PHOTOCREDIT – THE PIECE HALL HALIFAX (SOCIAL MEDIA)
Those wonderful folks at The Modern Record asked me to review Weezer at the Piece Hall in Halifax last Monday and that was an opportunity I did not intend to miss. It came with two review tickets so I was there with my good buddy Baz. We wrote the review together, check it out on the Modern Record site by clicking here.
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This was another gig pulled together by music promoter extraordinaire, Simon P of Northern Radar and featured some of my favourite bands, notably headliners Lost Trends, but more of them later as I need to talk about the rather stunning support acts. First up it was Saliva Birds. If you are addicted to class A garage rock then this bunch will make you overdose on it. They have some great songs and they are one hell of a tight band. The backdrop visuals were weird, wonky and wonderful and featured monstrous impossible creatures and rather strangely Bjorn Borg! This was the first time I have seen them live and I am quite excited for the release of their new single now.
Next up it was the incomparable Apocalypse Disco. The duo are much louder and more spiritual than the Prodigy. From the opening bars of opener “Welcome To The Disco” the crowd were all ready to sign up to be members of the Apocalypse Disco cult! Keyboard and laptop maestro Ian bashes out more beats than an army could manage while front man Robin works the crowd wonderfully with his energy and madly, manic magnificent performance. There were many stand outs, particularly “Alive”, “Surrender” and “The Bridge”. This was the second time I have seen them live and it won’t be the last. In fact I will be seeing them again on 11th July!
Finally it was time to see the mighty Lost Trends. When I first saw the band back in 2018 they were seen as a dance influenced indie band. Now they have grown into something that is so much more. This was easily the most powerful performance I have seen from them. Recent singles “Antelope” and “Take Down” are masterful rock songs. Lost Trends classic “DJ” still raises the roof and the new hip hop influenced track is ace. Their progress in the eight years since I first came into contact with them is colossal. Imagine how the Who went from a relatively basic 60s R & B band into a humongous rock behemoth. It feels like Lost Trends have the potential to be on a similar trajectory! This was another great night from Northern Radar!
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I repeat my humblest of apologies to the creators of the iconic NOW music compilation series of tri-annual releases. Their compilations began in 1983. I posted and compiled the first WOW That’s What I Call Mayhem collection back in March 2024. Volumes 2, 3 and 4 followed in August and September. Volume 5 was was issued in January this year with Volume 6 appearing very soon after in February! So after a few months wait you must be ready for volume 7, right? I certainly hope so, because here it is! This includes the third 20 singles we reviewed in 2025 in another wonderfully maniacal eclectic playlist for your listening pleasure! With 76 minutes of music, click the Spotify link below and lose yourself in the music!
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Back in January I reviewed the rather excellent album from uber talented LA based artist Party Nails. That record remains a contender for Mayhem’s album of the year 2025. Now I have had the utmost pleasure in getting to interview Party Nails. She is not only a talented musician she is also a great raconteur. Click here to take a listen. While you are listening take a look at her great merch!
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Here is the Mayhem chart for May 2025, rather late (just like last month) I know, but better late than never right? Regular readers know the chart is based on my streaming listening habits. These are gathered over the last month by obscurify.com. My taste in music remains 99% more obscure than the rest of the UK! The chart remains contemporary-ish (but if a classic artist releases something new they might feature in the chart). However, last month’s top three “Legacy” artists were David Bowie, the Sweet and the Wombles! What? The Wombles I hear you say. Well yes I interacted with the legendary Mike Batt via his autobiography and an interview. Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to for March and they are Ace Hansel Jr, Dead Rat Society and Kindelan. Bowie, Dead Rat Society and Kindelan have retained their positions from last month.
Dead Rat Society are the top artist for May up from number four in April. Dead Rat Society are one of four acts that remain in the artist chart from last month, along with Millie Manders and the Shutup, Lexi Jones and Greentea Peng. Four artists feature in both the artist chart and the song chart; Dead Rat Society (#1 Artist, #1 and #5 Song), Sparks (#2 Artist and #2 Song), Getdown Services (#3 Artist, #3 Song) and Bruce Springsteen #6 Artist, #4 Song). Robbie Williams makes his first ever appearance in the Mayhem Chart at number 7 in the artist chart. Yes I am now finally a fan! So without further ado here are those charts in full! Click on the Spotify link below to listen to the famous (or infamous) five! Twenty one minutes of great music!
Mayhem Artist Chart May 2025
1 Dead Rat Society 2 Sparks 3 Getdown Services 4 Greentea Peng 5 Ace Hansel Jr. 6 Bruce Springsteen 7 Robbie Williams 8 Millie Manders and the Shutup 9 Kindelan 10 Lexi Jones
Mayhem Song Chart May 2025
1 Come With Me On A Spaceship – Dead Rat Society 2 A Little Bit Of Light Banter – Sparks 3 Chrysalis – Getdown Services 4 Land Of Hope And Dreams (Live In Manchester) – Bruce Springsteen 5 The Night – Dead Rat Society
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Last month I reviewed “Worst Trimester” and that was my first experience listening to LA/ Brighton duo peach|melba. In case you didn’t read that piece let me recap a little. They write, record and mix everything themselves. The band have said “We swear on your mother’s life to release a new song every six weeks until world peace has been fully achieved“. So if you want world peace then get some peach|melba in your life. The next scheduled peach|melba releases are; “Dykes” July 21st, “Have A Latte” September 1st and “Sound Of Violence” October 13th.
“Fell In Love With Godx (She Was Really Fit)” is a bass heavy punky song with song great funky drummer vibes. It is hard core lo-fi. It sounds like something the White Stripes might have written for their favourite band and if Jack White listened just once then peach|melba would be his new favourite band. The lyrics are wry, sardonic, sarcastic and wonderful. I guess the words kind of deal with procreation, like “Sleep with your friends for a better selection, Sleep with your friends for a better connection. Sleep with your friends for a better conception, Sleep with your friends for happier children“. The new single comes with a ‘Logic Glitch Remix’ which is as scary as fuck, don’t listen to the remix alone in a darkened room with your headphones on. I did and it scrambled my brain, where the fuck is my strait jacket and why are the walls in this room padded! I loved “Worst Trimester” and “Fell In Love With Godx (She Was Really Fit)” is even better. I am close to drooling for next months release now.
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We are huge fans of HerOrangeCoat here at Mayhem Towers, so we are always excited when she releases new material. She has just released a new single, “Daytime TV” and it is darkly gorgeous. A tale of losing your job just before Christmas and getting drawn into shitty daytime TV and the whole range of feelings that align with that kind of feeling of loss. The emotion is powerful and her voice is perfect, like a 21st century folky Karen Carpenter. The harmonies, which I think are multitracked, are exquisite and the finely plucked mandolin brings everything together. What I love about HerOrangeCoat is that she is never afraid to use the silence. You need to listen to this song NOW!
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Lloren last appeared on the pages of With Just A Hint Of Mayhem when we reviewed her single “Mad Woman” last September. Back then I sensed an element of the dark side of Lana del Ray in her music. That is still there with new single “Like I Need”. But this time there is a Sophie B Hawkins vibe and Taylor Swift, modern country pop feel. The track is underpinned by a pulsing, bassy synth riff which drives it as the perfect vehicle for Lloren’s impassioned soaring vocals. This is a truly fabulous song and I love it!
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SUNBENDR from San Diego are what might be called a super group with Chris Cote (Kut U UP) on bass and vocals, Brandon Parkhurst (Kut U UP and Yovee) on guitar and Frank Dixon (Nancy and Sister Juanita) on drums. The trio are augmented on this track with backing vocals from George Perks (Mogwai and Doves) and Benjamin Ward. Just to add to the stellar cast layers of dynamic cinematic synth are applied by Tom DeLonge. The song was recorded at DeLonge’s home studio in March of this year.
Sonically it rocks and rolls like a song that has been in your head all your life. The drumming is huge and the riffs hit you hard. Vocally I was reminded of Billy Corgan and also Jordan Bell (Avalanche Party). The tune is laden with great hooks and deserves to be a huge hit. The hooray for the B-sides lyric hook is pop rock perfection.
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Imagine, if you will, a mad professors laboratory in the Stygian darkness of deepest Transylvania. Then imagine that someone has captured the creative brilliance of Talking Heads, added the essence of My Chemical Romance and sprinkled that with some Mark E Smith. Are you picturing it yet? You are? Well good, but now you no longer have to use the window of your imagination. Out of that laboratory has emerged the stunning new single from Erotic Secrets Of Pompeii, “Bring Me Back From The Black Beyond”. It is their best yet and it gets better with every listen. In their own words the Erotic Secrets of Pompeii are an apocalyptic art rock band from Bristol. Frankly I think they have injected their songs with a tiny dose of the apocalypse in the name of art.
The song is underpinned by a dark disturbing synth riff and Thomas Hawtin’s vocals are on the verge of madness, but seemed to be reigned in for now. Lyrically I believe it describes a journey into some kind of purgatory and a desire to be able to bring someone back from that bad place. There are so many great lines, I particularly love “Life holds no meaning here in the realm of death. As love holds no meaning in the realm of hate”. The video, directed by Saul Knight, is a wonderfully weird fun fest and I love it! I was going to add that this is a band made for the 21st century, but fuck that, this is a band made for the 22nd century! Inject the Erotic Secrets Of Pompeii into your veins right now!
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