With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

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

‘Panic Shack’ – Panic Shack July 17, 2025

Filed under: Album,Review — justwilliam1959 @ 4:16 pm
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Cardiff-based punk quintet Panic Shack, who exploded onto the scene back in 2018, will unleash their much-anticipated self-titled debut album on 18 July 2025 via Brace Yourself Records. This energetic slab of perfect punk energy was produced by Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, Yard Act). The album opens with a classy combination of punk and pop sound in “Girl Band Starter Pack”. It was the second single from the album. It has sharp riffs and a thunderous bass line and keeps the band’s spirit of rebellion and fun. The album’s lyrical themes embrace passionate feminism and tight friendship. In the first single from the collection, “Gok Wan”, the band rages towards malignant media beauty standards with no apologies, this is a riot grrrl feminist anthem for theses times. Current single “Thelma & Louise” is a wonderful love song, but not in a lovey dovey valentine sense. I think it is about the joy of a platonic friendship.


So many of their lyrics are conversational. In “Pockets”, literally a song about having no pockets, the line “Got my vape in my bra / Drink in my hand” is literally something that vocalist Sarah Harvey said on a night out. “Unhinged” is about swiping through dating app Hinge, and the mostly, white lies people tell on there. Misogynists will almost certainly be afraid of Panic Shack, and I have no sympathy for them at all. Sexual harassment is on the receiving end of a musical powerhouse right hook from the band on “SMELLARAT”. The industry plant brigade showed their showed their cards early in Panic Shack’s career, around the time “The Ick” was released, accusing them of simply cosplaying being working class. Frankly that is utter bollocks! I doubt that anyone who had not grown up in a working-class environment could write a punk classic like “Tit School”. This is my current favourite on the album. The lyrics are perfect, take “I didn’t go to Bedale’s / Instead I got free meals,” for example.


The band consists of Sarah Harvey (vocals), Meg Fretwell (guitar/backing vocals), Romi Lawrence (guitar/backing vocals), Em Smith (bass/backing vocals) and Nick Williams (drums) and together they are on fire. When Sum 41 said all killer no filler they could have been describing this monumentally great debut album. The album is fun, funny, furious and simply fantastic. Punk this good can hit harder than a heavyweight boxing champion. It is riotous, rebellious and roars like a hungry punky pop lion. This is a banger that is definitely a contender for album of the year! Thank you to Eddie at Vinyl Eddie for sending this record my way!

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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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How To Build Your Own Record Processing Plant – Steve Spithray October 22, 2023

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 2:43 pm
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This book is the true story, documented sporadic diary style, of Press On Vinyl in Middlesbrough. Steve Spithray’s excitement and enthusiasm oozes from the pages and is wonderful to feel. When my review copy of ‘How To Build Your Own Record Pressing Plant’ arrived through the post my wife said, based on the title, that is the most boring book you will ever read. She is always right, at least she always was up to that point, I read the book in around three days. It has everything. Science, business, nerdiness, geekiness, vinyl and obviously, music.

Press On Vinyl was set up by David Todd and Danny Lowe from an initial idea which arose in a chat, just like so many wonderful ideas, but this one took flight in a huge way. Steve Spithray clearly has a great relationship with not only David and Danny, but also with pretty much everyone who played a part in getting this amazing venture off the ground. To have a new pressing plant in the UK at a time when the vinyl revival is in full flow is very special indeed. The highs and warts and all lows are documented eloquently and my interest in this story never waned once. Now I need to get myself up to Middlesbrough for a visit! As a footnote I also loved that there are a couple of people, places and bands mentioned that I actually know. Step forward Vinyl Eddie (York’s finest record shop), Avalanche Party (Possibly one of the best bands on the planet right now) and a special mention for Avalanche Party front man Jordan Bell. The book is out soon (3rd November), if you love records, love music or simply love a tail where a potential underdog reaches the top, get it. You will not be disappointed. It is published by Butterfly Effect, click here to order it via Bandcamp.

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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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‘Cheap And Nasty’ EP – Snapblades April 3, 2023

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 3:14 pm
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Snapblades have just released a new EP on Vinyl Eddie Records, the 8th release on the not-so-fledgling label based in York. Snapblades are Matt “Smell” Keeley (vox and bass) and Dan “Gottie” Gott (Drums, Guitars and vox). There are six tracks including two covers. Interestingly and perhaps groundbreakingly for the way the world currently exists and the way the music industry wants to operate, there will be no digital release of any kind for the EP. In the punk duo’s words, “No social media. No streaming. No Bullshit” That is a real old-school punk approach, but it might mean that they never get to read this review as I won’t have the ability to tag them anywhere! I am really keen to understand if the band’s no socials and no streaming experiment works, are you? They go on to say “Punk rock has become a form of prostitution. A popularity contest that no one can win! It never used to be this way. Punk was the sound of the streets. And those streets were angry. Very angry! Can people still muster the effort to find music, without it being spoon-fed to them? Snapblades offer up a social experiment: do people still listen to music press? (These are questions Snapblades will find out the answers to”. I suppose a big question is what exactly is the music press these days? The inkies are long gone, monthly publications are glossy and mostly backward-looking and that leaves us with online stuff, right? So perhaps most reviews of this EP will be online and on socials.

But all of that is a different discussion, what about the EP? It opens with the hard and heavy riff fest that is “Panto”. I am reminded of peak Motorhead with the speed and anger captured in this track. “Obedience” carries on where “Panto” leaves off and it has a euphoric 70s punk feel, maybe early Damned or the Adverts. The first of the two covers is Flint’s “Broken Toys” and the boys do this song some serious justice and it is my current favourite. “Shiny Shoes” has a feel of 70s punk once again, maybe Chelsea, or TV Smiths band again. “Flowers And Thorns” sounds like it might be a decent demo for a full-on metal assault, something I think this pair have in them. Instrumentally and vocally it is possibly the best-recorded track on the EP. The collection closes with a cover of Media Control’s “Anti Social” and it oozes old-school punk vibes. This is a damned good EP, that hits you like the Incredible Hulk on a sackload of whizz and gives you no respite until the end. Click here if you want to get your hands on a black vinyl or limited edition splatter vinyl from Vinyl Eddie Records. I have a question for Snapblades, have they deliberately chosen to do covers from bands that are also not present anywhere on social media, or is this part of their master plan and these songs are in fact secretly Snapblades originals? I am not being cynical here, just curious, because if they were in fact Snapblades’ own tunes, that would be very punk in my opinion! I hope to find out when I see the band later this month 🙂

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Record Store Day 2020 August 31, 2020

Filed under: News,Observation,Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:57 pm
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Well Covid-19 has just about fucked up everything this year hasn’t it. Record Store Day (RSD) 2020 was postponed from April to June and then when June was cancelled it was split into three ‘drops’: August 29th, September 26th and October 24th. The first of those was last Saturday and featured most of the big releases including David Bowie, Mansun, the Cure and Gene among many others. I had the honour of helping out in my fantastic local record shop, Vinyl Eddie’s on the day. My pay for that task was the sheer pleasure of doing it and the two Bowie releases!

The pandemic meant that it was a long way from a typical RSD, with only four customers allowed into the shop at any one time and persuading those customers to focus on just the RSD releases with no browsing options. I was outside managing the queue while Vinyl Eddie himself and his Dad, John made sure all the sales went without a hitch. We were also treated to a short set by ace local band the Receivers who had released their new single, “Only Human” the day before. Having expected an acoustic set I was more than pleasantly surprised to see them bring amps and the full band. They set up on the pavement with drummer Louis setting up his kit pretty much in the road! With a few plays of the new single, some other new tracks and some Receivers classics I am counting this as my first gig since March 14th. Sadly the video that I thought I had taken on my phone, didn’t work 😦

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who turned up and bought vinyl, to the Receivers for a great set, to Richard Saker the Guardian/ Observer photographer (check the Guardian RSD piece by clicking here, I was gutted my own picture didn’t make it) and most of all to Eddie and John Parkinson for giving me the opportunity to help them out on the day! While I am looking forward to RSD 2020 part 2 and part 3 I am hoping for big things and a degree of normality for RSD 2021. Long Live Vinyl and Keep The Faith!

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“Preach To Me” – Segrëgates March 21, 2020

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:27 pm
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Segrëgates are a self-confessed Motörpunk band from York and they have a new single, “Preach To Me” out now from Vinyl Eddie Records. If you like thrash, punk, and Motörhead you will almost certainly love this. However, if you are a died in the wool Motörhead fan you may think that this crosses the line between being influenced and aping the sound, they even have an umlaut on the second vowel in their name. But these boys know all that and it doesn’t appear to bother them at all. But whatever your thoughts on their channelling of Lemmy and his cohorts you cannot deny that they are talented rock ‘n’ rollers. I love how they describe themselves in a kind of old school punk way on their Facebook page; Smell – Holds a bass guitar and shouts, Dr. J. Horn – Guitar and musical talent, Davros De La Nutter – Drums and lies.

The single is called “Preach To Me” and I love the anti organised religion sentiment of the lyrics. It is a classy slice of thrash musically, but for me, it veers far to close to Motörhead. The B -side, “Sands Of Time” is more of the same although not quite as strong lyrically in my opinion. The physical 12″ single itself is a beautiful thing to behold. The sleeve is well put together with the lyrics on the back cover and a stunning painting from Charlie Harper on the front. Then of course for vinyl nerds, collectors, and aficionados it is in pillar box red vinyl. The video to accompany the single takes the lyrical theme and will undoubtedly upset a few stiff collared Christians if Mary Whitehouse must be spinning in her grave and that can only be a good thing! I was lucky enough to see Motörhead a couple of times back in the late 70s and live they were a thrash Metal behemoth, maybe Segrëgates can become that and maybe they do when they play live. But I would like to see them stretch their talent and their horizons and step away from that identikit Motörhead sound.

All the pictures were “borrowed” from the bands FaceBook page, We are happy to credit the photographer. The videos were found on YouTube and again we are happy to credit you if it is yours!

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The Golden Age Of TV – Victoria Vaults, York – Thursday 20th February 2020 February 27, 2020

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 8:52 pm
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This looked like yet another great gig in York, presented by those wacky and wonderful folk from Vinyl Eddie Records. It was at the Victoria Vaults which is now in the top three York venues along with the Crescent and the Fulford Arms. There were four acts on the bill and it was all kicked off by the obscenely talented Kitty VR. This woman not only knows how to write a great song she knows how to perform a great song too. She gave us a lot more background than I have heard before about her composition “My Kind”. A true history of the song which mostly stems from her time living in a converted church. I loved the band version of “Whirlpool” when I first heard it, acoustically it is a different animal indeed, but still very beautiful but in a different way. Kitty was very nervous about doing one particular cover. It was a cover of Tim Buckley’s “Once I Was”, it is a song she first came across from a video clip of Tim’s son Jeff playing it at a celebration of his father’s life in 1991. I was lucky enough to see Jeff Buckley live once. I have been lucky enough to see Kitty VR twice now and I expect to see her play plenty more shows before I leave this mortal coil!

Next up were a relatively new band, this was their third ever gig, Grapefruit Eyes. They formed from the ashes of Neon Salmon, another great York band. They are a bit jazzy, a bit prog, a bit Radiohead with some proper funky guitar chops. I still get a sense of Orange Juice and Edwyn Collins in there, although perhaps a little less than I did with Neon Salmon. I really loved Neon Salmon, but this lot are even better. I am still not sure about the name, but frankly, the Beatles was a pretty crap name and look what happened to them. This band knows how to put on a show and dressed for the occasion with Finn the drummer in a sparkly glitter jacket while George and Isaac donned Kimono style drape jackets which had a kind of Showaddywaddy in the 25th Century. Not sure about George’s front mini man bun, but who cares, the music was bloody awesome!

York has some fabulous bands and the next one to tread the boards is no exception. I am talking about Pavilion, who are fine purveyors of very funky keyboard-driven indie dance. Keyboards provided by the daughter of one of York’s Royal Rock family, Shed Seven. This is a very good band, but the keyboard sweeps and fills make them a truly great band. They come across as a band that is really confident in what they do and so they should be. The music is really tight and the vocals soar mightily over a powerful soundtrack. Definitely, a band to watch out for. As an added bonus they also had Kitty VR on stage with them for a magnificent duet.

Finally, it was time for headliners The Golden Age Of TV from Leeds. This five-piece has been described as an alternative guitar band. I think that they are so much more than that, made up of punk, indie, funk, psych, and exultant pop tunes. Bea Fletcher’s vocal style is sometimes reminiscent of Siouxse Sioux in her prime but she has more range in my view. Some of their tunes are close to full-on funk a la Average White Band but played with a gnarly punk attitude. Their energy appears boundless. New Single “Me, You And A Dog” ticks all the boxes required of a great song; perfect hooks, rifftastic guitar work, great vocals which veer towards a hybrid of Chrissie Hynde and Kate Bush at times. This is a band that deserves much more exposure!

All the photos apart from the first picture (which was “borrowed” from The Golden Age Of TV’s FaceBook page) were taken by me on my cheap Chinese android phone or by Eddie Parkinson (a.k.a. Vinyl Eddie) on his far more expensive phone! 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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Violet Contours – The Crescent, York – Friday 18th October 2019 November 3, 2019

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 1:20 am
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It has taken a while to get this one posted, but here it is! Yet another night at that wonderful York venue, The Crescent. This time to see Violet Contours in action once again. Were they as good as the last time that I saw them? You will have to read on to find out because before them there was a marvelously eclectic selection of support acts. First up we were taken to acoustic heaven by Joh Hendrickx, She does cover versions, of mostly sad songs. This set, which was way too short included songs by Laura Marling, Matt Corby, and the Middle East. Her cover of the latter’s “Blood” was dripping with emotion and that performance convinced me to find out more about them. She included one cover version that I really didn’t see coming, it was “The Black Hills Of Dakota” originally sung by Doris Day in the 1953 film ‘Calamity Jane’. Ms. Hendrickx totally owned the tune! I believe that Joh has a lot more to offer and I am looking forward to seeing her again.

Joh Hendrickx

Scarborough’s the Feens were next, I last saw them in July and they are still a bloody good band. They come across very “Smithsy” on some songs, from back in the day when Morrissey mattered. Particularly Sam Dowling’s guitar playing. Bass player Adam Lodge has a stunningly powerful voice which complements co-lead vocalist Freddie Scmuck’s vocals perfectly. Lodge roams the stage like a young Peter Hook in the early days of New Order, albeit with his bass more sensibly strapped much higher up his body. Someone in the crowd described them as “easier listening indie”, while I get that I think it does them an injustice. Yes their songs could be described as indie and those songs are easy to listen to, but mainly because they are so damned good. I hear traces of Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend in their sound and that is no bad thing. The Feens are getting some strong and well-deserved airplay of late. Expect much more from this band, they have the power and the talent to make it huge!

Feens

Next, it was the turn of the Serotones, another great York band who I last saw more than two years ago. They were very good then and they are even better now. If you like Dinosaur Jr, you might well like the Serotones, but the biggest influence I can hear in their songs is perhaps the Stone Roses, but with better vocals (sorry Ian Brown). The lead singer has an immaculate stage presence and really seems to understand his audience. Great music must be in human DNA somehow as the Serotones contain two kids from Shed Seven members, Rick Witter and Alan Leach. The band played a lot of new songs and they have a new single out now featuring two rather superb new songs; “Death In Paradise” and “Into The Sky”

Serotones

Finally, it was time for the headliners, Violet Contours, yet another fabulously exciting band from York. This was the third time that I have experienced seeing them live and they get better every time. Their jangly indie dance style is definitely influenced by Vampire Weekend, largely because of that feel-good African guitar vibe. But I can also hear Talking Heads, or more directly the more pop styles of Talking Heads offshoot Tom Tom Club, formed by Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz. Ben Henderson’s voice is clear, strong and conveys emotion and soul when he needs it to. Niall, Daniel, Sam, and Ben have developed into a really tight, funky band able to recreate and magnify, magnificently their recorded sound. Their repertoire is growing in range and quality; “Pablo’s Hippo and “Airstrike” are two outstanding tunes and there are plenty more too. Violet Contours are undoubtedly a band that knows how to party and bring the audience into that party effortlessly. But they don’t just get up their and play, they really look like they are enjoying every moment immensely. If you haven’t seen them or listened to them yet what the hell is preventing you?

Violet Contours

The above Serotones video was filmed by David Butler of Wigwam Creative

All the photos apart from the gig poster were taken 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. I am also happy for you to use any of my pictures, all I ask is for a credit 🙂

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