Click here to read my review of the forthcoming album ‘Fever and Chills’ by the fabulous Powerkompany on the subba-cultcha website.
Still Waters – Breakbot January 27, 2016
Click here to read my review on the subba-cultcha.com website of the forthcoming album ‘Still Waters’ by Breakbot.
Adam French, Sam Griffiths and Crispin Halcrow – The Basement, City Screen, York – Tuesday 26th January 2016
I haven’t been to the Basement at City Screen for sometime so it was good to be back. Especially as this was a show recommended by my good mate Simon Pattinson. He has never let me down with those recommendations and tonight certainly maintained his 100% record!
First on start was Crispin Halcrow, although he seemed a little nervous at first he finished his set with confidence. I heard something of Teddy Thompson and Seth Lakeman in him. He certainly knows how to write a song, “Charcoal” is beautiful and it is about remembering. Crispin also introduced us to Phoebe the ukulele for a very well performed cover of the Mama’s And Papa’s hit “Dream A Little Dream”. This lad from Kendal is one to watch.
Next under the stage lights was Sam Griffiths ably supported by Bradley Blackwell (I hope I got that name right). He kicked off with a song that he introduced as being a song about a Bob Dylan album, it is called “Blood On The Tracks“. Dylan got another mention later in the set when Sam suggested that he had ripped off the great Mr Zimmerman with a song called “Shelter Of The Storm”. That ripped off reference was very much tongue in cheek and I think the song is superb and given airplay I would say it has big hit written all over it. Sam’s songs are all well-developed and mature. In particular a song inspired by the David Lynch film ‘Lost Highway‘ called “Camera” which was my favourite from Sam’s set.
The first two acts were damned good but Adam French took it to another level completely. The likes of James Bay and Hozier are indeed very talented but I think Adam knocks the socks off them. His songs are incredibly well constructed and given how sublime they sound in a solo setting I believe they would be even better with a band. Adam is a multi instrumentalist utilising guitar, keyboard and bass guitar. “Hunter” was accompanied by Mr French on bass guitar and worked so very well. Will Adam French write a classic song? I think he already has at least two in the haunting “Silhouette” and the gorgeous “Ivory”. I have been going to gigs for more than 40 years and this was probably one of the finest small club sets that I have ever seen. Forget about all that X Factor rubbish, if music has a future then it is in the hands of very talented people like Adam French. I urge you to check him out on-line or live when you get the chance. I sense that his days of playing small intimate gigs like this may well be numbered. He will, I am sure, be coming to you on a much bigger stage very soon. I would also like to add that he is a great bloke too having had a few drinks with him after the show along with his Mum and other friends and family.
Public service announcement! The photos of Crispin, Sam and Bradley were sourced on line and those of Adam were taken on my trusty Nokia phone.
Introducing the magnificent Northern Exposure webzine! January 26, 2016
I am such a tart when it comes to writing about music! Well maybe not but I do love all kinds of music and I am really proud to be involved in a small way with the launch of a fantastic new webzine by the amazing Rachel Brown. The webzine is called Northern Exposure and you can find it by clicking here. The first piece I have written for Rachel was about David Bowie, now that won’t be a surprise to regular readers. To read my article click here.
Get yourself some tickets to the launch party! I might see you there!
Anyway check out Northern Exposure and let Rachel know what you think! You will not be disappointed it really is a great site and a great read!
As the site is new and I contributed a David Bowie song there was only ever going to be one video on this post. It’s the late Dame himself with “Absolute Beginners”
subba-cultcha.com – check it out!
In addition to this and my other blogs I have recently started doing some album and gig reviews for the wonderful subba-cultcha site. Check out the site itself by clicking here. If you love music you will not be disappointed. I have also put links to all the reviews that I done so far below, starting with twelve album reviews and followed by a gig review. I would appreciate your views on those too.
Bad Pollyanna – The Broken Toys
Jeb Loy Nichols – Ya Smell Me?
Shearwater – Jet Plane And Oxbow
Jenny Gillespie – Cure For Dreaming
The Wild Wild – Into The Sea, Into The Stars
Alien Ant Farm – Live at the Duchess in York earlier this month
Black Lagoons, Broken Skulls, Mall Rats & Blind Eye – The Crescent, York – Friday 22nd January 2016 January 23, 2016
I once again had the pleasure of attending a gig set up by the fabulous Northern Radar a.k.a Simon Pattinson. It was at the Crescent in York a new community venue that I have not been to before. As usual with Simon’s shows the quality was top-notch. I have been to many gigs arranged by Simon and so far there has not been a bad one. No pressure for next time then Simon! Tonight’s bill featured two bands that I have seen before and two that were new to me. Incidentally it was great to catch up with Jordan Bell off of Avalanche Party, Mike Harrison, Joe Alexander and obviously Mr Pattinson himself.
The proceedings were kicked off by the majestic power trio known as Blind Eye who I have seen before, the boys were fresh from recording their EP at a studio in Manchester. They gave us a couple of new songs that in a few years I am sure will be seen as Blind Eye classics; “Stained Glass Windows” and “Vultures”. Along with some of their older songs they also performed one of their customary covers, this time it was a thunderous run through of the Beatles classic “Come Together”. They even managed to incorporate a few lines of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” into the song. This band is truly fucking awesome, their EP I am sure will be off the scale good.
OK now I want you to imagine a band that is a cross between the Velvet Underground with all of Andy Warhol’s arty-farty stuff removed and then crossed with Nirvana. Can you picture that? Good now think of that band’s drummer being a reincarnated John Bonham (not because they look the same but that they share the same pounding power. Do you have the picture in your mind? Can you imagine the sound that such a band would make? Excellent because that band Ladies and Gentlemen is the Mall Rats. A brilliant band whose closing song “Plunge Pool” was one of the most moshtastic of the whole evening.
The third act on tonight was another York band that I have seen before, the truly stupendous Broken Skulls. These two brothers come across like the Kings Of Leon genetically spliced with Royal Blood and then injected with a massive testosterone booster. How can two people make such a loud but beautiful noise? I really don’t know but they do. Maybe we need to ask them how they do it. Anyway it would be fair to say that they really owned the stage during their set.
I have not had the pleasure of witnessing a show by the Black Lagoons before tonight so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Even more so when I cast my eyes on the band for the first time. The majority of them have probably never seen a razor. Not because they are hirsute with resplendent facial hair but because I don’t believe that some of them have started shaving yet. But don’t let that put you off, for whatever age they are, and frankly I don’t care, they are a stunning live act. What do they sound like? That is a difficult question to answer, but it is almost as though they have invented a new genre of music which I will call Prog Punk (or possibly Punk Prog). These lads can only get better in my opinion and they are very damned good already. I tried to imagine the Queens Of The Stone Age as a school band and that captured a degree of what the Black Lagoons are. On top of that they have a reborn Keith Moon on drums and the coolest, most serious faced bass player since John Entwistle. I recommend that you check out all of tonight’s bands. No wait I don’t recommend that you do it, I order you to do it!
Public Service announcement all the pictures were taken by me and the videos are courtesy of YouTube. However I couldn’t find a Mall Rats video, so if you can send me the link to one then feel free to do so 🙂
Jeb Loy Nichols – Long Time Traveller January 20, 2016
Until just a few weeks ago I had no idea who Jeb Loy Nichols was. I had the opportunity to review his recently released mini album ‘Ya Smell Me?’ for the Subba-Cultcha site (click here to read it). So having only just discovered this American who lives in Wales I need to make up for lost time.
So let’s start with a forthcoming reissue of his album ‘Long Time Traveller’, which originally found limited release in Japan in 2010. The album is produced by Adrian Sherwood and features members of both the Dub Syndicate and the Roots Radics. My first exposure to Jeb suggested that he is an excellent purveyor of country soul, which he clearly is. However I am very pleasantly surprised to say that he is also a talented country/ dub fusion artist. Is there another person in that genre? Somehow I doubt that there are many.
As a teenager I loved reggae and dub but I disliked country, largely because my parents liked it (oh that ridiculous teenage rebelliousness) . But as I have got older I have learned to love much country music. The combination of country and dub doesn’t sound like it would work, well not on paper anyway. But on record (or CD in my case) it works bloody well. This album is definitely going to soundtrack some afternoons in my garden this summer.
The songs are infectious especially “Lonely King Of The Country”, “Poor Man’s Prayer” and “To Be Rich (Should Be A Crime)”. Although I am not sure that I agree entirely with the sentiments of the last one. The extra disc I have with my copy has some great alternate mixes of seven of the albums songs. All very good but the main album mixes are more preferable to me. Disc two also has four songs not on the album of which “Salt Of A Fallen Tear” is stupendous. All credit to the On-U Sound label for getting this out there.
If you fancy something a bit different then buy this album, I love it and I hope that you do too. I hope to see Jeb live sometime soon. Why are artists like him not performing to bigger audiences? He needs to be heard!
Blackstar – David Bowie January 8, 2016
On Mr Bowie‘s 69th birthday he continues to amaze fans and casual listeners alike. The release of ‘Blackstar’, his 27th (including Tin Machine releases I think that is correct) studio album was not as big a surprise as when he dropped “Where Are We Now” on his birthday two years ago. But compared to ‘The Next Day’ album from 2013 ‘Blackstar’ is in a different universe, well mostly anyway. You could call it some kind of jazz rock fusion but it is much more than that. It is Bowie taking things that he has enjoyed and dabbled with in the past; jazz, art, his own history, A Clockwork Orange, film soundtracks and probably a lot more and blending them all together to make what I believe will stand the test of time and become a classic Bowie album.
Many reviews are saying that it is his best album since; ‘Scary Monsters’, ‘Outside’, ‘Heathen’ and many others. Feel free to take your pick. Personally I think it is a great album, although it will be a real challenge for the casual listener to get into it I think. Having said that it took a Bowie fanatic like me six or seven listens to the title track to really understand it properly.
The album includes some previously released, although reworked songs; ”Tis A Pity She Was A Whore and ‘Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)’. In addition both the title track and ‘Lazarus’ taken from the current stage musical were both released along with their excellent accompanying videos in recent weeks. The three songs that haven’t had much of an airing so far are probably my favourite part of the album (“Girl Loves Me”, “Dollar Days” and ” I Can’t Give Everything Away”) and I would love to watch him perform them live, although that is probably a forlorn wish. If you’re an avid Bowie fan you have probably already heard the album. If you’re not, then give it a shot and give it a chance it might not be an easy listen first time around. But it is very fair to say that Bowie still has it!
Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbot – O2 Academy, Sheffield Friday 30th October 2015 November 18, 2015
My oh my have I been tardy on completing my recent reviews! Anyway a few weeks ago I accompanied the beautiful Catwoman (a.k.a. my wonderful wife Catherine) to see Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott at the O2 Academy in Sheffield. As singers they are both extremely talented and Mr Heaton still has a knack for writing some superb and timeless songs. The band was also on top form.
There were some excellent performances from their new album including “Man Is The Biggest Bitch” and a rousing, foot stomping take on the excellent “Heatongrad”. Their performance of “DIY” from their previous had the whole place bouncing. Obviously there were the obligatory Beautiful South songs, my favourite of these was “Rotterdam”. The Housemartins back catalogue also made a few appearances with “Fun Fun Fun” and “Happy Hour” proving both their longevity and greatness. But perhaps for me the highlight of the night was “Caravan Of Love” absolutely sublime!
If you have never seen Heaton and Abbott live then I suggest you get yourself a ticket for their next gig near you, even if you have to sell your Grandma’s commode and your Granddad’s stair lift. You will not be disappointed even if your grandparents are disappointed in you!
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Camp and Furnace, Liverpool – Tuesday 27th October 2015 November 7, 2015
On Tuesday 27th October I went to see perhaps Canada’s finest underground band; Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Camp and Furnace in Liverpool as part of Liverpool Music Week. More of GY!BY later, but first let me mention the venue. Camp and Furnace is a cavernous yet magnificent place for rock gigs. I am sure that I will return sometime.
The British support band are called the Dead Rat Orchestra. If I were to say Beardy Folk from the Middle Ages that could describe both the band and the band members. They play old songs, and I am talking circa 17th century here, back-dropped by loud, fuzzy, sonic electronica. It really should not work, but it does and in a great way too. Having listened to them on-line and a couple of their CDs that I purchased on the night I believe that they are a better live band than they are a recording band. However that is not to say that their recorded output doesn’t cut the mustard, because it clearly does. If you get the chance to see them then you really should, I somehow doubt that you’ll be disappointed. The Dead Rat Orchestra are neither dead nor are they rats. But they are a bloody good band.
As for the headliners Godspeed You! Black Emperor how can you not love that name? In my opinion possibly one of the best named bands of the last twenty or so years. I referred to them earlier as an underground band and I guess you could say perhaps more of a cult band. They have a fiercely loyal following, many of whom were there at Camp and Furnace. A few people who I spoke to on the night had been to see the band on many occasions. They are an instrumental band, so if you’re looking for fun sing-along ditties they’re not for you. But the sound they make is something special. It moves you both physically and emotionally. The film loops that back drop the stage for every tune are incredibly clever and fit the music perfectly. I don’t know if the band have ever produced a film soundtrack but I believe they could create a masterful atmospheric background to a superior horror movie. I will definitely see them again and I recommend that you do too. Unless of course you’re a Justin Bieber fan; in which case how did you end up here at this blog!
