The Best of 2016 # 2 – Gigs

Having spent quite a lot of the year in and out of medical facilities for one reason or another the number of gigs attended has been somewhat constrained but having said that much improved on 2015 when I spent a good deal of the time in a plaster cast. In the most part the gigs I did attend were all great. There were a couple of bad evenings caused in the first case by an idiotic club owner and in the second case by a less than perfect sound engineering job, it is not my habit to name names, so I won’t, all I would say is that bands deserve more.

Ones I sadly missed due to ill health and diary clashes

• Robert Forster
• The Triffids
• Kim Salmon

Here are the highlights in no particular order, apart from the top four gigs.

• Manchester Jazz Festival – just a general message to say it was much improved this year with some fascinating bands seen especially in the performance space in Manchester Central Library – the price of the beer in the Festival Village is obscene though!
• Soft Machine at The Band on the Wall – OK so we sat in the bar for most of the second set drinking and chewing the fat about music but the first set was pretty memorable and I realised a long held ambition to see this band.
• The Junta at Night and Day – kabuki, mime and beats with El Generallisimo cooking up a techno storm.
• Aidan Cross & Johann Kloos, Poppycock, Taser Puppets and West Coast Sick Line at Dulcimer, Chorlton. A fun packed night with a storming set from the Westies and a slight hiatus while Mr Maxwell found his guitar.
• Moff Skellington, Mr Mouse, Loop-aznavour at The Fenton Leeds – a remarkable evening with a sparse audience but excellent performances from all three protagonists only somewhat ruined by the inability to get out of Leeds via the motorway necessitating a circuitous journey home via Harrogate
• The Eagle, again, for the debut of the much anticipated new band lead by Ian Moss Four Candles , Cambridge rockers, stripped down to acoustic duo  for the night, Bouquet of Dead Crows, all the way from Modena Italy Saint Lawrence Verge, and to close the night the ever excellent Poppycock. A rather special evening.
• Sam Smith, Genevieve L Walsh and The Madding Crowd at The Moston Miners Club – a great set from Sam, memorable poetry from Genevieve,  and an epic set from The Madding Crowd.
• The Junta, Bouquet of Dead Crows, The Scissors and Kit B at the Eagle as part of Salford Music Festival. Barnstorming sets from all four bands – we need to do this again.
• Taser Puppets, Poppycock, JD Meatyard and West Coast Sick Line as part of Salford Musical Festival also at The Eagle – one of our most successful nights with a good crowd, fine performances, and a stellar set from Mr Meatyard.
• Blaney album launch at Pacifica Cantonese. A great album and a memorable album launch with the added bonus of it being five minutes from where I live. It’s been a good year for Ed and he deserves the support he is getting at the moment

and the top four, who all happen to be Australian for some strange reason……

4.

The Necks live at the Band on the Wall – a special performance from an amazing trio of musicians. Unique and breath-taking music bereft of ego and full of invention.

3.

Harry Howard and the NDE with Poppycock at The Eagle – exploding keyboards and horrendous traffic conspired against us but Poppycock were the best I have seen them all year and Harry and co were exceptional given they had a stand in rhythm section with only a couple of days rehearsal.

2.

Dave Graney and Poppycock & Franco Bandini at the Eagle – a long held desire to catch Dave and Clare live was at long last realised. Most of the band were full of germs but still managed to deliver a set packed with classic tunes from across the Graney songbook. The added bonus of seeing Malcolm Ross play the guitar as well.

and my gig of the year….

1.

Dave Graney at the Betsey Trotwood, London – a memorable journey to the capital despite a dodgy knee. A pleasant afternoon drinking with Bob and Jeff in some fine ale houses. A fantastic set from Dave, Clare, Stu and Malcolm covering even more of the Graney songbook topped off by a great tribute to Prince.

Salford Music Festival 2016

Dear reader it’s that time again, the last week in September, when I wax lyrical about the utterly wonderful Salford Music Festival. . Now in its’ seventh year this grass roots, no nonsense event, is part of the musical life blood of the city in which I live. Often overshadowed, in entertainment terms at least, by our noisy neighbours in Manchester, this Festival plays a big part in redressing that imbalance and puts Salford firmly on the map, where it deserves to be.

The difference between any other festival that you might care to join in on is that it is absolutely free for punters, no wristbands, no overpriced beer or food, and no tents. Ed Blaney’s desire for the events to be free is a key driver for the popularity and success of the three day celebration of music. And the added benefit is there isn’t a tribute band in sight.

The Festival has been stripped back to three days this year, Thursday 29th September to Saturday October 1st, and centres around the Chapel Street/Blackfriars area close to Manchester City Centre, and the peoples republic of Eccles and the delightful village of Monton, just five minutes up the road from where I happen to live. This more compact and focused approach makes this years Festival feel more important and vibrant than ever.

And of course I have a direct interest in that I am looking after two nights at the Eagle Inn – Friday and Saturday.

So what can you expect?  Well all the gigs are listed on the Salford Music Festival website so I encourage you to go there, but here are a few of my highlights from the three days……

THURSDAY

The ultra talented Tamsin Middleton (Mr Heart) has a solo show at The Crescent at 8:30pm followed by ded.pixel and The Kingdom

The excellent Salford Arms has Duke and the Darlings, Wintergreen and Crimsons

Bobby Peru close the night at the always  excellent Wangies in Eccles with support from The Comics and Sioux.

FRIDAY

The beautiful Sacred Trinity Church is the main stage for a headline concert featuring local big new things Cabbage, the excellent Blaney, Sound of Thieves and Jess Kemp

The Eagle Inn has the first of two German Shepherd Nights with The Junta, Bouquet of Dead Crows, The Scissors and Kit B.

Highly regard all female trio Liines play The Crescent.

SATURDAY

The second German Shepherd stage at the Eagle features Taser Puppets, Poppcock, JD Meatyard and West Coast Sick Line.

Highly regarded Death to the Strange play The Crescent.

A packed day at the Salford Arms sees seven acts on between 5pm and closing time.

Milton Keys duo The Rusty G’s play Wangies.

Y Key Operators with guest bassist John “The Junta” Montague play the Blue Bell in Monton.

Here are some examples of what to expect over the weekend. I hope to see you at the Eagle for what promises to be an excellent weekend.

Fascinating Things : Issue 64

Straight into it this time around, there is just so much going on……………

Psychedelic dirt rock unit, Sonic Wolves,  which comprises current and past members of Ufomammut, The Hounds Of Hasselvander, Pentagram, and Rogue State,  release their debut full-length, “The End Comes”, on Taxi Driver Records in late July 2016. The eight-track offering follows the band’s first single, “He Said,” released as a limed edition seven-inch in conjunction with Record Store Day 2016.  Formed in Alessandria, Italy in 2012 by bassist Kayt Vigil (Rogue State, ex-The Hounds Of Hasselvander, ex-Pentagram) and drummer Vita (Ufomammut, Rogue State) initially under the name of “Tsutar”. In December 2014, the band recorded their first demo at Ampire Studio in Pistoia, Italy. At that time was Vigil on bass/vocals, Vita on drums and Stefano Tocci (Deaf Eyes, ex-Incoming Cerebral Overdrive) on guitars. By Spring of the following year, the eight-track “WolfWitch” was released and just a few months later, Paolo Melotto (ex-Psyconauts) joined  on lead guitar and vocals, followed by Diniz (Temple Of Dust, Mexican Chili Funeral Party) on rhythm guitar.

The sound of the band is a mix of heavy, gritty rock, with elements of metal and psychedelic influences. Here’s a taster of ‘He Said’ which was recorded and mixed by Stefano Tocci at Ampire Studio, Pistoia (Italy), and it’s a “radio edit” version. The extended track will be included in the upcoming full length. I’ll be featuring a track on the Sonic Attack  #168 on July 25th.

Boston-based thrashing hardcore punk band, Panzerbastard, release four new tracks on July 15th via their “MotörHeathen seven-inch”. Released by  PATAC Records, the new one follows a barrage of EP and split releases since their 2006 formation.

“Here you go, motherfuckers,” says bassist/vocalist KPanzer of the seven-inch, “….the latest sonic assault on decency by the kings of motör-core. Forged in a dark, smelly, room in the deepest, darkest bowels of Boston, your intrepid, dirtbag heroes internalized three years of misfortune, betrayal, underachievement, and general disgust with the human race to puke forth the four slabs of sonic offal now known as MotörHeathen. We are the bastard sons of Motörhead, Discharge, Venom, and Cro-Mags, on a mission to ruin your life.” There you go….and very good it is too.  A couple of tracks will be on Sonic Attack #167 on July 18th. I’ve nothing to embed from the new one so here’s the most recent release prior to this new one.

Conceived as a three-piece jamming out simple stoner blues rock heavily rooted in metal, The Company Corvette deliver wall of sound hard rock.  They have recently completed their third full-length recording, “Never Enough”, which is released on August 5th  It’s heavy riff-laden, psychedelically inclined, occasionally laid back, mostly loud, stoner rock with above average use of fuzz and wah. The band likes to think of their two earlier releases as “glorified demos”  with the new album being a huge step forward for the trio in virtually every department. I agree.

There will be a couple of tracks from this release on Sonic Attack #180 on August 8th – pending that here’s a taster.

Sanford Parker is the well regarded producer and electronicist behind some of metal’s most exploratory outfits, breaking new territory in his work as a fixture of Buried At Sea, Minsk, Corrections House and Mirrors For Psychic Warfare, and featuring on and producing numerous records from respected names . His trademark atmospherics shift between the nuanced to the crushingly direct, including elements of industrial, cold-wave and power electronics to give bleak, brutalist clout to his work. Now, Parker is striking out on his own with “Lash Back”, a full length record of mechanical, dystopic, beat-driven menace. Due out on the My Proud Mountain label on July 22nd, Lash Back is a marked departure from his metal legacy, retaining some of the hallmarks of his impressive work to date but moving towards bands Perc, Youth Code and Pharmakon. It’s a most enjoyable listen with a lot of sonic variety. Sadly I have nothing I can share at this stage so you will have to wait until Sonic Attack #168 on July 25th.

Two years in the making, The Night Watch release their second album, “Boundaries”, a single thirty-six-minute piece on July 15th. The Canadian progressive instrumental quartet features guitarist Nathanael Larochette and violinist Evan Runge of Musk Ox. Sonically it’s a close relation to early God Speed and Silver Mount Zion but with a busier string sound which comes out of Vivaldi via Klezmer. You can pre-order here and I will podcast a portion of the piece on Aural Delights #190.

And to conclude in a shameless act of self-promotion for our record label here’s a list of July gigs for the turns we look after…..

• 1st July –  Taser Puppets with Joiner [Germany] Gareth Icke  at Dublin Castle Camden , London
• 2nd July – The Scissors play  Bar Hill Festival, Bar Hill, Cambridgeshire
• 9th July – The Electric Cheese, West Coast Sick Line and Pearl Divers play Dulcimer, Chorlton
• 14th July – Poppycock and Rose & The Diamond Hand play The Thirsty Scholar. Manchester
• 15th July – The Junta plays Night and Day Cafe. Oldham Street, Manchester
• 15th July – West Coast Sick Line and Poppycock play Aatma, Manchester with Bobbie Peru
• 17th July – Bouquet of Dead Crows play an acoustic set at Corner House, Cambridge
• 28th July – Kit B play The House Party at Kendal Calling
• 30th July – The Scissors play Portland Arms, Cambridge with The Machismo’s and Moonstrips

 

Fascinating Things : Issue 55

A few thoughts to kick off with this time around……

I was reading some comments on Facebook by a semi-famous musician, from the 1980s,  about a specific genre of music, and how much he hated it, and I thought it was pretty mean spirited, he was particularly venomous in his condemnation. It struck me that there is enough intolerance in the world without getting worked up about music. I readily admit there are styles of music I don’t like, there are bands I don’t like, and there are bands where I maybe like one or two things from their catalogue but the rest leaves me cold. There’s an often used phrase in these circumstances “It’s all about opinion”, which for the most part I agree with, however, and this is the nature of social media these days, some numpty makes a nasty comment about something or another and then the rapid flame wolves (sounds like something from Game of Thrones) descend and the initial transgression expands into a full on hate war. This both dismays and annoys. This is why you will rarely see overtly negative comments in these perorations, I don’t see the point in trashing someones hard work and effort, where there is clear evidence that some time and money has been spent in putting music out there, there are exceptions of course, especially some of the more bland things that tend to get pushed by the music industry.

I get sent hundreds of things a week to listen to, and I always aim to write back to the submitter, whose music  hasn’t caught my attention, with my thoughts and an explanation as to why I will not feature it.  I always feel that a two way connection and conversation on these things is important. Sometimes I don’t get the time to respond,  mostly down to the sheer amount of material that comes my way, II know from experience that it is very frustrating to put music out there and get no response at all so I always try to make the effort.

Enough of my ramblings here are some good things that made the cut this week……

Andre Tajchman is a Belgian indie singer, musician, songwriter and producer based in London. This is his third single which has some very interesting and unique elements. Whilst his music embraces some recent trends there is some fascinating innovation here and it is well worth a listen.

Sinderins have a touch of Family about them. Indeed vocalist David Webster has a lot of Chappo in his stunning vocal acrobatics. I’m not normally a fan of the nu-uk-folk style but this is very good and sounds like late 60s/early 70s stuff. The band’s name is taken from a confluence of roads in their hometown of Dundee.

Previously featured nTTX has a new EP called “Objective”.  Of the two tracks I have heard it is very good indeed, combining a synth-pop feel with a harder EBM edge the results are impressive. Watch out for a track on the Aural Delights podcast in a couple of weeks.

And finally, I had the pleasure of attending an excellent gig last Saturday night at Dulcimer in Chorlton (South Manchester). Featuring Aidan Cross & Johann Kloos, Poppycock, Taser Puppets and West Coast Sick Line.  A packed upstairs room saw four excellent performances from the artists. Notable on the night were the incredible vocal harmonies from Poppycock who just get better and better, and the boundless energy of West Coast Sick Line, who topped off a great evening with a stunning set. I’ll have the pleasure of seeing Poppycock again this Thursday when they are performing at the Eagle Inn in Salford with Franco Bandini, and the legendary Mr Dave Graney.

Dusty and Chaimaine from West Coast Sick Line. photo courtesy of Mark Ridings

Fascinating Things : Issue 52

There have been some notable releases  and pre-releases received over the last few weeks many of which will be included in the Sonic Attack and Aural Delights podcasts in the near future. The following are of note and are worth checking out:

• Kaada/Patton – Bacteria Cult (Ipecac) – orchestral avant garde pieces with the usual out there contributions from Faith No More front man Mike Patton
• The Zenith Passage – Solipsist (Unique Leader) – Death Metal from Los Angeles – the band features current and former members of The Faceless, Fallujah and All Shall Perish.
• Omaphagia – In The Name Of Chaoas (Unique Leader) – riff laded Swedish death metal
• Geryon – The Wound and the Bow (Profound Lore) –  two-man NY-based avant-garde technical prog-death metal band comprised of one half of Krallice, namely bassist/vocalist Nicholas McMaster and drummer Lev Weinstein
• Gris-de-Lin –  The Kick  (Noisy Little Birds / BB*Island) –  Post-rock, blues and alt-folk, peppered with twisted electronics.

Some things of interest:

 

 

Ratner, Tatlock and Meacock

It is always a huge pleasure to report the release of a new album from West Coast Sick Line. Since the last one “The Road to Billinge Hill” in 2014 the band has changed line-up, main man Dusty has relocated around the coast of North Wales from Penrhyn Bay to the Conwy Estuary, and the band have played a few more live dates. Once again the Sick Line have caught my ear with this release and will definitely  be up there in the “album of the year list” come December.

It is called “Europee”, somewhat current given the June referendum.

As with most WCSL releases there’s a concept/theme going on, but, perhaps not as overtly as in previous releases. To be honest I think that this is their best yet. Not everyone agrees with me on this, notably the band, who seem a little less enthusiastic about it than I am. Perhaps the energy/emotion that went into “Billinge” had more of an impact on their psyche. I think the thing that swings it for me is that it’s less pop and more rock, with a maturity that comes with getting to the fourth release. This feels like a proper album that you can sit down and listen to as a whole experience. Not good for the short attention span. track shuffle, Spotify generation, but great for those who like the experience of a complete set of music that demands your attention. You need to sit down and listen to this all the way through from beginning to end.

It starts off with burst of static, some found sounds and an aural sculpture for just over a minute and then kicks into the excellent brooding “Chips Off” which starts all John Barry 60s TV theme and morphs into a full on ‘Stones rock out. New female lead Chaimaine Smith is a perfect foil to Moonan’s voice, the lyrics are, as usual, excellent. “Incidently, Sophie” is a typical Moonan love song which touches on Nick Drake with its’rich string arrangements and more-ish melody.

Next up is the stunning “Best Lost In Translation” which previously appeared on German Shepherd’s “100” compilation.Moonan mines his Fall/Post Punk back catalogue for influences and launches into a scabrous invective, which is both memorable and adorable. The song structure is fascinating, building organically into a half spoken rant. It reminds me of the complexity of the tunes that Spirit achieved on “12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus”.

Time next for some partying with riotous “Quando” which matches Bo Diddley rhythms with Eurovision chants. I can’t help feeling that this should have been chosen for the UK entry for the Eurovision Song Concert. Pure fun and with a completely inappropriate grunge guitar solo in the middle, which works when it shouldn’t, this should be a stunner live.

Guests, The Bird and The Monkey, add another layer of loveliness to the remarkable “Le Cauchemar” which echoes Dusty’s love of french popular music. It reeks of Serge Gainsborough and his ilk, a gorgeous confection of Gallic sounds and interweaving vocals which would not have been out of place on “Pet Sounds”.

The title track is pure Moonan pop echoing 60s styles – guitar and piano over a simple melody evokes the tension of the “European Project” and is a pause for thought.

Party time with the Sick Line – Dusty, Chaimaine, David and Nathan

The loose bluesy “Thrashing Around” gives Dusty and Chaimaine the chance to strut their vocal stuff, demonstrating that the band can operate in any genre with ease. This is the sound of a band enjoying what they do and giving great pleasure to their audience whilst they do it. The trademark word play, which is always a highlight of a Sick Line album, stands out as Gerald Ratner, Albert Tatlock, and Lucy Meacock, amongst others, get name checked in a fascinating closing section.

The brain flipper on the album is the intense and captivating “Where did all the birds go?” which appears to emerge from somewhere from the west coast of America in the mid 60s. This is Dusty in full protest singer mode, stripped back and emotional, with stunning percussion from David Majoros the bedrock of the track. That you would not expect this on a Sick Line album is its strength.

Nathan Page kicks off the acerbic “Crates” with a motorik bass line, this is pure Sick Line, building to an intensity, before slipping into a quirky middle section, and flipping back into the bass line and a searing guitar solo.

The closer  “Clic” freaked me out when I first heard it. I didn’t quite get what was going on. But with all good things it grew on me after a few listens. A slow reflective piece it takes the album to another place entirely and leaves this listener with a few questions about what he has just enjoyed. An atmospheric closer which plays with form and content and drifts away into the night. An unusual, but after some thought, perfect conclusion to a perfect album.

As I say their best yet and not to be missed.

The album is released on April 1st on German Shepherd Records and can be pre-ordered now.

100 not out

Various Artists

100

German Shepherd Records

30th October 2015

So let’s be clear from the outset, this is shameful nepotism of the highest order, but I can’t find anyone else willing to review it so I may as well take up the cudgels and have a go. Given I have a rather thorough inside perspective on this compilation, as I actually compiled it, I am in a position to be both honest and accurate, and perhaps somewhat effusive. If I am breaking some sort of record industry kayfabe by doing this so be it, but German Shepherd was set up to be doggedy (pun intended) independent, and to operate outside of the norms of the music biz, so in that spirit here goes.

Set up in February 2014 the label was originally intended as a vehicle for the work of co-owner Ian Moss, who had vast library of unreleased material he wanted to share with the world. Once word had got around about the endeavour other like minded souls expressed interest or were dragged into the inner circle of the label.

The manifesto is very simple, if the music that is offered to the label is sufficiently different and does not ape current trends and fads then it will probably find a home in the German Shepherd kennel.

21 months in and the chance to mark the milestone with some of the current and future artist on the label. Requests were sent out and a delightful pot-pourri of styles and genres emerged.

For German Shepherd virgins and, for those DJs who need accurate information(you know who you are), here’s a run down of all the tracks and the artists.

Loop-aznavour – theremin toting Loop, also a member of the remarkable Adventures of Salvador. offers a single from earlier in 2015, a remarkable distiller of styles and influences Loop is a captivating live performer and a consummate songwriter. From – Bury, Greater Manchester.

Pearl Divers ; the first band I ever “discovered” in radio land they have been through many line-up changes since 2009 but always centre around leader Carl Lingard. The tune on the album is a radical -reworking/second cousin to the bands “I Love The Music” – mixing Barryesque chords with a cold war soundscape one could, and should, argue that this would be a far better Bond theme than the odious one being used for the latest movie. The band are currently working on an album. From – Eccles/Irlam, Greater Manchester.

The Get – we love this band. They are great live, they write memorable songs, and they have a unique, sometimes unashamedly ramshackle sound. From – Bournemouth, Leigh on Sea etc, down south somewhere

Bouquet of Dead Crows – some folk will have been surprised about this band being on German Shepherd, one of aims is not to be complacent around what we are about,  dealing with any preconceptions of our mode of operation by throwing a curve ball in every now and then.  On first hearing, Bouquet of Dead Crows are conventional rockers, on deeper exploration the nuances emerge, from Toni Cooper’s excellent vocals, through the great rhythm section, to the multi-guitar talents of Neil Bruce. This is a band with a lot of depth. A single and cut from the new album “Of The Night” due out soon. From – Cambridge, east of Northampton.

Loop-aznavour

Poppycock – working with Una Baines and her collective of musicians is always a pleasure and she offered up a live recording of the band from The Crescent in Salford. Recorded by Jim “Jedi” Watts, thus perpetuating the “every other musician you meet in Manc-land used to be in The Fall” myth this lovely tune first appeared on Una’s The Fates “Furia”  album. From: Manchester.

Franco Bandini – the buzz about Franco’s recent release of the label “2014 was a bad year” is increasing daily. Perhaps slightly less dark than the tracks on the EP this offering is from the same sessions and indicates his ability to create an epic sound. We predict great things. From –  Atherton/Manchester.

IKMRAO – the two label owners don’ t consider themselves to be musicians as such, they play with words and sounds and sometimes it comes out as music. Always making a point whenever they can this one has a much needed dig at the scenesters that hang around in clumps reeking of their own self-importance. From – Ashton Under Lyne/Eccles, Greater Manchester.

The Junta

Captain Black – once a member of the aforementioned Pearl Divers and the main writer behind the much missed Positronik, Captain “Jeff” Black is adept at creating perfect pop tunes, and this is a sublime example. From : Swindon/Manchester

The Junta – it’s obligatory to say “aah yeah” or “shabba” at this point. Also once in Pearl Divers but now in Kit B, John “Monty” Montague brings an encyclopaedic knowledge of electronica  into play for  his tunes. Also a DJ on Salford City Radio Monty is a very busy chap. From : Salford, Greater Manchester.

Staggs – probably the most fascinating duo on the label in that they continually create tunes that both amaze and confound. Main vocal man Michael T Scott has a wonderfully acerbic outlook on the world at large. Music man Ridley is able re-invent well known sounds and turn them into something new. Staggs Disco is from one of their releases before they joined German Shepherd. Deserving of international acclaim I reckon. From –  Newcastle Upon Tyne,

Passage of Time – sounds influenced by 1969 Miles Davis together with more contemporary electronic textures. The closest thing to jazz on the label. From – Eccles, Salford. Greater Manchester.

Rose Niland and Mark Corrin

Ion-Morph with three albums of the man’s spoken word releases on the label it would have been remiss to exclude a performance. The featured tune is a reworking of an old song and a hearful paean to Manc-land. From – Ashton-Under-Lyne

Moff Skellington – a genius, an iconoclast and a dealer in optical creosote. Moff creates music which defies description other than to say it hangs precariously between The Residents, Tom Waits, Pere Ubu, The Fall and Hank Marvin. His wordplay is completely unique, the aural equivalent of Salvador Dali.  As I may have said before, on many occasions, my crusade is to get him much more exposure and recognition. From – Abstercot

Rose Niland – we love Rose. She has a magical voice, she writes breathtaking tunes, and her words are memorable. Soulful, psychedelic and bluesy. From – Manchester

Monkeys In Love

The Electric Cheese – captivating alternative rock with a unique sound. This trio is gaining a growing reputation as a must see live act. From their first EP with the label.  From – Chorley, Lancashire

West Coast Sick Line – Dusty Moonan, another genius, a man who can write memorable songs. The band has recently undergone a line-up change and the track on the compilation is an indication of things to come perhaps, a more powerful more rock oriented sound. New album “Europee” is imminent i.e. when they get out of the pub. From – Deganwy, North Wales

Monkeys In Love – a special band, they have been with the label from the start, helping and supporting. The track on the album is, dare I say it, one of their best yet. A remarkable live act and a lovely bunch of people. From – Manchester.

The track-listing

1. Loop-aznavour – Ed’s Place
2. Pearl Divers – Smoking Gun
3. The Get – Say You Love Me
4. Bouquet of Dead Crows – Just A Little More
5. Poppycock – Ceaseless Effort
6. Franco Bandini – Side B
7. IKMRAO – Art
8. Captain Black – Lost All Sense
9. The Junta – Carnival 80
10. Staggs – Staggs Disco
11. Passage of Time – Round About Now
12. Ion-Morph – Manchester (Slight Return)
13. Moff Skellington – Potato Pickers
14. Rose Niland – 5 Times
15. The Electric Cheese – Gold Divers Under The Ice
16. West Coast Sick Line – Best Lost In Translation
17. Monkeys In Love – Installation Song #1

The album is a digital only release, is priced at £5, and all proceeds will go towards the Emmaus Homelessness Facility in Salford.

Bouquet of Dead Crows

Glitch, deep house, shoegaze, EBM and other matters of note

This weeks recommended listens:

Thriftworks – Fader – Bandcamp – 17th November 2014 :  34 tracks washed with rich synths and ‘glitchy’ melodies, featuring a few collaborations with fellow Californian producer Russ Liquid.

Solid District – Moon Anomalies – Emerald and Doreen –  Release Date Unknown : Cancun’s Fernando Mendoza is fascinated by the moon and its effects on mankind, this release reflects that. “Lunar Madness” is a  psychedelic deep house opener that makes clear that somebody’s “thinking of you”. The answer is an “Automatik Reaktion”, a Statickman-esque synth-house roller with cowbells & handclaps . “Thyone” is a slow, heavy, techy-funky space house chugger. “Lunar Madness” gets two remixes. Headpocket provides a beautifully progressive cosmic Balearic Kraut trip with a smoothly rolling bassline, the stand-out track on the release. Airsouth provide a twisted, fragmented and strangely amazing piece of dubstep-infused electronica.

Sounds of Sputnik – New Born – Ear to Ear Records – 21st November 2014 :  Sounds of Sputnik (aka Roman Kalitkin) redefines his listeners’ expectations of Russian music by tastefully mixing post-rock, shoegaze, dream pop, and noise. With a love for The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Sonic Youth, Happy Mondays, and Slowdive, these bands have exerted their influences over Kalitkin’s own compositions, forged through twenty years spent in various post-punk, alternative and shoegaze bands.

Atomzero – Symbioisis – Analogue Trash – December 2014 – was initially a UK-based music project by Peter Godziszewski.  A 3-track demo was recorded in 2001 with the track “Metaverse” included on Elektrauma Vol.6 compilation released in 2002. Relocated to Canada the project continued with remix work for other bands and further compilation contributions, culminating in Gord Clement joining forces with Peter in 2004 and a new phase of Atomzero was born. Drawing the best elements from influences such as Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Front 242, Nitzer Ebb among others, the new songwriting partnership brought strong vocals, thoughtfully-crafted lyrics and a more melody-driven brand of electronic music, fusing classic electronic influences of early electro-pop, industrial and EBM into a polished and modern mix. After self-releasing Symbiosis in May of 2014 to positive reviews from the alternative music press and fans alike, Atomzero signed a European label deal in September 2014 with Manchester-based independent label AnalogueTrash Records to release a special edition of their debut album in December.  The European edition of Symbiosis contains sixteen tracks including ten tracks from the original edition of the album, two exclusive original songs and an array of remixes from Assemblage 23, SkinjoB and label-mates Advance and Neonsol.

….and watch out for the following in forthcoming weeks, months and indeed new year….

• alansmithee feat. Marklar – Checking Out/Plain Sailing – Flowers In The Dustbin
• Six Organs of Admittance – Hexadic – Drag City – 16th February 2015 (herein a preview thereof)
• Klozapin – Klozapin – Conquest of Noise – 5th January 2015 (check them out here)
• Moff Skellington – Marine Sugars (locally glimpsed) – German Shepherd Records – 5th December 2014
• KP2 – A Cabinet of Curiosities – German Shepherd – 5th December 2014
• West Coast Sick Line – Wasp In The Car – German Shepherd – 28th November 2014

 

 

 

Demo’s, Art Rock, Rabbit Holes, Noblemen and Wasps

Various pieces of news for your consideration:

Fugazi’s First Demo release is now streaming in its entirety ahead of the official release date on 18th November via Dischord Records.

Manchester’s beautiful Central library was reopened earlier this year following a four year period of renovation and to celebrate, The Slow Readers Club played a gig in there, the first band to do so following the building’s refurbishment. The event was recorded and an album ‘Live At Central Library’ will be available as a digital download on December 1st. The Slow Readers Club will be playing XFM’s First Friday at Manchester’s Band on the Wall on December 5th.

Tickets are available here: http://bandonthewall.org/events/4583/

Siskiyou returns with Nervous, a majestic album of carefully constructed art rock built around songwriter and lead singer Colin Huebert’s stacked acoustic guitars and intimate, whispery vocals. Siskiyou’s sound has been previously dubbed a sort of ‘Northern Gothic’, conjuring cold winds and the life-saving warmth of temporary shelters and tiny hearth fires. With Nervous, the band continues to push beyond the crisp lo-fi intimacy of its early work, and has forged its most confident and finely-crafted recording to date, moving fully into auteur and chamber-pop territory with a song cycle that brings to mind the meticulousness of mood and sonics found in recent work by PJ Harvey, Nick Cave and Tindersticks. Inflected by an anxious, sussurant restraint, Huebert’s voice is supported by the falsetto backing vocal counterpoint and economical instrumentation of bandmates Erik Arnesen, Peter Carruthers and Shaunn Watt. Fans of the understated and underrated 1990s group Swell may also hear a welcome evocation of that group’s acoustic guitar-driven simplicity.

Irreal, the fifth long player from Chicago’s Disappears, is another trip down the rabbit hole. The album plays out as a dream sequence – hazed dub landscapes give way to the groupʼs most experimental and open music yet. If their last album Era confirmed the fact that Disappears are on their own trip, then Irreal is where it kicks in.  Eternalism, roboethics, identity – the album is a Ballardian mix of imperfect melodies, half thoughts and good ol’ dystopian modernity. It is a masterclass in texture, pace and control. Produced by John Congleton at famed Chicago recording institution Electrical Audio, Irreal sits in the negative space where art rock and post punk collapse onto each other. Irreal is the sound of Disappears reporting back from The Void.

Sir Richard Bishop returns with a brand new album, entitled Tangier Sessions, which Drag City are releasing on 16th February 2015. Tangier Sessions tells the oft-told tale: while traveling abroad, nobleman meets guitar. Guitar is too expensive for nobleman and, outraged, he departs. Nobleman quietly returns several days later for guitar but still can’t bring himself to pay the price. Yet nobleman can’t get guitar out of mind (he’s never heard anything like it) – so nobleman buys guitar, then travels the world with it, enchanted, and makes an album while in Tangier.

(photo credit Uwe Faltermeier)

28th November sees the latest release by the ubiquitous German Shepherd Records and their fourth offering by West Coast Sick Line. Comprising six tracks the EP is called Wasp In The Car and features the outstanding track from the Road to Billinge Hill album released earlier in the year. The remaining five tracks include two songs that did not make it onto the Billinge album , the beautiful “Johanna” and the up tempo “Bank Quay Moon”,  together with fan favourite, and as yet unreleased “Girls from Del Monte” and a recent Moonan experimental piece “O Jenasse”. The set is completed with a Space Museum  remix of “Johanna” which adds multiple layers of strings and synths.

News – local and international

There has been a lot happening in the last seven days so here is a quick bullet point round-up of some of the news which has been brought to my attention:

• Monster Island have a new album – their fifth – called “House of Lancaster”  out on Monday 25th August – which is excellent news for lovers of their particularly fascinating approach to music

• Mr Heart have got a new bassist to replace Sophie Lord – she is Amy Spray – and they have a gig in Bolton on 30th August at the Blind Tiger with Coroner for the Police
• German Shepherd records have a new EP out by a band called Scratchings, No Gravy – it’s called “Eccles Cross Breakdown” and you can get it here. The next releases on the label will be a new EP from Modal Roberts and the re-release of the excellent album from The Bacillus called “I Can’t Adapt To This Prison You Call Society”

• In further German Shepherd news the label is co-curating a gig with Louder Than War signings Kill Pretty at Dulcimer, Chorlton, Manchester on 12th and 19th September. Kill Pretty headline both nights and have special guests – West Coast Sick Line, Indian Pale Male and Poppycock on the 12th, and 2 Koi Karp, Andy T plus As Able As Kane on the 19th. Advance tickets are available with a booking fee from here. All of those purchasing advance tickets will get a free set of Kill Pretty badges when they arrive at the gig!
• Earth‘s brand new full-length studio LP, Primitive And Deadly, the album shall be released in less than two weeks through Southern Lord. With founding guitarist Dylan Carlson weaving his slow-motion, organic dirges throughout the amazingly restrained percussion of his longtime cohort Adrienne Davies, the duo are here joined by bassist Bill Herzog (Sunn O))), Joel RL Phelps, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter) and additional guitarists Brett Netson (Built To Spill, Caustic Resin) and Jodie Cox (Narrows). Rabia Shaheen Qazi of Rose Windows lends her angelic voice to the album’s third composition, “From The Zodiacal Light,” as heard in recent weeks, while the fifth track, “Rooks Across The Gate” and second track, “There Is a Serpent Coming,” feature evocative vocal contributions from Mark Lanegan previously of Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age, Mad Season and more. The lyrics for “Rooks…” were written by Dylan Carlson and the lyrics for “Serpent..” by Lanegan.

• Avec le soleil sortant de sa bouche is a bit of a Montreal supergroup, its members having been active in this city’s experimental rock communities for well over a decade, including participation in Panopticon Eyelids, Pas Chic Chic, Red Mass, Set Fire to Flames, and, from the Constellation roster, Fly Pan Am. Avec le soleil has solidified over the past year into a tight four-piece unit, and moved towards mastery of a highly original, deeply satisfying, giddy and heady avant-funk. They have an album out on Constellation on 29th September. Looks interesting from the notes I have seen.
• Last Ex is the new instrumental rock ensemble led by Simon Trottier and Olivier Fairfield, both longtime fixtures of experimental/punk scenes rooted in the cross-province hub of Hull/Ottawa (straddling the border of Quebec and Ontario, respectively). In addition to duties in various groups orbiting Fairfield’s E-Tron Records (including H. de Heutz, Ferriswheel and many others), the two are perhaps best known as core members of haunted blues-folk ensemble Timber Timbre, which spawned the Last Ex project. When Timber Timbre’s ambient music for a horror film went unused back in 2012, Trottier and Fairfield began revisiting the sound palette they had built up for the soundtrack at Fairfield’s studio in Hull, expanding on their techniques and textures, adding drums, bass and various other instruments. The duo found that they had dug into some very fertile territory, writing additional songs throughout 2013 and bringing their obsessions with sound collage, tape-based music concrète and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to bear on the cinematic lyricism of the initial widescreen guitar- and string-based material. Derived from the title of the abandoned film, Simon and Olivier dubbed their new project Last Ex. It is released on Constellation on 13th October.
• Montreal four-piece post-punk group Ought has been gathering momentum the old-fashioned way, with a humble and deceptively unassuming debut album that’s been worming its way into many many ears thanks to its combination of intelligence, authenticity, directness, simplicity and energy; and with live performances in which it is reported that  the band’s channeling of genuine passion, politics and charisma are consistently connecting with and exuberantly galvanizing audiences. While they continue their relentless touring across North America and Europe this Autumn, Constellation will be releasing a vinyl- and digital-only EP which corrals a couple of selections from the band’s older songbook, re-recorded this Spring at Hotel2Tango to reflect some of the ways they’ve grown and evolved over the past year or so.   Ought will be doing a full UK tour in November. The EP is called “Once More With Feeling” and is released on 27th October.

 

 

Mr Heart with their new line-up