With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

‘Welcome To The Disco’ EP – The Apocalypse Disco January 18, 2025

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:28 pm
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The Apocalypse Disco just released their debut EP ‘Welcome To The Disco’. If you need something to soundtrack the impending apocalypse (thanks America), then this is it! The EP kicks off with “Revelation”. It has biblical levels of keys from Ian and an end of world impassioned vocal from Robin. Believe me, if you follow my advice you will be dancing when the world ends. The second song is the title track of the EP. The band’s bio claims that they make Apocalyptic Discotechno and based on this track that is 100% true. It features superbly crisp production. Neil Mclellan, who has worked on some great albums, produced this track. He was the engineer on the Prodigy’s ‘Fat Of The Land’. This track is the perfect tune to lead us into a pre-armageddon party and it will definitely feature on my end of the world playlist. If this is the last track you ever hear, then trust me, you have left this mortal coil on a good note! But there are more fine tracks on the EP. Next it is previous single “Alive” which has a highly hopeful chorus which is impossible not to sing along to. “Alive” is simply a joyous slice of electro and it makes me want to stay alive. The line “God loves a sinner, thank fuck for that” is a perfect line in such a great dance track. Dance to it and tell the four horsemen of the apocalypse to fuck right off!

“Army” has an excellent marching beat with what sounds like foot soldiers marching at the start. The last time that sound was heard in a great tune was probably back in 1977 when the Sex Pistols released “Holidays In The Sun”. This is another Prodigy style dance workout, but this one leans toward the border with the Land of Chill. But the dark undertones and zombieish lyrics take it up a few hundred notches. Right now “Thunder” is my favourite track on the EP, but that might be different tomorrow. Imagine the Prodigy joining forces with the Chemical Brothers and going in a kind of glam rock direction and utilising David Bowie’s “secret” band from the ‘Earthling’ tour, the Tao Jones Index, well that is what “Thunder” sounds like to me. But it is not just homage and definitely not a facsimile, it is banging, beat-laden, and bloody bonkers. Right up my street, in fact. Play this track (or in fact anything on the EP and you will have no choice but to shake your booty and dance like nobody is watching! The streaming version of the EP closes with “The Bridge” which gives a stylish nod to Erasure in its sublime hook. The way the keys build up the hopeful but explosive tension is a joy to experience.

I am the lucky owner of the CD version of the ‘Welcome To The Disco’ EP and that means I have an extra secret track. It is a cover of a song called “Art Of Dying” which was written and originally recorded by a little know scouse musician who was in a beat group in the 60s. I think his name was Hari Georgeson! If the second reign of Trump is the herald of the apocalypse, then bow to your inner illegal rave soul, grab your glowsticks, and smash it until the end of the world with the ‘Welcome To The Disco’ EP as your soundtrack!

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“Manhattan” – Pennine Suite

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 8:17 pm
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Photo by Tom Sunderland

The last time I saw the magnificent Pennine Suite play live was in June last year at the Fulford Arms. They played some new tracks that night and one of those was “Manhattan”. A song from a York band that was inspired by New York. What I said about it then was “The new track “Manhattan” is thunderously good and needs to be a single, RIGHT NOW! Harry’s guitar was magnificent on this track and the power and drive from the mighty rhythm section of Moses and Louis is a close to perfect as you could get!” Well whether they listened to me or not I really don’t know. But the song was released as a single towards the end of 2024. (Yes I am a bit late with it, but the song is too good to ignore!) It has a wonderfully crisp production with Nick’s voice oozing emotion and sounding very fresh. This is indeed a great live banger but it sure works as a great single too. The rhythm section is at beast levels, Harry’s guitar lines intertwine with some fine keys from Louise. The harmonies, hooks and riffs work with each other like a well serviced formula 1 engine. The result is a near perfect slab of first class pop rock from a band that have the potential to enter the music world’s equivalent of Formula 1 competitions and join the big league.

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On The Ropes – Fulford Arms, York – Wednesday 15th January 2025

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 6:41 pm
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For my second gig of 2025 I was back at the Fulford Arms in York. This time with my good mate Baz. This was a charity gig with proceeds going to the York Food Bank and like everyone there I was more than happy to contribute. York’s purveyors of gargantuan metal sounds, Theseus, kicked off proceedings. This was the fourth time I have seen them. They made it to the final of last years Battle of the Bands contest at this very venue. I suspect that had the Vikings remained in York hundreds of years ago then this is the kind of music they would have produced. I don’t know if they are descendants of Vikings, but Theseus came, they saw and they fucking conquered! Their energy levels were off the scale. The set was full on, albeit short. But it was classy metal banger after classy metal banger. Highlights for me were “Allergy” and Consume”. What a barnstorming set! The headbanging and moshing was magnificent. I think I had a high degree of hair envy.

Next up it was Manchester pop punk rapscallions Stay Safe. They readily admitted that they were a little scared to be following Theseus on stage. I think I would feel the same! However Stay Safe do have a tiny injection of metal in some of their songs. They have some great tunes, particularly “Crash And Burn” and “Bombshell”. The crowd loved them. Their cover of Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” was ace. My only criticism is that it sounded like the drums were a little too loud and occasionally drowned out the rest of the band.

Finally York pop punksters On The Ropes arrived on stage. They have been around a while, they formed in 2012. They broke up in 2019 and after a hiatus they reformed in 2023. The between song banter was supremely good dry, laconic Yorkshire wit. They have some great songs in their canon. There is even one about going on holiday in Wales, which was rather spiffing! But the highlight for me was “The Machinist”. Johnny and the boys were on fire and the crowd loved them. They are not copyists of old school pop punk they take the sound to new levels. Overall this was a great night and on reflection I reckon Theseus just about took the points. But more importantly money was raised for a great cause, the York Food Bank! If you have any spare money and can afford to donate even a little bit click here.

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“Drowning The Killer” – Kindelan

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 5:21 pm
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Whenever Kindelan releases something new it automatically goes to the top of my listening pile. That is exactly where Laura’s new song “Drowning The Killer” has been for the past two weeks. I have listened to it a lot and once again Kindelan continues the getting better with each release run. This is, on the surface, a chilled piece of perfect modern jazz/ R & B. But beneath the surface lurks and obsidian darkness. This takes it from chilled to chilling but whichever angle you listen to it with it is a stunningly beautiful song. It evokes the ghost of Jeff Buckley and would sit perfectly alongside some of the best songs from the Howl and the Hum.

Picture by Mon Levčenkovaitė

The track was self-produced by Laura Kindelan and co-written with her longtime friend Olivia Greenlees. It was mixed by close collaborator Ed Allen and mastered by Natalie Bibby (AIR Studios). Meanwhile
the accompanying artwork, was captured by Mon Levčenkovaitė, with lettering by Elettr. Kindelan said this of the song “This song began with the enticing, yet ominous chord progression, which then became the backdrop for our story that unfolded line by line. We ended up writing a tale of two people, who
are just as bad for one another—so bad, in fact, that they’re perfect for each other.” What a great way to start the year. This is already a contender for my best songs of the year list. I am definitely up for more of this!

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“Too Much Ain’t Enough” – Travoltas January 16, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 10:49 pm
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“Too Much Ain’t Enough” is the new release from Travoltas and it is a towering mix of mountainous riffs, punk rock energy, eighties hair rock guitars and melodies and harmonies that Brian Wilson might kill for! This bunch are from the Netherlands and have been around since 1990. Since 19-fucking-90, how the fuck have I not heard of them until now? I will be spending the weekend listening to their vast back catalogue! The new track was produced and mixed by frontman Perry Leenhouts at Point Break Sound in San Diego and recorded both there and at Mick’s (Michel Meeuwissen guitarist) Basement in the Netherlands. This is such a fun song and one I will probably playing again and again throughout 2025. And you gotta love that action movie style picture on the cover, right?

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Mayhem’s Before They Were Famous #9 – Simon Le Bon January 15, 2025

Filed under: Before They Were Famous — justwilliam1959 @ 11:15 pm
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Before he became a mega successful front man for Duran Duran, Simon Le Bon was a child actor. He appeared in a Persil TV advert in the UK. Maybe the band should have cashed in on that and changed some of their song titles. How about “Persil Earth”, “Is There Something I Should Wash”, “Hungry Like The Wash”, “The Wash Boys”, “A Wash To A Kill” or “Ordinary Wash”.

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On This Day The Dog With No Name Helped Percy Plant And The Boys Into The Chart!

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 5:07 pm
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On January 15th 1972 Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” made its debut on the US singles chart. It was released in December 1971 and eventually reached number 15. The band famously never released singles, certainly not in the UK anyway. Not including promotional singles this was the band’s fourth single. The song’s title refers to a nameless, black Labrador retriever. This dog wandered around the Headley Grange studios during recording. The previous singles were “Good Times, Bad Times” and “Whole Lotta Love” both released in 1969. The latter reached number 4 in the US singles chart. This was their highest placing in the US singles chart. It made it to the top of the pile in Australia, Denmark and Germany. Then came “Immigrant Song” in 1970. All of these releases made it into the lower reaches of the UK chart on import sales.

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“Come With Me On A Spaceship” – Dead Rat Society January 14, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 10:49 pm
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I have not heard of this band before but fuck this new single is wonderfully out there. There are some influences from the likes of Soft Play. Aside from those influences, this bunch are out on their own. I think we should all get on their spaceship and zoom to Planet Dead Rat! Lyrically it is pertinent and amusing. I particularly love “Have you tried looking outside?..everything is really Fucked“. This is electro punk garage hiphop and that is just for starters. They also incorporate some wonderful voice samples. Well they may not be samples, but either way they work. Ed from the band said this of the track “The song is mainly about inviting someone to let loose, pull away from the drudgery of modern life and relax for a bit. Away from all the lame shit. Escapism through and through by any means necessary!” You are an absolute dipshit if you listen to this and don’t rush onto Dead Rat Society’s spaceship. If you don’t then you are a brainless fuckwit or most probably you are Trump’s first lady, Elonia Muskrat!

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Play It Again Mayhem – “The Night” – Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons

Filed under: Play It Again Mayhem — justwilliam1959 @ 10:03 pm
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Here comes the 33rd track in the Play It Again Mayhem series. This time it is the turn of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons with “The Night”. This is worth it just for the incredible bass lines, which I believe were played by Joe Long. It was originally released in 1972 on a Motown offshoot label, MoWest. It failed to chart initially. Later it became a popular track on the northern soul circuit in the UK, which led to a successful UK re-release in 1975. This time it reached number 7 on the UK singles Chart. The song was included on the groups only MoWest album, ‘Chameleon’. It has been covered by Lene Lovich (1979), by Soft Cell (2002) and Klaxons (2007). Pulp have played the song live. Edinburgh Gin used the song to soundtrack a TV advertising campaign in 2019 and 2020.

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Pedestrian – Fulford Arms, York – Friday 10th January 2025 January 13, 2025

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:22 pm
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Four bands in one night is how I kicked off my gig journey for 2025. All at the fabulous Fulford Arms and promoted by Northern Radar. Simon P, head honcho of Northern Radar, has never let me down with his choice of bands. Would tonight be that moment? Read on to find out dear reader. The evening kicked off with the Unnamed Band. It’s not that they don’t have a name, the Unnamed Band is their actual name, genius! They played mostly covers, but they played them damned well. The selection of covers was gloriously eclectic. It ranged from Chuck Berry to the Killers. They also included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kaiser Chiefs, the Fratellis, and Queen along the way. The band’s original songs are good, but probably need a bit of polishing. Arthur Kay is a great frontman and I believe that this bunch have potential.

Second on stage were Sweeping Statement. I would describe their sound as Post Punk Prog. I suspect that if you used Artificial Intelligence to create a band that mixed largely unrelated genres and encouraged moshing it might well deliver Sweeping Statement. At one point I thought that this band were very good but probably wouldn’t set the world on fire. Then they did a Pixies cover and an original called “Working Man”. Those two blew me away! They also get a bunch of extra points from me for hating Reform UK and GB News. Check them out!

The penultimate band was Birdlands. I reviewed their debut album ‘Season Of Loss’ back in October. I love that album and I have an apology to make to the band. Due to a clerical error it never made it onto Mayhem’s Top 20 albums of 2024. John Peel would have loved Birdlands. They are very much post, post, post, post punk with an added pinch of funk, punk and jazz. The band were on fire. At times, their sound reminded me of David Bowie’s touring band from 1978’s Isolar 2 tour. Frontman Billie’s vocals were a little Bowieesque at times too. Evoking the Bowie of Tin Machine and ‘1: Outside’. Billie’s angular, motorik, Ian Curtis style dancing was a sight to behold. This was an almost perfect set. What would have moved it to absolute perfection? More time! Apparently they only rehearsed once for this show, now that is fucking awesome!

Finally it was time for the headliners, Pedestrian. They might be called Pedestrian but you could never describe their music or performance as such. They absolutely fucking smashed it with their delicious funky, angular art rock sounds. Flo’s vocals are truly ‘out there’ in a simply perfect way. Her performance was powered by some kind of perpetual motion. They have been a band for just over a year and this was, surprisingly, their first headline show. One of their songs gave birth to a mosh conga, I kid you not! Their is a dark funk vibe to some of their songs, particularly the slower numbers, and I love this. There was also some classy threads of Lene Lovich in Flo’s performance too. The cover of the Beatles “She Loves You” was great. Did they perform that one for Battle Of The Bands at the Fully last year? “What’s In The Box” and “Rush Hour” were two massive highlights in an awesome set. The latter turned the funk up to 11. Personally I would not have fancied following Birdlands onto the stage, but Pedestrian blew the fucking roof off. In a sad footnote Pedestrian will be bowing out as a band. (is that why the grim reaper style character was the centrepiece of the gig poster?) This was their penultimate gig. But I suspect that the individual members will go on to new musical projects. I certainly hope so!

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