Fierce Panda Records signing Solar Eyes release their latest single ‘Let’s Run Away’.
Desperate Journalist – Maximum Sorrow
Last month, London’s Desperate Journalist released their fourth LP ‘Maximum Sorrow’. Released via Fierce Panda, it was self-produced and engineered by Rollo Smallcombe at Crouch End Studios.
Having made the conscious decision to not repeat the rock-pop classic ‘In Search of the Miraculous’, could they reinvent themselves without losing way?
Previous singles ‘Fault’ and ‘Personality Girlfriend’ (among others) put bass player Simon Drowner front and centre. A destructive rage permeates his playing for almost the entirety of the album. The former throbs with a disdain we’ve all felt to those who abandoned leadership in the past eighteen months. On the latter, a punky-disco stomp akin to Bugeye shakes. All the while, singer Jo Bevan’s incredible ability to carry polemic via a gripping narrative reaches new heights. The closing stages adopt Idlewild’s ‘In Remote Part / Scottish Fiction’ complex cacophony of spoken word and guitars but, with a devastating psychedelic annihilation!
It is though, on ‘Utopia’, ‘Fine In The Family’ and ‘Was It Worth It?’ where they nail their new sound. ‘Utopia’ delivers the risk and reward Wolf Alice couldn’t land on their third album. The hints of shoegaze bring about an emotional to proceedings and thus, Bevan’s ethereal vocals beckon, almost summon you into the unknown. ‘Fine in the Family’ is the polar opposite sonically. Tapping into the violence of Asylums’ ‘Napalm Bubblegum’ as Drowner’s bass yet again taps a thunderous vein of form. Meanwhile, ‘Was It Worth It?’ with perhaps a lyrical nod to The Waterboys, strides out to their sorrowful heartlands with a brutal intensity not even The Chameleons could match. The protagonist, an anguished soul lost in a city of darkness with hope dissipating becomes the perfect parable for lockdown:
“they’re all endless roads / On a dismal island”
You can buy the record on their Bandcamp page.
Just when ferocity borders on the all-consuming, they provide a momentary release on ‘Poison Pen’ and ‘Victim’. ‘Poison Pen’, with its ecstatic immediacy and venomous lyrics, creates a polemic and defiance legions would follow. ‘Victim’, a torturous tale of repression and depression is lit up by guitars that could glisten in a thunderstorm. Bevan is faultless. Angelic to punk in an instant, a vocal talent at the peak of her powers
Four albums in, the creative well shows no signs of drying up. Basslines akin to wrecking balls and vocals from the gods, they have nodded at the majesty of ‘Miraculous…’ and said an amicable farewell. An album written in lockdown had the potential to be a lacklustre album from the tour bus; insular and lacking intelligent exploration. Not here, not Desperate Journalist. Every word vitriol, torment, and bile is despatched with wit, intelligence, and charm.
*Image and artwork courtesy of Fierce Panda Records.
Desperate Journalist – Fault
London's four-piece Desperate Journalist are back with their new single ‘Fault’, the lead-off track from their upcoming fourth studio album ‘Maximum Sorrow’ (out July 2nd Fierce Panda Records).
Image & Artwork courtesy of Fierce Panda
Bass player Simon Drowner has struck gold with his basslines upon return. Recorded solely in lockdown, Drowner has tapped into a caged animal mindset. Thrashing around with rage and destruction desperately seeking an avenue for the angst!
Set to the shifting chorus of “it’s no one’s fault / then it’s everyone’s fault”, the past year of miscommunication and lack of leadership bubbles up to the throat in bile form. Singer Jo Bevan, reels you in with an ethereal beauty before you have time to notice the volatility simmering below the surface. A glorious precursor to the political reckoning the majority of the UK has yet to admit It needs.
No one does relationship songwriting like Desperate Journalist. Smudged eyeliner, trampled souls, and the search for meaning are their raison d'etre. With the utmost integrity, they impart yet more life-affirming lyrics for the lost.
In 2019, they hit near perfection on ‘In Search of the Miraculous’. In 2021, they appear to have expanded their horizons and look set to go beyond!
Oli Swan – All My Friends Are Lonely
The legendary Fierce Panda Records latest signing Oli Swan, has released ‘All My Friends Are Lonely’. Hailing from Suffolk and based in North London, Swan will release an EP of the same name on April 30th.
Classic pop song-writing is infused at every turn here. If the Travelling Wilburys were to make a laid back glam record, this would surely be it. Swan has a playful sense of Tom Petty about him on this coming of age tale.
Lyrically, Swan paints pictures of inbetweener aged dreamers and schemers. As he decrees “all my friends are losing / ain’t no choosing / ain’t no easy around it”, groups of young outsiders will look upon failed nights out and botched creativity wryly.
“Friday night when we’re drinking” is as a great a closing line as you’ll hear this year. For life’s underdogs and outsiders, dreams, and plans being unhatched rush to the fore. This could be the weekend we get laid, the band get signed, or get served in the pub!
Skint & Demoralised - Boro Kitchen 4am
It’s been six years since we last saw Matt Abbott and David Gledhill in the guise of Skint & Demoralised. After three albums (the first two pop classics), Abbott established himself as one the UK’s finest spoken word performers, whilst Gledhill was working on his SOULS project. Amid the mire of Brexit, they’ve returned with new single ‘Boro Kitchen 4am’.
When they burst onto the indie scene in 2007, they were churning out classics such as ‘Red Lipstick’ and ‘It’s Only Been A Week’ as if it was second nature. They were songs that only a teenager could have written, even the darker moments were full of hope. Now they are 30, the hope has strayed into rage filled social observations worthy of Joe Strummer.
From the Sleaford Mods school of post-punk despair, Abbott’s vocal is at its most violent to date. Lyrically cutting and insightful, it gets to the crux of the Brexit conundrum and its endless contradictions.
Musically, someone has turned Art Brut’s amp setting to spiteful. Riffs and hooks not only aplenty, but they come at you like a flurry of punches. Maximo Park’s reinvention on their ‘The National Health’ album was rightly lauded. After hearing ‘Boro Kitchen 4am’, the rule book on how to re-invent yourself as an anarchic and poetic force has been re-written.
Their live dates at The Social (London 11th April) and The Great Escape Festival (Brighton) are not to be missed.
*Image coutesy of Kelly Harrison
Dont forget our 8th birthday party extravaganza, tickets available via the image below
Desperate Journalist: The Garage, London
It’s been a week since Desperate Journalist packed the Garage in North London. We’re still reeling! Make no mistakes, Desperate Journalist are the real deal, they know it, that audience knew it, now, the world must too.
When you have a pop anthem like ‘Why Are You So Boring?’ in your locker, you save it for the climatic end right? Bollocks to that, they blasted it out second and sent London’s eyeliner massive into a frenzy. How do you follow that? With a soul crushing performance of ‘Jonatan’, that’s how.
On this Wolf Alice meets The Cult track, front woman Jo Bevan details the loss of a close friend. Bevan’s style has always been from pure and raw but, the courage she summons to deliver this heartfelt ode is breath taking. As she repeats ‘Jonatan’ at the songs close, Bevan transcends music. It’s so powerful, and so honest, this packed crowd is grieving as one.
Their recent singles ‘Cedars’ and ‘Satellite’ have seen guitarist Rob Hardy shine as bright as Bevan on record. There is a buzz in-between the support acts about this. Just how good are his solos going to be? Their escapist qualities were undeniable but, they highlighted just how much of gang Desperate Journalist are. There was no trundling through both songs to let Hardy take the limelight. If anything, on ‘Cedars’ he wielded his power with a humbleness that made Bevan look even more iconic.
Sometimes, after a great show (and this was), you are left wondering, where do a band go from here? Should they just bow out in a glorious fashion? For Desperate Journalist, even three albums in, this felt like a beginning. Only bigger and greater things are going to come their way.
Desperate Journalist - In Search Of The Miraculous
London’s Desperate Journalist released their third album, ‘In Search of the Miraculous’ (Fierce Panda), on February 22nd. From their self-titled debut (2014) to ‘Grow Up’ (2017), the progress in quality was stark. Can they do it again on what is loosely a concept album about singer Jo Bevan’s obsession with artist Bas Jan Arder?
Images courtesy of Fierce Panda Records
Despite the high concept, their pop instincts remain, and, in the case of ‘Jonatan’ and ‘Cedars’, they have significantly improved. ‘Jonatan’ is The Cult via Wolf Alice’s shoegaze tendencies. It creates a joyous sonic to a tragic tale. Bevan lost her friend Kasper in 2016, and here, she not only pays tribute but, in the repeated one-word chorus, embeds heartache, love, loss, anger, and nostalgia with every inflexion with astonishing quality.
The lead single, Cedars, is one of those pop songs you’d be forgiven for fast-forwarding to the chorus’ hypnotic release of “another fraying jumper.” It’s a beautiful payoff to the subtle and poetic verses.
Their previous two albums, musically, have often served as a vehicle to showcase Jo Bevan’s sublime vocal prowess. Now, guitarist Rob Hardy has found a vein of form so rich that it forged a partnership for the ages.
The singles ‘Cedars’ and especially ‘Satellite’ are beset with crushing Lindsey Buckingham-esque solos. He has begun introducing pop immediacy into the shoegaze on ‘Murmuration’ and ‘Jonatan’ with nods to straight-up rock heroes The Cult. Their archetypal indie-goth sound feels fresher than ever on ‘Black Net’, and on Ocean Wave, Hardy, along with the razor-sharp rhythm of Caz Helbert and Simon Drowner, conjures a post-punk disco stomp classic.
Sometimes, there is a sense of all or nothing for bands on third albums. They chose all in. This is a post-punk ‘Rumours’. This is the rarest tightrope walk, where cutting-edge meets accessible and credible pop music. If Fleetwood Mac signed off their careers with this album, the world would lose its shit! ‘Satellite’ is the new ‘Go Your Own Way’, and ‘Argonauts’ is the new ‘Songbird’.
Scrounge - Crimson
South East London duo Scrounge released ‘Etch’ with Fierce Panda last November. It was a raw piece of post-punk. The Goldsmiths alumni are at again on their latest single ‘Crimson’.
Vocally, Lucy has found a sweet spot between Courtney Barnett and Kim Gordon. It serves this tale of distorted reality well. Backed by Luke’s violent Stephen Malkmus drawl, Scrounge are well on their to the hearts of all post-punk fans.
The DIY scene of South East London, often overlooked, is set to become undeniable with the prowess of Scrounge.
*Image courtesy of Fierce Panda Records
Sad Boys Club: Nambucca, London
Eighteen months ago, en route to see Sisteray in Camden, The Blinders emerged, covered in face paint and blew our world apart. This past Saturday, North London's Nambucca beckoned us to see the jangle psyche of the Lacuna Bloome. Enter stage right, Sad Boys Club.
It's notable how much of gang Sad Boys Club look. The singer a pop icon, the bass player inevitably throwing shapes and the rest looking great but, more importantly, have a steely look of defiance. Cross one of them and you will regret it!
The pop hooks across this set, are so good that, in a parallel universe, Madonna is stabbing her record label execs for not securing these songs for her! New single 'Silverlined', indebted to The Cure, is sure to soundtrack the new romantic story lines of Stranger Things and Glow. On 'American Spirit', they echo former Fierce Panda Label greats The Crookes as they turn emotion amps up to eleven.
So, when the inevitable lazy journalists of the broadsheets announce “there's no more guitar bands” or wail about how “pop used to matter”, throw Sad Boys Club in their face. Thoughtful, credible pop music didn't begin with The Smiths and die in the mid-nineties. It lives and breathes in great risk taking bands like Sad Boys Club.
*Image courtesy of Jon Mo Photography / TW: @jonmophoto / http://jonmophotography.co.uk/
Desperate Journalist - Satellite
Desperate Journalism return with their second single ‘Satellite’ from their upcoming third album 'In Search Of The Miraculous'. The London outfit, signed to the legendary Fierce Panda are, to date, one of the UK’s best kept secrets.
It is however, hard to imagine that secret lasting much longer. ‘Satellite’ is a vast expansive piece of rock n roll that simply has to dominate the airwaves.
There is a real sense of all or nothing oozing from its soul. Guitarist Rob Hardy, is so often the vehicle to shine a light on the glorious vocals of Jo Bevan. Not anymore. They’ve become duo bouncing of each other a la Pete & Karl or Brown & Squire.
The riffs alone are a joyous piece of escapism but, the solo is a destructive force that will leave souls cleansed and former detractors reeling from their mistakes.
They recently sold out London’s Oslo, on this form, Brixton beckons.
*Image courtesy of Fierce Panda Records
Sad Boys Club - Silverlined
Ever listened to the 1975 and seriously questioned their substance? Well, don’t bother anymore. Listen to Sad Boys Club instead. Their infectious Cure driven pop music may edge towards middle of road but is always a comfortable distance away.
The new single from the Crouch End outfit has that distinct Springsteen open road escape to it, similar their former label mates The Crookes in many ways. The pop breeziness of the music is the perfect metaphor for this tail of putting up social barriers to who we really are.
With a new EP due November 2nd, Sad Boys Club are surely going to be garnering a lot of interest this winter on this showing.
485c – 485c
Debut albums, for bands especially, are often an array of influences not yet fully honed and without a distinct sound. 485c’s self-titled debut however, sounds like accomplished 3rd album for a band in their pomp.
Such is the consistency, it’s hard to find highlights. Former singles ‘Kapow’, ‘Oh Rihanna’, ‘Better The Man’ and ‘Strange Medicine’ all contain something for the alternative community to dive into. ‘Kapow’ and ‘Oh Rihanna’ take the best bits of Foals and Maccabbee’s early math rock and inject it with genuine substance. Meanwhile, ‘Better The Man’ has the infectiousness of Belle & Sebastian and ‘Strange Medicine’ takes the rawness of The Cribs’ ‘Martell’ and the Strokes’ debut to deliver a lovable rogue guitar anthem.
Their blend of honourable pop song writing continues for the most part but, there are some detours. ‘Turn The Engines Off’ finds time to explore the gentile side of Velvet Underground and the melodic aspects of Hatcham Social on this slice of psyche.
‘Primal Concerns’ also diverges away from their pop instincts. The classic sounds of 80s post-punk combine with grandiose and sweeping melodies. It’s an exciting move, not only because it sounds great but, it feels an untapped area they could make their own.
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.