Shed Seven: York Museum Gardens

Friday, 19th July, Shed Seven played the historic York Museum Gardens, the first band since Roxy Music in the early seventies.

All images by Nicola Gibson.

Seven years after their comeback album ‘Instant Pleasures’ and six since their riotous show at the Castleford Bowl, Shed Seven returned to their home city with a number-one album (‘A Matter of Time’) under the belts earlier this year. It would be fine to repeat the Castlefield energy, but the stage was set for them to take the throne rather than 2018’s storming of the gates.

Where ‘Instant Pleasures’ and Castleford were an outpouring of emotion, a statement of defiance that the band was back, the opening night in York witnessed the band leave the pack to ascend to indie royalty. No longer the underdog, they glided into the position the sold-out crowd knew they belonged.

The Sheds responded to the proclamation by having Laura McClure, Rowetta, and Pete Doherty reprise their roles (and more) as though this was a Glastonbury 2024 set. Frontman Rick Witter and McClure’s vocals glowed with a folksy charm, releasing a warmth of affection only the likes of Richard Hawley can match. Rowetta’s power was never in doubt but seeing her alongside a frontman who remains in his prime was striking. Resplendent in her Shed Seven robe, her colossal delivery on ‘In Ecstasy’ and ‘Disco Down’ bounced off Witter’s melody like two heavyweight champs regaling in tales of their glorious bouts.

Despite McClure's melody and Rowetta's soul power, Pete Doherty's moments on stage stole the show. Banks’ aching guitars, Witter’s vocals beset with hope, and Doherty simultaneously beleaguered with joy and remorse were iconic. As Doherty sang “we survive, decompartmentalise / And is it any wonder, we live on borrowed time” the sold-out York crowd looked on in a rare moment of silence. The emotion and stature of the gig, of Shed Seven fighting on to be headliners and have a number-one album, and for Doherty to beat his demons coalesced in six minutes of achingly beautiful defiance.

Witter, jovial throughout (ten thirty curfew became a catchphrase), pointed out that back in 1996, in the heady days of labels splashing the cash, they knew they weren’t the chosen ones when their calls for a choir on the classic ‘Bully Boy’ were met with one solitary child. This was rectified by the Huntington School Choir who brought the Britpop classic alive with their euphoric harmonies.

If there was any doubt that the band couldn’t lift this homecoming gig away from the usual excitement of a tour, then the choir, the collaborations, the Liquid Gold Versions, the proposal, the brass, the strings, the joyous free-for-all of ‘Chasing Rainbows’ confined those doubts to history. After the dust had settled, the most striking feature is how the new material lit up the set with the greatest hits backing it up. Then can be no more fitting tribute to a band who have hung in there and kept their self-belief.

Who knows, in another thirty years, we may just get that ‘On Standby’ intro right.

Shed Seven - A Matter of Time

Shed Seven returned last week to release their sixth studio album via Cooking Vinyl Records. Recorded at Space Mountain in Spain with the iconic Youth producing once again. The album went in at number one/, a fine way to kick off their 30th year as a band together. Let’s see why.

Buy the album here.

*all images courtesy of Cooking Vinyl Records.

Six years ago, they released ‘Instant Pleasures’, sixteen years after the unfairly overlooked ‘Truth Be Told’ in 2001. The origins of ‘Instant Pleasures’ began by chance when frontman Rick Witter overheard Paul Banks playing a riff in a soundcheck. While ‘Room In My House’, ‘Better Days’, and' Butterfly on a Wheel’ were memorable moments, there was an air of constraint looming over the album, consistent though it is.

Fast forward six years, and the Sheds faced the exit of fan-favourite drummer Alan Leach and keyboardist Joe Johnson; the band was at a crossroads. With Tim Wills (keyboards and guitar) and Rob Maxfield (drums) coming in, the band decided to continue. The fresh impetus spreads through the band as they rediscover a youthful vibrancy on ‘Let’s Go’ and ‘Talk of the Town’. The former stomps to early U2 and The Ramones, with their punk fire burning bright once again. On ‘Talk of the Town’, the album explodes into life. The vivid haze of ‘A Maximum High’s youthful indulgence roars to the surface via Peter Buck and John Squire guitars. As Witter decrees, “Bring back the romance to these streets”, change (although less hopeful) feels as tangible now as it did in ‘96. As we move into election year, this instant classic could and should act as a clarion call for change.

The compositions and Witter’s ‘Instant Pleasures’ melodies carried an aching beauty. On ‘AMOT’, a sense of escape and yearning to be elsewhere caused by COVID’s entrapment take hold. Although stylistically close to ‘Instant Pleasures’ at times, spiritually, the energy and sense of destiny on ‘Change Giver’ and ‘A Maximum High’ ooze through this album.

‘Kissing Kalifornia’ and ‘Let’s Go Dancing’ are perfect bridges from ‘Instant Pleasures’ to now. Banks’ playing on ‘Kissing Kalifornia’ again takes Buck’s quaint guitar lines to the precipice of ‘Mersey Paradise' era Squire. It joyously twists and turns from urgency to an aching forlornness that ‘Enemies and Friends’ was beset with. Meanwhile, ‘Let’s Go Dancing’ possesses the cinematic beauty of ‘It’s Easy’ or ‘Invincible’ with its soaring orchestration.

On ‘Starlings’ and ‘Thowaways’, however, they lean into their elder statesmen status. ‘Starlings’ delicately handles the concept of a life partner dying and the widow wanting to commit suicide to join them. Witter and Banks combine here with such a deft power that it is chilling at points. Banks’ pianos begin with such hope and end in harrowing circumstances. Witter’s vocals and lyrics, gentle and melodic throughout, soar and tumble with the grace of the subject. The references to the “picturedrome” and night buses evoke romantic nostalgia that, even the youngest of lovers can emphathise with. Witter exquisitely frays the seams of this happiness and moves into grief and bitterness of the loneliness:

“For you to take off would be daylight robbery

They always said we’d become real darlings”

‘Throwaways’, featuring The Libertines singer-songwriter Pete Doherty, explores a life of being an outsider. The unlikely pair steal the show on this fine album. All the years of being written off undervalued and undermined become anathema. For fans, it becomes worth it. This is a moment of brilliance that we can skip across Albion, ramming down the throats of whoever doubted them.

Thirty years deep, Shed Seven have hit songwriting heights most never thought they’d hit again. It’s too early to say if this topples ‘A Maximum High’ from their best album slot, but it's banging on the door for a cuppa with serious intent.

The Twang - If Confronted Just Go Mad

“Your face, your race, the way that you talk”

Birmingham’s The Twang return today with ‘If Confronted Just Go Mad’, their first album in five years! Mixed by Mint Royale’s Neil Claxton, a guest appearance from Polar Bear and two new female members of the band, would this be a great rebirth?

Lead single ‘Everytime’ suggests it might just be. Sonically, they’ve always had a connection with sunnier climates, whether it be the jangle of ‘Subscription’ or the Mondays inspired ‘Cloudy Room’. However, on ‘Everytime’, with new band member Cat Mctigue shining like a star, they’ve tapped into the cool crisp soul of the 80s. This is poolside cocktails magic.

As the album grows, it becomes apparent, this is perfect blend of update and re-connection rather than Ziggy to Aladdin Zane reinvention. ‘Time Waits’, takes the debuts exuberance and channels it via carnival beats. Meanwhile, ‘Lovin’ State’ has the romanticism and guitar jangle of ‘Jewellery Quarter’. What they both share is, an older head delivering them. A humbleness permeates the lyrics. An appreciation of family and friends and that love is all you need are prevalent throughout.

‘Dream’, arguably the best example of everything they were and all that they will be. Etheridge’s Shaun Ryder via Mike Skinner vocal delivery collides with the indomitable groove of the Roses’ ‘Fools Gold’. Then Cat Mctigue vocals lend a devilishly joyous fresh impetus. Anyone not raising a wry smile at ‘Morrissey, he is still just Stephen’ is a humour vacuum.

‘It Feels Like You’re Wasting My Time’ witnesses their archetypal shimmering guitars and soaring vocals, but, with this measured approach, they bring a new sense of identity. Lyrically, despite obviously being a personal tale, fans will be hard pressed not to give way to feelings of angst The Twang (and their peers) were too readily discarded by the industry.

As Phil Etheridge sings ‘I give you everything sweat tears blood…it feels like I’m wasting my time’, thoughts of The Enemy, Glasvegas, Reverend & The Makers, The Rifles and The Courteeners great bands, all maligned will come to the surface. Despite this, Etheridge offers a way through:

 “It seems like we’re aint out time / I see now, you aint on my side”

With hooks like this, 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.

Shed Seven - Instant Pleasures

The last time Shed Seven released new material was in May 2001. It was a strange experience for all concerned. The Pistols-esque single 'If The Music Don't Move Yer' was an affirmation of what it was to be Shed Seven, overlooked. For fans, it was an emboldening sense of defiance, but alas, Nu-Metal was the next big thing, and they drifted away. Sixteen years later, the maracas are shaking, and the brass is booming once more, but can 'Instant Pleasures' heal those wounds?

Album opener 'Room In my House', regenerates the swagger of 1996's 'Maximum High'. There is, however, more distinctiveness to their sound this time round. Everything is given its space on this 'Love Spreads' meets soul music banger. This is up there in the pantheon of great comeback singles with 'Ten Story Love Song', 'Nothing Lasts Forever', and 'Public Image'.

For the most part, 'Instant Pleasures' has the immediacy of 'Maximum High' and the pop sensibilities of 'Let It Ride'. The infectious riffs of 'Victoria' conjure images of drunk arms flailing and blurting “I fucking love you” into a best friend’s ear. 'Butterfly On Th Wheel' is the blueprint for so many successful indie bands of the past decade (The Killers, Catfish & The Bottleman, and Circa Waves). The difference between them is Rick Witter. The way he sings, “but I'm over you now / take a look at how it feels”, isn't a soppy tactic to illicit meaning. Witter's delivery imbues honesty and dishonesty in the same breath; it's this sense of confusion around a past loved one that makes it that much more sincere. 'Nothing To Live Down' has so much melody and big key changes that you'd be forgiven in thinking that Noel had written this (minus the scissors, of course). For every chord cul de sac you think it is entering, Witter lifts them out, followed by Paul Banks and Joe Johnson firing riffs and solo magic.

There is another side to this album, though: middle-age wisdom. Thankfully, the lyrics steer clear of beige trousers and bank holiday trips to Homebase. 'It's Not Easy' is a song for anyone on the wrong side of 30 questioning life who doesn't accept 42 as the answer. The spirit of 'Chasing Rainbows' oozes out 'Better Days', a swooning tale of amendment.

Wounds? What wounds? This is as triumphant a return as any Shed Seven fan could have imagined. Big choruses, great solos, and catchy riffs, its like sixteen years never happened. Better still, its all on their own terms. See you all at Shedcember!

Shed Seven – Room In My House

“There’s room in my house for love and affection”

As there is in the hearts of thousands of Sheds fans rapidly selling out their biggest ever UK tour. Bigger news than this though, they’re back with new material for the first time since 2001’s overlooked ‘Truth Be Told’.

So, does their new single bring a mature jazz enthused sound ready for coffee shops? God no! Thankfully, it bristles with the swagger of their 1996 album ‘Maximum High’. Middle age has brought a rich depth to their archetypal sound though. The influence of soul via the thunderous guitars of Stone Roses’ ‘Second Coming’ rips its way through this banger.

Quite where they found these guitar parts and solos from in middle age we’re not sure. Fuelled by youthful angst, escapism, and a sense of utter debauched chaos, this is the soundtrack to all sticky floored indie night clubs this weekend!

So often with older bands, they explore the niche avenues of their influences to keep themselves amused, meanwhile, the sales dip and live crowds bugger go for a piss and leave disgruntled muso’s behind them. Shed Seven however, are firm proof that, if the magic dries up, leave the song writing alone until it returns. If this single is anything to go by, the album is likely to be of their highest quality, much like Martin Rossiter’s (Gene) ‘Destination of St Martin’ in 2012.