Doozer has been described as an underground festival hero (UK Festival Guides), vibrant, energetic and brash (Hastings Independent Press) and, direct, open, and in your face (RNR Magazine) He was also once described as “that talented bard of punky ballads and singer of modern sonnets” by With Just A Hint Of Mayhem, oh that one was me! Anyway that most wonderful human being Doozer McDooze has provided a Yuletide message to all the readers of With Just A Hint Of Mayhem and for me that is an honour and a pleasure. Click here to check out his site and while you’re there get yourself some of his music and merch. Alternatively, click here to go directly to his BandCamp page. I am 100% confident that the cap, the mug or the T-Shirt will be a much appreciated present for your Grannie!
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
If you have read the posts for the first four days of this series you will know that this year’s 12 Days of Christmas showcases a collection of songs that communicate hope. So far there have been songs from Bill Withers, The Beatles, Johnny Nash, and Bob Marley. At the end of the twelve days, there will be a playlist of all twelve tunes and maybe even some of your choices. These Covid times have been devastating for many and I fear that things may get worse before they get better, I hope in a small way that these song choices brighten your world even just a little. Today it is the turn of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) with “Mr. Blue Sky”. This is a tune that always makes me smile, does it do that for you? Once again let me say, stay strong people, and if you are feeling particularly low talk to someone. I am happy to be here for you if you need me!
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
If you have read the posts for the first three days you will know that this years 12 Days of Christmas showcases a collection of songs that communicate hope. This kicked off with the Bill Withers classic, “Lean On Me”, followed with “Here Comes The Sun” by the Beatles and yesterday Johnny Nash with “I Can See Clearly Now”. At the end of the twelve days I will compile all the songs into a playlist and might even add some of your choices that didn’t make it to my list. We have all been through some very dark times in the past couple of years, some far more than others. I hope todays song helps bring a little light to your darkness, it is Bob Marley with “Three Little Birds” Once again let me say, stay strong people and if you are feeling particularly low talk to someone. I am happy to be here for you if you need me!
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
Would you like more Christmas messages after those particularly fun and funky ones we got last year? You would? Well ok, let’s kick things off with a fab little piece from the fabulous and epic Hazy Janes!
After you have taken a look at the message click here to visit the Hazy Janes Linktree page and check out tunes and merch. This band will explode into 2022! Check out their new single below, these lads come across like a two-man Led Zeppelin with interstellar rocket engines! Drummer Bron and guitarist and singer Ellis formed the Hazy Janes during lockdown and are clear proof that some good things did happen during the darkest of Covid days! The world needs bands like this.
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
If you have read the posts for day 1 and day 2 you will know that this years 12 Days of Christmas showcases a collection of songs that communicate hope. This kicked off with the Bill Withers classic, “Lean On Me” and yesterday followed with “Here Comes The Sun” by the Beatles. We have all been through some very dark times in the past couple of years, some far more than others. But I hope and believe that there is a light at the end of all this. That is why I have chosen todays song. It is by a man who is probably my favourite vocalist of all time, Johnny Nash. The song is “I Can See Clearly Now”. Once again let me say, stay strong people and if you are feeling particularly low talk to someone. I am happy to be here for you if you need me!
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
Regular readers will know that I am a keen user of a site called Obscurify. It claims to tell you how obscure your listening on Spotify is. Compared to the rest of the UK I remain 99% more obscure than other users in the UK. It also lists my most obscure artists, (the top two of which have been there since I began doing these posts) which currently are;
Promethium (This metal bunch also made it to number 11 in this months top 20)
The Dead Zoo (This fabulous band made an appearance at number 19 in this months top 20)
Hans Deville (Hans makes an appearance at number 12 in this weeks chart while his band, ska punkers King Prawn sit at number 17)
The Suncharms (Not only did the majestic Suncharms get themselves into my most obscure list, they also made their first Mayhem chart number 1, well done lads!)
So who were the top artists for December (12th)? Check the full lists below, but I have already revealed that the Suncharms were number one. Delilah Bon was a chart-topper in October, and for her fifth appearance overall she has hit the number two spot. Radiohead is at number three. There are a few new artists in there, notably Gabby Barrett, Alanna Lyes, Efterklang, and the aforementioned Hans Deville and King Prawn. Also, plenty of the usual classic acts, including David Bowie at a very lowly 16, KLF, Frank Zappa and Paul Weller. Give Obscurify a spin and let me know what your chart looks like and how obscure your tastes are 🙂
Mayhem’s Top 20 Artists on Spotify (December 12th 2021)
1 Suncharms 2 Delilah Bon 3 Radiohead 4 Ch-Lites 5 Paul Weller 6 Gabby Barrett 7 Alanna Lyes 8 Frank Zappa 9 Silk Sonic 10 Millie Manders and the Shut Up 11 Promethium 12 Hans Deville 13 Gregory Porter 14 Joy Crookes 15 KLF 16 David Bowie 17 King Prawn 18 Efterklang 19 The Dead Zoo 20 Dave Gahan
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
Regular readers among will know that this years 12 Days of Christmas will showcase a collection of songs that communicate hope. This kicked off yesterday with the Bill Withers classic, “Lean On Me”. So many of us have been through the darkest of times this past couple of years and if any of this music can bring you even a sliver of light and hope, then music is doing its job. Today I have chosen the George Harrison penned Beatles classic “Here Comes The Sun” from ‘Abbey Road’. Stay strong people and if you are feeling particularly low talk to someone. I am happy to be here for you if you need me!
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
Where does the time go? It is already time again for my series of the twelve days of Christmas. This year I want to share with you a collection of songs that communicate hope. I think this is incredibly important after all the things that have gone wrong in the world and events that have left many people feeling hopeless. Can music change the world? Maybe not, but it sure as hell can help many of us get through dark times. I am kicking off with a truly wonderful tune from the late, great Bill Withers. “Lean On Me”.
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
OK I know I have been somewhat slow with reviews these last few months, so as an early Christmas gift this will probably be the final singles round-up of 2021. I will focus on a collection of tracks that I really loved but thanks to life (and laziness? Hopefully not that) I never got around to reviewing. Some of these came out quite a while ago too. I plan to be much better at this in 2022. If you have sent me something to review and I never got around to it then I am truly sorry, keep sending stuff though, as I really plan to get more done next year!
AP, who has featured on this site quite a few times now, returned with the rather splendid ‘Alternate Vision EP’ this summer and this dark riff laden romp was the lead single. AP is definitely one of those rare talents that grows with every release. Click here to check out the EP on Spotify, the cover of the Hives classic “Hate To Say I Told You So” is sublime.
If Karen Carpenter had been in the Cocteau Twins rather than Liz Fraser they might have sounded like Tay Temple. This is a lovelorn torch song with bite and I love it!
A gorgeous acoustic ballad from the supremely talented Marnie Glum. A perfect fit to soundtrack a chilled summer afternoon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it to brighten up a dark winter day as well.
A towering track from the magnificent Not Now Norman. The riffs and hooks hit you on the first listen, a band that gets better and better with every release. I am proud to be a Norminion and I am also in the video, can you spot me? 😉
A modern twist on bands like the Clash and perhaps the less in-your-face elements of Blink 182. Catchy rock at its best, I particularly love the guitars on this track. Matt’s vocal oozes class too!
This raucous garage band from Huddersfield sent me a great song, “Could I Bare” back in September, it is bloody good, but finding stuff online from these lads has proved difficult, so the video below is for an electrifying excerpt from their set supporting Skylights on their Yorkshire tour!
That delightful bunch of talented musicians released a classy Giorgio Moroderesque single earlier in the year and it comes with some incredible dance mixes. I shelled out for the CD version and it was well worth it. Click here to check out the original, remixes along with their rather ace cover of the Dame’s “Everyone Says Hi” on Spotify. I really need to see the Dead Zoo live in 2022. In the videos below you can see the band play “In The End” live.
This track shows the breadth of talent and versatility that Andy of Cold Culprits fame has. This is a real step away from his punk style that I was familiar with. “Pink Champagne” is a frenetic, edgy dance track that would sound immense over a nightclub sound system. Andy also created the rather wonderful animations in the video too.
The band launched this single 7 months ago and it is pure dirty, grungey, punky, bluesy, garage rock class. The band rock out like the Stooges on a tune that will undoubtedly rip a hole in venue roofs across the country.
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
Suncharms first appeared in the pages of With Just A Hint Of Mayhem three years ago when I reviewed their sublime single “Red Dust”. Now they finally get to release their first album which has kind of been 30 years in the making. Things might have been so very different had social media existed back in the early 90s. In 1993 Slumberland Records expressed a desire to release something by the Suncharms, so the band duly sent a DAT Tape (remember those kids?) to the US record label in a decorated padded envelope. Slumberland never replied so the band assumed that they just weren’t into the charming Suncharms. The band eventually got back together on the back of a retrospective compilation CD on Cloudberry Records in 2016. Amazingly Slumberland picked up on this and contacted the band via FaceBook to explain that they never in fact received the DAT Tape. How might the life of this excellent band turn out had the DAT Tape been received?
Anyway, the past is behind us and we sure as hell can’t change it and we should celebrate the release of the first Suncharms album in 2021. It is called ‘Distant Lights’ and it is beautiful, adventurous and is among the best releases of 2021. I know I am a little late in reviewing it, but I didn’t want to miss that opportunity. The album kicks off with the title track and the mood of this one, along with the droney sound effects made me think of a 21st Century Joe Meek. After a few listens I think “Dream Of A Time Machine” is perhaps my favourite song, at least for now. It has a keen, cheerful feel and the vocal effects have a dub quality to them. I felt the presence of Noel Gallagher strongly on “Three Billion Heartbeats”, particularly with the guitar motifs, although to be fair this tune knocks spots off anything Oasis recorded after their first two albums. If the Velvet Underground were British and hit the scene during the Britpop years then I reckon they would have recorded something akin to “Liquid Through My Hands” and maybe “Cast A Spell”, two beautiful and delightfully eloquent numbers that is a perfect chill out sound.
I sense the spirit of Lee Mavers at his early 90s peak with the La’s on “Precious Hour”. If the charts reflected truly great music and really meant something these days then “Seas Of Titan” would be a shoe in for the top 5, gorgeous hooks aplenty and a stand out vocal performance from Marcus Palmer on vocals. The jangly, Byrdsian guitars on “Jewels” give the song a happy shoegaze vibe which you wouldn’t expect to work on paper, but on record it is immaculate. Sometimes I hear a tune and think, even if I was told I had to dislike it I couldn’t, “Casting Shadows” is such a tune and it leaves me happy after every listen. Cliff Richard, among others, once asked “Why should the Devil have all the good music?” well I would say largely perhaps the acoustics are good downstairs, but album closer “Lucifer” would even make Satan dance, laugh, smile and singalong. This is a marvellous, magnificent, majestic, mighty tour de force of a debut album that is well worth spinning, I love it! You can find it in all the usual places, click here to check it out on Spotify and click here to order your vinyl copy.
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
