With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

The Corsairs – Fulford Arms, York – Friday 10th March 2023 March 21, 2023

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:33 pm
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This was another gig put together by that wonderful human being Simon Pattinson for Northern Radar at the equally fabulous Fulford Arms. It was all for a great cause too and raised loads of dosh for St. Leonard’s Hospice. It was headlined by the Corsairs, but more of them later. Proceedings were opened by Everything After Midnight, this would be the second time that I have seen them this year. There is a portion of Wolf Alice and a dash of Pale Waves here. There is also a sprinkling of electric folk (think Traffic with a female singer), soft metal (maybe Evanescence), a pinch of British Prog, and obviously a huge amount of Everything After Midnight. Steph’s voice was always good and now she takes it towards greatness. I have previously suggested that Steph has vocals that remind me of Tori Amos and Ellie Roswell, and that remains true. This was a four-band gig and the second to take the stage was Lost Trends, who are clearly no longer lost and I am glad they have been found again. They have not tiptoed their way back, they came with a multi-megaton blast of sound. A long layoff for the Lost Trends boys, mostly driven by Covid, has not dimmed their power and passion one iota. They still have their usual “we can be better than New Order” sound, but now it is overlayed with some magnificent layers of Talking Heads-style NYC electro-funk. The north has produced some great guitarists, notably Mick Ronson and Bill Nelson, I think that we can safely add Pete Knaggs to that gang now!

Third, it was the turn of yet another fine York band, the Rosettas. Frontman Benji had a cold, but he didn’t let that get in the way of a pulsating set from a band that not only knows how to rock but also knows how to party hard. They are clearly all enjoying themselves and that infectious joy is shared by the crowd with some great dancing and singalong opportunities. “I Don’t Like This” is a great song for bringing the crowd together. Their choice of Blur’s “Song 2” as a cover was inspired and went down an absolute storm. A great band and most certainly one to watch for the future. The Corsairs may be a very young band, but this does not get in the way of their stunning ability to produce an absolute belter of a set. They may have started off a little understated but they really grew into this set and eventually knocked it out of the park. Current single “Jackie The Know It All” is a classy slab of prime Arctic Monkeys styling. There are some Kooks and Wombats influences in their songs too. These lads seemed to love their time on stage and undoubtedly converted many people that had not seen them before into fans. I hope that the Corsairs are around for a long while and I hope their first album, when they get to it lives up to the promise of their live set. I 100% believe that it will! As a footnote, I want to mention that someone actually left this gig early because it wasn’t “indie” enough for them. Seriously? What the actual fuck is indie anyway? Click here to take a look at Indie Chart number ones from the 80s. The usual suspects like the Smiths are included, but so is Jason Donovan. I can really feel a What The Fuck Is Indie Anyway article coming soon!

All the pictures, except the gig poster, were taken by Martin Swarbrick

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Mayhem Singles Round Up Part 3 2023 March 4, 2023

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 12:55 pm
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You wait ages for a Mayhem singles round-up and then three arrive in just over two weeks! Here is the third for 2023, it includes a massive fourteen songs that have been passed on to me or recommended during the previous few weeks and months, there are some amazing tracks. It features three bands that have appeared on Mayhem’s pages before. All three are from York, proving that the music scene in my fabulous adopted city is thriving. Let me know what you think of this great collection of tunes! You will find a YouTube link to each song in the title (or a link to the audio of the track) and a link to the artist’s website or one of their social media pages when you click the artist’s name. You can also find the link to a Spotify playlist of all these songs by clicking here.

“Rebellion” – Skylights

The angriest track yet from York’s Skylights, also perhaps their punkiest song to date. So it is their punkiest yet, and their angriest yet, but is it their best yet? I certainly believe it is! A band firing on all cylinders and absolutely on fire! Turnbull’s guitar work on “Rebellion” is sensational!

“Black And White” – City Snakes

These lads are taking the fast track from a good band to a great band. This is an incredibly accomplished tune and it is superbly produced. Bass, guitar, drums, and most definitely vocals are turned up to 11. A great tip of the hat to classic rock. You need to see this band live.

“Jackie The Know It All” – The Corsairs

This is the follow-up to last year’s classy single “B-Side” and it is a tune that sticks with you. It has shades of everything from the Kooks, the Pigeon Detectives, the Arctic Monkeys, and classic UK post-punk. All of that is rolled up with a first-class pop sensibility

“Soda & Lime” – Jonny Payne & The Thunder

This sounds like a classic US west coast song, but Jonny is based in Oxford in the UK. If you want a song that will make you feel good and have you singing along then put “Soda & Lime” on repeat. This will be added to my summer barbecue playlist.

“Time To Rest” – Juniper Nights

Soft acoustic style rock reminiscent of Travis at their peak. It has some dark jangly indie guitar but for me what really makes the track is the vocal performance, especially the harmonies.

“Talk To Me” – Fellow Robot

This lot is all the way from Long Beach, California. They claim to have started creating music to bring the character Fellow Robot to life through music. Fellow Robot is a 140-year-old robot who is the main character from the WIP novel ‘The Robot’s Guide to Music’ written by frontman Anthony Pedroza. I am more than happy to listen to fine rock music like this from a great band while I wait for the book to arrive. Their album is due in May and on the strength of “Talk To Me” it is definitely one to look forward to.

“After Midnight” – Ryan Brown

Ryan Brown is an abundantly talented teenage singer-songwriter from the USA. “After Midnight” is a hopeful pop song for these dark times and would give Taylor Swift a run for her money. Her backing harmonies and counterpoint vocals are haunting and add some real depth to a great tune.

“Harder Now (For Love)” – Senses

A great rumble of a tune, Senses from Coventry have aced it with this single. A bit 21st Century Small Faces with some Paul Weller thrown in, this is damned good.

“I Need You Tonight” – Short Wave Craft

A multilayered beauty of a tune with some excellent samples. If you like Moby, Portishead, Air, and others like that you will absolutely love this close-to-perfect track put together by Dominic Owen and Tom Carr. I could listen to this for hours, and I probably will.

“Made Me Happy” – Wesson

Some might say that not much great music has come out of Milton Keynes, if they do then point them straight to Wesson. This tune starts out like a 60s psych-folk track a la Traffic. But then it moves into a magnificent pop-rock song which sometimes has a hint of the 1970s Scottish band Pilot, particularly the guitar sound. The video, inspired by ‘Tron’ is fun too. <EDITOR – If any other Milton Keynes bands would like some coverage, do give us a shout. I am sure we could be wrong about MK music!>

“Outside Of Town” – M. Byrd

German singer-songwriter knows his way around a beautiful melody and some often dark lyrics, but there is a hopeful side to this track too. The song is about someone having to flee a war with their daughter. I can picture myself meditating life to this song, maybe while drinking a cold beer.

“Wendy” – Holly Henderson

This has a 60s girl group vibe and vocals that Rumer would be proud of. The instrumentation is classy and happy to step away at times from simple tones. A song that stays in your mind long after it is over. A real lesson in how to produce an uplifting and sometimes sad song. I will be playing Holly’s new album ‘The Walls’ now I think.

“Villain” – Alexa Dark

Alexa is Spanish/ American and was raised between Barcelona, Munich, London, Paris, and NYC. The influences from all of those places are apparent in this song which is expansive and cinematic, in both scope and ambition. “Villain” is more than worthy of being a Bond theme.

“Lost It” – Hanna Ögonsten

Swede Hanna Ögonsten’s Spotify bio says “I’m glad you found your way to my silly little music universe in this big cyberspace! Here you’ll find reflections and memories of mine dressed up in danceable alt-pop beats”. I think she is much better than silly and little, her universe is rather big and pretty smart. She is right in describing her work as danceable alt-pop beats though, and “Lost It” is a prime example of a song that is infectiously danceable and memorable. Check out her rather wonderful EP from last year, ‘Bby Boo, Ögonsten & You‘

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The Mayhem Monthly Top 20 Song Chart – July 2022 August 3, 2022

Filed under: Mayhem Top 20 Chart — justwilliam1959 @ 3:26 pm
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Here comes the fifth monthly Mayhem Top 20 Song Chart, this time for July 2022 and it is still as eclectic as most of the previous charts. July’s number one is “B-Side” from a very young York band, the Corsairs who I was lucky enough to see play their first gig a few weeks ago at the Fulford Arms. Another local band, Vaquelin has now remained in the chart for three months in a row with “Roads Leading Nowhere” which was number one in May, dropped to number 20 in June, and is now at number 17. Last months number one by Randy Newman falls to number 8. Stevie Wonder’s “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” goes from number 3 last month to number 2 in July. The reggae flag is flown by Dave Barker’s “Smooths And Sorts” (no. 4) (for the fact fans Dave was the Dave from Dave and Ansell Collins) and “Your Honour” by Pluto Shervigton (No. 10). The Last Of The Fallen Angels featuring Hannah Robinson are at number 3 with the wonderful “Red Dress”. Hannah’s rather excellent single “Confusion” reaches number 7. Meanwhile another Last Of The Fallen Angels collaborator, MARQ Electronica is at number 5. Soul is represented by the aforementioned Stevie Wonder, Chris Clark, Michael Jackson, and a lost gem from Wilson Pickett’s time at RCA, “Mr. Magic Man”. This month’s number one in the artist charts was the late, great Sylvester, he is number 9 in the song chart with a classic b-side, “Was It Something That I Said”. As always there are some timeless classic artists there, notably the Sex Pistols and Steely Dan. Some more recent classic artists are her, Panic! At The Disco, and Biffy Clyro. Biffy arrive here courtesy of their cover of David Bowie’s “Modern Love” which is good news as this is the first time that the Dame has not appeared in the song chart himself! Toad The Wet Sprocket make their first appearance in the Mayhem charts while Hootie and the Blowfish take “Only Wanna Be With You” to number 6. The Hootie tune is there as I have been reading a review copy of Hootie drummer Jim Sonefeld’s rather spiffing new autobiography. That review will be on these pages soon! Finally, how did Slik (featuring a very young Midge Ure) make it to number 20 with “Forever And Ever”? Well, it is only me to blame, that is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. We would love to hear your thoughts on the Mayhem Song Top 20 Chart. Check out the complete list below and click here to access a Spotify playlist of the whole top 20!

1 B-Side – The Corsairs
2 You Are The Sunshine Of My Life – Stevie Wonder
3 Red Dress – The Last Of The Fallen Angels
4 Smooths And Sorts – Dave Barker
5 You Do What You Want – MARQ Electronica
6 Only Wanna Be With You – Hootie and the Blowfish
7 Confusion – Hannah Robinson
8 You’ve Got A Friend In Me – Randy Newman
9 Was It Something That I Said? – Sylvester
10 Your Honour – Pluto Shervington
11 Modern Love – Biffy Clyro
12 P.S. – New Version – Toad The Wet Sprocket
13 No One Is Innocent – Sex Pistols
14 I Want To Go Back There Again – Chris Clark
15 Got To Be There – Michael Jackson
16 Viva Las Vengeance – Panic! At The Disco
17 Roads Leading Nowhere – Vaquelin
18 Dirty Work – Steely Dan
19 Mr. Magic Man – Wilson Pickett
20 Forever And Ever – Slik

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Sweet May – Fulford Arms, York – Friday 24th June 2022 July 6, 2022

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 10:53 am
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I have been to many gigs promoted by the very talented Simon Pattinson of Northern Radar and so far he has never let me down with a deluge of incredible lineups. Will tonight live up to that reputation? Read on to find out! This was two nights in a row for me at the magnificent Fulford Arms, Sweet May are the headliners, but before them, we were offered a nifty selection of support bands. So let’s talk about those for a while. First up were the Corsairs, a very young (all 14 and 15 I believe) York band playing their first gig at a packed, sold-out Fully Arms. What a great first gig for a young band, who despite their youth oozed confidence on stage. They were a bit Kooksy with elements of the Coral too. The B-Side (how do kids know what that is?) of their single sounded like a classy acoustic track from Just Jack. Definitely, a band to watch out for, if they are this good now what will they be like when they come of age? I love it when a band looks to be enjoying themselves on stage and the Corsairs seemed to be loving it! Following the Corsairs, it was the turn of another talented local band, Pavilion. They were incredibly well-rehearsed and tight and this lot gets better every time I see them. They write and perform epic story songs in the British rock lineage that goes back to the Kinks, and heads to the future via the Smiths and the Libertines. The sound is supremely enhanced and given immense depth by the Ray Manzarek-style keys. It brings a depth that is deeper than the San Andreas Trench. Keep your ears open, there is new music from Pavilion on the way!

Next up was Sun King, a band that I have never seen before, in fact, no one had, this was their first gig. The vocals were monumental, a bit of Robert Plant, some Paul Rodgers in his Bad Company pomp, some soulful Steve Marriott tones and then when he hit those falsetto lines a lot like Prince. The band played wonderful classic rock styles with a nod to soul, jazz, and funk, perhaps taking some influence from the Average White Band, Steely Dan, and a pre-Michael McDonald Doobie Brothers. This is a band I must see again and you really need to as well, that’s an order! Headliners Sweet May kicked off with two heavy tunes, but not just heavy, we are talking as heavy as fuck and heavier than osmium. But it wasn’t all heavy, as along comes “Deep Space”. The intro on this track lulls you into thinking it’s a prog-jazz thing and then it becomes a ground-shaking metal funk workout. Sweet May were on fire and blew the roof off the Fully, only metaphorically of course, but they definitely had the power to do it in real life!

All the videos were found on YouTube. If the video is yours and you would like a credit or for it to be removed please let me know.

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