21st-century punk is alive and well and being delivered hard by North Carolina’s Totally Slow on their epic new single “Pistol Whip”. It opens with a tsunami of mighty riffs and just sweats punk ethos and sound. The vocals are laconic and reminiscent of late 70s classic UK punk. The lyrics are rather special too, I particularly love the lines “You are not an exorcist, Cryptic pre-contortionist. So do your best. Pistol whipped“. Anyone who can use the words contortionist and exorcist in a song with such style will always get my vote! Their fourth album ‘The Darkness Intercepts’ will be out later this month. Based on the evidence of “Pistol Whip” it will be immense!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
The Apocalypse Disco are back and steering the good ship apocalypse directly at the evil and bad shit going down in the world. Playing “Surrender” at full volume in the face of the four horsemen of the apocalypse will cause them and their steeds to explode by being walloped with rave guns and glow stick grenades. I don’t really believe the Apocalypse Disco are surrendering, I think they are taking their rather spiffing music on a crusade to draw people away from a potential forthcoming dystopian nightmare. “Surrender” is a Prodigy-fuelled slab of explosive dance music with elements of glam and a sprinkling of Prince. The video is rather stunning too! Get on board the good ship Apocalypse Disco now! You can catch them headlining at the Fulford Arms in York on April 5th, be there or be a plane figure with four equal straight sides and four right angles!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Moving Mirrors do heartbreak in style with the new single “Never Going Back Now”. At times it is reflective of classic period Saint Etienne with instrumentation akin to Gene at their most emotional. The bass is almost hypnotic and the guitar weaves around the vocal and melody with a skill that not many players have, Christo McCracken clearly has a bit of Bernard Butler about him. Sophie Lentle’s voice and overall vocal delivery are heavenly and enigmatically ethereal. I love this song and can see it soundtracking lazy, thoughtful days in the garden in summer!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Swedish post-punkers Then Comes Silence have released a rather magnificent new single “Ride Or Die”. I love the contrast in the song, it is kind of exuberant happy goth! If a car was built in a Sisters Of Mercy style with an engine constructed from parts taken from industrial period Depeche Mode and if it also had Trent Reznor at the wheel it might sound like “Ride Or Die”. The hooks and riffs are close to perfect, this is a great single and makes me very excited for their album ‘Trickery’ due out April 5th on Metropolis Records. Wayne Hussey had this to say about the band “Then Comes Silence are everything a band should be – good tunes, good playing and singing, and good looking. Their songs are earworms, once heard difficult to forget, as catchy as gonorrhea but far better for your health“. Absolutely no point in arguing with Wayne on that, he is 100% spot-on, particularly on the health point!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
The Sohodolls are back, not just with a bang, bang, bang, bang but with a multi-megaton explosion of a single. This is how Kylie might have sounded if she had taken a more punky, edgier direction. Maya Von Doll wrote the song when she was in a really bad place in her life and it seemed like her musical dreams were completely over. Apparently, the track’s themes explore the feeling of your life slipping away and thinking the only place you’ll find excitement is in your daydreams. I can relate to that, can you? I am reliably informed that “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car” one of Billy Ocean’s 80s hits is also an inspiration behind the song. Other than the occasional lyrical similarity, that is not obvious. Whatever the influences it is a stunning track that packs many genre punches (punk, pop, rock, electronic, and maybe dance). The riffs and hooks are simply sublime. I love this tune and the Sohodolls! I hope we are due a new album from them soon.
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Peaceful Protest is a rather ace punk band from Poland. Their single “Come On” arrived into the world at the end of last year and I finally heard it today. There is a lot of pop-punk influence and some neat metal-ish riffs. This song makes you move and even if you tried not to sing along to the chorus you would fail! An almost perfect punky song with great pop stylings. How did I hear it? Well, they posted a link to their page on FaceBook with the smart and witty comment, “Punk band from Poland. If you like our page we promise not to emigrate to England looking for work.” Guys even if you don’t want to emigrate here at least come over and play some gigs!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Sunday nights are usually fun at the Fulford Arms and the visit of Rob Heron and the Tea Pad Orchestra on 25th February maintained that magic. This was another excellent show put together by Joe Coates of Please Please You. There was only one support act and it was the ever-wonderful Dan Lucas a.k.a. the Barry White of Country (that title comes courtesy of Ginger Wildheart!). Tonight Mr Lucas was performing using his esteemed title Boss Caine, this time as the Boss Caine Trio. The mighty York troubadour was aided and abetted by Kieran on violin and Jon on harmonica. It was a wonderful set with songs that touch on every emotion on the emotional spectrum and feed your soul as well. There were plenty of highlights, but my particular highs were “Ghosts And Drunks”, “Slave To the Song” and one of my favourite Boss Caine tunes, “Lonesome Crow”. But above all of those is the sublime and heavenly “Truck Stop Jukebox”
Next, it was time for the headliners Rob Heron and the Tea Pad Orchestra. How the hell have I never seen this lot before? Rob and the boys are a party band for the times when you don’t even know that you need a party. This is proper honky tonk, country, bluegrass, blues, and very early rock ‘n’ roll styles. There are plenty of excellent originals from this band, but the choice of covers perfectly fits them and the current times. Notably “Bank Failures” a song from 1931 (the year that my Dad was born) and recorded at the time by the delightfully named Bob Ferguson and his Scalawaggers. Rob Heron and his band are obscenely talented. If any period drama from the late 1940s or early 1950s in the USA needed an authentic sounding band for their production they should look no further than Rob Heron and the Tea Pad Orchestra. I bloody love “Hangover Blues” and that is something that Mr Heron might have suffered the following day after the on-stage tequila consumption. My high spot of the night was “The Horse That You Rode In On”. If you get the chance, go and see this band, you will not be disappointed and you will leave the gig with a smile. The band is recording a new album soon with Jerry Casino in an analog studio in Berlin. You can help to make that happen by contributing to their crowd funder, click here to add some cash!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Tanya Nolan is a new artist to me, but what a talent! Her new single, “Honey”, is a laid-back, suggestive, soft-funk masterpiece. It is sensual and sexual in a way that old school tracks like the Isley Brothers’ “Between The Sheets”, the Ohio Player’s “Honey” (same title, different song), and Millie Jackson’s slower tracks were. It suggestively uses food a little like Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit” did. Tanya’s vocals are full of sexual energy and that is even more apparent in the gorgeous and sultry video. Lyrically it is sometimes subtly suggestive and other times full-on with seductive prose. She mentions watermelon sugar high, and thanks to Harry Styles’ hit of that name, I think we all know that refers to the female orgasm, right? The line “I Want A Love That’s Sweeter Than Sugar! Let Me Be Your Candy Girl” is the one that reminds me most of Mtume. Tanya has made the Billboard charts in the US a few times now and “Honey” ought to do the same. If it doesn’t, then frankly there is no justice in this world.
She is from Texas and as a child she really loved music, particularly Prince, Michael Jackson, and many others. Tanya has been featured in various media outlets including SiriusXM, Pandora, Platinum Top 20 Countdown with BJ Stone, FOX Affiliates, NBC Affiliates, ABC News, iOneDigital, Madamenoire, and many more. Now she has been featured on With Just A Hint Of Mayhem too (move over Fox, ABC, NBC, and others)! Tanya resides in Galveston and is the brilliant mind behind a diverse portfolio of successful businesses in Galveston and Houston. She owns the largest childcare facility in the state of Texas, Aww Better Child Care. She also owns and oversees multiple rental properties and employs over 200 employees and contractors. She is also the owner of ArtsessionZ, one of the first female-owned record labels. Now with her music gaining well-deserved attention, I believe the world may definitely be her oyster!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
This was the third Basement Sessions event put on by Navigators Art and Performance and the first that I was able to get to. Thanks to flooding and all sorts of acts of god it has moved around a bit and original headliners PERCY were unable to play, but they were represented (more of that later). It was a mix of music, poetry, and comedy which meant the thrilling prospect of six different acts. Up first was young comedian Will Glitch. He seemed very nervous but at times in his short set, he was splendiferously funny. The first music of the night was from the duo the Jammingtons Experience. They are very much “anti-rock stars” and all the better because of that. I saw them as a folk version of John Cooper Clarke with some fabulously sharp lyrics and ironic delivery. “Lost It” reminded me of the Moldy Peaches but with a much more British slant. The highlight for me was “Psychic Fight”. I spoke with the bass player later in the evening and he said that no one had written about him before, I am honoured to break that duck! Next, it was the turn of Mexican-born and UK-based poet Danae. I loved the angry poem based on Ageus and the story of the slaying of the minotaur and relating that to relationships with her father. Her second poem, “Box Of Tea” was weird, wacky, wonderful, and witty.
The New Solar Drones were the next band on the intimate Basement Stage at City Screen. The first song was a bit like Godspeed You! Black Emperor backing a 1969 period David Bowie. “This Hollywood Love” sounded at times as if Brian Molko had been hit with a music epiphany while listening to Neil Diamond. Is there another band like the New Solar Drones? perhaps not! Andy Wiles from PERCY (I told you they would get another mention) did a great job guesting on bass for the night. The instrumentation on the final song was Abbey Road album Beatlesque. Sadly there were no actual drones, maybe because they are solar-powered and it was dark, or perhaps the ceiling was too low. But this was a fantastic set even without those small remote-controlled flying robot things! Will Glitch made his second appearance of the evening and seemed just as nervous but definitely funnier in a very alt.comedy kind of way.
Jazz often gets a bad name and can be the butt of many music-related jokes, but acts like the Neo Borgia Trio smash that myth into tiny pieces. This was jazz beamed in from another dimension. They opened with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “The Immigrant Song”. Fucking hell that was good, such a huge sound with just drums, guitar, and saxophone. They are self-confessed jazz punk in style but in their cover of MF Doom’s “Raid” they told us they added hip hop into that mix and they did it perfectly. But this is not just about breaking down barriers around jazz. The three of them are also highly skilled in applying their talents to classic jazz. The cover of Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” was phenomenal and the drum solo gave it something extra special, turning it from a plain old caravan into a Winnebago from space! The Neo Borgia Trio are three musicians who are absolutely on fire. They closed their set with a monumentally magnificent cover of a Rage Against The Machine track. Poet Danae returned for her second appearance afterwards and “The Poem About The Tree” was incredibly powerful. I think that she said it was based on some of Dostoyevsky’s work.
The night closed with Fat Spatula, a band I had seen and loved before. They opened like punkier, feedback-fuelled Talking Heads and followed that with a sound akin to Vampire Weekend on Lemmy Kilminster levels of speed. “Jesus In My Bed” now that really is a fucking awesome song. Sometimes they sound like the 21st-century bastard sons of Jonathan Richman. Fat Spatula combines a really funky sound, perhaps aided by a five-string bass, with classic punk riffs and delivery. Their music is difficult to stay still too, but this was a seated gig so while dancing was difficult there was plenty of head bobbing, foot tapping, and chair movement going on. “Lot Lizard” is pure full-octane punk….. and some! Fat Spatula are beyond doubt one of the best live bands on the scene right now. Bring on Basement Sessions #4 please!
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
Natasha Khan, best known as Bat For Lashes, is perhaps one of the most talented music artists and has just released a new single, “The Dream Of Delphi.” The song is the title track of her upcoming studio album (her sixth) which will be released at the end of May. It is brooding, ethereal, captivating, spellbinding, and beneath all that, it still has the bare-faced audacity to make you feel happy. The drone-like sound drives into your mind like an unwelcome, insidious guest, but when it buries itself deeper you realise that you probably always wanted its beauty in your head forever. Her voice simply soars in a heavenward trajectory. In the past, she has been compared to maverick music artists like Bjork and Kate Bush. For me, on this track, she reaches the same level as both of those icons.
If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
