Ace rock band Telltale from Richmond, Virginia are John Carteret on vox, Bryce Marshall on gutsy guitar, Tim Fogg on booming bass, and Travis Slack on dynamite drums. A few days ago they released a new single, “Cardinals”. It has riffs with the power to smash Tyson Fury into next week and enough emotion to explode even the hardest of hearts. At its core this track is infectious punky grunge, but it is also so much more than that. This is a band that is extremely talented in the way they write and how they play. This single follows hot on the heels of the rather splendid single from December, “Otherside”. They have released some cracking tunes over the past few years, check them out on Spotify. A final note for all you fact fans, why are the band called Telltale? Apparently they are named after the Edgar Allan Poe story “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The band has said that as hyphens don’t work in social handles, they made it one word! The Poe reference definitely makes me love Telltale even more!
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James are back to their anthemic indie best with the new single “Is This Love”. It is the first track to be issued from their upcoming new studio album, their 18th, ‘Yummy’ which arrives on 12th April. Musically, lyrically and vocally the band is firing on all cylinders. How could you not love lyrics like “Love is a bomb, a Tsunami that rolls over our life as we cling to the wreckage of our peace of mind”. Tim Booth proves that he really is a master of his craft and will not settle for the easy route and simply rehash “Sit Down” again and again, even after more than 40 years at the helm of one of the UK’s finest bands. James are most definitely still very fresh and I suspect will never have a sell-by date! They will be supporting the album with a UK tour in June this year. They will be supported by Razorlight. Click here for tickets.
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Lola Young is new to me and I am so glad I found her music. I am also sorry that I am so late to the party! She is from South East London and is in her early 20s. On her Spotify bio, she says this of herself, “Music is everything to me, helps me try and make sense of myself and the world around me. I’m pretty hopeless with love, I hate flowers (unless they’re dead), I can’t sit still for more than 10 minutes, but I figure out my heart and mind through poetry, and melody”
Her current single was released a few days ago and it is close to perfect. It has a dark pop-rock vibe and would be a surefire radio hit. But sadly, the smart and appropriate use of some profanities will prevent that. But if you love great music you need to give it a spin. The musicianship on the track is first class and Lola’s voice is magnificent. It carries a message of soul-bearing emotion and deep, deep feeling, particularly of that bad kind of love. She has described the song, and perhaps its source, as “a song to help me process an abusive and at times toxic relationship I experienced, even though at times I felt trapped, it’s about loving a person regardless of the fact they are hurting you“. Check out some of her other stuff too.
I rarely watch TV adverts, but if I did I might have discovered Lola earlier with her sparse and beautiful cover of “Together In Electric Dreams” for the John Lewis Christmas advert in 2021. It spent 8 weeks on the chart and peaked at number 7. She was at the acclaimed Brit School which has produced a talented array of alumni including Adele and Amy Winehouse to name just a couple. I feel there are some similarities between the vocal styles of Lola and Amy. But Lola Young is an incredible vocalist in her own right. Get Lola Young into your life, you will not be disappointed. She has a UK? EU tour coming up and also a number of US dates. I am not sure I can make any of them, but she is definitely on my must see list now.
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Has anyone ever recorded their anger so perfectly as James Minas has on his new track “Stress”. He punk raps about his anger with life and I think his anger with himself. This is a dark and deep track that wears its heart on its sleeve and leaves you unsettled and angry. Maybe that is the result that MINAS wanted. It is a colossal tune and, for me, is a real torchbearer for true punk ethos! It will be on his upcoming EP, ‘Grazes’. I love it. MINAS is off to SXSW and the Yanks won’t know what is about to hit them! Click here to listen to the song on Spotify.
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This was to be the final Howl And The Hum Show. Frontman Sam Griffiths, Bradley Blackwell (Bass), Conor Hirons (Guitar), and Jack Williams (Drums) have decided to call it a day on one of the best bands to emerge from York. Will they ever come back together? Who knows, but whatever happens I am sure that each of them will continue to make music in one form or another and the canon of songs they leave behind will remain truly wonderful. But before I get to that final performance I must tell you about the fabulous support act, Bar Pandora. What a performance! A truly gorgeous synth-pop sound, a bit like Kate Bush and Siouxse Sioux arriving on the electronic pop scene in the UK in 1981/ 82. While there were influences this is very much a talented and original artist. I loved the glitter apparel, although the synth/ bass player didn’t get the memo on the glitter look. But to be fair he made up for it by looking like a cooler version of Graham Coxon. I bloody love Bar Pandora!
Finally, it was time to say a final goodbye to the magnificent Howl And The Hum. This was the final of a few farewell shows at the Crescent and it was an emotionally charged night for everyone in the room, myself included. Alongside the palpable emotion inside the Crescent, the songs, as expected, oozed emotion. “Hostages” always brings a tear to my eye and tonight was no exception, I witnessed many others leaking salty liquid from their eyes too. While “Hostages” was probably the peak moment for me both, “Godmanchester Chinese Bridge” and “The Only Boy Racer On The Island” were awe-inspiring. “Sweet Fading Silver” deserves a special mention too. The band even took us back to their days as a covers band with a rousing and rollicking rendition of AC/ DC’s “Highway To Hell”. I have been lucky enough to see the Howl And The Hum play live a few times and until tonight I had never really noticed the Talking Heads influence, but it is deep in their sound. So farewell you wonderful band and I am looking forward to whatever comes next from all of you!
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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.
On this day, 12th January 1955, even before I was born, should and blues legend Etta James released her version of “The Wallflower” (Roll With Me Henry)” (sometimes titled “Dance With Me Henry”, and took it to the top of the US R&B Charts. It is a classic 12 bar blues song and one of many recorded as “answer” songs to Hank Ballard’s “Work With Me, Annie” released in 1954. Obviously, Etta’s song is about dancing…..right? Or maybe it is a tad more sexual than that. Many radio stations in the USA deemed it far too risque to play. Which is an awful shame, because it really is a great song!
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Over the years Norway has given the world some spectacular hard rock and Black Metal and huge pop success via A-Ha and current pop icon, AURORA. But now there is another Norwegian act about to break big, they are from Oslo and are called Das Body. Following the release of their album, ‘Peregrine’ in 2019, they have blasted a string of fine singles into the world. The latest released last month is “You Look So Pretty When You’re On Your Knees”, and it combines everything that makes a perfect tune. It has sublime hooks, great beats, pop melodies, funky sounds, and vocals that would turn black metal heads into teddy bears. Vocalist Ellie has something of Kate Bush in her vocal style and that just adds another gorgeous layer to this wonderful track. The lyrics appear to straddle a line between fun and darkly strange. When this is playing you will dance, that is not an order, it is simply a fact! The single comes from the band’s forthcoming sophomore album, ‘True Vulture’, which is due out later in January.
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New Zealand music funksters and funsters SKRAM have a new single out; and with it, they have invented a new word, serendripity. This song oozes fun, and classy humour and makes you want and need to dance. It would fit perfectly alongside the Danish band Junior Senior’s 2003 smash “Move Your Feet” in any good playlist. “Serendripity” is chock full of hooks of both a pop and rock variety and in style owes some debt to the Scissor Sisters and Jamiroquai. The rap element perhaps pays homage to “Wham Rap” and Harry Enfield’s Loadsamoney character, but it works well. If the pop charts actually meant much anymore this song created by Kiwi music powerhouses Henry Ashby and Felix Nesbitt would be number one for months. The video is rather splendid too. The band has explained “Serendripity” or ‘serendipitous drip,’ as “the idea of wearing whatever you want, feeling safe and confident when venturing into the world. The act of wearing what you want, the “drip,” becomes a medium through which you express your unique identity and personality. “Serendripity” celebrates the freedom to make choices based on your own tastes, rather than conforming to societal expectations or trends.” Well, that certainly works for me!
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How many countries are there in the world? Well according to Worldometer there are 195 countries in the world today. This total comprises 193 countries that are member states of the United Nations and 2 non-member observer states: the Holy See and the State of Palestine. This means that Worpress sees countries slightly differently because, in the almost fifteen years since I started With Just A Hint Of Mayhem, it has been viewed in 226 countries, so I guess some of those are not “real” countries. On top of that, there are six countries (coloured grey on the map above) where no one has taken even a single view of With Just A Hint Of Mayhem. So if you reside in any of the following places, or you know someone who does, ask them to come and say hi to Mayhem. The countries/ places that are missing out on all the fun are Western Sahara, Chad, Eritrea, Burundi, Svalbard (Norway), and North Korea. Why have I written this post? Well, I am proud of the reach the blog has had, but it also allows me to feature some appropriate(ish) tunes. Before that, the top ten countries that have visited the site the most are (the full list can be seen at the end of this post)
1 United States 2 United Kingdom 3 Germany 4 Chile 5 France 6 Canada 7 Spain 8 Mexico 9 Australia 10 Italy
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The Full Mayhem World Domination List
1 United States 2 United Kingdom 3 Germany 4 Chile 5 France 6 Canada 7 Spain 8 Mexico 9 Australia 10 Italy 11 Brazil 12 Netherlands 13 Argentina 14 Ireland 15 Colombia 16 Sweden 17 India 18 Poland 19 Turkey 20 Belgium 21 Philippines 22 Peru 23 Indonesia 24 Russia 25 European Union 26 Norway 27 Denmark 28 Japan 29 New Zealand 30 Switzerland 31 Greece 32 Venezuela 33 Finland 34 South Africa 35 Malaysia 36 Thailand 37 Austria 38 Portugal 39 Czechia 40 Hungary 41 Romania 42 Ecuador 43 Israel 44 South Korea 45 Singapore 46 Croatia 47 Serbia 48 China 49 Saudi Arabia 50 Hong Kong SAR China 51 United Arab Emirates 52 Ukraine 53 Slovakia 54 Bulgaria 55 Costa Rica 56 Egypt 57 Pakistan 58 Taiwan 59 Algeria 60 Morocco 61 Guatemala 62 Vietnam 63 Slovenia 64 Uruguay 65 Lithuania 66 Bolivia 67 El Salvador 68 Puerto Rico 69 Estonia 70 Dominican Republic 71 Georgia 72 Panama 73 Cyprus 74 Bangladesh 75 Tunisia 76 Latvia 77 Malta 78 Bosnia & Herzegovina 79 Lebanon 80 Iceland 81 Kuwait 82 Honduras 83 North Macedonia 84 Paraguay 85 Sri Lanka 86 Armenia 87 Nigeria 88 Albania 89 Iraq 90 Trinidad & Tobago 91 Nicaragua 92 Luxembourg 93 Jordan 94 Jamaica 95 Azerbaijan 96 Qatar 97 Kenya 98 Libya 99 Belarus 100 Nepal 101 Isle of Man 102 Jersey 103 Moldova 104 Mauritius 105 Ghana 106 Myanmar (Burma) 107 Oman 108 Guernsey 109 Bahrain 110 Kazakhstan 111 Bahamas 112 Cambodia 113 Montenegro 114 Tanzania 115 Syria 116 Palestinian Territories 117 Mongolia 118 Brunei 119 Côte d’Ivoire 120 Maldives 121 Barbados 122 Ethiopia 123 Curaçao 124 Réunion 125 Uganda 126 Zimbabwe 127 Zambia 128 Namibia 129 Senegal 130 Yemen 131 Macao SAR China 132 Sudan 133 Haiti 134 Madagascar 135 Cuba 136 Gibraltar 137 Angola 138 Guadeloupe 139 Botswana 140 Belize 141 Martinique 142 Cayman Islands 143 Aruba 144 Guam 145 Grenada 146 Fiji 147 Uzbekistan 148 Cameroon 149 Rwanda 150 Afghanistan 151 Monaco 152 Andorra 153 Mozambique 154 Bermuda 155 Papua New Guinea 156 Turkmenistan 157 New Caledonia 158 Suriname 159 Iran 160 St. Lucia 161 Kyrgyzstan 162 Mali 163 Bhutan 164 Seychelles 165 American Samoa 166 Guyana 167 Malawi 168 Cape Verde 169 Antigua & Barbuda 170 French Polynesia 171 Greenland 172 Faroe Islands 173 U.S. Virgin Islands 174 St. Vincent & Grenadines 175 Laos 176 Djibouti 177 Åland Islands 178 French Guiana 179 Congo – Kinshasa 180 Dominica 181 Turks & Caicos Islands 182 San Marino 183 St. Kitts & Nevis 184 British Virgin Islands 185 Unknown Region 186 Gabon 187 Liberia 188 Benin 189 Mauritania 190 Togo 191 Gambia 192 Liechtenstein 193 Burkina Faso 194 Eswatini 195 Timor-Leste 196 Caribbean Netherlands 197 Guinea 198 Somalia 199 Northern Mariana Islands 200 Niger 201 Tonga 202 Cook Islands 203 Lesotho 204 Congo – Brazzaville 205 Mayotte 206 South Sudan 207 Samoa 208 Falkland Islands 209 Sierra Leone 210 Equatorial Guinea 211 Guinea-Bissau 212 Sint Maarten 213 Nauru 214 Tuvalu 215 St. Martin 216 Kosovo 217 Tajikistan 218 Solomon Islands 219 Anguilla 220 Vatican City 221 Vanuatu 222 St. Helena 223 Palau 224 St. Pierre & Miquelon 225 Micronesia 226 Central African Republic
