With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

Lost Trends – The Crescent York – Friday 27th June 2025 July 2, 2025


This was another gig pulled together by music promoter extraordinaire, Simon P of Northern Radar and featured some of my favourite bands, notably headliners Lost Trends, but more of them later as I need to talk about the rather stunning support acts. First up it was Saliva Birds. If you are addicted to class A garage rock then this bunch will make you overdose on it. They have some great songs and they are one hell of a tight band. The backdrop visuals were weird, wonky and wonderful and featured monstrous impossible creatures and rather strangely Bjorn Borg! This was the first time I have seen them live and I am quite excited for the release of their new single now.

Next up it was the incomparable Apocalypse Disco. The duo are much louder and more spiritual than the Prodigy. From the opening bars of opener “Welcome To The Disco” the crowd were all ready to sign up to be members of the Apocalypse Disco cult! Keyboard and laptop maestro Ian bashes out more beats than an army could manage while front man Robin works the crowd wonderfully with his energy and madly, manic magnificent performance. There were many stand outs, particularly “Alive”, “Surrender” and “The Bridge”. This was the second time I have seen them live and it won’t be the last. In fact I will be seeing them again on 11th July!

Finally it was time to see the mighty Lost Trends. When I first saw the band back in 2018 they were seen as a dance influenced indie band. Now they have grown into something that is so much more. This was easily the most powerful performance I have seen from them. Recent singles “Antelope” and “Take Down” are masterful rock songs. Lost Trends classic “DJ” still raises the roof and the new hip hop influenced track is ace. Their progress in the eight years since I first came into contact with them is colossal. Imagine how the Who went from a relatively basic 60s R & B band into a humongous rock behemoth. It feels like Lost Trends have the potential to be on a similar trajectory! This was another great night from Northern Radar!

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The Mayhem Charts – April 2025 May 28, 2025


Here is the Mayhem chart for April 2025, rather tardy I know, but better late than never right? Regular readers know the chart is based on my streaming listening habits. These are gathered over the last month by obscurify.com. My taste in music remains 99% more obscure than the rest of the UK! The chart remains contemporary-ish (but if a classic artist releases something new they might feature in the chart). However, last month’s top three “Legacy” artists were David Bowie, Max Romeo and the Isley Brothers. Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to for March and they are Liz Davinci, Dead Rat Society and Kindelan. Bowie, Liz Davinci and Kindelan have retained their positions from last month.

Millie Manders and the Shutup are the top artist for April’ up from number three in March . Millie and the gang are the only artist in the artist chart remaining from last month. The artist chart, I am pleased to say, is made up of 70% female or female fronted acts. These include Lexi Jones, Emma-Jean Thackray, Litany, Greentea Peng and the amazingly talented abs! Three artists feature in both the artist chart and the song chart; Cassyette (7 – artist, 2 – song), Dead Rat Society (4 – artist, 4 – song) and Apollo Junction (10 – artist, 5 – song). One of Mayhem’s favourite bands tops the song chart with cracking current single “Take Down”, yes it is one of York’s finest bands, Lost Trends! So without further ado here are those charts in full! Click on the Spotify link below to listen to the famous (or infamous) five! Nearly fifteen minutes of great music!

Mayhem Artist Chart April 2025

1 Millie Manders and the Shutup
2 Abs
3 Lexi Jones
4 Dead Rat Society
5 Greentea Peng
6 Litany
7 Cassyette
8 James and the Cold Gun
9 Emma-Jean Thackray
10 Apollo Junction

Mayhem Song Chart April 2025

1 Take Down – Lost Trends
2 This World Fucking Sucks – Cassyette
3 Elephant – Neckbreakers
4 The Night – Dead Rat Society
5 Settle Down – Apollo Junction

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“Takedown” – Lost Trends April 29, 2025

Filed under: Review,Single — justwilliam1959 @ 4:17 pm
Tags: , , , , ,

One of York’s finest bands, Lost Trends, don’t release new stuff very often. But when they do it is always fucking good! New single “Takedown” is no exception it explodes into action from the first note. At times it sounds like the Killer’s with a harder edge. Rusty’s voice is better than it has ever been weaving from Brandon Flowers to David Byrne via John Lydon. Pete’s guitar screams like a banshee newly released from its chains. Drum and bass rumble like the after shock of an atom bomb. You need to play “Takedown” loud on repeat until you convince the neighbours to play it too.

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Wow That’s What I Call Mayhem – Volume 5 January 3, 2025


I send my continued humble apologies to the creators of the iconic NOW series. Their compilations began in 1983. I posted and compiled the first WOW That’s What I Call Mayhem collection back in March 2024. Volumes 2, 3 and 4 followed in August and September. So you must be ready for volume 5, right? I certainly hope so, because here it is! This includes the last 20 singles we reviewed in 2024 in another maniacal eclectic playlist for your listening pleasure! With nearly 70 minutes of music, click the Spotify link below and lose yourself in the music!

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The Mayhem Charts – October 2024 November 8, 2024


Here is the Mayhem chart for October 2024. Regular and constant readers know that the chart is based on my Spotify listening habits over the last month gathered by obscurify.com. Apparently, my tastes have fallen one point to 97% more obscure than the rest of the UK! The chart remains contemporary-ish (but if a classic artist releases something new they might feature in the chart). However, last month’s top three “Legacy” artists were Suede, Pink Floyd and David Bowie. Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to for October: Liz Davinci, Kindelan, and Birdlands, weirdly exactly the same three artists as September. There is a top ten artists chart and a top 5 songs chart. There is the usual eclectic mix of artists, including three that were in the top ten last month; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (staying at number 10), Birdlands (moving up one place from 4 to 3) and Delilah Bon (falling from number 1 to number 8). Delilah has been in the artist charts now for eleven consecutive months. Two artists appear in both lists for October Molly Rymer and the act that is number one in the artist chart, cumgirl8! The number one song is “Nobody Else Knows” by Flyght Club. So without further ado here are those charts in full! Click on the Spotify link below to listen to the famous (or infamous) five!

Mayhem Artist Chart October 2024

1 cumgirl8
2 Cats In Space
3 Birdlands
4 Molly Rymer
5 KOYO
6 Brooke Candy
7 Ice Nine Kills
8 Delilah Bon
9 The Courettes
10 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Mayhem Song Chart October 2024

1 Nobody Else Knows – Flyght Club
2 Karma Police – cumgirl8
3 Something That Survives – Molly Rymer
4 How Bad – Gilda House
5 Antelope – Lost Trends

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“Antelope” – Lost Trends October 20, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 4:09 pm
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Lost Trends are back baby, and with a huge, I mean HUGE banger of a tune, “Antelope”. It is a classic dance sound with a Madchester attitude spliced with a post-punk vocal from Rusty. This will blow the roof of the Uni Disco and if it doesn’t get a lot of airplay then there is far more wrong with the world than we know. I bloody love this track.

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


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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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem – Singles Round-Up 2020 Part 11 August 24, 2020


Here we are with our eleventh singles round-up of 2020. This one features seven great tunes, which found their way into the world over the past few weeks. This roundup carries on the guest reviewer approach kicked off when Simon Pattinson, Head Honcho of Northern Radar joined me to review a batch of singles in the 10th Roundup. This time I was joined joined for another Zoom listening extravaganza by Rusty Green, singer and guitarist with Lost Trends, one of York’s finest bands. If the weather is good and COVID-19 infection rates are low I hope to see those Lost Trends boys playing live again on 30th August, in a socially distanced setting, obviously!

These seven tracks feature another great selection of bands and singers from Long Island, Delaware, Glasgow, Whittingham Asylum, Brighton, Los Angeles and North East UK. All of these acts are new to With Just A Hint Of Mayhem except Moodbay and I am sure that they will all feature again sometime in the future. Play them all now, that’s an order!

“Small World”Gamblers

Bill – I love the jaunty funk and Billy Whizz guitar licks. Great harmonies and at times Nick Heywardesque. A really cool summer vibe.

Rusty – MGMT style vocals with classy harmonies reminiscent of Empire Of The Sun. Funky pop with a great funk bass line. A bright tune that contrasts with some very dark lyrics

“Checkered Vans” – Reece Ratliff

Rusty – A very mature voice. Probably not my kind of area, but a catchy, synth driven, bright pop tune. It kept me interested, was that a vocoder in there?

Bill – A love song about shoes, surely there aren’t many of those around? It made me think that I need to buy me some of the Bowie Vans. This is a great song with an excellent hook. It is really all about lost love, not just shoes, and it made me smile. Simply a perfect pop tune.

“Cosmopolis” – Pleasure Heads

Bill – Very clever lyrics that are stylistically reminiscent of the Arctic Monkeys for me. This is a great slice of masterful post punk pop that reeled me in immediately. At times it reminded me of Cast and the Zutons. Did that lyric couplet say “voyeuristic wank”? 🙂

Rusty – Vocally it sounds like the Courteeners, I am definitely a fan of the Pleasure Heads now. The distorted bass roughed it up a bit and made it much rockier. The pre chorus was really cool.

“Imago” – Ward XVI

Rusty – Like a heavy White Stripes. A great vocal and I like the way they used the synth. That reminded me of the Horrors and Mr Bungle. The heavier synth notes suggested a bit of Nine Inch Nails. The whole tune showed some great variation of styles.

Bill – Heavy, deep and masterful riffage. I love the vocals. Apparently this is a part of a concept album about being in an asylum. I am really looking forward to the album after hearing this.

“Current” – Phoria

Bill – Very soundtrackesque, like something from the sad part/ death scene of a David Lynch film. But it is also very chilled with a classical element. No real vocal, but there is a great use of overdubbed voices as an instrument. It made me think of Mogwai while on a post speed come down. Also some rather eery and odd scratchy samples used.

Rusty – definitely my favourite so far, fantastically produced. I really love the chord change from major to minor. Personally I would love to create and record a soundtrack one day.

“Karmic Lemonade” – Velvet Starlings

Rusty – The drop into the chorus was truly brilliant. It suggests classic Primal Scream or the Rolling Stones at the height of their powers.

Bill – Like the heavy side of Brit Pop and yet it strangely reminded me of Kula Shaker as a 60s garage band. I sense a real influence from the classic rock of the 60s and 70s. Great rock vocalist and a tight, talented band. I loved the feedback heavy ending.

“Like Nobody Else” – Moodbay

Bill – Classic 80s style synth pop, but clearly with a 21st century sheen. Like some of the best of the Human League or Depeche Mode but with Oakey and Gahan replaced by a, Anna Stephens a supremely talented vocalist. Great hooks with a middle eight that sounded like the Pet Shop Boys at their best.

Rusty – Pop is not a dirty word and this really is great pop. Catchy and yet very dark at times. Gorgeous vocals and I like that they left the ‘click’ on for the chorus.

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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem Presents A Gig For SASH – The Crescent, York – Friday 3rd January 2020 January 7, 2020


This is not really a review in the truest sense, more of a little tale as to how, as With Just A Hint Of Mayhem, I promoted my first gig. The idea gelled quite a while ago, I had wanted to do something to celebrate my own 60th birthday (1st January 2019) and the tenth birthday of my With Just A Hint Of Mayhem blog (9th February 2019). But for various reasons I took a lot longer to get things moving so, in reality, I suppose the gig celebrates my 61st birthday (January 1st, 2020) and the blogs eleventh anniversary next month (9th February 2020). One decision I made early was that this first, and possibly only, gig would be for charity. Mostly because I felt that if it went belly up then people might be more forgiving. I chose SASH as it is a charity close to my heart for far more reasons than I have time to go into here. SASH is a youth homelessness charity that works across York, North and East Yorkshire. They provide invaluable help to young people aged 16-25 who are facing homelessness.

The Receivers – Picture-Copyright – Charlie Kirkpatrick

After that all I had to decide was which bands I wanted on the bill, easy peasy, right? Well not quite, one band I was keen to have play agreed to be there and then had to pull out for logistical reasons, sadly the band broke up towards the end of last year too. So that left three out of four to secure for the night. A year ago I said to Rusty, the singer from Lost Trends that I was planning a charity gig, with no prompting he said: “we’re in!” With a stern straight face, I replied: “I haven’t asked you yet!” But obviously Lost Trends then became the first band to be pencilled in. Would I be able to secure the next two bands? Well, that part wasn’t too difficult and from initial conversations, it was clear that the Receivers and My Wonderful Daze were very keen to help and to play at the Crescent on 3rd January. After some advice from people who know their stuff (thank you Joe Coates and Simon Pattinson) I dropped my original wish of four bands on the bill to three. So now all was set and I embarked on a social media campaign of promotion. I was concerned that upfront ticket sales were low, but everyone kept telling me that there would be plenty of walk-ins on the night. Thankfully all those people were right and we had I think something like 80 – 90 people there on the night.

My Wonderful Daze – Picture-Copyright – Charlie Kirkpatrick

The running order was decided by online vote after the Receivers chose to open the show (they have a number of headline gigs coming up). In a close-fought vote, Lost Trends pipped My Wonderful Daze to the headline spot. So it would be doors open at 7:30, the Receivers at 8, My Wonderful Daze at 9 and Lost Trends at 10. I wanted to be there for all the preparation so I arrived at the Crescent at 4pm, before any of the bands ready and waiting to witness the soundchecks. Even that was exciting for me and by then I was running on pure grade adrenaline. All three bands were on top form at soundcheck aided and abetted by ace soundman Stu Bellis. The team at the Crescent were superb and I learned a lot from them for next time (yes I am sure there will be more from me!). Suddenly it was time for the doors to open and I stood by the ticket table waiting for the punters to flood in! It was more of a trickle at first but a relentless trickle which continued at quite a pace for the next hour or so.

Lost Trends – Picture-Copyright – Charlie Kirkpatrick

Before the bands came on Matt Messias told the crowd about all the great work that SASH do to help prevent youth homelessness. Every band played like they were headliners which made it a blistering night of fabulous music. The Receivers played crowdpleasers like “Saturday” and showcased a couple of new songs. Guitarist Alex had some instrument issues towards the end of their set but improvised with some maniacal Bez dancing. Flowers a.k.a. Chloe the obscenely talented frontwoman of My Wonderful Daze had an awful cold but did not let that deter her or the band from pulling off an incendiary set. The crowd had been up for a party and were wearing their bopping shoes and dancing trousers and showing their best moves all night. That culminated in the whole room grooving to those famous indie dance punkateers Lost Trends. It was a great night of punk, funk, psych, indie, metal, glam, and ROCK. It was LOUD and I loved it. Everyone that I spoke to loved it too. All three bands looked to be having great fun on stage as well. The Receivers and My Wonderful Daze offered much of their merch sales to SASH. I know that Lost Trends would have done the same but they are currently “the band with no merch”! So thanks to all the paying punters (many of whom gave their change to the charity), merch sales, all the bands turning down a rider and a discount on the venue hire fee we raised more than £400 for SASH. That is beyond my wildest expectations and it will fund 21 safe nights sleep to young people facing homelessness in our community. I cannot thank you all enough for what you helped us achieve. With Just A Hint Of Mayhem will definitely be doing more gigs!

Matt & Bill – Picture-Copyright – Charlie Kirkpatrick

As a postscript, there was an after-party of sorts at the Priory for shameless Karaoke. But while there were some true legends made into the early hours via Abba songs, Cyndi Lauper tunes and a couple of the Dame’s greatest hits, what went on at the Priory stays at the Priory. Although if you would like to pay me a fiver which I will give to SASH I will tell you as much as I can remember!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyNkIcjPpAk

All the photos apart from the gig poster were taken by Charlie Kirkpatrick of Kirkpatrick Photography please do not share or use without permission. You can find Kirkpatrick Photography here and on Facebook. There are a few more excellent pictures from Charlie just below the following public service announcement, including some great crowd shots. I recognise quite a few of those punters! Incidentally, the gig poster was designed and made by me! The videos were all found on YouTube if one of them is yours and you would like a credit or for me to remove it please let me know. 

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Lost Trends – Victoria Vaults, York – Thursday 18th July 2019 July 23, 2019

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 5:53 pm
Tags: , , , , , , ,

This gig marked my first ever visit to the famous Victoria Vaults (a.k.a. Vicci Vaults) in York. It would also be the fifth time that I have had the chance to experience the mighty Lost Trends, one of Yorks finest bands, playing live. But before I tell you about Lost Trends there is the not so small matter of the two rather spiffing support acts. First on stage was Borderline, another local band who interestingly have no guitarist. But honestly, you really don’t notice that with the heavy, synth-laden, beautiful racket they make. At times I detected a synth, indie, Brit Pop style with shades of New Order and Dave Gahan. The highlight of their set for me was the delightfully titled “The Duchess Dies Tonight”. But that was a close run thing with “In A Vacuum”, which bled with the pumping heart of Heaven 17. But a Heaven 17 from a parallel universe where the never had a fractious split with the original Human League. Steve Gillies vocals occasionally hit a rich seam of Gary Numanesque style and delivery. The aforementioned lack of guitar was rendered invisible by the rhythm section that provided the power of more than just two people. James Brown on drums and bass player Tome Brown were totally in sync with each other throughout the set. Borderline are an excellent band that you really need to check out.

Borderline

Scarborough band the Feens graced the stage next and what an outfit they are, riding on the crest of some excellent airplay on BBC Six Music, BBC Introducing and Amazing Radio they hit the stage with a truckload of energy and great tunes. Think Talking Heads with Johnny Marr on guitar duties, yes Sam Dowling is that good! Freddie Schmuck one of the Feens dual lead vocalists has a feel of Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig about him. When the other dual lead singer, bass player Adam Lodge gets going it’s like being hit by a massive injection of Arcade Fire. The Feens are a highly talented and truly brilliant band that promises so much more. I believe this bunch can go all the way!

The Feens

At last, it was time for the mighty Lost Trends, easily one of York’s best bands from the last five years. It was probably George Clinton or Bootsy Collins who coined the phrase Funkateers, well I believe Lost Trends are true Funkateers, on top of that their outlook and attitude suggest Punkateers too. This is a rock band that thinks it’s a funk band, a funk band that thinks it’s an indie band, an indie band that thinks it’s a punk band. The truth is they are all of those genres, and more, combined into a musical package that will blow your socks off and blow your mind. Every song they have is a dance floor banger that would be perfectly at home pumping from the main stage of Reading/ Leeds. We were treated to some great cuts from their EP “Time” launched earlier this year and some old classics, including “DJ” which is a song about crap DJs. I have said this of Lost Trends before but their stuff would be amazing if featured on a dance remix album by the likes of the Chemical Brothers or Soulwax. As usual Pete Knaggs’ guitar never lets up as it shimmers across the magnificent sounds emanating from a rhythm section that would grace any top band. Rusty’s vocal performance was once again immense and full of power and passion. This band deserves to be huge and if you haven’t seen Lost Trends yet, then you had better rectify that very quickly, otherwise, I will have to come around and sort you out! I know where you live!

Lost Trends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD9eew_8DLg

Rusty off of Lost Trends

 

Public Service Announcement: All pictures, apart from the gig poster were taken by me on my cheap android phone. All videos were sourced from YouTube. If the video is yours and you would like me to credit you or take it down please let me know.

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