Me My Head
On Thursday 3rd December an intimate and excitable rabble of Me My Head fanatics descended upon the Relentless Garage to celebrate the release of debut album Survival In No Man’s Land on MBM Records. As an expectant crowd enjoyed and endured respectively sets from energetic Italian four piece To Be Rhudes! and London based The Bridport Dagger, the electricity in the air was palpable and it was more than just the December chill sending shivers down the spine. This release has been long and eagerly anticipated by the band’s avid fans and the London boys lapped up the atmosphere and fed off the crowds’ energy.
Opening track Night Is On Fire was a raucus, thumpin’ New Wave masterpiece, delivered with pounding kick-driven drum patterns, rock-steady basslines, delay-doused pop hook guitar licks, synth riffs reminiscent of an 80′s Atari console, and spit-flecked vigour from frontman Charlie Moss whose well-deserved vocal pomposity and indie-swagger will draw comparisons to the likes of Harry McVeigh and Tom Smith. Further crowd pleasers Say It All and the epic White Lights displayed anthemic Pop choruses, infectious synth lines, and in particular with the latter, a guitar riff that will plant itself in your brain on constant ostinato loop – listen with caution. In short, these songs would be welcome echoing around the walls of far larger venues than the Garage.
A well-constructed and perfectly mixed medley of What Is Love? by early 90′s Dance act Haddaway and Poker Face by everyone’s favourite Pop diva Lady Gaga delighted the crowd, with Moss‘s cracked and vulnerable vocals haunting and hanging ethereal in the air of the small venue. In a jocular and welcoming environment it would be easy for the lads to use a cover as comic relief, so it was all the more enjoyable to witness this take on two tracks from almost 20 years apart taken seriously. Who doesn’t love a cover done well eh?
Me My Head owned the small stage for the duration of the seamless set, which was interspersed with bouts of well-constructed yet genuine banter. A professional performance then from a fantastic act, characterised by rolling thunderclap floor-tom massiveness, chugging bass drive, pop-hook Edge-esque guitar licks, delicate New Wave synth lines and anthemic vocal melodies. Like White Lies without all the death.. or a poppier Editors with more electronics, either way, check out the MySpace and buy the album. You wont regret it.
Biffy Clyro
Ok so I was lucky enough to get down to the first two nights of the Q Awards gigs running up to the Q Awards themselves, and therefore had the pleasure of seeing White Lies, supported by Bombay Bicycle Club and The Drums on Monday, and Biffy Clyro, supported by The Boxer Rebellion and Frightened Rabbit on Tuesday.
Both were incredible shows, with both headliners absolutely owning the stage and mesmerizing the crowd. White Lies thumped out booming bass-driven, sombre Indie-Pop anthems against a backdrop of pulsing bright white lights, to an entranced rabbit in a headlight crowd. Note perfection, pristine and polished production, and colossal renditions of singles Farewell To The Fairground, Death and To Lose My Life made this a memorable show.
Biffy Clyro meanwhile exploded onto stage in a flurry of Celtic ferocity and facial hair with the apocalyptic That Golden Rule. Monster riffs, ethereal melodies, tight as fuck arrangements and an epic light show worthy of a sci-fi battle scene made this performance unmissable! Biffy absolutely dominated, as expected: their presence more than filling the stage; and crowd pleasers such as Whose Got A Match? and Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies deafening the ears. The Scottish Alt Rock / Power Pop trio finished with Mountains, originally a non-album single but now included on Only Revolutions (due for release 9th November), to the delight of a grateful and exhausted crowd. Epic. ‘Mon the Biff!
White Lies
Frankmusik playing a stripped down version of 3 Little Words to Orange RockCorps volunteers
On Saturday the 15th of August I caught Frankmusik playing a stripped and slowed down version of his 2008 single Three Little Words in a communal area outside Thamesmere Leisure Centre in Thamesmead. Frankmusik, aka Vincent Frank, acknowledged that this was probably ‘the weirdest gig I’ve ever done!’
Juxtaposing an old school, beaten up Casio (I think!) Keyboard, with all the tone and clarity of something out of the original Doctor Who theme tune, with vocals characterised by an impressive falsetto range that Mika would be proud of, as well as soulful meanderings reminiscent of some kind of Croydon-born John Legend, this really was a trippy yet haunting rendition.
Frankmusik, 2009′s champion of squelchy Electro-Pop and man’s answer to La Roux, has debut album Complete Me (released August 3rd) out now, and it could just be this years answer to Vehicles & Animals. Go buy it!
Just Jack performing at Somerville Adventure Playground for Orange RockCorps volunteers, 09/08/09
Not every job gives you the opportunity to catch artists like Just Jack performing pro bono stripped down sets in children’s playgrounds for 300 volunteers… and I thought catching live FlyTV sets was unique..!
On Sunday the 9th of August Just Jack performed The Day I Died, his latest single, due for release on the 17th of August ’09, at an Orange RockCorps project at Somerville Adventure Playground in Peckham. The Day I Died is the perfect accompaniment to a chilled Summer afternoon, meandering through a depiction of suburban, 9 to 5, white-collar mediocrity. Delicate synthesized string sounds, finger-plucked steel-string chord progressions, booming bass notes, a 2/4 drum loop heavy on the kick, and a fragile flute melody form the charmingly sparse arrangement over which Jack‘s vocals negotiate lyrics of Nash-esque, quirky mundanity with a signature, cheeky North London swagger. With an epic, chant-along chorus, impressive close harmonies, and Jack‘s ever-endearing, down-to-earth, everyman charm still evident, despite the huge success of Starz In Their Eyes in 2007 and Embers early this year, this could be one of the big, Summer chill-out anthems!
Andy Taylor of Nite Visions
Nite Visions, comprised of Andy and James Taylor, formed as a result of the collapse of 80′s enfused Electro synth-Pop band The Electric City. Having ditched the bassist and drummer, the Taylors are having a go of it as a 2-piece, with the help of a more than capable backing band, and last night at an intimate gig at the Water Rats pub, King’s Cross, Nite Visions were warming up for bigger and better things in front of a small but receptive crowd.
Throughout Andy and James’ career, while in TEC and in solo projects, it has always been evident that these boys can write a Pop song, and if these early glimpses of Nite Visions are anything to go by, the Taylors just keep getting better. This short set was brimming with 80′s synth sounds, jagged guitar work, phat with a capital ‘P-H-’ slap and slide bass lines and Indie-Disco drum beats, over which Andy’s Tom Smith meets Bernard Sumner baritone articulated sensationally catchy and anthemic Pop-hook vocal melodies. And for a relatively new and embryonic line up, these boys were tight, leading many of the industry-types present to comment that the performance was ‘…just like listening to the record…’ which is what you want, right?
Basically, I’d barely heard a note of this band before the performance, and yet on the bus home i found myself singing the songs to myself.. so with these infectious tracks, the support of top management from Supervision, and world class production from Brian Higgins’ Xenomania.. it’s only a matter of time before Nite Visions are huge. There’s not a lot online on them at the moment, so watch this space!
Air Traffic & Astro Firs
June 29, 2009
Astro Firs
Between the 16th and the 22nd of June, Air Traffic and Supervision Management buddies Astro Firs embarked on a 7 gigs in 7 days tour, and I was lucky enough to catch the final leg at the Deaf Institute in Manchester. Astros opened up to a near capacity crowd who welcomed the Indie Rock band wholeheartedly, despite the atmosphere suffering slightly from the fact that it was broad daylight. Heavy rock riffs, epic chant-along choruses, typically cheeky-chappy geordie banter from front man Scott and an energetic live presence ensured an entertaining set from these lads. I guess you could describe Astros as Indie for the Emo fan.. as they boast Indie-Disco beats and jagged guitar work, but their tone and production is heavier and darker than the uber-fay Indie tosh in the charts. All in all these guys are an awesome Rock band, and definitely an act to look out for in a town near you.
Air Traffic
Air Traffic hit the stage at dusk, with light still filtering in from the skylight, which contributed to an eerie half-lit feel about the Institute. As such it took the crowd a little longer than usual to warm to this Ambient Rock 4-piece, who, let’s be honest, are used to bigger stages. Still, old favourites like Charlotte, Shooting Star and Come On, as well as brand new as yet unrecorded tracks, eventually had a sold out Deaf Institue chanting back lyrics and swaying appropriately. This was my first Air Traffic show and they won me over with the key-infused introduction to the very first track. Chris Wall‘s key lines, and fairly standard soft-rock 4/4 tempos will draw comparisons to such stadium-bands as Coldplay, Embrace and Keane, but Wall‘s cracked and haunting voice, always pitch perfect; and the upbeat, jagged and distorted guitar work of tracks such as Charlotte set these boys apart as an edgier, anthemic rock alternative to the mainstream. Ethereal yet punchy, anthemic yet intimate, catchy yet sincere, and lightyears better than Indie Pop chart-wank like.. ye you guessed it.. Scouting For Girls, Air Traffic are incredible on record, and even better live. Buy their back catalogue and go and see them immediately!
Armstrong + The Mission District – Live Review
May 3, 2009
Armstrong Promo Shoot
(Click image for Myspace)
Last Wednesday I sauntered on down to the Dublin Castle to watch Armstrong, and then (not gonna lie) get a bit drunk, and then watch the Mission District. So apologies to the middle two bands (who wont read this anyway!) but I was catching up with people and such during their sets… oops.
Armstrong took to the stage early in the evening for this Rock Sound Magazine party, in front of an intimate crowd predominantly made up of ‘industry’. Unfortunately, Armstrong‘s explosive set packed full of infectious and anthemic Pop / Rock tracks was at times marred by technical problems and perhaps more so by frontman Tim Talbot‘s ill health (he is currently trying to shrug off a throat and sinus infection!)
Talbot winced through the pain however and his voice held out for such gut-busting sing-along anthems as Scars and Stories and Sirens, displaying his incredible range and one hell of a set of lungs. Meanwhile, the muscular, rip-roaring, fist-in-the-air riffs of tracks like Every End were delivered with the usual vigour by the axe-wielding man mountain Jay Armstrong and screaming shredded solos were whipped up by lead guitar-slinger John Atkins. Meanwhile the meaty rhythm and bass combination of Harry Armstrong and Sam George remained (mostly) tight as ever and at times, I’m sure, the mixture of bass-enormity and George‘s ‘Kick the fuck out of the drum-kit’ attitute must have meant the show registered on the Richter Scale.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen my fair share of Armstrong shows and this wasn’t the best ever, but the combination of illness and technical fault meant that the boys kinda took to the stage having already written off the show… and the result is that they looked more laid back and relaxed than usual. They seemed to enjoy themselves and this rubbed off on an intimate and welcoming crowd, who enjoyed such comedy moments as Talbot losing his mic (had to be there). In short, not technically the best performance from these stadium-worthy Rockers, but still a display of awesome stage presence and showmanship, great tracks, and as always a good laugh.
The Mission District Promo Shot
(Click image for Myspace)
Ok so fast forward about an hour, too many free (thankyou Jager-sponsored Armstrong boys!) Jagermeisters, a few Jack Daniels and you can imagine why my memory of The Mission District may be borderline hazy.
These guys were, on the night, possibly the exact opposite of Armstrong: pure polished and perfect Electro-Pop / Rock.. technically flawless, but at times lacking soul and verve. That said, a five piece band with a lot of equipment on a tiny stage, I think it’s fair to say that perhaps TMD are destined for bigger things and were somewhat confined by their surroundings. Also, having played 25 venues in 30 nights prior to this, it’s understandable that they weren’t going to throw everything into this show in front of about 8 people (thankyou for the promotion, Rock Sound!) So aside from stage presence, this Canadian outfit, consisting of two guitars, bass, vocals, drums, laptop and occasionally synths, and at least 1 backing vocal, were the epitome of polished perfection.
The pop-hook-synth-line drive, tight-as-fuck (to the extent that the beats could almost be processed!) drumming, incredible close harmonies and epic choruses of tracks such as Heartbreaker, The Best Of You And Me and So Over You are reminiscent of Electro-Pop monsters Hellogoodbye, Sherwoord, and Shiny Toy Guns, while the floating and haunting vocals in tracks such as Youth Games are at times not dissimilar to Keane. Basically these guys have really thought about their act. The image is spot on, the sound is polished, the production perfect, and the direction is relevent, and with tours booked with Saving Aimee and Elliot Minor for this Summer, and having recently signed to a UK label.. well if’s safe to say you will be hearing a lot more about these guys. So don’t be a fool, check them out, and you can tell everyone you heard them first.. (I won’t rumble you!)
...Trail Of Dead live in the Courtyard for Fly TV. I'm there somewhere. It's just like 'Where's Wally'!
As promised, the video of Bells Of Creation live from the Courtyard for Fly TV by the awesome …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. For a further two tracks head on down to the Fly TV website.. It’s well worth it.
Bells Of Creation is an epic track off of the most recent …Trail Of Dead album, The Century Of Self, which was released February 17th on Richter Scale Records. The track opens with a chiming ostinato piano chord, which repeats for most of the track and seems to represent the Bells in question. The track’s steady 2/4 beat and heavy guitar / key stabs are full of grandeur, power and promise: fitting for the song’s title, and the chaotic and tumultuous piano interlude evokes almost Fantasia-esque (for anyone else who remembers that Disney gem) images of some omnipotent being summoning and cajoling the elements to create Earth (the title of the track probably isn’t that literal, but that’s the image I get!)
Regardless of my ramblings about imagery and such, it is an immensely powerful performance, despite the fact that the Art Rockers were possibly a little uncomfortable in their settings, surrounded by MAMA employees, and playing acoustic (one of the guitars, brilliantly, even has the price tag still on if you look closely!) Prepare to be in awe!
Doves - Promo Shot
(Click Image for Myspace)
Last Friday was a great day. I rocked up to The Great Escape office late, but noone noticed. I was tired and possibly hung over. I sat down to start my days work when I heard the tuning of guitars and excited voices outside which can mean only one thing: FlyTV are filming a ‘live in the Courtyard‘ set.
I went down to the Courtyard to check it out and was pleasantly surprised to realise it was Doves gracing us with a short set. It was somewhat surreal to see such a famous and highly acclaimed band performing in such humble surroundings, and the guys looked almost nervous to be playing to the 30 or so excited MAMA Group employees who gathered around them. I suppose they were promised an empty quiet space to play their set, and weren’t expecting all the excitement.
Anyway here is a video of Doves performing Kingdom Of Rust Live from the Courtyard. This was the first time I had heard this track: a beautiful melancholy Folk / Pop ballad, with delicately layered 12-string and 6-string acoustics and subtle synths forming the platform over which Jimi Goodwin‘s gravelly baritone bellows eerie and ominous vocal melodies. Anyway, check it out for yourself:
This beautiful set by Doves meandered nicely into lunch time, so I headed straight off to get my sandwiches.. I love Fridays.
A week or two ago I wrote a little article about French Pop / Folk outfit The Do. At the time, the video of The Do live in the Courtyard for FlyTV was unavailable but I’ve tracked it down now so here is The Bridge Is Broken live from the Courtyard of the MAMA Group building:
