With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

“Stop The World” – Porcine February 9, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 6:20 am
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Barnsley’s Porcine is back with a delightful and fun-packed new single via Safe Suburban Home Records. It is called “Stop The World” and frankly I suggest that you make yourself a hot beverage of your choice sit down comfortably and then press play on the video below. It is the sort of song you need to listen to to take away the stresses of your day. I bloody love it, I just listened to it twice while nursing a rather decent cup of black coffee (Aldi’s Sumatran blend if you must know).

This is the first track from their new self-titled album which comes out on 1st March. The song has a kind of poppy, slacker shoegaze vibe with some splendid harmonies. The song and the forthcoming album were produced by Andrey Pavlovic (Allusinlove) and mastered by David Watts (The Fall, The Reytons, OMD). Was that the “I wish I could be like David Watts” David Watts? The video is like a throwback to 70s TV and features some rather odd characters, all of whom might be a tad too surreal to appear in ‘The League Of Gentlemen’. Apparently, the band met and formed while ghost hunting in Barnsley market back in 2018. Let’s hope that they didn’t cross the streams. So if the music’s strange in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call? Porcine……. Obviously!

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“Time To Let Things Go” – Skylights

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 6:17 am
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Skylights are back with a stunning new single, “Time To Let Things Go”. Is it their best yet? Possibly. It has a gorgeous soaring and emotive vocal, and the orchestration takes the tune into cinematic territory. The guitar which underpins the song is exquisite. This is a band on fire, and this is the song where the band has really come into their own with so many of their influences are receding in the slipstream of their continued rise. Last year was a big year for these boys, and I believe 2024 may be even bigger for them.

Click here to listen to the song on Spotify and click here to buy a physical copy.

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It’s Mayhem’s 15th Birthday!

Filed under: News,Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 6:12 am
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I know it is hard to believe but With Just A Hint Of Mayhem has been with you for fifteen years. We began on 9th February 2009 with a tiny pffft sound and one day we might make that huge bang! Thank you to every single one of you who has visited, liked, commented, or participated in this endeavor! I thought an appropriate way to celebrate was with fifteen songs with 15 in their title, so without further ado, blow out those 15 candles, get your party trousers on, and feel free to sing me a happy birthday tune of your choice!!!!

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“Love You Not” – The Dizzy Ducks February 8, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:06 pm
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Aussie rockers the Dizzy Ducks are a tight four-piece band from Camden, New South Wales. Their new single is an anthemic rock tune with gargantuan hooks, pop sensibilities, and a guitar solo that time travelled from the 70s. Cat Sexton’s vocals are perfect and playful and Jon Valenzuela’s guitar sound is immense and intricate. Meanwhile, the motor is kept running by the metronomic magnificence of Michael Boundy’s drums and Mark Kenny’s bass power. It is impossible to not move when listening to “Love You Not”. The song, I think, is about breaking out of a controlling relationship, so perfectly timed for a dark, alternative Valentine Disco. This band has got something special and you need to get listening to them! An obvious bonus is that the band name is a great, albeit slightly silly, one!

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“Make Ya Dance” – Digital Opium February 7, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 10:45 pm
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Digital Opium is from London, the nicer one in Ontario though. They released a cracking single called “Make Ya Dance” a couple of months back. I am slowly catching up on reviewing stuff that I have been sent and these guys have sent me at least six emails asking me to take a listen and I am pleased to say that I did. Their blurb says their influences are as diverse as the Beatles, the Black Keys, and Harry Styles. I can hear some tiny elements of those artists, however, the biggest kick for me with this track is how it takes some of the finest UK glam tropes from the early 70s and weaves them into a 21st Century Indie Disco anthem. “Make Ya Dance” is a glam stomper and proud of it and yes it does make you dance!

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“Waiting For The Britpop Revival” – Fran Ashcroft February 6, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:45 pm
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Fran Ashcroft is a producer who has worked with some great artists including Damon Albarn. He has just released a single taken from his forthcoming sophomore album, ‘The Songs That Never Were’. It is called “Waiting For The Britpop Revival” and it is a truly original piece of work with overtones of ‘Hunky Dory’ era David Bowie and Pulp in their full pomp mid-90s phase. It has a simple pop psychedelia style and a chorus that simply won’t let you go. It has been on repeat tonight here at Mayhem Towers! It even comes with a B-Side which is a mostly spoken-word history of the song’s origins. The lyrics are bloody hilarious, take the Oasis line for example, “don’t talk to me about Oasis, that’s a shit band name if there ever was one.” I bloody love this song, but seriously we really don’t need a Britpop revival, do we?

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‘TEN THOUSAND STORIES’ – AVALANCHE PARTY

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:12 pm
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‘TEN THOUSAND STORIES’ – AVALANCHE PARTY

A SHORT FILM BY EAGLEBURGERMEDIA. AVALANCHE PARTY // …& YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD. EUROPEAN TOUR STORIES. RIDE THE HELL TRAIN

Avalanche Party are back, this time with a tour diary film montage that details their eventful trip, and it was a trip, around Europe with …& You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. The subtitle says ride the hell train, but the film shows that they rode the hell bus, or rather they didn’t, as that jumping jalopy failed to jump on too many occasions. It is quite a stark and intimate recording of events, and a ten-minute film showing what being on that tour was like gives you a feel but not the full experience. Will there be a Director’s Cut? Sometimes it feels like an updated visual version of what I believe is the greatest rock ‘n’ roll book ever written, Ian Hunter’s ‘Diary Of A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star‘. I have watched it twice, and something new has jumped out at me each time.

This is shaping up to be a great year for Avalanche Party. A few live dates are coming up later this month and their sophomore album ‘Der Traum Über Alles’ is on the near horizon. For me, it is already pencilled in as a contender for album of the year. Take a look at the film and get Avalanche Party into your life in whatever way you can!

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On This Day We Discovered That Theraphosidae Play In A Ring Of Fire For Cash February 5, 2024

Filed under: On This Day — justwilliam1959 @ 10:21 pm
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On 5th February 2016 a newly discovered species of Black Tarantula living near Folsom Prison, California was named after the late, great Johnny Cash. It was named Aphonopelma johnnycashi and was one of fourteen new tarantula species from the southern US which were described by biologists in the journal ZooKeys. Getting bitten by one of them would “Hurt”, right? Would the spider bite you “One Piece At A Time”?

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Fulford Arms Battle Of The Bands 2024

Filed under: News,Observation — justwilliam1959 @ 9:20 pm
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The Fully Arms Battle Of The Bands contest is back baby! After two hugely successful and titanic battles in 2022 and 2023, the truly gladiatorial music contest is back for 2024. Is your band ready, fit, and able to join the names of previous winners in the Fulford Arms Hall of Fame? How will your band’s name look alongside the Palava (2022) and Hærtstrings (2023)? Each year has had a gargantuan level of competition worthy of Valhalla, Asgard, and Olympus! Check out the poster above and get your entry in! Being a judge at the previous two contests has been among the most exciting and fun things that I have ever done, and trust me I have not led a sheltered life! Anyway, I will be dusting off my judge’s robes and legal wig ready for September to join a fabulous group of fellow Fully Battle Of The Bands Judges! I will see you there for the heats the semis and the final! Just to up the ante there is a slight change to the rules this year, where in addition to the usual set of all originals, each band will be asked to play one cover, chosen by the Fulford Arms, what a wicked wheeze that is! I have added a few videos (Chech & Chong, Jack Black, and My Little Pony Equestria Girls) which may give you some inspiration 😉

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“Kills Me To Be Kind” – Crawlers

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:30 pm
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Holly Minto, Amy Woodall, Liv May, and Harry Breen are Crawlers one of the best bands to arise from Liverpool, and let’s face it there have been some great ones over the years, right? They are one of the most social media-aware current bands and, they use that skill so well in support of what is important to them. They have previously said, “It’s really hard to find a safe space – especially for young people, queer people, and other misrepresented or underrepresented groups – and being able to do that with our platform is something we’re looking forward to exploring and breaking boundaries with” and I have huge respect for what they do. But on top of that conscience is their wonderful music, in advance of their album, ‘The Mess We Seem To Make’ due out later this month they released a new single a couple of weeks ago called “Kills Me To Be Kind.” It has a classic lo-fi punk kind of feel and it crawls (no pun intended) into your head and sets up home like it was meant to be there, and it probably was. The riffs drive it nicely and the vocals and harmonies shine so well. The lyrics are sharp and cutting. Just this part alone is lyrical perfection for me, “I heard you fucked somebody else. Despite how bad you felt. Need somebody in your bed. To drown that noise in your head. But I keep you in my mind. Though I faked it every time.” The “faked it every time” line is a magnificent payoff. I have seen them live just once so far, at the Leeds Festival in 2022, I need to change that, and I will!

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