will be better than the first based on this tune!
The Undercover Hippy is an expert at protest tunes, because it is done in a very clever and subtle way. The reggae backing has shades of another great band, Captain Ska. This song questions the greed and or incompetence of our less than industrious leaders. We need more artists like this calling out the scummy liars in government.
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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 