Sleuth Gang are a fucking awesome live band and with every release they prove that they are fucking awesome in the studio too. New single “Safe Bet” is their best yet, it deserves some live festival exposure. Reading/ Leeds are you listening? It has their signature three pronged vocal attack and an incessant heavy groove with riffs that could power a Saturn V rocket. I bloody love this track!
The video is superb. It has the band introduced to a sparse, bored and almost silent crowd at a Working Men’s Club by a wonderfully camp drag queen before they go on to perform “Safe Bet”. So many videos these days are dull and generic, this one is neither dull nor generic!
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I have not reviewed a Sleuth Gang gig until now. Although this was the fourth time I have seen them. I was one of the judges for the Fulford Arms Battle Of The Bands contest last year so saw them in the heat, the semi final and the final. But before I talk of the Gang known as Sleuth let me tell you about the two support acts. First up was Mooseknuckle from Leeds, they play some hard driven metal driven punk and it is so good it would be impossible to ignore even if you were ordered to. The singer prowls around his front of stage mic stand like a caged panther and what a fucking awesome punk rock voice he has. Stu, the guitarist, shows some great guitar god shapes and his riffs are immense. Meanwhile new drummer Elliot knows how to attack the drums with sublime style. This is the first time that I have seen Mooseknuckle, it won’t be the last!
Next up it was Dharma Hounds all the way from Essex. They don’t just wear their social conscience and politics on their sleeves they are clearly impassioned and driven by it. This is a band that this currently shitty world needs. The songs from their current EP are fucking awesome, particularly the title track “Nah”. They play punk like they were born to it, but they can do so much more too. They threw in some great skanking sounds with a cover of the Pioneers 1969 UK number 21 hit “Long Shot Kick De Bucket”. That part reminded of a couple of of punk bands that knew their way around reggae and ska, the Clash and the Members. The singer sings some outstanding punk vocals and in the slower almost spoken moments he sounded like Scroobius Pip. I had never heard of Dharma Hounds before this gig, now I am definitely a fan!
I has been an honour to be a judge at the Fulford Arms Battle of the Bands contest these past few years and in awarding the Judge’s Wildcard to Sleuth Gang after the semi finals there was no doubt that this was the band that blew me and my fellow judges away. As you know they went on to win it last year with a blistering set. Now they are back at the scene of their triumph to headline the Fulford Arms. What are they like? Imagine the Beastie Boys backed by Led Zeppelin with Liam Howlett producing. This was a towering set even by a band who appear to set their own musical standards so high. There were three tracks from their debut EP ‘Initiation’. Of those it was “Pity Party” that had the crowd eating out of the band’s hands. Their cover of the Prodigy’s “Omen” had an electrifying and mesmerising outing. Every song was a highlight, but if I had to pick one that stood out from the rest it would probably be a single that they released in February, “Grit Your Teeth”. If this band does not yet have your attention please tell me why not. You need to rectify this right now. Sleuth Gang will get bigger and better and I reckon they will be around for a very long while. They remain authentic, “for real” and as punk as fuck! Whose gang? SLEUTH GANG!!!!
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Here is the Mayhem chart for December 2024. Regular readers know the chart is based on my Spotify listening habits. These are gathered over the last month by obscurify.com. Apparently, my tastes have fallen by four points to 92% more obscure than the rest of the UK! It must be all the Christmas standards I have listened to last month. Incidentally no Christmas songs are included in the chart. But the most popular Chrimbo tune was Mr. Strange with “Santa Clause Hates The Poor”. 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, Cat Stevens and Wham! Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to for November: Liz Davinci, Sleuth Gang and Carol Hodge. Carol also appears in the artist chart and the song chart. 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 went up from number 2 to number 1. Herorangecoat is staying at number 7. Delilah Bon is staying at number 9. Delilah has been in the artist charts now for 13 months! Two artists appear in both lists for December: Delilah Bon and Carol Hodge. The number one song comes from HANDSHAKE IN SPACE. 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 December 2024
1 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 2 Carol Hodge 3 Cassyette 4 Taylor Swift 5 Lana Del Ray 6 Du Blonde 7 HerOrangeCoat 8 Mannequin Pussy 9 Delilah Bon 10 Bobbie Dazzle
Mayhem Song Chart December 2024
1 Let’s Control It – HANDSHAKE IN SPACE 2 Not The President – Delilah Bon 3 Shake The Slack – Avalanche Party 4 Hunt You Down – ALT BLK ERA 5 Manoeuvres – Carol Hodge
Here is the Mayhem chart for November 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 96% 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, U2 and the Four Tops. Obscurify also suggests the most obscure artists I have listened to for November: Liz Davinci, Vaquelin, and Sleuth Gang. There is a top ten artists chart and a top 5 songs chart. There is the usual eclectic mix of artists, including two that were in the top ten last month; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Up from number 10 to number 2), and Delilah Bon (falling from number 8 to number 9). Delilah has been in the artist charts now for a whole year! Three artists appear in both lists for November: ALT BLK ERA, Joshua Idehan and the artist chart toppers Sleuth Gang. The number one song is “Age Of Stupid” by the Jellybricks. 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 November 2024
1 Sleuth Gang 2 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 3 Joshua Idehen 4 Stress Dolls 5 Blue Violet 6 ALT BLK ERA 7 HerOrangeCoat 8 tiLLie 9 Delilah Bon 10 Not Now Norman
Mayhem Song Chart November 2024
1 Age Of Stupid – Jellybricks 2 Falling – Apollo Junction 3 Pity Party – Sleuth Gang 4 My Drummer’s Girlfriend – ALT BLK ERA (featuring Wheatus) 5 Mum Does The Washing – Joshua Idehan
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I am a lucky man. I have seen Sleuth Gang live three times in the last couple of months, all as part of their triumphant performances, which saw them win the 2024 Fulford Arms Battle Of The Bands contest. Now they have released an EP, ‘Initiation’. It encapsulates everything that is so great about them and they have managed to capture 100% of just how good they sound in the live environment. These tracks are incredibly powerful. If you are familiar with the band you will already know the mountainous singles “Pity Party” and “Sleuth Season”. On top of that, you get a few more banging, anthemic songs, especially the magnificent “Headshot”.
The Clash sang about the last gang in town in a song of the same name “Everybody’s looking for the last gang in town. You better watch out for they’re all comin’ around“. Well maybe the Clash were seen as the last gang in town, but now there is a new and truly fucking awesome gang in town and they are called Sleuth Gang. I have never been interested in joining a gang, but Sleuth Gang is now the gang to be in!
There are influences from Beastie Boys, 70’s punk (including the Clash), the Specials, Grime, harder-edged hip-hop, and Enter Shikari. But they still sound like no one else. Sleuth Gang wear their passions and opinions on their sleeves and they have no fear in confronting issues that other bands steer clear of. They stand up for those without a voice and those who are not heard. I bloody love them and this EP is a taster for a massive future for Sleuth Gang. Stop looking for overpriced Oasis tickets and similar stuff and get yourself along to a Sleuth Gang gig, this band is the real deal and they will not disappoint you! Now is the time, now is the season, now is Sleuth Season!
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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!
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With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 