With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

Superconductors – Craven Brew Co 3rd Birthday – Skipton – Saturday 26th April 2025 May 5, 2025

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 3:18 pm
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The Craven Brew Co is a cask led brewery with a delightful taproom and award winning brewers. In April they celebrated their third birthday with a music driven mini festival which featured an array of talented covers bands; Hazjak, 1960 Four and Superconductors. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see all the bands. I was there for Superconductors to see my mate Andy play drums. This was only their second or third gig, but it seemed like they were far more of a seasoned band than that. To say that Superconductors are versatile would be an understatement. They play punk, pop, rock and glide effortlessly from one genre style to another. Their seventeen song set was vibrant and included songs from the 60s right through to the 21st Century. While some people danced, everyone else sang or tapped their feet.

“Rosalie”, the Bob Seger song that was a hit for Thin Lizzy kicked off proceedings and it set the tone for a set that never stopped rocking. There were plenty of highlights including “I Fought The Law”, “Basket Case” and “London Calling”. They even played a version of Abba’s “Does Your Mother Know”. Who knew that a song like that would work so well when played by a bunch of middle aged blokes? Covering the Barenaked Ladies classic “One Week” was a challenging and brave move which the band, particularly the singer pulled off perfectly. Apparently it took him three months of dog walks to learn the lyrics. A magnificent set was closed with a rousing romp through Leeds favourites the Kaiser Chiefs “I Predict A Riot”. My lasting memory was an authentic take on the Ruts smash from 1979, “Babylon’s Burning”.

The playing was pretty immaculate throughout, I was very impressed with the guitarist who moved effortlessly from one style to another. In my opinion a covers band has to have talent, passion, a sense of fun and skill in selecting the right tunes. Superconductors scored top marks in every one of those categories. I have seen many covers bands over the years and not many were as good as Superconductors. The band take their name from a Rush song but I also took a look at the definition of the word. A superconductor is a type of material that, when cooled to a critical temperature, can conduct electricity with no resistance or energy loss. The band are cool, hit a critical temperature from the start, were electrifying, no one resisted their entertaining show and they did not appear to lose any of their abundant energy despite playing for an hour. If you are looking for a covers band in the Leeds area or Yorkshire then look no further than Superconductors!

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‘Hot Singles In Your Area’ – SCENE QUEEN June 4, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:41 pm
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Hannah Collins a.k.a. SCENE QUEEN takes Bimbocore to a whole new level on her debut album, ‘Hot Singles In Your Area’, which hits the pink streets on 28th June via Hopeless Records. It is stacked full of good stuff including some collaborations with WARGASM, The Ready Set, and 6arelyhuman. Whatever excites you, whatever your kink is there is something on this record for you. SCENE QUEEN says this about the album “I wrote an album about growing up in the early 2000s but not exploring my sexuality until my 20s with all the messy and chaotic situations you find yourself in when you’re trying to find yourself and your own power.” She is at the vanguard of feminism and could probably bring down the patriarchy on her own given the power in her metal/ emo/ punk/ pop anthems. To look at her you might think Barbie, and yes the look is there, but the strength is so much more like G.I. Jane.

The album kicks off with “BDSM” (I told you there was something for every kink, right?) This is a full-on metal assault with nasty, dark pop vibes. This could be the Bimbocore national anthem. Her voice is so strong on this, what a way to open. The 2023 single “18+” tackles head-on the prevalence of so many bands being misogynistic and apparently happy to use underage girls. The chorus is like Gwen Stefani on steroids with a hook that Babymetal would kill for. Misogynists and predators are going to be scared shitless when they hear “Whips & Chains”, especially when they hear the lyric “gonna nail his dick to the wall of shame” It is a glorious metal pop song, which sadly won’t be heard on mainstream radio. Another totally anthemic single from last year plays next on this record, “Pink Push-Up Bra” This tune takes metal to a mountainous new level that many of SCENE QUEEN’s male peers are probably afraid to go to. These riffs are as hard as fucking hell! She showcases her signature style when she lays into circle jerkers everywhere with “Mutual Masturbation”. This chorus was hanging around in my head for days after I listened to it. WARGASM adds something to “Girls Gone Wild” but it is still full-on energetic femme fatale fury from the high priestess of Bimbocore. The guitar solo screams hard and slaps you in the face.

“POV” is another collaboration, this time with the Ready Set. It is first-class rap metal with riffs ripped straight from the early 70s glam rock peak. The title track “Hot Singles In Your Area” starts out like a cutesy country ballad, and then it rips out the beating heart of Nashville’s finest as its sonic attack throws you from one side of your padded cell to the other. Speaking of country, SCENE QUEEN goes metallic dosey doe on “MILF”. Maybe there will be a Bimbocore country album in the future, I reckon it would outclass Beyonce’s leisurely stroll in Ole Opry territory. I would love to hear Madonna tackle a SCENE QUEEN song, perhaps “Amateur” would be a good place to start. “Stuck” featuring 6arelyhuman was a single earlier this year and it encompasses everything that a song needs to top every chart in the world. Sadly this world is full of shit so that ain’t gonna happen. But an electro-dance remix of this track would be awesome. SCENE QUEEN is an ambassador for sexual freedom and that is perhaps never more clear than on “Finger” a song that extols the virtues of self-pleasure. If you like dark, dirty, sex-fuelled, dance vibes you will fucking love “PEG”. The guitar shredding on “Oral Fixation” is a DEFCON 1 event. This has the influence of PEACHES all over it. Appropriately the album closes with a song called “Climax” it is a Bimbocore power ballad that gives you just enough time to recover from the aural blitzkrieg of the album, before spinning it again! SCENE QUEEN has metaphorical balls of steel and is not afraid to question and challenge, misogynists, haters, and genre purists. She stands up and fights angrily and passionately for LGBTQ+ people and anyone unfortunate enough to have fallen through the cracks in this often vile world. Even if you don’t know it yet, you need SCENE QUEEN in your life and you need her NOW!

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