5 Bands You Should Know from 2010s
Bands and artists who just don’t quite hit the big time, its our bread and butter. Their dreams are ours, when they hang up the guitars, a little part of us dies.
That is, until we realise, we’re going to keep on fighting their corner. So, here are 5 bands we hopelessly fell in love with during the last decade who didn’t (or haven’t yet) hit the big time.
The Crookes
Sheffield sweethearts The Crookes a band of great poetry and adventure, they were always better read than you but inspired us to follow in their romantic footsteps.
All four albums, and their EP ‘Dreams of Another Day’ were littered with American road trip escapism and Richard Hawley romanticism. They peaked with the album ‘Soapbox’, a stonewall classic that never was!
In a decade where Morrissey increasingly soured the teenage memories of The Smiths, the world should have turned to The Crookes. It’s easy to see why Lammo picked them for his 25 at 25 radio feature.
Theatre Royal
Medway’s Theatre Royal, the only band here to be still be going, are, pound for pound, the greatest pop band in the world right now.
With the sun drenched majesty of The Go-Betweens firmly in their hearts, they released four albums this decade. Whether it’s the spritely numbers ‘The Story of My Life’ or the downbeat affairs like ‘Standing in the Land’, everything they make is single worthy.
Pop hook after pop hook their recent singles collection could have been 50 deep. #
Stay tuned for a new album this year.
The Heartbreaks
Morceambe’s The Heartbreaks were the feral pop to The Crooke’s masterful pop adventure. No less in quality, they had rock n roll’s desperation permeating their journey.
It was an exhilarating two album ride, featuring a duet with Edwyn Collins and singles out on the impeccable Fierce Panda. Their devil meets mainstream guitar pop style, championed by Lammo, should have been bellowed out in the UK’s academies y drunken crowds!
Bo Ningen
All hail Marc Riley’s incredible 7pm slot on BBC6 for bringing Bo Ningen into our lives. The Japanese outfit, based in London provided some of these decades truly death defying psychedelic moments of rock music.
We will never forget their show at Dingwalls in 2013. A mind blowing set of psyche, noise rock and punk!
Standard Fare (& Emma Kupa)
Sheffield’s Standard Fare and, latterly the solo project of singer Emma Kupa redefined what indie-pop could be this past decade.
For so long, it was the cute and wry genre. When Kupa’s unique vocals burst on to the scene, it became dangerous, fragile, and intriguing. Yes, the cuteness remained, but it was the shot in the arm it needed after end of the 00s trashed it with Scouting for Girls and Hoosiers.
Embrace - Refugees
The tens, a decade like no other since the 1960s. The arse fell out of the industry, record deals died, and a shot for working class glory dramatically fell by the wayside and reality TV reigned supreme for a way out.
This was a decade that threw out some wonderful moments but were under documented. In this series, we look back at the ones that mattered most. Rock’n’Roll found a way.
Embrace – Refugees
One of the 00’s most unlikely moments came from West Yorkshire’s Embrace. Three albums in, no-one expected anything from their fourth ‘Out Of Nothing’. What they got was a stunning piece of euphoric indie rock, launching them to the heart of a burgeoning scene of newbies (The Killers, Bloc Party & Kasabian).
Surprising as this was, it was only seven years on from their classic debut ‘The Good Will Out’. Their self-titled album was eight years on from the critical failure of ‘The New Day’, this album was surely just something to put out for loyal fans right?
What came to pass, was the rebirth of their awe inspiring anthemic melodies, radiating their love of the Bunnymen and New Order. Predominantly written by guitarist Richard McNamara, lead singer and brother Danny canned 50 of his own songs upon hearing the demo. At the core of this album’s success was the lead single, “Refugees”. The power this song possessed not only won them a place back in the hearts, but more crucially the minds, of the UK’s alternative community.
All the hallmarks of the band’s agony/ecstasy dichotomy were there, but this time sonically reimagined with post-apocalyptic rave drum loops, adding a touch of life and death drama the subject matter so rightly deserved. There is no sense of any sort of happy ending until Danny’s vocal in the latter stages of the track; even the euphoric uplift of Richard’s early chorus leaves the listener with a sense of woe.
The power of this New Order meets Embrace epic, comes crashing home lyrically in the second line:
“Like Bonnie & Clyde except we don't die tonight”
Does another monostich encapsulate the liberal decline of the UK more this decade?
In February 2013, BBC3 sketch show ‘The Revolution Will Be Televised’ took to the streets to ask “have we forgot about Syria?”. It was great satire but, sadly the reality was far worse. After the disastrous anti-democratic intervention in Iraq, Britain had lost its stomach to do the right thing in foreign lands. What was once a sympathetic land, had become one where it increasingly only likes white faces. When thirty-nine dead Chinese refugees were discovered in a lorry in Thurrock, the story barely ran for a week in the British media. Where was the outrage? Where was our heart? Grenfell, Windrush, the examples in this decade go on!
Embrace’s ability to rouse their fans is often taken for granted, often taking them elsewhere. Only here, the journey is very different. Anchoring the conscious in the Syrian conflict, the band shed light on just how the UK had let itself down. The honesty of the self-reflection of the way we casually ignore war zones and genocide takes integrity to another level:
“And my only defence is the worst of me / Out in the open for all to see”
‘Refugees’ could and probably should have been for this decade, what Cars’ ‘Drive’ was to the 80’s.
On ‘This New Day’, the band’s archetypal contrast of light and dark dissipates into the warmest of glows. Great for fleeting moments, it had everything an Embrace fan could wish for. Huge hits. Arena tours. But when the sun set for that final time, and the radio went dead, it all felt a bit…hollow. People needed that comeback album. They needed Embrace. Britain needed to be united in pain and in the misery of its own undoing. Then, and only then, could the nation accept the ecstasy in the McNamara’s chorus.
They needed Refugees.
Top 30 Albums of the 2010s
30, Recreations – Baby Boomers 2
29. Johnny Marr - Playland
28. The Go! Team – Rolling Blackouts
27. Public Service Broadcasting – The Race For Space
26. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
25. Asylums – Alien Human Emotions
24. The Horrors - Skying
23.Reverend & The Makers – Mirrors
22. Gaz Coombes- Matador
21. Orbital – Monsters Exist
20. Embrace - Embrace
19. Get Cape Wear Cape Fly – Young Adult
18. The Vaccines – Come Of Age
17. Tame Impala - Currents
16. Theatre Royal – We Don’t Know Where We Are
15. Whyte Horse – Promise I Do
14. The Claim – New Industrial Ballads
13. DMA’s – Hills End
12. Wolf Alice – Visions of a Life
11. Ryan Adams - Prisoner
10. IDLES – Joy As An Act Of Resistance
9. The Blinders - Columbia
8. Arcade Fire - Suburbs
7. Prodigy – No Tourists
6. Jake Bugg – Jake Bugg
5. Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones
4. Daniel Avery – Drone Logic
3. Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die
2. Primal Scream – More Light
1. The Crookes – Soapbox
Top 30 Albums of 2019
1. The Claim – New Industrial Ballads
It’s been 30 years since their debut ‘Boomy Tella’. Countless fans will have pondered what might have been had they got a bigger break back then. We defy them not to see this 30 year wait as positive now. Integrity in tack, The Claim have delivered a pop music masterpiece. (full review)
2. Desperate Journalist – In Search of the Miraculous
Sometimes, on third albums, there is a sense of all or nothing for bands. They chose all in. This is a post-punk ‘Rumours’. This is the rarest of tightropes walked, where cutting edge meets accessible pop music and is credible. If Fleetwood Mac signed off their careers with this album, the world would lose its shit at ‘Satellite’ being the new ‘Go Your Own Way’ or ‘Argonauts’ as the new ‘Songbird’. (full review)
3. Cellar Doors – Cellar Doors
There are moments of sublime pop majesty. 'Prism' sees singer Sean Fitzpatrick deliver an angelic Paul Weller vocal circa 'English Rose' vocal amid an eruption of Kasabian's 'Reason Is Treason'. The sex and danger of Fitzpatrick's guitar playing on 'Sirens' should hopefully banish the banal dross of Arctic Monkeys for good and, on 'Frost', they have an anthem for the ages. Complete with Depeche Mode's darkness, Neu's motorik, and the lightness of early John Squire guitar playing, 'Frost' is a haunting psychedelic pop behemoth. (full review)
4. The Membranes - What Nature Gives…Nature Takes Away
There is a real sense that they have left every ounce of their soul in the recording studio for this release. The intensity and the struggle is tangible at times and, it should be serially recognised! (full review)
5. Nick Cave - Ghosteen
Stunning. From start to finish! Stunning!
6. Death of Guitar Pop – In Over Our Heads
Ska pop executed like this is undeniable.
7. The Murder Capital – When I Have Fears
Fontaines have stolen the plaudits, but, for our money, this Dublin band are the best of the burgeoning scene in Ireland.
8. Ian brown – Ripples
Turning inwards and lo-fi like ‘Unfinished Monkey Business’, Brown has delivered an array of alt-pop songs sprinkled with magic and post-roses angst.
9. Fontaines D.C. – Dogrel
It’s hard to argue with 6Music’s choice of album of the year. From playing the Good Mixer to selling out Brixton Academy next March, what a charge of glory!
10. The Twang – If Confronted Just Go Mad
As the album grows, it becomes apparent, this is perfect blend of update and re-connection rather than Ziggy to Aladdin Zane reinvention.
With hooks aplenty, and, younger audiences alive with excitement for DMAs, Gerry Cinnamon and The Shambolics, not only is The Twang’s return well timed, it seems heaven sent to unite generations of outsiders. (full review)
11. Daniel Land - The Dream of the Red Sails
The older one gets, the harder it becomes to believe in anything, let alone heroes. Daniel Land is a hero. To write an album amid political bile and personal turmoil is an achievement in itself. To trawl through your own personal history and relationships and not be filled regret is something us mere mortals can only dream of.
The binary disposition of Brexit positions is so prevalent it’s hard to ever find an answer for anything. 'The Dream of Red Sails' is the third way. It is the leadership we so desperately need. (full review)
12. The BVs – Cartography
A stunning array of indie-pop.
13. Mark Morriss - Look Up
Not only is the magic still prevalent, its flourishing. ‘Science and Nature’ is, for our money, Morriss’ pinnacle. ‘Look Up’ is full of creative risk taking which rivals. (full review)
14. Skint & Demoralised - We Are Humans
How effing marvellous is it to have them back? Abbot’s lyrical prowess has grown significantly in stature. The perfect polemic for a terrible year.
15. W.H. lung – Incidental Music
If anything, their debut was a let-down. The early singles were so exciting, that the rest of the album couldn’t quite match them. It’s still a class act for a debut album, one you must own.
16. Hot Chip - A Bath Full of Ecstasy
Fifteen years on from their debut, the London outfit delivered their best album yet.
17. Liam Gallagher – Why Me Why Not
For the most part, Liam has channelled his love of George Harrison and its paid off. Significantly better than his debut and, in ‘One of Us’ has written a classic.
18. Chemical Brothers – Geography
The Dust Brothers has done it again. They continue to forge new paths from their ground-breaking beginnings.
19. Frank Turner - No Mans Land
Though punk maybe his spiritual home, folk is where his true mastery lies.
20. Moon Duo - Stars Are Light
A seriously impressive reinvention of all that they are.
When you hear a band, like Moon Duo, famed for a strand of music for so long are ripping up all they know, alarm bells ring. To return with a new style of such quality and integrity, is not only remarkable, it’s just plain showing off. More please! (full review)
21. Sleeper - The Modern Age
At every turn on ‘The Modern Age’, Sleeper have added something to their armoury. The guitars are beefier, the synths crisp and the psyche new. For all the charm they carried in the 90s, they are no-one’s understudy’s anymore. This feels like the record they were born to make. (full review)
22. Richard Hawley - Further
Not everything lands on ‘Further’ but, few can match the beauty of the highs Hawley can still summon in his early 50s. When he enters into his reflective and poetic groove, it’s impossible not to fall in love with him all over again. (full review)
23. LIFE – A Picture of Good Health
Dangerous throbbing psyched up punks. The deadly lyrical venom and genuine performance of them is thrilling!
24. Tallies - Tallies
Undoubtedly, fans of Postcard Records and Sarah Records will find this album an affectionate homage to their youths. For newer fans, we urge you to use Tallies’ album as a jump off point into the past. (full review)
25. Red Rum Club - Matador
Ultimately, 'Matador's cons are so few they pale into significance. This album is so well stocked in bangers that; it has potential of a two year run on the album charts. (full review)
26. Ride – This Is Not A Safe Place
Another fine album from the Oxford outfit post comeback. We implore you to see it live, it goes up several levels!
27. The Night Café – 0151
Unabashed indie from Liverpool. Serious ones to watch. The world is at their fingertips.
28. The S.L.P. - The S.L.P.
Serge’s side project, at times hits insatiable highs (Trance) but, at others (The Youngest Gary) falls short of his high standards.
29. Submotile - Ghosts Fade On Skylines
Fans of shoegaze, noise-rock, drone-rock and so on will inevitably dig this album. It probably won’t make the upper echelons of their record collection though. Nevertheless, it’s attempt to re-introduce pop hooks into the fold has to be admired in divisive Brexit times. It begins to blur people’s hard lines force them back together. (full review)
30. Scandinavia - Premium Economy
It may have taken Scandinavia five albums, but it would appear they have found their sweet spot. Pop hook after pop hook invade their punk or jingle jangle tendencies. This is definitely an album to sound track the rest of the summer. (full review)
Shiiine On Weekender '19
The hangovers and comedowns have just about faded nearly two weeks on from this years Shiiine On Weekender. All we’re left with now is, an aching feeling that 2020 is just so far away.
To ease the pain, here are our top 5 highlights from the weekend. Please don’t troll us, we really did love everything about the weekend! Except Phil, he says we’re all c**ts.
Jon Mancini
Classic after classic, rave, acid house, Ibiza anthems and stupendous remixes flooded Reds dance floor. No-one played this weekend without technical proficiency. What set Mancini apart was, his ability to tap into the soul of this festival and its people. By the time he dropped Electronic, the room was ready to fall in the floor and die in a state of sheer happiness. May he always be at Shiiine!
Gazelle
The Shiiine On family continues to grow with new bands each year. Having the Inn On The Green free from the main stage on Saturday was a great touch. Big crowds for every band, more importantly, crowds of music buying generations to hopefully fund the new wave.
Taking full advantage was Leicester's Gazelle. The most aptly named band of the weekend, who among us wasn’t wearing a pair!
Along with mainstage openers Ivory Wave, they have had great run of singles in 2019. Looking like a gang and as free flowing as The Rifles and The Courteeners, they channel Richard Hawley’s Blake-esque lyrics through a flurry of great choruses and solos.
Despite the smell of feet (the room, not theirs), their everyman rock n roll blew away Friday's cobwebs with aplomb.
Sice
What a comeback. No live performances since 2005, Sice returned with a couple of gigs this fall. Neither would have compared to the huge crowd he drew on the Centre Stage. Humble, and full of love, Sice was visibly taken aback by the crowd he drew and, their reaction to the Radleys classics he played.
The Radleys were always full of adventure musically, however, to hear their songs stripped back was one of the cutest and most adorable things known to man. ‘I Wish I Was Skinny’ was jaw dropping, ‘Fairfax’ was heart-warming and, during ‘From the Bench at Belvidere’, Shiiine On possessed a hymnal quality like no other.
Embrace
Doing exactly what it says on the tin, they lift you up, inspire you and release you into the ether a better person!
Euphoric from start to finish, their beauty continues to reign supreme. With a classic record in each of the last three decades, they are becoming Indie’s Cliff Richard, here’s to ‘20s.
The Popguns
As a teenager of the Britpop, Shiiine On offers up several bands not yet discovered. Each of our four trips as unearthed a band that has stolen my heart:
2016 - Thousand Yard Stare
2017 - The Orchids
2018 - The Train Set
This year’s lucky winner was Brighton’s jangle gems The Popguns. Their effortless pop music warmed the arctic seaside conditions effortlessly. If there is a better sound to fall in love to than theirs we’d like to hear it.
20 Years of Golden Greats
We examine the impact Ian Brown’s seminal album Golden Greats.
It was 1999. Ian Brown, already an Icon, stood poised for the biggest release of his career. The protracted demise of the Stone Roses behind him, Brown had already made good on the rarest of opportunities with his debut solo album, ‘Unfinished Monkey Business’.
A bitter fallout with boyhood friend John Squire allowed him a chance of reckoning; the ability to deliver something so angst ridden, vengeful and honest, in the way that only a debut album could.
Locked and loaded, Brown fired shot after shot at Squire’s emotional retreat from their friendship, (‘Ice Cold Cube’, ‘Nah Nah’) and his perceived obsession with money (‘Deep Pile Dreams’).
In January that year, Squire’s “The Seahorses” called time on their short-lived stint in the limelight. Inevitably, Roses reunion talk began. Amongst fans, there was a feeling that Brown had aired his problems, and Squire? He had tried his hand elsewhere, but surely now, a reconciliation beckoned.
Brown however, after a tough time at her majesty’s pleasure, had other ideas. Speaking on BBC2’s “The Ozone” in the same year, he bristled: “This country owes me 60 days. I will take it by all means necessary…”
That fire was clear for all to see on the bombastic opener, ‘Getting High’. Again, lyrical shots flew at Squire (“I could have found you if I wanted/ I wouldn't even have to try / Saved you if I longed to / You didn't wanna see me by”). Aziz Abraham’s guitar work combined the lo-fi outer space elements of the debut with an expansion of the Roses second album.
Brown’s prison sentence was farcical. A four-month stint, having offended an air hostess - the same sentence Gary Glitter received for a hard drive indecent images of children, following an ill-advised trip to PC World just a few months earlier. As a category D prisoner at Strangeways, Brown served the entirety of his 4 months there, in one of the country’s largest high security, Category A prisons.
However, the frustration and darkness of prison, became Brown’s muse. For it was here he would write ‘Free My Way’, ‘Set My Baby Free’ and ‘So Many Soldiers’. ‘Free My Way’ opens with the haunting line of ‘jingle jangle here’s the jailor, heaven’s here right now on earth’, viscerally describing the anguish of hearing the prison guard coming to lock him up each night.
Speaking to artist (and former forger) John Myatt, Brown talks with great affection about the people he met in prison; the spirit of those with far less, being perhaps the key to Brown maintaining his positive pop instincts on the record. When you consider the adverse effect prison had on Rob Collins (The Charlatans), we should be grateful to all of those people who helped our hero through his darkest days.
The chemical electronics of ‘Set My Baby Free’. The intoxicating distortion of the ‘Golden Gaze’. The vocal melody of ‘Free My Way’. All of this seriously tested periphery of what pop music could be 20 years ago. As the British alternative bands moved away from pop into their masterpiece era (Spiritualised - Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space; Pulp – This Is Hardcore; Primal Scream – XTRMNTR), Brown busily funnelled the vast imagination of the aforementioned acts via the medium of pop music to stand alone in the crowd once more.
When King Monkey Head was in high spirits, the alt-pop really shone. ‘If Dolphins Were Monkeys’ had the rhythmic funkadelic charm of the Roses. Meanwhile, ‘Love Like A Fountain’ is a trippy soul record from outer space.
The bravery, the creativity and crucially, the impact of ‘Golden Greats’, went on a long way to quelling the Roses reunion talk and would put pay to that eventuality for another 13 years.
Like the sexuality of Bowie and the satellite town visions of early Suede, Brown captured the world he, and he alone lived in, and enticed you in, if not invited. This blueprint became template for Brown’s solo career to come but it was here, despite being the difficult second album, that it launched in earnest.
The Blinders: Live at the Ritz
This week marks the release of The Blinders' limited edition live album. Recorded in their adopted city of Manchester, at the iconic Ritz venue, it will be out via Blood Records.
On hearing this news, we were immediately taken back to May 2nd 2017, the first night we saw the band. We went out for the emerging Sisteray, we left emotionally shattered from The Blinders.
This was more than a gig! It was art, it was drama and exciting as fuck.
Frontman Thomas Haywood strode on stage in a John Motson over coat and face paint. Meanwhile, bass player Charlie McGough looked like Nick Drake and strutted like Wilko Johnson.
All images courtesy of Blood Records & Sam Crowston
They had the style. Did they have the substance?
You bet your life they did!
Haywood was the embodiment of Cobain, Morrison, and Blake. The guitars were stinging pieces of psyche via punk. For the first time since The Libertines, a band were in the present, reflecting life as we knew and hated. It was to be adored.
Two years on, they are inevitably a better live band. Tighter, harder, and wiser, this live album is a no brainer of a purchase. If you have never seen or heard them, we cordially invite you to the hoodwink society.
Visit Blood Records to get your copy:
Our 8th Birthday!
Last Friday night, in South East London, a rare thing happened. A night of rock n roll was brought to the forgotten corner of London. A week after the Kick Out The Jams all dayer and, a few months after CroCroLand, it feels like a shift is well under way. With Soho becoming overrun by greed, venues like New Cross Inn, Amersham Arms and The White Hart must become pivotal touring stops and breed life into a hotbed creativity so often overlooked.
To break the 4th wall briefly, it was our 8th birthday and, we have to say thank you to the bands and everyone who came. Furthermore, thank you to This Feeling, Kick Out The Jams, Zine UK, and especially Art Beat Promo for their support and inspiration in keeping grass roots music alive.
Opening with the lush and intimate sounds of Mark Radcliffe favourite Daniel Land, the New Cross Inn was served up a piece of introspective shimmering guitar work. Land's voice, under appreciated in his band format with their soaring landscapes displayed an array romanticism and melancholy to lose your self in.
Image courtesy of Caffy St Luce
The temperature was raised considerably when the sexed up riffs of North London's Come At The King. Former single 'Shudder', filled the room with danger and intense anticipation. Everyone knew an explosion was coming, that didn't make anyone prepared for it. All those years watching Noel trying to write this song, blown to pieces in 4mins of dirty rock n roll blues.
A quick blast of 'Hotel Yorba' had everyone dancing but, it was their own 'Minesweep' that laid down the gauntlet. Humble in lyrics, chest out bravado in sound, they have their blueprint to glory.
Image courtesy of Caffy St Luce
Then came Brighton's Lacuna Bloome. A band no longer of potential, they are bursting at the seems of bass hooks and John Squire guitar parts. They demonstrated their ability to switch up from the pop majesty of 'I Am' and 'Alright' to the frenzied set closer. It's one thing to have Stone Roses as an influence, its another to deliver on it.
With an EP coming this Autumn, Lacuna Bloome are sure thing to be on main stages at next years festivals.
Average Sex
Headlining were Tim Burgess proteges Average Sex. From start to finish, a riot of 60s girl groups, punk and charisma. Their first national tour starts this Friday in Liverpool (Phase One) and, on this showing, radio stations are going to be foaming at the mouth to give them airplay.
Image courtesy if Caffy St Luce
Instant classics 'Ice Cream' and 'Melody' had New Cross this hooked and, by the time singer Laetitia has woven her magic, everyone was under their spell.
Not only do they move from destructive New York punk to Johnny Marr pop effortlessly, they do it with an unfettered spirit. 'We’re Done', the greatest chorus in recent times (bar none), is either sung along by fans or having people in stitches with its chorus:
“You act like im the crazy one since I slashed your tyres / Now you wont return my calls since I set your dog on fire”
They icons in the making, they have the singles, they have the album tracks, now its your job, the public to go and fall in love with them.
Theatre Royal: Top 5 Singles
Kent’s Theatre Royal have released all 22 singles dating from 2010 to 2018 via bandcamp. It’s proof just how this decade has been under documented for new bands. Much like Sheffield’s The Crookes and The Heartbreaks, they have the ability to write alternative 3min pop songs as naturally as the sun rises.
As a result, we undertook the unenviable task of producing our top 5 singles from this faultless collection:
French Riviera 1988
Escapism for the industrial estuary towns has never sounded so exuberant. The human condition on display for all to fall in love with. Yearning to belong somewhere out of reach should be a downbeat and crushed affair right? Nope!
Our Medway friends are made that much more heroic by saddling up and charging towards their dream land.
Locked Together on the Lines
This is the true story of front man Oliver’s Nan discovering a sailor and a prostitute laying together, dead, at Chatham’s war memorial. Rightly lauded by Steve Lamacq, it recalls Mike Leigh or Alan Clarke dramas at their best. Heartfelt and gritty, it oozes charm and great characterisation.
As the guitars shimmer to a climax, The Pale Fountains and Jasmine Minks come roaring to the surface on this pop triumph.
Standing in the Land
Despite unknown to the masses Theatre Royal are blessed as a band. They can write great and meaningful pop songs, as this singles collection will attest to.
On ‘Standing In The Land’, they change tact and deliver one of the bravest lyrics of the decade. Tackling the migrant crisis from a loving and reasoned view point is to be lauded. Especially back in 2017 with David “hides in his shed” Cameron describing them as “swarm of migrants”.
It goes further than just providing an emotive response. It offers an intellectual viewpoint, asking the difficult questions about Britain’s part in the crisis that emerged. The beautiful harmonies chime away as this kitchen sink drama conversation unfurls like an inspired piece of Morrissey song writing.
If You Could Stand Up
“Kent's 21st Century Robert Forster & Grant McLennan. Purveyors of timeless guitar pop classics.”
John Kennedy, X-Posure, Radio X
It combines the relentlessness of the The Jam and mod hooks of The Prisoners with their love of the C86 movement. It’s arguably the sweetest spot they have struck upon sonically. The earthy horns of latter day The Jam and the opulent harmonies are so effortless it’s impossible not to get washed out to sea on this pop riot.
Caught Me At The Wrong Line
A cross between their idols The Go-Betweens and their hometown heroes The Claim, Theatre Royal demonstrate alternative pop can still melt hearts.
The spritely and pop hook laden The Go-Betweens guitars saunter along carefree whilst Oliver delivers his finest vocal to date. Infectious as Edwyn Collins and defiant as Mick Head, it’s the perfect counter to the sun kissed guitars.
Friday 2nd August marks our 8th birthday. Come down to the New Cross Inn for a night of great live music. Tickets available here:
Album Revisit: Dot Dash - Proto Retro
Washington DC three-piece Dot Dash released sixth LP ‘Proto Retro’ last July. Although we missed it, when the good people at Canadian record label ‘The Beautiful People’ tipped us off, we had to revisit.
Wearing their influences as an emotional badge of honour, Dot Dash have delivered remarkably consistent piece of alternative pop/rock. 'Unfair Weather' has the punkiness of the criminally forgotten The Mice and the sublime licks of The Jam funnelled through the c86 movement. 'Dead Letter Rays', opens with a nod to The Courteeners’ ‘Bide Your Time’ before sliding into the infectiousness of Felt but with a Lemonheads riot beating at its core. Meanwhile, 'TV/Radio' adopts the mod-cum-punk jangle of Jasmine Minks in this assault on the senses.
Despite the album’s consistency, there is a slight drop on the Boo Radley’s inspired 'Parachute Powerline' or the Britpop tinged 'Triple Rainbow'. However, when you countenance them with the firesome Sun + Moon = Disguise' or the hazy building 'Run & Duck For Cover', there is little cause for complaint.
The albums centrepiece, has to be 'Gray Blue Green'. A moment of pure genius. Squire’s, ‘Mersey Paradise’, jangle links up with the effortlessness of Teenage Fanclub before a Mott The Hoople 'Dudes' solo chimes in to melt all woes away.
It's albums like this, when discovered a year after release which make you question music industry. Just what is it doing? This is alt pop at its best. It should be on the radio alongside whatever major label factory line drivel is out there. Give pop equality a chance!
Friday 2nd August marks our 8th birthday. Come down to the New Cross Inn for a night of great live music. Tickets available here:
The Pink Toothbrush, Keith Flint and I
This past Saturday night, a casual night in the pub was called on with the immortal question of “Brush?” The Pink Toothbrush is an alternative club in Rayleigh, Essex. Open for over 35 years now, It’s become a rite of passage for the young, a reset pilgrimage for the aged, and this past Saturday, it was the Church of Keith Flint.
To some, it’s a just night out, to others, hearing tracks by IDLES, Courteeners, and classic anthems is life affirming. Five days on from the tragic death of Keith Flint, Brush (as its really known), was a chance to grieve, Prodigy style.
Full of love and punk spirit, Brush became more than just an indie club. It was brothers and sisters in arms. Brush, is depicted by people like me. Not confident enough to hit that dancefloor immediately. A level of drunkenness is needed and then, then you play the waiting game. Sitting on edge whilst the piss taking among friends is in full swing, really, I’m waiting for that ONE to kick the night off. Dj’s Darren and Russell duly obliged with ‘Omen’.
The iconic single from, arguably the greatest comeback album of all time ‘Invaders Must Die’ sent the room into a frenzy. The hint of dubstep funnelled through their archetypal rave sound was this crowds hymn. When Keith snarled “the writings on the wall / it won’t go away”, I was drawn to the Ian Curtis painting by the exit. Curtis’ demise was also too soon but, on this occasion, his image was a reassuring sight. Flint will live forever!
The night unravels as per usual from here on in, Snakebites (or a Rodney, a Rayleigh speciality) are spilt and split opinions over the 1975 ensue. However, when Darren and Russell drop ‘Firestarter’, ‘Voodoo People’, ‘Out of Space’ and ‘Smack My Bitch Up’, a togetherness was tangible.
Strangers are hugged and hoisted from the floor and hugged again. This mayhem was about the love of a fellow Essex boy who took a swing and hit it out the park for over 30 years.
Thank you Darren. Thank you Russell. Thank you Pink Toothbrush and before we get sued by Alanis Morissette, thank You Keith, you total fucking legend.
Top 20 Albums of 2018
Another year, another great haul of albums. However, this wasn’t an ordinary year for the underground and alternative scene. Something is afoot. A unified and destructive punk rock and rock n roll is bubbling up. A searing intensity is brooding alongside a mass outpouring of love. They havent quite balanced each other out yet but, the hope that’s amassing on the underground circuit is emerging and will not be contained.
Remember 2018 as the year where the new working class fought back with intelligence and love (AGAIN).
20. Richard Thompson – 13 Rivers
The old folk mongrel cannot stop delivering thought provoking guitar solos. Put your beret on and prepare to be dazzled.
19. Sean McGowan – Son of Smith
McGowan has toured with Billy Bragg, Frank Turner and Get Cape Wear Cape Fly in the past and clearly taken notes. From brass to funk to punk to pop, McGowan has taken a swing at them all. For the most part, made solid connections. Sometimes, bands/artists debut is all they have, a lifetimes dreams desperately oozing from their souls. What’s on display here is, clearly a man with aspirations and dreams way beyond teenage discourse.
18. Boy Azooga – 1, 2, Kung Fu
Welcome to the world of positivity starring Johnny Marr's protege. Cardiff's Davey Newington is a classic single away from national treasure status.
17. The Bonnevilles – Dirty Photographs
Amid all the fuzz and devilment, an old school R'n'B soul permeates The Bonnevilles. No matter how abrasive or decadent, an enriching warmth continually permeates.
16. Bennett Wilson Poole - Bennett Wilson Poole
The sweet sounds of The Byrds and CSNY are given a credible revisit.
15. Alfa 9 - My Sweet Movida
There is an expansive guitar side always threatening to break out on this record. The album isn’t lacking solos but, on 'Rise' and the trippy closer 'Fly', the highlight reel grows significantly. Think Stills at his sprawling best with Manassas.
14. Manic Street Preachers – Resistance is Futile
When will they make a bad album? Lyrically Wire has lit the touch paper and Bradfield's guitar playing strays from Motown to Rush, the drummer is good too.
13. Blossoms – Cool Like You
The stand-out pop music record of the year.
12. 485c – 485c
There is so much to admire about this debut album but mainly, it’s the high level of consistency of it that’s striking. The Charlatans and Maximo Park need to make some space, there is a new member to the forever 8 out of 10 club.
11. The Lovely Eggs – This Is England
Wiggy giggy giggy giggy giggy giggy giggy.
10. Cabbage – Nihilist Glamour Shots
The line has been drawn for battle, if you're not on the Cabbage's side, history will come for you!
9. Asylums – Alien Human Emotions
Pop punk has a new standard bearer. Thoughtful and observant of the times, the Southend outfit have channelled their inner Martin Amis.
8. She Drew The Gun – Revolution of the Mind
Lyrics with the power of Irvine Welsh meet their synths and psyche music head on for their best work yet.
7. Johnny Marr – Call The Comet
Johnny. Johnny. Johnny fucking Marr!
6. DMA's – For Now
The Sydney outfit have honed their La's meets the spirit of The Enemy to pop perfection.
5. Get Cape Wear Cape Fly – Young Adults
Priced out of the city and forced to return home, Duckworth's song writing has hit a career high. Strummer-esque polemic is given a poetical turn to great effect.
4. Shame – Songs of Praise
Such evanescent guitar playing combining with a venomous but heartfelt vocal delivery. They maybe 4th here but, our suspicions are that, Shame will go further than most.
3. Suede – The Blue Hour
It may be their third album post-comeback but, now it feels like they are back in the hearts of the nation once more. Outsiders young and old have a voice once more.
2. IDLES – Joy As An Act of Resistance
Desolation and gut wrenching despair has never been delivered with so much love.
1. The Blinders – Columbia
With the next generation about to be royally fucked, thank god for the punkadelic revolution being led by the Doncaster trio. Dark, warped and scathingly brilliant.
Outsiders
“And the more they see the more they say
Thrown like two winter roses into a broken vase”
On Saturday 24th November, the premier of Suede’s documentary ‘The Insatiable Ones’ aired on Sky Arts. It’s a glorious piece of cinema that depicts the London icons in their role as outsiders on their rise to the top.
Fast forward 7 days to Brixton Academy, The Courteeners, supported by Gerry Cinnamon and Zuzu, it was snapshot of what 2018’s outsider looks like. Accessible and great alternative pop songs from all three are treated like leprosy from the same outlets that once gave Suede a chance.
The rejection of British lives being reflected in song writing, especially in bands in recent years, has served nights like this well though. The reaction to having what they love being ignored has been an intense outpouring of togetherness at the live shows. Cinnamon’s name is sung to the rafters, it couldn’t be clearer that he is the breakout act of the year.
Yes, crowds go wild to anthems and they fall silent to the ballads but, there was something else lurking in Brixton. A genuine feeling of “I have to die proving I love this band”, it was almost tangible!
Our lives may not be reflected in the songwriting played on mainstream outlets now, but, it’s only made fans kick that much harder against the pricks.
Music Venue Trust
London's iconic 100 Club played host to four emerging talents recently. Headlined by London's Sisteray and supported by Gaffa Tape Sandy, Strange Cages and Beach Riot, this was more than your average gig, sadly. It was part of the Music Venue Trust's charity fightback to stop small venues going under.
The fact a charity was set up in 2014 to protect venues should be sending warning sirens to anyone with half an interest in live music. Too many small venues have fallen by the wayside in recent years because of extortionate business rates, gentrification, and a government desperate to increase stats on house building. Thankfully, they are establishing themselves across the country and looking to obtain freeholds when they become available on avid gig goers venues.
For TT, this gig was firm evidence MVT is needed to secure these venues futures. March 2017, Sisteray opened up for The Blinders and The Shimmer Band at the Camden Assembly (formerly the Barfly). Just over a year on, they sold out a venue with a bigger capacity. Without the a venue to progress onto, where is the carrot dangling for a new band like them? Write a soulless corporate Magic FM single? No thank you.
Having been at both gigs, the progress of Sisteray was striking. They were tighter and their confidence was up. Frontman Niall Rowan delivered his social commentary significantly more venom and, on set closer 'White Knuckle Joyride', the band have developed a freedom the Oasis-esque track deserves.
Now, anyone who thinks success is overnight or handed to you by a shit haircut in a roll-neck jumper on ITV, think again. Sisteray have grafted their nuts off and earned this slot. We're not saying it should be easy, the struggle and the journey are key to any art a band puts out. However, without the space to play, fail and learn, Sisteray could not have reached this new level.
The other three acts were indicative of so many support bands. They all showcased glimpses of the sound their honing. In many ways, they are Sisteray in March 2017. Here's hoping that this time next year, one of them emerges as the 100 Club headliner.
Thousand Yard Stare - Keep It Alive
A live review of Thousand Yard stare at the Lexington.
Confession time, Thousand Yard Stare was a blind spot until their Shiiine On Weekender 2016. It was one of those nights where the words “wow, who the fuck is this?” just kept forming in a cider-induced brain.
So, when they announced a special EP-only set at the Lexington, it felt somewhat fraudulent to be there despite the obsessive record collecting in the intervening years. Especially during ‘Twicetimes’ when a total stranger turns and excitedly stutters “20 years, never, 20, never heard in 20 years”.
So often, people with less obsessive tendencies around music ask, “Why are you going to see an old band?” Now, depending on mood, they are met with cynical derision or an inevitable Spotify playlist. On this occasion, a far bigger response is needed.
They are the musical embodiment of Matt Le Tissier. This brilliant entity, capable of so many things but mainly, dragging the underdog to a realm of glory. The classic ‘0-0 AET’ encapsulates the spirit of The Wonder Stuff into their world of psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll, and ‘Buttermouth’, like Le Tissier, leaves you with the sense that, if new today, would be a national treasure.
Tenuous football links aside, the abiding feeling of tonight is love. From Stephen Barnes’ video message to unwell drummer Dom (get well soon, mate), to Sean McDonough’s uncontrollable hugging of other band members, to their crew holding on to amps and singing along simultaneously, love oozed from them. What “became unmentionable” tangibly rose in North London on Friday, “it belongs to everyone of us”.
What began as tentative baby steps to the front became leaps of joy and togetherness for one lonely music lover. Lost in the abandon of loyal “weatherwatchers” and seeking solace in a criminally underrated band, Friday was a heartfelt expression of hope.
Keep it alive!
A Letter to Scott Hutchison
Dear Scott,
Thank you. Thank you for your songwriting. Thank you for the lift in the mood at my most isolated.
The news of your passing didn’t hit until today, the anniversary of the Manchester terror attack. As Radio 4 reported the testimony of parents who lost their children and surviving children as young as 12, I was awe-struck by the spirit and sense of togetherness they’d found in adversity.
Radio 4 also interviewed various choirs this morning. They were preparing for a performance tonight in memory of the tragically lost. As they found solitude in a mourning city, your masterpiece ‘Nitrous Gas’ sprang to mind more vividly than ever before.
The warming nature juxtaposed with the emotive darkness as the protagonist tears their world apart is remarkable. The sense of telling the world to “fuck off” is so striking its almost tangible. The little guitar licks nod towards a dawning light that should have been spent asleep dreaming of better things. The imagery is masterful.
However, clearly, this mindset came with a cost. We, and hopefully all music fans from here on in will change their approach to music appreciation. It cannot be enough for reviewers like me to put a tortured soul up on a pedestal anymore. The time has come to refer young men like Scott to CALM, or simply as, “are you ok mate”.
Sorry we indulged in your pain. Sorry for not making your isolation our problem too.
Yours Sincerely
Mike Adams
* The Mural was painted by Michael Corr in Glasglow with his wife and a little girl who walked by wanting to help. http://www.michaelcorrartist.co.uk/
The Bluetones Top 10
After two intimate nights with Mark Morriss (Westcliff) and then the full band (Water Rats), we thought we’d do something different than just review their brilliant Shepherds Bush Empire homecoming.
So, here are our top 10 Bluetones songs for you to enjoy, debate, and troll us with alternatives on Twitter.
10. Slight Return
Music is a great tool for inducing memories both good and bad. As a child of the 90s, it felt like this emerged from nowhere to number two (kept off by Babylon Zoo!!!) in the charts. After Pulp’s ‘Mis-Shapes’, siege mentality was at the forefront of the alternative community and this was one of its chief weapons.
9. Emily’s Pine
A groove-laden ending to the 3rd album ‘Science and Nature’. What begins as a romantic ode ends in dank murderous tones. What’s not to like?
8. Carnt Be Trusted
The perfect mix of Marr’s funk and Squire’s rock n roll blend on this heavy paisley anthem. Lyrically, it’s Morriss at his best, detailing the darker side of relationships. Remarkably, in a song without a chorus, its level of hooks is high.
7. Talking To Clarry
Kicking off the debut album, and harnessing the band with too many Stone Roses comparisons was this cracker. Yes, there are some ‘Breaking into Heaven’ moments in the intro, but, for our money, there was always a nod to Crosby Stills and Nash in this slow burner.
6. Autohpillia
In 2000, Pop Idol was well underway, and freeze-dried pop in a bag was in full force. So, for this eccentric REM number to reach 18 in the charts was a great feat.
5. After Hours
When Mercury Records decided to put the greatest hits out against the band’s wishes, the boys decided to take ownership and record some new material. The iconic Bugsy Malone video directed by Edgar Wright was the best of the bunch.
The Wings meets ‘Benny and The Jets’ sense of fun oozes from this tale of pub that the Winchester of Shaun of the Dead fame is based on. For anyone who is old enough to remember the dirty secret of a lock-in, well, it will always raise a wry smile.
4. Never Going Nowhere
Bands like Radiohead get tagged as brilliant because they always innovate (rightly so). However, to recreate your band’s sound and retain great pop sensibilities is a far rarer occurrence. Their 4th album witnessed a distinct array of 70s influences not seen before. The intro brims with Talking Heads’ sense of humour whilst, as ever, Morriss tells brilliant tales of dark relationships.
3. Home Fires Burning
After the heavier second album, the knives were out in the music press. It would have been easy for them to fold under the pressure. Cue, their most complete single.
2. Bluetonic
This, more than anything seems to define the band in the mid-90s. It’s immediate with intelligent lyrics and a boozy swagger. Much like the early Supergrass records, it was both of and before its time simultaneously.
1. Marblehead Johnson
Few bands reach the top and then give something back to the fans as The Bluetones did with this non-album single. Furthermore, it’s the freest the band have ever sounded. From the jingle jangle riffs to Morris’ eloquent vocals, everything flows effortlessly.
Shot in the Dark
"they've now grown up, sorted their shit out but importantly they still retain their bite." - Alan McGee (Creation Management)
Tuesday night, in the car park of a music industry office building, Towers of London are laying on a night of booze food and themselves. These things are always weird, some turn up for the music, but some stand around talking through the whole thing about how they once broke some shit Britpop band.
It’s a short but impactful set of their new material which, is largely a foray into dirty rock n roll. Breed and Proletariat have been scrapping there way to radio attention in recent times, on this showing, Towers of London might just be the break through this emerging scene needs.
The show is good, they are good, but, on ‘Shot In The Dark’, they’re great! Donny introduces it by saying “this is Shot In The Dark, I hope you like it, It really means a lot to us”. This maturer approach is a striking contrast to the persona he once built which adds more fuel to its fire. This song wins on every level. Great riffs and solos are one thing but here, they become a clarion call to the downtrodden. Arguably the finest of its kind since The Enemy's 'Away From Here'.
In this setting, surrounded by industry that shunned them, they've made a great statement that, not only are they back, but this time you will listen.
This Feeling TV Live at Nambucca
Nambucca played host to the Other Kin, Shed Seven and Cabbage’s live performances of This Feeling TV (episode 5) Tuesday night. One thing is striking about the night, optimism. It’s everywhere. The youngest in the audience fuck about care free whilst, the elder states people among us, can sense the ground swell of rock n roll emerging once more. Despite the neglect from the mainstream, This Feeling has provided a home for the outsider and, after years of graft, they look set to kick the doors in and take back the airwaves for the righteous!
Opening the live proceedings were the Dublin five piece Otherkin and, although Shed Seven are legends and Cabbage are well established, the sense of “follow that” loomed large. Their blend of psyche, grunge and rock n roll was a joy to behold. The guitar playing, comfortably the best we’ve seen in some time. It was intensely brutal but, in a similar fashion to Nirvana or The Cribs, never loses sight of great pop melodies.
Shed Seven treated us to a rare acoustic set. On new tracks ‘It’s Not Easy’ and ‘Better Days’, it struck home just how heartfelt they are and highlighted the trust Rick and Banksy have as song writing partnership. The classics ‘Going For Gold’, ‘On Standby’ and ‘Chasing Rainbows’ were giving an airing and, as ever, their hymnal quality reigned supreme.
Cabbage’s set is less promotional trail for the upcoming debut album release and more a rampaging assault on Downing Street. Their guttural psyche-cum-punk is the sound of this generation kicking back against all things Tory. Never without humour or melody, you can’t help but feel they are one big single and tabloid scandal away from scaring little Englanders half to death.
RIP NME. So What Now?
No one should be surprised that the NME closed recently. It's a difficult time for all print media. Furthermore, no one should care either. IPC has long put a noose around its neck to make the reader stop caring. It was trading off its once good name to sell adverts. Global are doing the same with Radio X, Channel 4 & Bauer did the same with Q television. They’re all run by people who just want a job and judge success on numbers. They should be run by people who want to push the boundaries of art, fashion, and music.
Speak to anyone who writes about or takes photographs of bands they love and the same themes emerge. They were born out of a love of something and a deep-rooted sense of injustice that it was being overlooked.
It's not officially a public service, but, essentially, that’s what is provided. So, for anyone thinking it’s a sad day for music journalism, get off the canvas and join the struggle. You only have to look at This Feeling, Rocklands TV, The Zine UK, or Louder Than War over to realise how digital media can matter. Hell, even if you have just one reader, be it your wife, best friend, or parent who says “hey, I just listened to The Blinders after reading your review”, you've won!
What else can be done:
1. Take to social media when you find a band you like. From our experience, the mainstream music industry will look for any reason not to play alternative music, such as lack of online presence. It’s not in the DNA of the hegemonic to allow rebellion to thrive. So, like them on as many platforms as possible. Don’t give them an inch!
2. Start your own club nights. Find a room in a pub for free, get some mates, have a party. Get any local bands you know to play and most of all, don’t be snooty if they are shit. Everyone is shit when they start out. Find the first entries of our google blog, appalling (please don’t find them). Those willing to try should be afforded the space to fail.
3. Finally, to the younger generations, the ones who instinctively understand digital media. Find ways to make an honest living from it and ways for bands to make an honest living from it. Spotify cannot be the answer. You can and must do better to help artists thrive.