With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

Sherbert Flies – The Crescent, York – Tuesday 6th, August 2024 August 14, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:52 pm
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I always like it when I get to see a band that I have never seen before, so Sherbert Flies attracted me. But so did the mighty Soma Crew and Eugene Gorgeous. Eugene Gorgeous was first to take the floor, as it was a relatively small crowd the bands all played in front of the stage. They play funky post-punk sounds, does that make it post-funk? I don’t know, but in alignment with their name, they do make gorgeous music. I have seen them a couple of times before, back in 2016 I said of them “Imagine, if you will, the Velvet Underground meeting the Jesus and Mary Chain at a dive bar in Twin Peaks”. That description still stands, only they have got so much better too. This was a great set, the new song is damned good and would give the Strokes a run for their money, it also has a nifty Dr. Feelgood vibe. Sometimes their sublime garage rock has a bit of Nick Cave in it. A band for the ages. I promise not to leave it so long before I see them again!

Next, it was the turn of the magnificent Soma Crew. Let me be clear, absolutely no one does dark, dirty, psychy drone like Soma Crew. This is a supremely talented band. Frontman Si has more effects pedals than I have ever seen arrayed in front of one person. I think he must have a PhD in effects pedals mastery! All the songs were ace tonight, but it was “This Illusion” that reached sublime heights for me. If you haven’t already checked out the new album, ‘Confused OK’ you need to do it now!

Finally, it was time for Sherbert Flies who I had never witnessed before. Apparently, they formed in York ten years ago. They are grungy, punky, and highly original. The rhythm is hard and full-on in its delivery. The guitar sounds draw influence, but don’t steal, from fine classic rock. The vocals are laconic. lo-fi and, lush which both contrasts and complements the dynamic, Germanic, motorik rhythms of their awesome canon of songs. I want to give a huge shout-out to the drummer who feels like the engine room of this great band and he dominates his kit like a master sticksman! I need more of Sherbert Flies in my life! Incidentally, the band’s name is one of the best I have heard in ages. Does it relate in any way to the title of Alex Chilton’s first solo album from 1979, ‘Like Flies on Sherbert’? This night featured another great lineup pulled together by Joe at Please Please You.

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Soma Crew – Album Launch – Fulford Arms, York – Wednesday 3rd April 2024 April 4, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 5:44 pm
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This was a gig to kick off the launch of the new Soma Crew album ‘Confused OK’ which we reviewed here at Mayhem Towers a few days ago, click here to read it. But before I tell you about Soma Crew I have to speak about the two support acts. The first to take the stage was Pascallion. His guitar style was like Chet Atkins on a Hendrix trip with some Jeff Buckley thrown in. As for his songs, wow, imagine if a Thom Yorke demon had possessed Bob Dylan, that is how it sounded to me. Obviously, this just proves that sometimes demonic possession can be good, right? When Pascallion used prerecorded backing tracks (or were they samples) it was like Groove Armada attempting acoustic folk. This guy is very good!

Sewage Farm was next, they sounded like early Nirvana but leaned more towards garage than punk. There were some great hooks and melodies on display and some of these were quite Beatlesesque at times. There were occasions where they reminded me of ‘Monster’ period R.E.M. This band are three great musicians but I want to give a huge shout-out to the drummer he was stunning on the night. So based on this set, I can confirm that, at least musically, don’t stink! They probably don’t stink from a personal hygiene perspective either, but I didn’t get close enough to confirm.

Finally, it was time for the monumental, magnificent, magical, mesmerising, mighty musical powerhouse that is Soma Crew. This bunch is clearly one of the best bands to arise in York and their new album is, for me, possibly their best yet. Soma Crew is always a great live band and tonight was no exception. The new songs are superb on record but in a live setting, they blow up and rip the multiverse apart with more power than Thanos held in the Infinity Gauntlet. Frontman Si Micklethwaite tried to add another dimension to the show with white sheets and his white suit upon which some psychedelic, surreal, and epilepsy-inducing projections were played. Is this similar to those 1960s Pink Floyd Happenings? Incidentally, those projections worked perfectly on Si’s suit for most of the night. There were many highlights in this relatively long set, particularly from the new album. For me, the best moments were”Mirage” and “This Illusion” but the one that blew everything else out of the water was “Propaganda Now”. That really summoned up the spirit of Hawkwind. This has been one of the best gigs I have been to this year so far!

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‘Confused OK’ – Soma Crew April 2, 2024

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:29 pm
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York’s delightful psychedelic drone noiseniks Soma Crew release a new album ‘Confused OK’ on 3rd April. It is their fifth album and coincidentally the fifth time we have featured them on WJAHOM. The album will be available to purchase via Bandcamp on CD or preferred digital download. The album was written during the latter end of the pandemic and recorded last year. According to the band the album “addresses the turmoil in the caged conditions of lockdown, reflecting on recent years of political unrest, public mistrust and personal mental health“. If you read this before the evening of April 3rd you can catch the band at a launch gig for the album at the Fulford Arms in York. I will be there!

The album opens with “These Careless Lips” which seems to describe anxiety about and fear of those in power. It evokes the finest moments that the Velvet Underground left us with. “Tranquilizer” has a very dark feel and has an eerie almost demonic guitar riff. This track would be an excellent inclusion on the soundtrack of a great British psychological horror film. The reverb effects that underpin the song are phenomenal and the extended close is full-on psychedelic. I sense a cryptic element to “Mirage” is it about the forced confinement of lockdown, is it about oppression or is it about someone fighting with doubt and confusion? I think it covers all three and so much more. It has the usual Soma Crew righteous riffing but the stand out here is a driving hypnotic bass part from Chris Goodhead. If you put Television, Spiritualised and the Stooges in a blender and had the about record a song it might turn out to be “Let It Fall”. The song is about finding hope after deception for me and I love it! Like many of us I have experienced at least a small degree of mental health issues and “This Illusion” describes the way people with mental health are treated by physicians and those around them. This one has a bluesy dreamy (or maybe nightmarish) vibe. The line “there is only I that is me” says so much more than seven words ought to. The long fade is mesmerising and stays with you long after the track has finished.

Who knew that Soma Grew could take glam rock and turn it into an obsidian twisted music fantasy? Well, they have with the magnificent “Another Life”. On hearing “The Sheltering Sky” I wondered if this might be what Jim and William Reid might have sounded like had they ever had the chance to collaborate with Marc Bolan. The first single from the album is also the final track, “Propaganda Now” which is accompanied by a stunning video. This is probably the heaviest track on the album and it rocks like an absolute bastard. This is a tune that Hawkwind would be proud of. Lyrically it is my favourite track, and there is some tough competition. On their YouTube page, the band describes “Propaganda Now” as ” lyrically informed by an awareness of the increased discrepancy between fact and its interpretation through social media. Participation in the dispersion of information is unavoidable in contemporary society, and it is virtually impossible to be sure of the veracity of sources. Visual cues are taken from historical posters where images are used to persuade the viewer of a particular point of view. In these circumstances we are presented with a dichotomy, and our innate circumspection is smothered”. The band is firing on all cylinders and Si Micklethwaite’s vocal delivery is his best on the album. If you have not experienced Soma Crew yet, get this album, you will not be disappointed. I had a CD copy of the album for review and the gatefold sleeve, booklet and the CD itself showcase some beautiful art and concepts. The really wonderful old-school touch of including the lyrics in the booklet gets top marks from me. By all means, download or stream the album, but the CD version is something special to behold.

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Spirit Of The Hawk – York Vaults – Thursday 14th December 2023 December 23, 2023

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 6:37 pm
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Following on from the rather wonderful Summer Solstice Shenanigans in June at this very venue Spirit Of The Hawk is back with a Winter Solstice Spectacular. The first of the support bands was Chiang featuring some of Bradford’s finest musicians. They smashed into a stunning, incendiary set full of punk and metal energy. I am a new Chiang fan! Next up was one of York’s best bands, Soma Crew, who supported the Summer Solstice Shenanigans. They brought their “A-Game” drone skills with a collection of tunes that flow into your psyche and make you feel good. As usual, they throw in some exquisite curveballs; grunge tones, Floyd and maybe Can. Their rich sound was enhanced on a few tracks by the addition of a slide guitar. Just when you think that Soma Crew might have peaked, they do this and you know they are still on that upward curve.

Finally, it was time for this Winter Solstice Spectacular to kick into overdrive as Spirit Of The Hawk took the stage. Once again including members of Percy and Soma Crew. This was a supreme sonic fest that showcased just how good Hawkwind once were. This was a true psychedelic trip with some heavy, jazzy, proggy sounds, and, as with the Summer Solstice Shenanigans we had our very own Stacia stand-in making some flowing dance shapes in a glittery jumpsuit. This lady knows how to interpret music with dance. Every member of the band was firing on all cylinders. The guitar playing was exceptionally good. If you had shut your eyes during the set you might have imagined that it was Dave Brock on stage. There were too many highlights to mention but I loved “Damnation Alley” and set closer to “Quark, Strangeness And Charm”. When I reviewed the show in June I mentioned a quote from New Order’s Stephen Morris, “Punk rock started because in every small town, there was somebody who liked Hawkwind.” I am already looking forward to the next Spirit Of The Hawk gig, are you?

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Summer Solstice Shenanigans – York Vaults Wednesday 21st June 2023 July 4, 2023

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 4:05 pm
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This was a fabulous free gig at the York Vaults to celebrate the summer solstice in the way that perhaps only Hawkind might have done. First up it was perhaps the time to reveal the worst-kept secret, secret set in rock history. Under the guise of Sisters Of Percy, who looked, and sounded, remarkably like West Yorkshire Super Heroes Percy! It was a fab show by the band. “What Les Said”, “Chunks” and “Greedy People” were magnificent highs from a set chocked full of them. They played a new song, I missed the title, but it bodes for an electric, weird, and rather spiffing future, it sounded like a 70s funk hoe down with some sharp post-punk vocal stylings.

Next, it was Soma Crew, whose set was sadly cut short owing to an amp malfunction. Top-class psychedelic drone-style tunes which take up residence in your head and stick around to have fun with your endorphins. Soma Crew are not only musical psychonauts, they add some other flavours too, like the occasional grunge lick. Whenever I see or listen to Soma Crew I feel a DNA route back to 60s Pink Floyd, Spiritualized, and even Tangerine Dream, but this bunch are not copyists or revivalists they are very much of our times.

Then it was time for the headliner for this celebration of Summer Solstice 2023, Spirit Of The Hawk. A kind of conglomerate of talent from Percy, Soma Crew, and the mystical elsewhere treating us to a souped-up sonic feast of what Hawkwind once was. Trippy vibes, psychedelic lights, and projection, heavy, jazzy, proggy music, and even a stand-in for the legendary naked, but body-painted dancer Stacia, with a rather talented lady gyrating to those lysergic beats in a Stacia style, but clad in a glittery jumpsuit. The rhythm section drove this not so mostly crew on like a finely tuned Rolls Royce, maybe like John Lennon’s 60s psyched version of the classic car. The lead guitar added some heavy muscular prog tones. Meanwhile, the vocals passionately evoked the classic sound of Dave Brock. Stephen Morris of New Order once said “Punk rock started because in every small town, there was somebody who liked Hawkwind.” Having been reminded of the two occasions I saw Hawkwind in the 70s by this excellent Spirit Of The Hawk gig, I believe that Stephen Morris was right! So, Space Rock begat Punk Rock and so much of what followed, we need more nights like this, let’s not limit it to the solstice either!

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Soma Crew – The Crescent, York – Tuesday 24th May 2022 May 29, 2022

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 3:02 pm
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A gig on a Tuesday is never a super appealing night, is it? I always prefer Thursdays and the weekend. But sometimes something draws you in and here it was Percy and Soma Crew, two bands that I have seen before; frankly, neither of them has ever been anything but sensational. So a Tuesday gig it was! First up, for their first-ever gig, was the New Solar Drones. Their first couple of songs reminded me musically of early R.E.M and perhaps lyrically some tones of early Eels. I love that the band has a percussionist, there are not enough of them in music any more. This dude looked a little like Elton John’s long-time percussionist, Ray Cooper. The bass player stood out with his 5-string bass guitar, it’s not often that you see anything but a 4-string bass. But ignoring the number of strings, he played a magnificent bass rumble throughout the set. Their last track was truly epic, very proggy with shades of Genesis, Focus, and Jethro Tull, but still definitely very original. This is definitely a band to keep an eye (and your ears) on!

The New Solar Drones

Next on the floor, yes this was a floor show just in front of the stage, was Percy a.k.a. west Yorkshire Superheroes. They have a new album coming out next month and it is bloody ace. The obvious comparison people make when they hear Percy for the first time is the Fall. But this bunch goes so much deeper than that. I hear punk, C86, and thanks to Andy’s towering bass lines a little of Flea’s finest bass licks. Meanwhile, Paula’s keys add a Doorsian weirdness to the whole thing. The older songs are fast becoming live classics, particularly “Will Of The People” which seems likely to remain topical forever! New tunes “What Lez Said” and “ICU” are very classy indeed. But the high point for me was probably the warped magnificence of “Chunks” which confirms that all is well on Planet Percy!

PERCY

Headliners Soma Crew is a deeply talented band laid-back, psyched-out and grungy sometimes at the same time! They use that drone sound really well but these magnificent noiseniks are so much more than a drone-driven shoegaze kind of band. Their influences run very deep, even drawing on the blues at times. The use of subtle looping works really well and while there are definitely some 60s influences underlying the songs Soma Crew are undoubtedly a band planted very firmly in the 21st Century. Si Micklethwaite, singer, songwriter, and guitarist was absolutely on fire in this set a truly mountainous performance. I hear so many influences in the Soma Crew sound; Jonathan Richman, Beatles (in their most experimental moments, Pink Floyd (circa 1970/71), Spiritualized, and even 60s West Coast light rock. But none of that detracts at all from the fact that they are a great band and there is not another band quite like Soma Crew.

Soma Crew

All pictures, except the gig poster, were taken by me using my very cheap Chinese Android phone. 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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‘The Hunmanby Gap Sessions’ – Soma Crew April 6, 2021

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 11:02 pm
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I have loved the resurgence of vinyl as a medium for music again these last few years. It has also given rise to some cottage industry-style releases and label setups. One of the latter is the label created by what is probably the best record shop in Yorkshire, Vinyl Eddie in York. The label, unsurprisingly, is called Vinyl Eddie Records and is preparing two release their next two slabs of vinyl, two collections by York’s laid-back, psyched-out, grungy noiseniks, Soma Crew. Two volumes of rather delightful tunes from this very talented band. The two volumes will be issued under the main title of ‘The Hunmanby Gap Sessions’. Volume 1 is subtitled ‘Out Of Darkness’ and Volume two will be ‘Into Light’. The out-of-darkness and into-light stance may relate to the terrible year we have all been through, but I am not sure all of these tracks were written post-Covid. But either way, there are some fantastic tunes here which will certainly help lift the mood into something more positive. Soma Crew are almost mysterious as there is not much information available about them online. They formed in 2013, and were initially called Muttley Crew Is that a pun on Motley Crue or an homage to Dick Dastardly’s sidekick? . It came about after a few friends got together after regular attendance at open mic nights in York. There seems to have been an array of members over the years (including those featured on the album sleeves). Si Micklethwaite, singer, songwriter, and guitarist has certainly been ever-present and maybe some of the other members have, but the internet is really short on bio data for this rather excellent band.

Volume 1 opens with “Phantom” an intriguingly hypnotic slice of melodic shoegaze with added drone. I love it! Next up “Wishlist” continues the perfectly executed drone rock with a rumbling bass that hits you right in the chest when you play it loud. This one has a nice injection of Velvet Underground style. If Jonathan Richman had joined the aforementioned Velvet Underground I think they might have produced something like “You’re So Cool”. I can imagine this supported by a video-heavy on the use of an oil lamp projector and psychedelic filters. “Half-Life” is majestically chilled, with a steam train drone and some stunning use of organ as it builds towards a huge crescendo of an ending. This track made me think of Spiritualized, which given that Soma Crew state one of their influences as Spaceman 3 I am not surprised. This song made me want to spliff up and lie in a hammock in the sunshine! I have no real idea why, but “Mighty Forces” was reminiscent of John Squire, in a world where Squire was a member of the Grateful Dead. This is probably my favourite track on volume 1. This first disc closes with “Happening” a Soma Crew song you could almost dance to, well at least frug around a bit.

“Hey Sister” kicks off volume 2 and it has a great psyched up 60s Pink Floyd vibe going on, Syd Barrett would have been proud of this one. “There’s A Fire” flies off the blocks like a proper rock bastard and I reckon a Jason Pierce remix of this would be ace. Next up we are treated to the more chilled side of Soma Crew again with “Broken Matches” a really understated tune driven by a rhythm on top form. The band showcase their more electronic sound on the intro to “Machines”, although guitar, bass and drums still feature heavily as the track progresses. I love the distortion on this one, it is an amazing track to listen to on headphones. Simon’s vocal is almost choral in style here. On “Seven” they sound like a warped alt.country band who trespassed into the KLF’s White Room. It definitely crosses the Weirdsville City Limits as it builds into an other worldly anthem. This is potentially my favourite of the whole collection. “Nicotine Drum” certainly owes a debt to Spaceman 3, but it is a great song in its own right. I am so looking forward to getting my hands on both these LPs. I am also looking forward to the opportunity of seeing Soma Crew live sometime soon.

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