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.

M O S E S - Cause You Got Me

After an explosion of promise in 2016 and 2017, the London four piece underwent some testing times. So often, when a band loses this early momentum they fade away. So, when the London four piece announced their new single ‘Cause You Got Me’, TT was anxious, would come back fighting?

From the first guitar lick, we don’t know why we worried. The opening use of a solitary guitar riff rattles and frays, building a tension that is due to cause an imminent explosion. Merging the intensity of Savages and the psyche of Bo Ningen, the band have found a formula to light up the live circuit once more.

Walking the line of intense realism and joyous escapism is arguably the toughest to walk. However, it feels like the rightful home for this band, long may they reign!

Pre-order the single here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/cause-you-got-me-single/1415226228?app=itunes&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

The Blinders: The Borderline, London

The re-vamped Borderline played host to The Blinders this past Wednesday night. It has been a mere 3 months since their last trip to the capital but, the contrast in the crowd is striking.

The Lexington gig in February had an air of ‘those in the know’ dragging someone along to see the UK’s hottest property. This show was the birth of a cult following. A small army of face painted disciples took to the front to mosh like their lives depended on it. We’ve seen it all before right? Well, the despair and isolation oozing from former single ‘Ramona Flowers’ is proof The Blinders’ existence depends on every note too.

There are nods to Joy Division, The Doors, and Nirvana, but crucially, their own identity is at the forefront now. They’re becoming more guttural in sound and more poetic in verse with every show. A dystopian landscape has been created and an underclass of intelligent creative souls are signing up in their droves.

With McGee and Lamacq in the audience and their debut due in the autumn, the big time is rightly approaching. With hordes of apathetic dullards tuning in to Love Island, let The Blinders infiltrate and remind everyone the power of working class art once again,

The Mojo Filters - Spark

“Well, have you got the heart / To dig us out / Of this hole we find ourselves?”

The Birmingham quintet pose the only question worth answering on their new single ‘Spark’. The answer, categorically yes!

Many try to combine psychedelia and soul, many fail. The Mojo Filters walk the line of rock excess and wholesome soul music with aplomb. The rasping bass lines just keep on grooving whilst the psychedelic guitar parts lurk dangerously. That is, until the solo comes crashing over the horizon! It’s as though John Squire, Steve Craddock and Leeds legends The Music have just had the best night out of their lives together.

The Bonnevilles: The Railway, Southend

The Belfast duo, Andrew McGibbon Jnr (guitars & vocals) and Chris Mullen (drums) brought their brand of rock 'n' roll to Southend this past Tuesday night.

From the first crushing guitar part of ‘The Good Bastards’, the air takes on a murkier presence. Theirs is a swirling fog of blues, rock n roll and rockabilly. On 'Dirty Photographs' has the blues hook of Peter Green’s ‘Long Grey Mare’ channelled through Bo Diddley’s attitude, Cream’s sense of rhythm and chaos of The Black Keys’ ‘Do The Rump’.

Shining like a nugget of gold on a cloudy sea bed was ‘The Poachers Pocket’. Slightly fuzzy, a hint of Cobain’s drawl, and a blistering psychedelic solo melting all and sundry, quite simply, it’s epic!

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. Be sure to check them out on the remaining UK dates!

Sean McGowan - Son of the Smith

From the moment the emotive ‘Slainte’ and fire breathing ‘£5.25’ came to be in 2012, the excitement for another great British songwriter grew. Six years have passed, and, with help from his good mat Sam Duckworth, the debut album was recorded in Southend.

The six years, musically, have been good to McGowan. He has gone well beyond a protest singer with righteous polemic. Opener ‘Mind The Doors’ has the lyrical cadence of Scroobious Pip, ‘Skin & Bone (& Blood Moaning)’ has Oasis easiness to it and ‘Porky Pies’ lends itself to punk and funk.

The disparate styles don’t always land, but, this is ‘Catch 22’ stuff. If he hones a style social commentary lyrics, he’ll spend a lifetime fighting this perception. The broadness obtained is laudable but, it also gives a narrow minded media no chance of pigeon holing him.

‘Local Boy’ and ‘Springhill’ witness McGowan in a reflective teenage mood. The former, with its use of slide guitar, details the average boy’s hopes of winning the FA Cup. More impressively, it contemplates the errors along the way to adulthood, and how dreams can fade. The aching tones go beyond its subject matter, for anyone stuck in an office, or creatively ignored, ‘Local Boy’ has the ability to emphasise.

‘Springhill’ is a poignant promise to a best friends dying mother to always be around their best friend. Celtic folk influences seep in via the violin and backing vocals which, heighten the already emotionally charged content.

McGowan though, is the embodiment of punk rock and, on ‘Off The Rails’, he gives Billy Bragg’s ‘Brewing Up With Billy Bragg’ album a modern update. ‘Cuppa Tea’ takes the early machinations of Frank Turner’s ‘Fathers Day’ and ‘Vital Signs’ and splices it with a rapid fire Slaves-esque vocals. If this wasn’t enough, there is a brief guitar breakdown which takes from poppier moments of Dreampop and Shoegaze.

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.

James Baxter: The Water Rats, London

The world doesn’t need any more young men with acoustic guitars being nice. Thankfully, James Baxter is taking a leaf out of Tom Williams’ book. With a wry and acerbic wit, he took to the Water Rats stage on Tuesday evening.

Baxter’s songs, especially when accompanied by his guitarist and keyboardist, adopt Crosby, Stills and Nash harmonies but with a sense of brooding rather than love. 

Ironically, the brightest thing Baxter displays is his darkness. There is a bitterness to his observations about social media and politics that brings the aforementioned Williams and the early days of Frank Turner to mind.

Similarly to the godlike Billy Bragg, he combines social politics with his personal life. It’s this combination which could make Baxter a staple of many record collections in years to come.

Frank Tuner - Be More Kind

Frank Turner’s road to Wembley Arena was a long but a rewarding one for everyone who had rooted for the punk rock underdog since day one. However, much like Oasis at Knebworth, you wondered whether it could go on meaningfully. Commercially, it has, two big selling albums and big sell out tours but, the feeling of insurgency felt somewhat diminished. Could he relight the fire on new album ‘Be More Kind’?

No one should be grateful for a world that now has Trump, Farrage, Brexit, Grenfell, Royal indulgence, Windrush, working class tories, a growth in anti-Semitism and a general sense of bitterness as the status quo. Nevertheless, it has focused Turner’s song writing. The Spark is lit!

Opener ‘Don’t Worry’, is a gentile ode to like-minded progressive souls that, to not have the answers is not a reason for giving up. Whereas, ‘1933’, turns to his classic sound to kick against the pricks as Johnny Cash would say. Crucially, on ‘1933’, Turner injects his punk rock sense of fun and unity. No one said the rebel alliance couldn’t be fun!

All this said, ‘Be More Kind’ is not all fire breating punk energy. Far from it. There is a subtley and nuance to the song writing not witnessed before. Album title ‘Be More Kind’ is a Springsteen road trip in 3rd gear combined with Celtic folk. ‘Don’t Worry’ and ‘Get It Right’ have all of Turner’s instincts for the righteous and a better future. However, they’re delivered in a sombre and reflective mood. The fight clearly hasn’t gone, but the approach is certainly changing.

Anyone concerned that his blend of folk and punk has diminished needn’t worry. ‘Blackout’, sits perfectly in the middle of the two has a pop music gem. ‘1933’ is classic raging against the machine and ‘21st Century Blues’ is an update on Bragg’s classic ‘A New England’.

There was a time when Turner came under attack for not nailing his political colours to the mask. Well, a line in the sand has been drawn. It’s amazing how every generation needs someone to remind everyone about love. From John Lennon to Arthur Lee to Joe Strummer to Bernard Sumner, song writers have continually embodied a collective sense of togetherness. For now, it is Turner’s time.

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Sisteray -Algorithm Prison

The first time we saw Sisteray live, they had punk songs and they had rock n roll songs. They were good but, it felt a marrying of the two would lead to great things. This is what new single ‘Algorithm Prison’ does.

Lyrically, it snarls at the apathy that technology obsession breeds, especially in their home city of London where life is 24 hours if only you join in. Toss in Niall Rowan’s righteous Charlie Harper and Nicky Tesco vocals and you’re into banger territory.

Musically, it does being the merging of their punk instincts with a broader rock n roll escapism. The guitar riffs and solos, whilst angst ridden are deftly kissed with a sense of freedom. The juxtaposition of this style with a lyrical assault on the willingly downtrodden breed’s life into an indie/punk scene so often concerned with love stories.

Johnny Marr: Islington Assembly Hall, London

Johnny Marr’s t-shirt on sale last night reads “Johnny Fucking Marr”. Say this is in whatever tone of voice and you have your review. He is just that good.

Part of it is the seemingly effortlessness of it all. The Townsend windmills, the Rodgers’ guitar licks, the glamour of Bolan or Jagger’s androgynous swagger, it all flows from Marr like it’s the most natural thing in the world. We mortals know better.

Effectively, this gig is a road test of his new album ‘Call The Comet’ and, as ever, it seems Marr has captured national mood. He has married the fire and desolation of the UK’s progressive thinkers with the teenage angst of The Smiths. This blend of despair, rage and hope is sure fire to increase his national treasure status.

Sometimes, with established artists, delving into the back catalogue leads to reworking of songs. So often this is met with negative responses. However, Marr’s interpretation of Electronic’s ‘Getting Away With It’ via a traditional band set up is remarkable. If anything, the ecstatic highs it was designed for in 1991 are surpassed in this format.

Marr is now heading for Scandinavia, it is not to be missed.

Image Source: Tracey Welch/Rex/Shutterstock 

https://www.ft.com/content/35b1011e-59c5-11e8-bdb7-f6677d2e1ce8

Get Cape Wear Cape Fly! Chinnerys, Southend

“What’s a battle cry / If it falls on death ears”

A telling lyric from Westcliff’s Get Cape Wear Cape Fly. Especially, 12 years into his career with new material aplenty. Launching your career with a cult classic (‘Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager’) can often have a damming effect. Just ask The Enemy and Glasvegas. Despite this, head honcho Sam Duckworth returned this year with ‘Young Adult’ and, this past Saturday, he brought it to his hometown venue Chinnerys.

Now backed with an 8 piece band (all outrageously handsome btw!), Get Cape sounds better than ever. This is particularly true of new material such as ‘Adults’, ‘Animate’ and ‘VHS Forever’. The youthful exuberance that bred so much hope and escapism in 2006 is still there, but now, the musicianship is on another level. These feel like staple set numbers of a decade!

This is further striking on ‘DNA’ and fan favourite ‘Lighthouse Keeper’. The latter, a great song about life in Southend, always breeds huge devotion from the Essex crowd. However, ‘DNA’, surpasses it with its older, wiser and reflective stance. Get Cape’s vocal is oozes into shore like the waves just a few hundred yards away with an elegant ease to marvel at.

Quite simply, this is the best version of Get Cape that’s ever materialised, go and watch for yourselves!

Trampolene: Scala, London

Gigs, so often enjoyable but seldom do you see the likes of Doherty, Hawley or Ashcroft bare their souls. In Jack Jones, Trampolene have a front man who did just that at London’s Scala last week.

Jones is Pete Doherty and Nicky Wire rolled into one. The combination of intelligent punk rock and free spirited poetry on stage is as emotive as it is life affirming. When they play new single ‘Hard Times For Dreamers’, a chord was struck. The sense of coming together to fight back against injustice is almost visible in the room.

During ‘Alcohol Kiss’ and the Beatles inspired ‘Imagine Something Yesterday’, the band display their ability to be tight but expansive with their playing. A hopeful signifier that bigger stages will be graced in years to come.

For the first time this decade, a master of social comment has emerged in Jones. As he sings “it’s not who am I / It’s who I’m going to be / How longs this song / Been living in me”, it feels powerful and inclusive. Trampolene entice you in so much that, when Jones tears up on ‘Beautiful Pain’, a collective hug goes out to him.

Brace yourself festival season, this three piece are going to make a mockery of your headliners with their brilliance!

Image Source: https://www.instagram.com/katrinejungphotography/

DMA's - For Now

This album is new, apparently, and yet, its familiarity is immediate. At times, it’s effortless, catchy, and rhythmic, could it be an instant classic?

From note one of opener and album title ‘For Now’, it’s clear to see why Andy Bell professed “DMA’s are the future”. Guitars swirl like Bell’s Ride at their hazy best and crucially, there is broodiness lying within like early Verve.

Contrast that with 'Dawning', a pure trip down La's and Go-Betweens melody lane. Again, there is an essence of darkness, a snarl which loiters with the utmost righteousness. When spirit and belief merge like this, dreams of big unified crowds materialise.

The quest for purity of soul can occasionally be their downfall, however. A lack of shade dampens the beauty of those magic moments. ‘The End’ and ‘In The Air’ feel like they are reaching for something that isn’t there.

That said, when the C86 ‘Warsaw’ and ‘Lazy Love’ come to the fore, you could hardly blame them for striving for happiness every time. ‘Warsaw’ exuberantly blends Primal Scream’s debut album with the Paisley singles of early Stone Roses. ‘Lazy Love’, channels ‘Elephant Stone' via the indie-folk jangle of Belle & Sebastien’s classic ‘Boy With The Arab Strap’, you’ll wish it rambled on for hours.

An instant classic? It’s a way off. However, they are far more than Oasis revivalists. With Ride, Verve, The Cure, Primal Scream, Go-Betweens, Stone Roses all appearing as influences, a path is emerging for them to find their own voice.

Image Source: Alexander Gow - https://www.facebook.com/lnwyco/

Manic Street Preachers: Wembley Arena, London

It's the longest running joke
In history
To kill the working classes
In the name of liberty

This trio of working class heroes are from killed off, if anything, the Cardiff outfit are as assured as death and taxes. They brought their outsider pop music to Wembley Arena last Friday and we were there to check it out.

This gig was consistently good, and occasionally special. The truly magical moments emerged when The Anchoress joined them on stage. Head to toe in leopard print, shades and deep red hair, she outdone Nicky Wire (until his pins got a stunning airing).

Having to don the roles of Nina Persson and Traci Lords is a feat most would cower from. So, to strut on stage and take ownership of these songs was incredible. The performance of 'Little Baby Nothing' was Julliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers) and Uma Therman (Pulp Fiction) rolled into one. The cuteness of the delivery of 'if I'm starving, you can feed me lollipops' switching to the immortal rock n roll goddess on the chorus (You are pure, you are snow  / We are the useless sluts that they mould / Rock 'n' roll is our epiphany / Culture, alienation, boredom and despair) is something that will live forever!

Then came 'Dylan and Caitlin', her duet from the new album 'Resistance is Futile'. A lesson to any aspiring artist, lyrical discourse can matter in pop music. It doesn’t have to be just love, loss and escape as this Chris Farlowe meets Phil Spector song proves.

It's well documented they struggled with their latest recording. On this kind of form, we can only hope they enjoy being Camus' 'Rebel' for a long time yet.

Image Source: https://twitter.com/eemrb

Frank Turner: Cliffs Pavillion, Southend

It’s hard to think of Frank Turner as part of the establishment but, after 11 years as a solo artist, he is punk rock royalty. With that comes pros and cons. The angst, the rage, and the fall to the floor desperation inevitably fades. However, being a massive Freddie Mercury fan, Turner is developing into the consummate performer.

Essex, a far too deprived county of proper gigs, is pumped and raring to go as Turner strides on stage. The ease at which he glides around the stage or leaps onto speakers on set opener ‘1933’ is, well, palm of his hand should cover it.

‘Making America Great Again’ leaves a big imprint on his Southend faithful. To be progressive of political thought in this county is not the norm so, to hear the chorus “Let's make America great again / By making racists ashamed again / Let's make compassion in fashion again” belted out is staunch reminder that we’re not alone.

Of all the classics he plays, its ‘The Ballad Of Me and My Friends’ that always shines brightest. For those who find no solace in this anthem we say this, you’ll never know the collective spirit forged in a dark sweat filled room that provides goosebumps for a lifetime or, as Frank might say:

"But if your all about the destination / Then take a fucking flight / Where going nowhere slowly but seeing all the signs / And we're definitely going to hell / But we'll have all the best stories to tell"

Image Source: Martin Neal

Blossoms - Cool Like You

Blossoms’ breakthrough in 2016 was somewhat surprising, arising at a time when new bands weren’t a part of the mainstream. As a result, the anticipation for ‘Cool Like You’ has been sky-high. Not only because they are indie’s leading light, but, if they fail, the door opened for other bands, may close once more.

All fears are allayed, ‘Cool Like You’ is wave upon wave of melody. Vocally and synth-based, the hooks just keep on coming. Drenched in 80s pop, Blossoms have hit a groove that surely will carry them to glory.

Opening tracks ‘There’s A Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls) and ‘I Can’t Stand It’ are dialectically soaked in melancholy and sunshine like The Railway Children’s classic ‘Every Beat of the Heart’.

On tracks like ‘Faithful’ and ‘How Long Will It Last’ however, there is a sense Phil Collins has joined The Killers. It strays so close to the watery hallmarks of Stock Aitken and Waterman they are in danger of losing all credibility.

Art is only great when it moves you to the point of shock. This is not that. It is, however, a good alternative (ever so slightly) pop music. ‘Cool Like You’ is as much an indictment of the times as the polemic of their naysayers Sleaford Mods. It signifies just how far alternative music has had to shift its foundations to be commercially viable.

Nevertheless, that door, have it opened wider? Yes. Why? Melody, melody, melody! Even at its blandest, ‘Cool Like You’ delivers undeniable pop hooks. Furthermore, it calls in to question their peers’ ability to match them. Can The Blinders and Avalanche Party et al channel their substance a melody so good, radio controllers find it impossible to ignore?

The Bluetones: Water Rats, London

When big bands come to small gig venues, it’s invariably a great night and, The Bluetones at Water Rats was just that. Filmed for Vintage TV, the Hounslow massive rattle through an hour of their greatest hits.

Any Rik Mayall fan will tell you that, the best things about their live shows were the cock-ups. Mayall’s wit and charm would shine brighter in these mercurial moments than during anything scripted. For this reason, we hope Adam Devlin’s guitar failure makes Vintage’s edit. It showcased frontman Mark Morriss in all his comedic glory.

It’s striking just how many charting singles they play tonight (and how many they don’t). Especially in Water Rats, a venue synonymous with This Feeling and their new music nights. So many new acts walk through these doors with great tunes and attitude, but, in the long run, to no avail.

Radio and TV outlets need to wake up to the new talent available. The indomitable Caffy St Luce and Heather Ferguson are here tonight, they dedicate their lives to breaking bands, these outlets should be trusting them (among others) as they did with The Bluetones in the 90s. Otherwise, they are denying generations of music lovers a chance to go on journeys with their favourite bands. The highs of the top 10, the lows of the fading 5th albums, and then their glorious live comebacks when the kids have grown up.

This just leaves us to say, in the Bluetones immortal words, “So it’s on with the show”.

Image coutesy of  https://twitter.com/markpinsent

The Mu-Tones – Slab City Records

The MuTones, fronted by Marion’s Anthony Grantham, are a three piece from Manchester. ’Slab City Records’ is their debut single and will be released on Ugly Man Records on 30th June, supported a launch show at Jimmy’s Northern Quarter the same night.

The thunderous bassline carts you to their garage rock realm instantly. Through Grantham’s big hitting riffs and melodic vocals, ‘Slab City Records’ delivers a hard hitting but accessible form of pop music. Its fire and fury reek of hand carved tattoos reading ‘Blood, Sweat & Tears’, a loyal following is inevitable.

The backing vocals during the chorus bring a touch of Phil Spector’s girl groups to this relentless Iggy ‘Raw Power’ thunderbolt. As debut singles go, this is a great statement of intent.

W.H. Lung: Chats Palace, London

The Manchester outfit were surprise stars of 2017, emerging from nowhere to blow away crowds at the Green Man and End of the Road festivals. Last Saturday was their London debut, a feat often deemed (albeit wrongly) a huge landmark in a bands career. Was the hype worth it?

Pop music is a brilliant thing. It’s joyous but fleeting. W.H. Lung are a different animal however. Pop sensibilities loom but, their ethereal grooving like early Verve and the hypnotic synths of Can and Kraftwerk are clearly on a more substantive plain. When they break for applause, it’s disappointing, the yearning for the beatific Nick McCabe guitar work to continue is tangible.

Their sound is so engrossing, they transcend being in a band. It feels more like a social collective merging their vision to the sound of Talking Heads, Kraftwerk, Arcade Fire, The Verve, and Can. Despite the aggregated sound, front man Joseph Evans is an icon in the making. He’s unique and slightly awkward dancing immediately brings Morrissey, Ian Curtis and Jarvis Cocker to mind. He has the innate ability to channel the bands sonic through his dancing, akin to the loose natured dancing of Ian Brown when the Roses emerged.

Although they are in their fledgling stages, there is a fan base wholly immersed in their doctrine. At the heart of this is a clearly a willingness to follow a band who are fully committed to the creative process and the cultural change it can bring about. For the first time in a long time, rebels with a cause are on the march (Cabbage, The Blinders, Sisteray, Matt Edible) and it feels great.