Armstrong - Graffiti

Wales’ Julian Pitt, aka Armstrong followed up his 2019 album ‘Under Blue Skies’ with ‘Happy Graffiti’ earlier this year. All songs were written, arranged, and produced by Armstrong in his living room in Newport and mastered by Phillip Shaw Bova. The album is available for purchase via The Beautiful Music and Bandcamp.

Artwork and Layout by Jamie Nordstrand

Armstrong’s previous offering was packed with instantaneous charm. Tracks like ‘Love, Hate, Passion, and War’, ‘Things That Pass You By’, and ‘Crazy World’ (among others) reeled you in with their Gram Parsons in Paris meets baroque pop splendour. On ‘Happy Graffiti’, the melody remains but there’s a more considered and studied approach to the songwriting allowing for a sense of timelessness to come alive.

‘Disinformation’ opens in a similar fashion to Ryan Adams’ haunting ‘Shiver and Shake’ before meandering back to the previous albums’ Parisian landscapes. It is the combination of festive keys, Bacharach, and Pitt’s Mick Head via Howie Payne vocal that takes his creative trajectory to another level.

‘Songbird’ and ‘Keep On Walking’ again build upon the previous album whilst pushing the envelope further. The former has a stunning fragility to the vocal delivery. Frosty, almost helpless at times, but never without love, Armstrong’s vocals are set to the cinematic orchestra which reaches out a hand to anyone not knowing which way to turn. ‘Keep On Walking’ however, Is blessed with the autumnal glow that Richard Hawley and I Am Kloot have perfected this century. The guitars of The Stands are illuminated by a smoky deep vocal in the early stages but, they progress to a joyous state of John Bramwell and Peter Hall. Defiance is always a great trait for songwriter, it’s blessed so many generations coming of age moments. To produce this feeling in middle age, especially lyrically, is a remarkable skill but Armstrong has it:

“Here me or not / When Destiny calls / This rickety life as it twists out of sight to the deep waterfall / Reasons allowed / Are shattered and torn / We live like we do through the rain and stars and the moon and the sun / but I don’t feel afraid / I’m just walking like a summers day”

The key change within this stanza is worthy of Liam Gallagher’s dreams and the Kraftwerk via van Morrison keys are simply divine.

There are moments when Armstrong forgoes the wiser songwriter status and slips back into great pop mode. ‘Rock Star Rock Star’ is the kind of sun-kissed rumble dreamers of alternate universe pictures The La’s making. The jaded Mick Head via the deep gravel of Badly Drawn Boy takes you on a journey of gentle rebellion. Whereas ‘When We Were young’ provides the album’s spriteliest moment with scintillating pianos, the Pale Fountains’ yearning for adventure, and the Lightning Seeds’ sense of bubble-gum glee.

If the above was all there was, there would be would nothing to complain about. There are, however, two moments of jaw-dropping awe to revel in also. ‘In A Memory’ is a sumptuous nod to the opening/closing verses of ‘A Day In The Life’, no mean feat, but Armstrong’s trip down memory lane enhances McCartney’s piano playing to an unrivalled poignancy in 2022. ‘This One’ is blessed with the self-belief of rock ‘n’ roll’s youthful ambition but to the sound of a sage presence out for a head-clearing walk amid the morning fog.  The repetitive lyrics seem to suggest that, although the protagonist is aware of art’s cyclical nature, its intoxicating escapism will always be welcome.

Classic songwriting rarely collides with guts, heart, and pop music but, Armstrong has it all.

Chorus Girl – Collapso Calypso

Chorusgirl, aka Silvi Wersing has followed up on 2018’s critically acclaimed ‘Shimmer and Spin’ with the new album ‘Collapso Calypso’. Produced by Wersing, it was recorded at Cologne’s Bear Cave Studios.

During the pandemic, Wersing relocated to her native Germany causing Chorusgirl to cease as a band and become a fully-fledged solo project. The newfound creative isolation informs a great deal on the record. There are many swings from dark to light as she wrestles with inner turmoil to find positive outcomes.

‘Don’t Go Back To ‘89’ has the aching sense of repetitive failure that Simon Pegg played so well as Gary King in ‘The World’s End’. In this version, Chorusgirl are the friendship group trying to break through to the protagonist who is unaware and unable to break the cycle. There’s a purity to the guitars not seen since Jeff Buckley’s Grace which, alongside Wersing’s 60s girl group meet Cocteau Twins vocal, make this tumultuous tale a great place to reside.

‘Sleepless In South London’ treads similar water artistically. Lyrically, Wersing explores sleepless nights of self-doubt, regret, and the agony of past actions haunting your consciousness:

‘In the middle of the night, in the back of my mind, a skeleton from a full closet says hi, when my morals are drifting and the shadows are shifting.’

However, sonically, she finds a way to make great alt-pop music still. Vocally residing between Romy and Kate Bush with the guitar power of Glasvegas, Chorusgirl takes despair to the edge of anthemic.

Both tracks are a glorious dichotomy of regressive lyrics and positive sounds. A theme that runs throughout the album’s finest moments. ‘In the Business of Dreams’ rippling guitars and angelic vocals take all the best bits of Pip Blom and The Orielles and make them more melodic.

It is, however, on ‘Minimum Descent Altitude’ and ‘Into Gold’ the album becomes truly interesting. The former sounds like joyous Andy Bell and his live Space Station he toured this year. Shimmering guitars lock horns with Erol Alkan beats to conjure frosty but enriching soundscapes. On ‘Into Gold’ however, Wersing transcends her indie roots into mesmeric pop music. Effortlessly building like a Banarama classic but with post-punks substantive power. The intensity of Gang of Four on the angular riffs is met with Slowdive’s beauty on guitars whilst Wersing’s lyrics explode into a technicolour of defiance and self-doubt.

In what must have been a testing time personally and creatively, Chorusgirl have come out the other side with a piece of art to be cherished!

Deja Vega – Personal Hell

Back in January, Winsford Trio Deja Vega released their second album ‘Personal hell’. It followed the critically acclaimed self-titled debut in 2019. Although originally recorded before lockdown, their zoom meetings in that time allowed them to redraw their future, would it pay off?

*artwork courtesy of Crooked Cartoon.

Image courtesy of Trust a Fox.

Following a powerful debut album has always been a tricky conundrum. More of the same or to reinvention can ruin all that went before. ‘Personal Hell’ has some brilliant bridge tracks from then to now in ‘Its All Gone Wrong’, Outside Now’, and ‘Who We Are’. ‘It’s All Gone Wrong’, whilst introducing synths, maintains the Mark E Smith vocal menace and Stooges assault of the sense on guitar that everyone fell for on the debut. The synths come at you from every angle like a psychedelic pincer movement as they build the track up, up, and up again before unleashing it back to hell with resounding guitars and a bombardment of drums that no other band can compete within 2022.

‘Outside Now’, is blessed with the spirit of Fontaines D.C. debut has a gloriously windswept feeling to its punk stature, and is destined to be a euphoric set closer for a decade. ‘Who We Are’ has the joyous build of ‘Mr Powder’ but with more space to breathe. The half step back in tempo allows the band to sound like Neu on speed. Throw in the little nods to The Doors’ ‘L.A Woman’ and the life-affirming lyrics and this becomes an instant classic:

“Got the feeling we'll win because we've seen it all / Still scratching our heads and we find it hard to get it / But we take the fall and we erase it all”

More. Cowbell. Please!

On their debut, there was so much punk and psychedelic prowess showcased on the likes of ‘Eyes of Steel’, ‘Mr. Powder’, and ‘Sound of Speed’ that fans were well within their rights to believe mainstage headline slots awaited them. ‘Personal Hell’ doubles down on this thought process and then catapults it out of the galaxy. ‘Slow and Steady’ drops the intensity for an early Verve sense of exploration into the half-light via Soundtracks Of Our Lives’ poetic beauty. ‘Banshee’ introduces rave-esque synths into the equation. Alongside their penchant for garage-psyche it becomes death-defying; an anthem for the downtrodden of 2022 if ever there was one. This is the musical equivalent of nurses stood in minus five degrees begging for their dignity. It will be heard!

Then, if that promise was still in question (it wasn’t) ‘Catharsis’ pops in to mark the 10s psychedelic adventures as redundant. The truth is, the early tens were blessed with good psyche music in Tame Impala, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Pond et al, but not great music. They lacked the ability to inspire. Not Deja Vega! Their blasts of technicolour guitar rain down like Moon Duo records being played by the Pistols. The lyrics are confrontational and recalcitrant and beckon younger generations to pick up a guitar and change lives!

There’s no filler on ‘Personal Hell’, every track leaves an indelible mark on the soul.  ‘Precious One’ throbs with 70s debauchery and Wooden Shjips riffs to create yet more new pastures of the kaleidoscopic expedition! On and on the superlatives could go. ‘Personal Hell’ is a huge leap forwards from the debut, and whilst the live shows remain in small(ish) venues, for now, their rightful place is the upper echelons of mainstages. Over to you festival bookers of 2023.

David Long & Shane O'Neill - Age of Finding Stars

During lockdown, lifelong friends David Long (Into Paradise) and Shane O’Neill (Blue In Heavan) collaborated to make their debut album ‘Moll & Zeis’. Written and recorded separately due to the pandemic, it was still blessed with a remarkable amount of humanity.

The album is available to buy on their Bandcamp page.

This time around, they were in the studio together to write, arrange and produce everything on their second album ‘Age of Finding Stars’. However, it wasn’t as planned. According to O’Neill, these are the “songs leaked out of the cracks” when trying to make the follow-up album.

The album’s centerpiece is ‘Stickyblackheart’, a devastating tale of someone losing their love. O’Neill’s time with Martin Hannett in the 80s was well spent as his brooding landscapes come alive once more. The atmospheric emotion of the Engineers combined with the bugged-out isolation of Brian Jonestown Massacre’s ‘Methodrone’ conjure a space that is not for the faint-hearted.

Album opener ‘Greeneyessing’ fades up with a pain so raw, it will make you step back from the stereo. The guitars tap into the Doves’ debut album with the shoegaze of Slowdive. Together they provide an intro where regrets ruminate in the mind with anguish so vast, it’s difficult to see a way through. This is met with Long and O’Neill’s astonishing poetry. This is a letter to all to seize the day and cherish every moment with those you love.

On ‘Bruised’, a bitterness rises that is all-consuming.  Grief-stricken, howling at the world? God? The departed? The soulful delivery of “You are a liar, every word, every day /You are a liar, understood, all around the world / You are a liar, lighthouse, miles in from the shore” conjures the imagery of a soul becoming detached from reason and love. This is enhanced by the Johnny Marr-esque guitar solo. The urgency of his cameos on The Charlatans’ ‘Different Days’ (Plastic Machinery & Not Forgotten) with hints of Ride’s Andy Bell emerge but, with sadness that’s burrowed deep into the soul.

The grieving process is lit up expertly during the back-to-back songs ‘Nightpoetsofbeijing’ and ‘Worldpassingby’. They’re a journey inextricably linked by grief and all that comes with it. The former is the album’s only instrumental piece and broods like Unkle before ebbing away gently. It’s the introduction of birdsong that grabs all the attention though. It’s the first flicker of light and suggests our lost soul has found some solace. As the track fades, the birdsong flitters around electronica to suggest a new path, however different and from before, has been found. Alas, ‘Worldpassingby’ plunges back into the void with the electronic glitches and hints of Ryan Adams’ guitars circa ‘Prisoner’. It’s as though the hope of the previous track is being punished for allowing the light in:

“It's just the world passing by / I don't feel anything / I can't feel anything”

What started as an unplanned album has turned into a masterpiece of grief-stricken songwriting. Devastating lyrics and lost soundscapes unite on one of 2022’s albums of the year.

Office for Personal Development – Invisible me

The best government department since DOSAC have returned with their new single ‘Invisible Me’. The 7-inch will be released via Austerity Records and is backed by b-side ‘Love Me Again’.

Image and artwork courtesy of the band.

Last time out on ‘You Are In Control’, they spoke of setting yourself free from life’s shackles and becoming all you can be. Three Prime Ministers later, the Hot Chip via 90s rave sonic has descended towards synths so icy they could reignite the cold war.

Their creative plummet to emotionless pastures has allowed them to pose the finest couplet of the year:

“Are happy people winning or / Have they already been defeated?”

Who among us can honestly say they didn’t consider walking out to see to find Reggie Perrin when Mrs Pork Markets the economy into a red park bin full of dog shit.

Just when all feels lost comes the defiant Aragon charging alone into the Battle of the Morannon moment arises in the final verse. All the bitterness and resentment at this country’s downturn into a Thatcherite tribute act (“I'm truly glad you found a way / To look after number one”) oozes from company director Trevor Deeble. Deeble’s introduction of the spoken word brings Fred Deakin’s sci-fi Armageddon album ‘The Lasters’ and John Hurt’s slow-burning performance in ‘1984’ to the fore.

On the surface, the lyrics still feel defeated (“I know now what I want / I want to be just like you”), but the spoken word gives it the feel of a quitting speech. One doesn’t quit this spitefully without the hope and rebellion flames flickering.

Despite the gloomy conclusion to 2022, their debut album is still poised to be one of 2023’s finest.  

This Is War – Crossfire Fever

Liverpool’s This IS War have been releasing a single monthly this year. November’s offering was ‘Crossfire Fever’ and once more, doesn’t disappoint.

Artwork courtesy of the band.

All year This Is War have delivered killer rock music that flirts with its influences but never overindulges. ‘Crossfire Fever’ is perhaps the best exponent of this methodology. There are euphoric melodic moments akin to the Stereophonics, and intense guitars of The Jam but, it is the warped riff and their destructive playing that you’re left wanting to shout about.

The band’s sense of impending mortality is their heaven-sent talent. Frontman Paul Carden does desperate gravel vocals better than anyone at present. He leaves you feeling out of control, as though life is ebbing away amid frenzied chaos.

Mike Mullard and Johnny Roberts’ guitars emerge from the furious sweat ridden 00s scene of Dogs, The Paddingtons, and Nine Black Alps to produce a new kind of glory. Never in their shadows, they light up the guttural and visceral power they possessed and drive it home to new creative pastures for a new generation to put faith in.

This Is War have one more single to be released on 23rd December before they release all their singles in the new year. It’s been one hell of a joyride so far, we’re sure the last song is not to be missed either.  

The Illicits – Modern Love

Blackburn outfit The Illicits recently returned with their new single ‘Modern Life’. Already hometown heroes with a string of hometown dates sold out dates, could this be their break-out moment?

Artwork by Tucker Creative Studios

Pre-lockdown, they had caught the eye with the destructive ‘Left Behind’ and the fine cover of ‘Born Slippy’. Although Covid knocked the band’s momentum, they returned earlier this year with the post-punk classic ‘Play Your Part’ and the glam-stomp of ‘Feel it’. This time out, they travel to the initial wave of punk to unleash their visceral social commentary.

Like many from that generation, they have reworked 50s rock ‘n’ roll up to a furious conclusion. Guitarist Brad Hayes has found a beautiful dystopia where Steve and Mick Jones have become one guitarist. The howling destruction of the Pistols is funnelled through Mick’s early beefed-up rock ‘n’ roll to produce a savage take on the ‘I Fought The Law’ and ‘Janie Jones’ before a thunderous descent into a ‘Holidays In The Sun’ climax.

As frontman George Richards howls “this is the modern life” The Jam are brought to the fore. Wrenching the lyrics from his spleen, he breathes life into a generation who skint, downtrodden, and ignored.

This is the sound of punks, skins, mods, and indie kids uniting in the face of political gaslighting and corporate greed’s race to the bottom.  They can lie to our faces, but not our hearts!

*Banner image courtesy of Sonic Pr and @jtm.dos

LOCK-IN – Sweet Love

Essex via London outfit Lock-in returned at the end of November with their new single ‘Sweet Love’.

‘Sweet Love’ got its debut live airing at This Feeling’s Teenage Cancer Trust gig in October. More direct, and more aggressive, it felt like a departure from their fledgling days and a step into becoming a true presence on the circuit. Can they recreate the magic in the studio?

On record, the harder edges have been polished somewhat but not to its detriment. The truth is, many indie bands can’t get past their initial few singles anymore. Lock-in are now showcasing maturity and are building its lovelorn characters into a sonic that is becoming hard for many to deny.

Joe Leak’s lead guitars are used more sparsely, Angus Moore’s riffs and frontman Benjy Leak’s technicolour energy to bristle along and thus, recreate their live prowess. What Joe delivers brings the infectious power of the Little Comets and Night Café to hook you but, the added space elevates the band, particularly at the breakdown.

Frontman Benjy Leak is not to be outdone either. He has outgrown the foot-to-the-floor approach that grabbed live audiences in their early support slot career. Now, he has begun to play with his cadence and tone allowing his boisterous personality to remain prominent but now allowing fragility to filter in and therefore, a depth to the songwriting that previously was only alluded to.

On this form, it’s easy to see why they have booked London’s iconic Garage for their biggest headline show to date next April. Click the image below for tickets:

(*Banner image courtesy of Briony Graham Rudd)

The Shop Window - A 4 Letter Word

Maidstone outfit The Shop Window released their second album ‘A 4 Letter Word’ at the end of November via the impeccable Spinout Nuggets imprint. It was recorded Raffer Studios in Kent, produced by Callum Rafferty, and features Sarah Records icon Beth Arzy (currently of Jetstream Pony & Luxembourg Signal) on backing vocals on four tracks.

‘A 4 Letter Word’ is avail;ble to buy on their Bandcamp page.

At several points ‘A 4 Letter Word’ finds a way to reimagine their love of indie’s angelic past for the modern day. Former single ‘Lighthouse’ s guitars imbue the angelic sheen of The Mock Turtles and through Carl Mann and Simon Oxlee’s vocals, the glorious rumble of Teenage Fanclubs comes alive. Whereas opener ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ finds the Medway’s beat traditions caress the hushed beauty of The Railway Children. Its laid-back stomp builds to a sumptuous wah-wah solo on this tale of wonder and exploration of the soul.

‘On That Feeling’ and ‘Maid of Stone’, they take their Medway indie for an away day to Manchester. The former finds them in Stone Roses territory but, one where the icons had adopted a folksy sonic to their Byrdsian rock ‘n’ roll. As Mann decree “When I Get That Feeling I'm alive / Hold on to the moment now it’s right” the agitation of the Roses’ lack of new music subsides. The Shop Window have found a way to make that explosion of colour from 1989 sound sage and meaningful in middle age. On ‘Maid of Stone’, they rekindle their youth in Maidstone where dreams were made and lost. Like ‘On That Feeling’, it has a wisdom to it, a sense that they have come full circle, have come home. In doing so, the heavenly paisley guitars of early John Squire and more pertinently Andrew Innes circa ‘Sonic Flower Groove’ flood the senses in much the same way their peers The Shed Project have done so adeptly.

Manchester’s heritage surfaces once more ‘Circles Go Round’ and ‘Lay of the Land’. ‘Circles Go Round’ is undeterred by their youth passing. The spirit of ‘Teenage Kicks’ has soared to the surface on this great homage to The Smiths. ‘Lay of the Land’ find is the most interesting piece on the album. Vocally, Mann adopts Damon Albarn’s smoky drawl as the band adopts Blur’s brief involvement with the baggy scene. As the chorus climbs to a euphoric state, the guitars take on the warped world of The Cure, occasionally offering a DMA’s lightness before the deranged glitch re-emerges to signify that, although their souls remain free from that era, life has changed and taken its toll. A truly remarkable sonic take on life’s responsibilities taking grip.

Former Aberdeen singer Beth Arzy appears on four tracks and shines brightest on ‘Dancing Light’. The hallmarks of Deacon Blue and REM’s great alt-pop flirt with Buck and Marr’s guitars whilst Mann and Arzy create the nearest thing to vocal beauty since The Cocteau Twins.

The Kent outfit have lit up a bleak year with this gentle yet defiant indie-pop record. Everywhere you turn there are nods to the 80s and 90s but, with astute sonic updates. Lyrically, they accept nostalgia less as a noose and more as a bridge to their untamed teenage selves and thus, provide endless tales for their souls to relive in the modern age.  

Columbia – Disorder

Cardiff’s Columbia, not content with one of 2022’s albums of the year are back with a new single. ‘Disorder’.

The intro does exactly what it says on the tin. A colossal sound and images of life vehemently spilled out onto the streets. With Kasabian’s ‘L.S.F.’ emblazoned across their arteries, Columbia stride out into the UK’s grey landscapes lighting flares of red white, and blue to breed life into the downtrodden once again.

Columbia have done what all rock ‘n’ roll bands have always done, they’ve tapped into the outsiders and disaffected on this tale of addiction. However, this isn’t just any song and these are not ordinary times. Being run by born-to-rule charlatans has bedded in anger that has not yet hit fever point. With the fever of this record, the intensity of feeling they have conjured it might just spill over into the streets!

While the vocal cadence may wink at Tom Meighan, the guitars belong to their love of Adam Nutter from The Music. The never give up the spirit of ‘The Walls Get Smaller’, the ecstatic bombast of ‘You Might As Well Try To Fuck Me’, and the rebellion of ‘Let Love Be The healer’ combine on this behemoth record. 

One man’s fight against addiction is in many ways the perfect vehicle for the masses to consider how change is possible. The protagonist's isolation here is alarming but you sense they’re victorious. A clarion call with this magnitude of feeling should be taken extremely seriously.

Britain might not be ready for this single but it needs it.  it needs its lyrics punching it in the gut, the psychedelic punk rock head-butting it to the floor! This is a Richey Edwards and Nicky Wire dose of reality that music, politics, and life in general need!

Standin’ Man – If You Don’t Know What To Do With Yourself

Standin’ Man have returned with their new single ‘If You Don’t Know What To Do With Yourself’. It follows the single ‘Be Your Own Messiah’ released earlier this summer. It was produced by Jim Spencer (Charlatans, Johnny Marr, New Order) and recorded at Motor Museum Studios (Liverpool) and Eve Studios (Manchester).  

Singer and songwriter Dean Fairhurst makes five men sound like an army of men with his stadium-sized belief. He switches up from Liam Gallagher to Daltrey to John Lennon with an ease that is frankly, terrifying.

It’s true brilliance lies within the baggy-mod beats and rhythms. They drag the spirit of ‘Pills, Thrills, and Bellyaches’ to the pop majesty of ‘It’s Only Love’ and beg the question, why has no one ever done this before?

The single erupts into ecstasy via Joe Kavaney’s psychedelic guitar solos. They fire out across the night sky like the northern lights on speed. They take Steve Craddock’s early OCS work to the edge of Hendrix via that glorious moment Clapton became a Beatle. There could be no better soundtrack to this tale of getting lost in the moment as a collective.

Two behemoth singles in and Standin’ Man are looking like huge album of the year contenders in 2023.

The Lunar Towers - Hurry Up and Wait

The Lunar Towers are a four-piece hailing from Cheltenham and now residing in London. They consist of Rory Moore (bass/vocals), Joe Richardson (guitars/vocals), Rob Sewell (guitars/vocals), and Bradley Hillier-Smith (drums).

Rory and Joe met by chance in a French class at school and bonded over music, Oasis t-shirts, and Morrissey haircuts. They have recently recorded with The Moons frontman and Paul Weller multi-instrumentalist Andy Crofts, a sure sign of genuine talent.

After the singles ‘Wire’ and ‘Happy As Larry’ were picked up by Shindig magazine, Radio X, and BBC Introducing in the summer, they’ve returned with their debut EP ‘Hurry Up and Wait’. Here’s our track-by-track review:

*Images and artwork courtesy of The Songbird HQ

‘Hurry Up and Wait’ is available to buy on their Bandcamp page.

Plastic Glass Towers

The rippling guitars of Derby peers Marseille can shimmer on the darkest of winter days. Not content with bringing the sunshine to grey landscapes, they have Teenage Fanclub’s innate ability to conjure an escapist momentum to revel in.

There’s a ramshackle beauty to Sewell’s vocals which evokes Pastels’ Creation Records era. The abrasive yet beautiful delivery gives them a joyous us versus the world sonic!

Pillar 2 Post

This time out, Richardson takes the vocal lead which transforms the bands sound. Blessed with the smokiness of Elliot Smith, the lo-fi drawl of Lou Barlow, and the joy of The Orchids’ James Hackett, It allows their sunny disposition to roam free.

The sumptuous guitars meander with the effortless beauty of Lawrence in his Felt days and the folk-indie magic of Belle & Sebastian. What prevents them from becoming just another indie band with a nice jangle is the directness of the solo. It brings Teenage Fanclub and Goa Express into play which broadens their horizons and therefore, future excitement exponentially.

Southern Love

With The Byrds in their hearts, they set sail for the Laurel Canyon. McGinn’s guitars and crosby’s soulful vocals are reimagined to a scintillating effect. The urgency is instant. The vitality is necessary! This is rock ‘n’ roll at its absolute best. Desperate to set the soul free from its trappings via art and integrity.

Back To You

Vocally, Moore has found a sweet spot between the abrasive Pete Shelly and The Jacques’ Finn O’Brien. What makes him more special is the re-homing of the punk spirits in this gentler sonic.

The guitars have the warming glow of Richard Hawley in a parallel universe where he joined forces with Strangelove and Luke Haines to conjure an awkward yet endearing form of crooning.

Gazelle – Arcadia

Leicester’s Gazelle are back for one last single release of 2022 with ‘Arcadia’. It follows the fine ‘Violet Hour Blues’ released in October and last night, they played their biggest gig to date at Leicester’s o2 Academy.

‘Arcadia’ blasts its way out of the traps to light up England’s finest to the sound of The Horrors’ decadent fairground keys circa ‘Primary Colours’. Although they’ve stepped away from their love of Motown here, its influence looms large still. The verses could be choruses and vice-versa as they motor their way to melodic euphoria.

The stomping breakdown brings those heady rock ‘n’ roll moments of Kasabian on ‘Empire’ and ‘West Pauper Lunatic Asylum’ to the fore. They build to a debauched chaotic climax where violence loiters at every turn to provide an utterly exhilarating rush.

2022’s run of singles from Gazelle have seen them shake off the ‘just another indie band’ tag. ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ brought their love of soul and Motown alive and ‘Violet Hour Blues’ demoed their crowd-uniting ability. Furthermore, in ‘Clementine’ and ‘Arcadia’, they’ve added depth and intelligence to the early singles which now, has to see them eclipse the success of The Reytons and The Rahs.

Badly Drawn Boy: Shiiine On Festival

Amid the mainstage anthems at Shiiine On stood Bolton’s multi-instrumentalist icon Badly Drawn Boy on Sunday afternoon. Hangovers were rife among the large crowd which prompted the question, would this crowd go for him?

Images courtesy of Toni Underhill

The former Mercury Music Award prize winner was in an unusually talkative mood. He warmed the hearts of the main stage with stories of visiting Joe Strummer’s house and jokes about how he really should be with his mum on her 80th birthday.

There was a looseness to his introverted contemplations on stage, unrehearsed but open. A trait that seemingly doesn’t come easy to him. Gough’s shyness and free spirit became his greatest weapon during the Shiiine On set, however. The stories and set changed as the mood took him. The crowd was being let into his innermost feelings and thus, the love in the room grew to a tangible state.  

Once he had let the room in, there was no turning back for the Dylan-inspired section of ‘The Shining’ and ‘A Minor Incident’. Gough dedicated the former to his brother who tragically passed away in July 2021. As his gorgeous north-west tone decreed “remember seeing your face shining my way” the room wept as one.  

When he announced ‘A Minor Incident’ would follow, thousands of onlookers looked to the floor, the sky, or their pint. Anywhere but the loved ones they were with. The emotion was about to spill over. Mercifully, Gough regaled how he was tasked to write a Dylan-esque track for the suicide scene of About A Boy because they couldn’t afford the real deal. That flicker of humour steadied a room of souls who were picturing lost lives. His deep vocals go to the edge of Dylan’s drawl but vocally, he is blessed with empathy and sorrow like no other.  Twenty years on, the way in which he places himself in Fiona Brewer’s position is still astonishing. During his harmonica solo, images of Toni Collette’s guilt-ridden and distressed performance flood to the fore but, the warmth in his acoustic playing and the melody embedded are so fine that they overcome.

This was not a set purely based on life’s darkest reflections though. Although performing alone, the technicolour vibrancy of ‘All Possibilities’ hope-drenched message resounded out like a beacon of light on the Somerset shores. The righteous punk of ‘Born In The UK’ took us through the seventies and the melodic splendour of ‘You Were Right’ dished out the fuzzy feelings cider no longer could on day three of a festival.  

Sometimes it’s hard to love someone, not Badly Drawn Boy though. Gigs come and gigs go. Only the special ones can leave you with lifelong memories and this was one. The naturally hibernating soul of Gough was lured out for an embracing hug with like-minded souls. Post-Covid, this middle-aged crowd can see eternity for what it is, a fallacy. What he did on stage was reignite ageing souls with the purest form of themselves. The formative teen, wide-eyed, and longing to change the world for the better. Although his songs might quite be the answer, they were the soundtrack of many lives that Sunday afternoon.

Ecko: Shiiine On Festival 2022

Scotland’s Ecko were second on in The Inn On Green This past Saturday at Shiiine On. It was, unbeknownst to them (and us), to be the start of something truly magical.

All images courtesy of Joc Anquetil (aka A Deeper Groove)

Many bands attempt to be Oasis. You can spot them a mile off. They don’t have it. No matter how good a tune they write, they’re plastic punks. Not Ecko. They look the part, they walk the walk, and they have the tunes but crucially, their souls are forged in the working class turmoil and that led to the Burnage boys’ glory.

Destiny awaits!

The noise and confusion of those early Oasis years hissed across the tightly packed pub. The devil shimmered through their guitars, satan has found his purpose and is going to lead us to the promised land once more. A quick glance around the room observed the 4am hungover looks of bewilderment. Was this really happening?

‘Psycho Candy’ pumped with the blood of ‘Alive’ and ‘Cloudburst’ was interjected with the sumptuous stoner noodling of John Squire. It was happening!

‘Get Out’ took Keith Richards for a ramshackle jam with explosive blues of 22-20s and threatened violence throughout, ‘Teenage Trip’ throbbed with raw power and demanded academy-sized venues immediately. Then, on the latest single ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’, they rendered all 00s bands dead as they took indie-rock to stomping new heights. People left the venue singing in Scottish accents their power was instantaneous.

The crowd was small, but, this isn’t any festival. This is Shiiine On! You’re looking at a generation who sought music out on the evening session, Peel, and at gigs. People sang to snobby record store owners in order to find the white-label demo of their favourite band that never made it. This crowd bleeds new music!

A group Real People Brummies stopped us for The Institutes (who were insatiable btw) set time, 20mins of Ecko chat later, they got it. Glancing around, Supercool Indie Night, Shiiine On management, and many from the Shiiine Thursday club are doing the same. One by one Ecko are making it before our eyes.

Sunday morning, the news filters through that Ecko are standing in for Shambolics on the Centre Stage. The potential for 1800 people was on the horizon for the band. Should be fine, wasn’t like they were dancing to 4am with their old man in Reds the night before.

As The Fannies signed off the main stage in style, the Inn on The Green loyalists filtered to the dancefloor upstairs. If was to be just us again, so be it. Their rise is only a matter of time. What happened next was astonishing.

All images courtesy of Joc Anquetil (aka A Deeper Groove)

Saturday’s crowd had all studiously revised for this exam. Their Soundcloud demos had been pillaged, words had been learned. We were going down swinging for them. Some fledgling bands can falter in this light, Ecko are not one. They grew in stature as destiny flocked to them like a gravitational pull. Swagger oozed through their shoulders. Somehow the slight 18-year-olds looked colossal now.

By the set close, that 1800 mark was virtually amassed.

They weren’t done yet!

They could have walked off into the sunset heroes. Instead, they partied until 4am with the Inn on the Green loyalists to Utah Saints. Celebratory yes, but, to rock ‘n’ roll lovers, it felt more. It’s not enough to be at the party, if you’re going to leave an impact, you need to live that party like it’s your last. Ecko knows it and did it. Shiiine On!

The Skinner Brothers – Soul Boy

The Skinner Brothers are the hardest-working band around. Fact. This year they released a breakthrough album, an eclectic EP and now, they have followed it up with a new single ‘Soul Boy’.

To date, The Skinner Brothers have been cultivating a sound that, caressed the edges of true originality but, hadn’t quite made the leap. On their new single ‘Soul Boy’ they’ve lept head first off a cliff and reinvented the game.

The drama of The Streets and the venom of Jamie T unite to forge a spiteful and vengeful piece of brilliance. This is the sound of 2am erupting into sweat-filled mayhem. Feelings of isolation and imprisonment bubble up with bile before exploding into a Fatboy Slim fuelled rage. Then, just when you can’t take the visceral assault anymore, Danni Burton Is introduced with superb homage to rave-era vocals to blow all your troubles away in a moment of sheer ecstasy.

Frontman Zac Skinner has hit the headlines of late. To dreary pop fans, bands who take shortcuts, and the ill-informed at the NME, he has done so for the wrong reasons. No matter which way you look at it, they’re wrong. Music is art, it should test the soul within an inch of its existence. If you can look us in the eye and say Louis Tomlison and NME do that, that they don’t take shortcuts for financial gain then so be it, leave use alone, we’re better than you!

‘Soul Boy II’ felt like a breakthrough album for the band. It took them to the main stages of festivals, major support slots for Kasabian. The Libertines, The Streets, and The Music and a sold-out tour. The single ‘Soul Boy’ however, is ground-breaking. It’s the kick up the arse the scene needed. Zac told us so and delivered it with interest.

Image courtesy of Fear PR

Marseille: Slaughtered Lamb, London

Derby’s Marseille made the trip down to London this Tuesday to The Slaughtered Lamb. After the buzz of their latest single ‘Freedom’, they came with hefty expectations. Could they live up to them?

Tom Spray’s cascading drums and Felix Moxey’s divine bassline on ‘Freedom’ gave them a great protected intro and a set opener for life. The whiff of something special hovered enticingly in the air and was duly met by guitarist Joe Labram.

The transition between ‘Shout It Loud’ and the next single ‘Monkey In The Middle’ awoke something not seen in the UK since Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene and The Roses ruled the airwaves. Spiralling psychedelia bore its way to the sun from the London basement. The intimate crowd looked on in utter bewilderment, did that just happen? You bet your life it did!!!

Anyone left wondering if it was a fluke was duly pummelled into submission on set closer ‘State Of Mind’. What began as an angelic homage to the C86 movement descended into rock ‘n’ roll devilment of the highest order. The kind that will see promoters look for something bigger than Knebworth.

Labram’s playing is utterly magnetic. For ten minutes he went from Squire to Bell to early Noel waving at them from on high. At recent Ride shows, Andy Bell has discovered the form of his life, Labram just rendered him redundant with his spellbinding psyche.

The scary thing about Marseille is, you feel the penny-drop moment hasn’t happened for them yet. This level of brilliance is emanating from a position of creative exploration. Their time, their sound still feels on the horizon, the beauty is, their horizon looks down upon almost everyone else ensuring greatness is coming to save us all from the grey decaying landscapes we reside in.

The Utopiates - Illuminise

London via Leeds outfit The Utopiates have stormed 2022 with sold tours and signing to the illustrious V2 Records. They look to cap it off in style with their new single ‘Illuminise’, recorded at Nave Studios in Leeds with Producer Andy Hawkins.

Image & artwork courtesy of http://copaceticpr.com/

Their previous work has seen them in explorative moods. ‘Illuminise’ however, takes a far more direct path. Frontman Dan Popplewell introduces a snarl to his vocals, bringing Richard Archer’s early career to the fringes of Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson but musically, they never lose sight of their baggy spirit.

As with all their previous work though, they impart killer hooks to make you dance. The keys and bass have boiled down Delphic and Friendly Fires’ entire career into three minutes and married them with a deranged Mick Ronson solo.

The bombastic funk of Bowie’s ‘Low’ album is injected with the wayward souls of Black Grape on their most intense outing to date. The Berlin influences in the production light up frontman Dan Popplewell’s newfound venom as he dismisses the bitterness in his life:

“So when you’re wired / You’ll see me up ahead / Rising up we’re, Illuminising!”

It would have been easy for The Utopiates to deliver another groove-laden gem to send them off victorious for the year. However, they’ve gone out all guns blazing, proving that creative risk is still something to strive for. Yet, with their talent, it simply isn’t a risk!

Check back here tomorrow to hear the new single!

Peter Hall – In Plain Sight

Nottingham’s Peter Hall follows the critical success of his debut album ‘Light The Stars’ in 2021 with the new single ‘In Plain Sight’. It was recorded and self-produced at his Daisyland Studio and marks the first run of new singles.

In Plain Sight is available via Bandcamp.

Hall’s vocals touch upon the pristine pop of Sice and the dogged beauty of Howie Payne on this cinematic pop gem. Hall’s vocals alongside the orchestration conjure a sense of wonder that can only come from a soul in love.

The carefree abandonment Hall journeys on are beset with so much joy that, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was literary nonsense (a la Lewis Carroll). However, luring beneath the sparkle is a man determined to look inwards and become easier to love. It adds depth to the musical splendour that Mick Head would be proud of.

Head rears his creative soul once again on the solo. Hall takes the windswept beauty of the Pale Fountains for a waltz with Weller’s gentle playing on ‘True Meanings’. It creates a glorious world of fantasy and love to indulge in.

Hall has not just returned, he has well and truly arrived as one of England’s finest songwriters.

My Raining Stars – 89 memories

Former Nothing To Be Done member Thierry Haliniak is back with a new album under the guise of My Raining Stars. It follows the sublime ‘Obvious Reasons’ EP in 2020. Can the longer format meet the same standards?

89 memories is available to buy on Bandcamp.

My Raining Stars have made a name for themselves by reimagining Sarah Records, Creation Records, and the C86 scene for the modern day. On ‘If You’, ‘Too Soon’, and ‘Behind Her Lovely Smile’ they tread similar water. ‘If You’ plunges into the hazy beauty of Chapterhouse via New order’s ‘Ceremony’. ‘Too Soon’ combines the explorative drumming of ‘Vapour Trail’ with the eloquent beauty of the Cocteau Twins on this lo-fi gem. ‘Behind Her Lovely Smile’ however whilst drawing on Ride’s comeback album ‘Weather Diaries’ begins to transgress the past. The guitars are blessed with rock ‘n roll’s desperation to live; a moment Johnny Marr would be proud of! Haliniak’s ability to use his voice as the songs blissful release is utterly mesmerising.

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‘89 Memories’ ultimate strength is its positivity. In a world falling apart at the seams, the ecstasy of ‘The Way Things Turn’ and ‘Of ‘Time’ couldn’t be more vital. The former is a brooding lullaby sent from the angels. The beauty of The Orchids is met with brooding yet angelic Mark Gardener-esque vocal from Haliniak. It has great cinematic quality. The protagonist is thrust into the inciting moment and must seek out the light. Twisting and turning, desperate to fight their way to resolution, this track will not give up! Whereas, ‘Time’ taps into the jangle of The la’s and the power of The Real People to find new avenues of euphoria.

What keeps the album refreshing is Haliniak’s foray into more rock ‘n’ roll guitar playing. His sumptuous Ian Broudie-esque vocals on ‘From the Day She’s Gone’ is met with a direct and anguished urgency. The guitars brood in the verses before bursting into a display of melancholy reaching for escapism worthy of Johnny Marr. Whereas, ‘Sit and Stare’ takes Norman Blake’s melodic rumble to the edge of Weller and Craddock in the 90s.

These more instantaneous moments breathe vitality into Haliniak’s body of work that will surely win the hearts and minds of many new fans sooner rather than later.