Well, it has been an exciting Battle Of The Bands so far this year, six excellent heats and three semi-finals that were the closest ever! But only four bands can make it to the final and those talented bands are; Patience (Semi-final 1 winner), Theseus (Semi-final 2 winner), Offbeat (Semi-final 3 winner), and Sleuth Gang who were given the coveted Judge’s Wild Card. They were my wild card choice!) I have been involved as a judge in this fine contest for three years now (and sometimes stand-in compere) and it gets better. The talent in the music scene in York and Yorkshire is huge. Who will win? I have no idea it could be any one of these four amazing bands. I reckon it will be very close again too. Have you got a ticket? I hope so because they sold out in something like eight hours! It might not be as exciting as the other prizes on offer but if any of the bands would like to do an interview at With Just A Hint Of Mayhem sometime after the final, just give me a shout! (Theseus are ahead of the game and I am sorting out interview dates with them already!) See you on November 3rd! To get you ready check out the playlist below!
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.
The Mayhem Monthly charts return for the third month in a row. Regular readers know the chart is based on my Spotify listening habits over the last month. The chart remains contemporaryish, otherwise, it might be filled with classic artists all the time and that would be boring, right? The top three “Legacy” artists are David Bowie, Nick Drake, and Sam Cooke. There is a top ten artists chart and a top 5 songs chart. As expected there is quite an eclectic mix of artists including two that were in the top ten last month (ALT BLK ERA and Ren). In fact this is the third month in a row that ALT BLK ERA have featured in the artist top ten. The top five songs features three artists who also appear in the artist top ten, that is the Delilah Bon, ALT BLK ERA and Black Pumas. Delilah Bon does the double, she is at the top of both charts, with excellent support from ALT BLK ERA! So without further ado here are those charts! Click on the header of the song chart for the playlist on Spotify.
MAYHEM ARTIST CHART OCTOBER 2023 1Delilah Bon 2 DJ Shadow 3 The Streets 4 Ren 5 ALT BLK ERA 6 Poppy 7 Ashnikko 8 Scene Queen 9 Wargasm 10 Black Pumas
MAYHEM SONG CHART OCTOBER 2023 1 Witch – Delilah Bon featuring ALT BLK ERA 2 Last Train To Selby – PERCY 3 Alive – The Apocalypse Disco 4 More Than A Love Song – Black Pumas 5 Your Mind’s Closed – Offbeat
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.
It has been a while since the last Mayhem Singles Round Up so I thought how about one that focused on bands and artists from or based in York? This post contains songs from eighteen different artists and showcases the diversity of styles, the strength of music, and the depth of the music scene in my adopted city of York. All these tunes were delivered into the world by the magical music stork in the last few months. OK fact fans, three of these acts have a link to the school that I currently work at, can you guess which ones? Click here to take a listen to a Spotify playlist of all eighteen tracks, which is more than an hour of fab music! In case you are interested, the order of the songs was simply drawn out of a metaphorical hat 🙂
“G.U.N.N.E.R” – YouVee YouVee get proper heavy on this blockbuster of a tune. Shades of early Kasabian and even Black Sabbath abound!
“Start A New” – Bull – This is a band that moves closer to perfection with each release and “Start A New” has the makings of a Bull classic. The harmonies are good enough to melt even the hardest of hearts with the genius of adding a school choir too.
“Make Up” – Pennine Suite – I reckon this is Pennine Suite’s finest song so far. It has power, awesome vocals, and a chorus that sticks around in your head for quite a while.
“In Ecstasy” – Shed Seven featuring Rowetta – York’s musical titans the Sheds are back and with an absolute banger featuring the unmistakable vocal support of the magnificent Rowetta.
“Break In The Weather” – Benjamin Francis Leftwich – A gorgeous ballad of heartbreak that shows the emergence of buds of hope. Potentially a real tearjerker.
“Rebellion” – Anthea Drive – Is this Anthea Drive’s heaviest tune yet? I think so. Full of mountainous, immaculate riffs and roaring vocals.
“Your Mind’s Closed” – Offbeat – A delicious slice of indie pop that will get everyone moving a indie nights everywhere. I felt like the ghost of Altered Images haunted this tune a couple of times.
“Said And Done” – Fendry and Liv North – British rap is alive and well and Fendry might one day be at the forefront of it. This delightful collaboration with Liv North has parallels with some of Eminem’s work with female vocalists like Rihanna. Ace beats and rap that bleeds feelings and passion.
“Alive” – The Apocalypse Disco – If the apocalypse is truly on its way then this bunch must be on your end-of-the-world soundtrack. This joyous slice of electro does make me want to stay alive though. Dance to it and tell the four horsemen of the apocalypse to fuck right off!
“Marionette” – Vaquelin – a deep, dark tune from one of my favourite rock bands, Vaquelin. As usual, the guitar sound is immense as are the vocals. But the stand out is the drumming which would give Bonham and Moon a run for their money!
“Kelly’s In The Garden” – Heavy Bloom – A wonderfully chilled indie-style pop tune, like Air with added guitars. This will be on my summer playlist for next year.
“Tomorrow” – Fervent Red – This hits you like a hard-edged Beatlesy Brit Pop tune. It has a slight psychedelic vein running through it and a rather nifty chorus.
“Solemn Power” – The Exceptional Mr. Hyde – Is this electro dance or heavy rock? Actually, it is both. If Hawkwind began in the 21st century they might sound like this. This bodes well for their upcoming album!
“Last Train To Selby” – PERCY – Those West Yorkshire Superheroes are definitely back on form. A song that only PERCY could deliver. A great singalong that highlights a ghost on the train lyric. Check out the excellent video below.
“On My Mind (Radio Edit)” – CHAZ – A pounding piano-led house anthem that would move even the comatose. Dance music is alive and well in York as this debut single from CHAZ proves. The vocals are brilliant too.
“Save Your Time” – Rosettas – This captures some of the energy and power that the Rosettas have on stage. A great tune from a great band and every member is on top form.
“How Can You Be” – Everything After Midnight – My favourite Everything After Midnight song from the first listen. It has been aired live in a different form. But now it is an all-round close to perfect tune. The guitars smack you in the face in a good way while Steph’s vocal is close to heavenly.
“Fixed Point” – Heartsink – Those cheeky pop-punk chaps Heartsink have another great tune for our delectation. A little more acoustic than usual, at least initially. But a song that turns the riffage and passion up to 11 towards the fade.
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.
Here we are, after six heats and three magnificent semi-finals today is the grand final of the Fulford Arms Battle of the Bands 2023 competition. We have seen some incredible performances from some spectacularly good bands. But only four remain. Offbeat, Hunter Gatherer, and HÆrtstrings all won their semi-finals and Ømmis are this year’s judge’s wild card. I am once again on the judging panel for this sell-out show, so I don’t think it’s fair to review it. But I will say that I think the contest tonight will be as close as hell and truly gladiatorial, although the spilling of blood, and probably no chariots! I hope to see you there, bring it on!
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.
Regular readers know that I was invited back to judge this year’s Battle Of The Bands competition at the Fulford Arms in York. Obviously, as I am on the judging panel, I do not think it is fair to review the shows. But I thought you might like a few updates, and this is the second one.
Heats 3 and 4 took place on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th September. The lineup for Heat 3 was Frantics, HÆrtstrings, Chased By Machines, and Uncultured. It was a very close contest, and HÆrtstrings and Frantics will be in the semi-finals! Heat 4 had another great lineup with Belle Velvet, Offbeat, Robo, and Darted. The two winners of Heat 4 were Belle Velvet and Offbeat. Get yourself to the Fulford Arms on Wednesday 20th September and Thursday 21st September for Heat 5 and 6!
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.
This would be only the third time that I had seen the magnificent and mighty This House Is Haunted. The last time was back in 2021 at this very venue, the fabulous Fulford Arms. So what was This House Is Haunted like? Read on and you’ll find out, first I need to tell you about the two rather delightful support bands. First up it was Offbeat, a band that is new to me, so therefore new to these pages. I believe they are quite a new band and, oh boy do they pack a hefty punch. They have some great punk-style licks and they know how to write a classy pop-rock tune too. They have a song about Grimsby too, how many other artists have done that? To my knowledge, there is Elton John with the song “Grimsby” from his 1974 album ‘Caribou’ and the Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu (a.k.a. the JAMs and the KLF) mention the town in “It’s Grim Up North” from 1990 and 1991. Offbeat also gave us a colossally good and supremely passionate cover of the Gossip classic “Standing In The Way Of Control”. It looked like the crowd (including some fine formation dancing from the Rosettas (more of them later) absolutely loved them, and so did I.
Next, it was the turn of the Rosettas, a band that I have seen quite a few times. On the evidence of this thunderous set, I think they have got much, much heavier in the depth of their sound with a powerful metal edge to their music. Benji has mastered the art of the guitar god pose and uses it well. Every member of the band played at 110% and was on possibly the best form I have ever seen them on. The mostly acoustic “Kisses On The Mirror” is crying out to be played at a festival and if it is could be one of those hold your lighters (or sadly, phones) in the air. “Haven’t Signed Up For This” and set closer “It Goes Off” were equal parts thunderous and titanic and came close to melting the fervent fans in the crowd.
Finally, it was time for the sumptuously, gorgeous grooves and seismic sonic sensations of This House Is Haunted. This was a band that is on top form. They were tight, talented and, perfect. They know how to do heavy and that metal beast in them is driven into overdrive by Dom’s drumming. Meanwhile, Zak has perfected the classic heavy rock vocal sound in his masterful voice. Zak’s mega riffs are something special. Then there are the deep bass sounds emanating from Jenn’s bass amp which is the classic engine that drives and powers this fine band. As a rhythm section Jenn and Dom are almost unbeatable among their peers. The new tunes hold up well and I hope we see a This House Is Haunted album one day!
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
FacebookTwitterInstagramEMailAre you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 