With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

On This Day Pussy Riot Made A Stand! February 21, 2024

Filed under: Observation,On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 11:07 pm
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On February 21st, 2012, the Russian band Pussy Riot put on and videoed a performance on the soleas (an extension of the sanctuary platform in an Eastern Orthodox temple or church building) of the Cathedral Of Christ The Saviour in Moscow. The video of the performance was called “Punk Prayer – Mother of God, Chase Putin Away!”. Sadly vile dictator Putin is still in place. The band said their protest was directed at the Orthodox Church leader’s support for Putin during his election campaign. After a very brief performance, the almost deserted cathedral was raided and members of Pussy Riot were arrested. A few weeks later three of the band were charged with hooliganism. They remained in custody until their trial in July. They were convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” (seriously? WTAF!), and each was sentenced to two years imprisonment. One of the band was given a suspended sentence and the other two remained in jail until December 2013. Their imprisonment drew support from many human rights organisations including Amnesty International. Members of the band are still bravely and defiantly active, showing support for the cause of the assassinated political prisoner Alexei Navalny earlier this week.

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“Primetime Television” – The Corsairs

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:58 pm
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They might be one of York’s youngest bands, but the Corsairs’ music has a mystical maturity that enables them to draw on the great spirits of British rock. Their new release is the punchy, power-packed, persistent, poppy platter “that is called “Primetime Television.” It has shades of the Arctic Monkeys, a hint of the Kooks, and the ghost of Traffic. At the start, the bass and organ style keys combination is reminiscent of the late period of the jam. The hooks and chorus are the best yet, and the mid-song instrumental breakdown is a real psych-out that evokes Television (no pun intended!). This is exactly what a great pop-rock song should sound like. This band will go on to even better things, get into them now so that you can say you were there at the start of something special!

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‘Honky Tonk Ain’t Noise Pollution’ – Ellis Bullard February 20, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:44 pm
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Occasionally I love a bit of honky tonk, bluegrass country music, and Austin, Texas-based and Louisiana-born Ellis Bullard has delivered a great album of just that! Full of authentic country songs that tell stories of life. The obvious influences are probably Merle Haggard and Conway Twitty, but Bullard is most definitely his own man! His voice is warm and you feel like he is singing those songs directly to you. The album came out a few days ago and is called ‘Honky Tonk Ain’t Noise Pollution’ and his take on honky tonk is most definitely not pollution. Speaking about the album Ellis said “This album is everything to me. It’s over 10 years of winning and losing along the way. This record is blood sweat and tears. No bullshit. All the players on this record are like brothers to me and the energy we create on stage and in the studio is incredible. We’re thrilled that we were able to capture it all and put it on a record for you,” and “It’s country as cornbread but totally has some rock n roll in there. We’re calling it a “Honk n Roll” record. We’re in the clubs, dance halls, and theatres alike and folks are really digging our sound and what we bring to a stage. This record was so much fun to make, we know y’all are gonna enjoy it.” Damned right we will, this is a stunningly good album. There is not a bad track in the whole collection of ten great songs. Initially, my favourite is probably “What’s A Man To Do” which is where I felt the biggest Conway Twitty influence. I can imagine listening to “It Ain’t Easy Needing Green” and “Young, Wild And Free” while sipping a cold beer in the back garden this summer as the Barbecue heats up. Meanwhile, the title track has a fabulous Joe Walsh feel in the guitar work. As a kid, I could not listen to country music, because my Mum and Dad loved it, so to my ill-informed teenage self that meant it was not cool. But now, well I love me a good slice of country and this is a proper tasty slice. A lot of classic country tropes are here; money, booze, drugs, lost (or not yet gained) love, and prison to name just a few and that is what makes Bullard’s stories so captivating.

Bullard and his ensemble of seasoned Austin A-listers have graced prestigious stages, opening for Texas County and Americana luminaries including Paul Cauthen, Whiskey Myers, Mark Chessnut, Moe Bandy, and Gary P Nunn. Bullard has performed at ACL23 and is slated to play at both Jackalope Jamboree and SXSW this 2024. Bullard’s music has earned accolades and even captured the attention of the renowned Joe Rogan, who applauded Bullard’s electrifying performances at the legendary White Horse.

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The WJAHOM Interview Podcast – Harkirit and Joe (The Crescent, York)

Filed under: Interview,Podcast — justwilliam1959 @ 8:57 pm
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It was an absolute pleasure and so much fun interviewing Harkirit and Joe who, if the Crescent in York was sentient would be its heart and lungs. Both are incredibly passionate about music and the venue. The interview is just under 30 minutes, but I believe that we could have spoken for hours and hours! Click here to listen to the interview.

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“Automatic” – Julia Elle February 19, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:48 pm
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Brazilian-Italian London-based singer Julia Elle has just released her debut single, “Automatic.” It is haunting, emotionally arresting, captivating, and dark in equal measure. Her voice is truly exquisite and the music, especially the slinky, sultry blues-tinged guitar is exceptional. The production is finely attuned and crystal clear thanks to George Gianluca Cunningham. Julia has said this about the song “Automatic is a song about desire and rejection. It emerged from a space where I sensed the pursuit of things not meant for me. It’s about the magnetic pull of wanting someone, even more, when you can feel them slipping away, chasing that unattainable connection where someone’s indifference only fuels the feelings and attraction.” It also appears that Julia directs her talents more widely than just music. She recently attended a performing arts school in the UK and went on to the London College of Fashion, where she graduated in the summer of 2023. She has a passion for photography, fashion, and vintage clothing picking, she often finds herself styling and overseeing creative direction for many of her friends’ projects as well as her own.

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Mayhem Gives You 12 Inches… Of Music! “You + Me = Love” – The Undisputed Truth February 18, 2024

Filed under: Mayhem Gives You 12 Inches — justwilliam1959 @ 10:01 pm
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This is the third in the Mayhem 12 Inch single series and I apologise again for the rather smutty, Carry On, double entendre, innuendo title for this feature. Can any of you constant readers think of a better title? But I am quite obviously talking about the 12-inch vinyl single. Eventually, this will build into a playlist of my favourite 12-inch singles and remixes, many of which I used to own on vinyl. There will be a Spotify playlist when the series reaches five songs. So far we have had “Do What You Wanna Do” by T-Connection from 1977, and “Everybody’s Singin’ Love Songs” by Sweet Thunder. Now for our third selection, it is the turn of the Undisputed Truth with more than eleven minutes of glorious funk from 1976. entitled “You + Me = Love”.

The band was originally put together by one of Motown’s most psychedelic producers, Norman Whitfield, and their material was released on the Gordy label which was a part of the Motowm organisation. They recorded a lot of songs also recorded by the Temptations. Notably “Smiling Faces Sometimes” and “The Law Of The Land”. In 1975 Norman Whitfield left Motown to set up Whitfield Records and this was one of the early releases on the new label. The song features Takka Boom (Chaka Khan’s sister) on lead vocals. They had a reasonable amount of chart success in the USA but this song proved to be their only appearance in the UK charts when it peaked at number 43 on the singles chart in early 1977.

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“Khevsureti” – Nick Hudson

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 3:02 pm
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British artist Nick Hudson, now based in Georgia, Eastern Europe has released a new single “Khevsureti” as a taster for his new album, ‘Kanda Teenage Honey’, which is scheduled for release on 15th March. It is cinematic in scope and ambition and features some gorgeous, emotional, and at times spine-tingling music and orchestration. Vocally Hudson evokes the most soulful performances of David Sylvian, David Bowie, Robert Wyatt, and maybe Boy George. If you are interested, Khevsureti is a region in Georgia. The single and the album was recorded largely in Georgia under the shadow of the Ukraine war, featuring some incredible Georgian musicians in a huge former Soviet movie studio, this album was recorded and engineered in Tbilisi and mixed by Toby Driver, and mastered to analogue tape by Paul Pascoe at Church Road Studios in Hove. The video to accompany “Khevsureti” was directed, filmed, and edited by Nick Hudson. This bloke is good at everything! It was filmed in various locations in Georgia: Korsha, the Abudelauri Lakes, Roshka, the Datvisjvari Pass, Shatili, and Tbilisi. It is a stunning piece of work, I love it. The music is magnificent even without the visuals, but alongside the film, the whole piece moves to a higher level completely. Hudson has been featured on these pages before, back in 2022, when I reviewed his song “Lights Svoboda“.

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On This Day In 1996, Mr. Jones Played Outside in France…. Or Did He?

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 1:57 am
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On February 18th, 1996 David Bowie played the Parc Expo Rennes Aéroport, Bruz, France as part of the ‘Earthling’ tour. The setlist was predominantly from the aforementioned album. It included the songs; The Motel, Look Back in Anger, The Hearts Filthy Lesson, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)’ I Have Not Been to Oxford Town, Outside, Andy Warhol, The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (As Beauty), The Man Who Sold the World, Strangers When We Meet, Diamond Dogs, Hallo Spaceboy, Breaking Glass, We Prick You, Nite Flights (The Walker Brothers cover), Teenage Wildlife, Under Pressure (Queen collaboration) and Moonage Daydream. Eleven of the 18 tracks were earlier Bowie classics. I was lucky enough to see the Dame perform a similar set at the Wembley Arena in November 1995.

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On This Day Catherine Gets High And Wuthering While Waiting On An Inside Kick! February 17, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 6:00 pm
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On 17th February 1978 Catherine Bush, a.k.a. Kate Bush released her debut album, ‘The Kick Inside’. It included her UK number one single “Wuthering Heights” which had been issued a few weeks before. With that song, she became the first female singer-songwriter ever to top the UK singles chart. She was still only 19 years old at that point and many of her songs had been written in her early teens. She remains one of my all-time favourite artists.

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“Energy” – Ell February 16, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 10:45 pm
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Ell (a.k.a. Loretta Taika) is a singer/songwriter from the small nation of the Solomon Islands. She has a deep passion for music and finds her creative spirit by being at one with nature and takes pride in her rich cultural background. All of that is evident in her new single “Energy”, a delicious electronic reggae cut that oozes energy, fun, and dance vibes. Put this on and try to sit still while it is playing, I guarantee you won’t succeed, you will have to move! It is lively and well-produced, and Ell’s voice is stunning on this awesome earworm of a tune. The lyrics are a fusion of English and her native Renbel Dialect. She displays the angelic delicacy of Johnny Nash’s voice, particularly how he used it when he interpreted a Bob Marley tune. Check it out!

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