Almost Blue

Obituary: Bert Jansch

2011-10-06T02:14:00.001-07:00

Over the course of a musical career that lasted for over 40 years, Paul Simon, Johnny Marr, Bernard Butler, Jimmy Page, Nick Drake, Graham Coxon, Donovan, Neil Young, Fleet Foxes and Devendra Banhart have all cited Bert Jansch as being a huge influence on their own music. A leading figure in the British folk revival of the 1960s, Jansch himself never achieved fame to the same level as some of the musicians who would not exist today if it weren't for his sublime talents as a guitarist and singer-songwriter. Waking up this morning to read that he had died after a battle with throat cancer at the age of 67 not only left me with a pang that we had lost one of the greatest guitarists to have ever graced the world of music, but a pang that Jansch's death was minimally reported, generally rather bypassed and not treated with as much importance as the deaths of far inferior musicians and personalities.

Bert Jansch is one of Scotland's own; born in Glasgow in 1943, he was the founding member of the band Pentangle who gained some commerical success and won Jansch one of his two Lifetime Achievement Awards at the BBC Folk Awards, the other being for his solo work. Pentangle continue to play after having several line up shuffles and are also seen as an influential band in the folk world. Jansch grew up in Edinburgh and began to play guitar in his teenage years. After leaving school, he began to play as a novice performer in various folk clubs around the UK with the intention of becoming a full time musician. At the age of 20 he began hitch-hiking across Europe and beyond, living off of earnings from busking and performances in bars and cafés.

As folk music grew to prominence in the mid 1960s, Jansch saw his opportunity to record his eponymous debut album. The tape recording was sent to Transatlantic Records and went on to sell 150,000 copies. A protest song Do You Hear Me Now?that featured on the album was later covered and popularised by Donovan, who wasn't the only musician whose attention was caught by Jansch's talents. Two more of his 25 albums were recorded in quick success soon after, one of which including the first recording of Blackwaterside which was then recorded in homage by Led Zeppelin as Black Mountain Side.

Jansch still went on to influence contemporary musicians right up until to his death and will certainly continue to do so. In 2007 he appeared on Babyshambles track The Lost Art Of Murder playing acoustic guitar followed by a tour with Peter Doherty. He has also appeared on a BBC4 documentary on the acoustic guitar and was cited as one of the acoustic greats alongside The Kinks, The Beatles and Kurt Cobain's unplugged performance. He had recently reappeared on the scene with UK tours and a support slot with Neil Young on a US and Canadian tour. His final album The Black Swan was released in 2006 and featured Beth Orton and Devendra Banhart on various tracks throughout the album. His superior skills that were admired by some of the greatest musicians on the planet were accompanied by a great modesty and down to Earth nature. His eclectic style of off-kilter jazz-folk has made a huge impact on the world of music and if you hadn't previously heard of Bert Jansch, it's almost certain that some of your favourite musicians make the music they make thanks to him.

Bert Jansch: 3 November 1943 - 5 October 2011

Interview: Remember Remember

2011-10-06T02:12:00.000-07:00

After the album launch of Remember Remember's second album The Quickening at Glasgow's Stereo bar, the project of Graeme Ronald is re-emerging as one of the strongest talents on the Scottish music scene. Attracting respect from fans and musicians alike with beautiful, complex and intelligent instrumental music; Ronald is proving himself to be one of the few musicians who can balance incredible knowledge of the theory behind his music whilst maintaining its soul.

Air3: How would you describe your sound? A lot of musicians described as Post Rock dismiss the tag themselves, do you feel this way about being associated with the genre?

Graeme: I always associate the term Post Rock with certain music from the late '90s, but I also know that the term was used even earlier than that. Surely by now we must at least be onto Post-Post-Post Rock? As a genre, in its most limited sense, it conjures up the idea of very guitar heavy instrumental music, I would like people to acknowledge that in our music we use a far wider range of instruments than just guitars.

Air3: What can we expect from a Remember Remember show?

Graeme: The next show we have coming up is at the Planetarium in Glasgow Science Centre, with the cosmos as our light show. As far as visual accompaniment is concerned that will take some beating, we usually build our sets out of cardboard boxes.

Air3: You briefly played with Mogwai, how did this come about?

Graeme: It was really unexpected, they needed someone to help out with their live shows on extra keyboard for a while. I had been playing in this band called Multiples around Glasgow, and I guess I caught their attention.

Air3: Tell us a little something about The Quickening.

Graeme: The Quickening is Remember Remember's second album, I think it's a lot darker than the first one and more densely orchestrated. I'd like to think it has a global sense to it, taking aspects of musicial traditions from various parts of the world, it's still pretty Scottish too.

Air3: You use some unusual things to create music with, why is this? What are some unusual things you've used?

Graeme: In the past I've used scissors, a hole punch, a sellotape dispenser, lighters, matches, suitcase wheels, mobile phones and various other things. I'm always asked why I do this and there's no better answer other than it's fun!

Air3: The band has grown quite considerably since its beginning, do you prefer playing with a larger band to playing solo?

Graeme: I would never be able to play these songs, or even most of the songs from the first album either, truly solo. The sound of a big band playing together, the combination of the sound and melodies, the huge wall of sound...that's what it's all about for me. Playing on my own is fun, and I get to play around with more "gimmicky" stuff like playing my phone through my guitar pick-ups and stuff but more and more, the stuff that I write for the band is specifically written for those instruments and musicians.

Air3: Who are you listening to at the moment?

Graeme: I'm listening to Goblin a lot at the moment, the soundtrack music they made to a lot of the Dario Argento films. There's an amazing band based in London called Clorinde who are really worth listening to. I've had Angelo Badalamenti's theme music for Twin Peaks on a lot as well. I definitely seem to be drawn to Italian things at the moment.

Air3: What does 2012 hold for Remember Remember?

Graeme: Who knows!? I can only hope to build upon the good reaction that the new album has (so far) had, get to tour and travel as much as possible and get working on another record.

Remember Remember's second album The Quickening is available to buy and download now.

Interview: Three Trapped Tigers

2011-09-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

London based three piece Three Trapped Tigers create electronic music that's not like anything else out there. A hidden gem that's starting to gain some much deserved recognition after the release of the debut album Route One Or Die, I sat down with guitarist Matt Calvert, drummer Adam Betts and keyboard and synth player Tom Rogerson for an in depth conversation on where their unique sound comes from.

Air3: How has tour gone so far?

Adam: We're only three gigs in, but they've been good gigs so far.

Air3: Where were you yesterday?

Adam: We actually had a day off yesterday, the promoter in Nottingham - turned out he'd been ill for a couple weeks so no one had done any promotion of it and he couldn't do the gig. We didn't find out until when we played Sheffield on Monday so we just had a day off in Sheffield.

Air3: So how was Sheffield?

Tom: Good for a Monday.

Air3: Any stand out gigs so far?

Adam: Brighton was wicked, just great crowd also being the start of the tour that's really exciting.

Matt: It was just a really good turnout and really responsive crowd. We played Bristol the next night, it was fine...people stood and listened and watched and were really attentive and clapped but it wasn't like a rabid reception or anything. People came up afterwards and said they were really digging it, some people's facial expressions will hardly even tweak and then they'll come up afterwards and say they really, really liked it.

Adam: There was definitely something about Bristol, it was possibly the fact it was quite a big room with maybe 60 people in there.

Matt: We've done two gigs in Bristol before this and they were free in and at the weekend so got really rammed and we got a rowdy reception, so it was just different.

I see you've got some European dates coming up. Do you feel your material is received differently in Europe?

Adam: The material's received really well over there.

Matt: The hosts really take care of everything, there's also a lot of state funding for the arts so they get a bit more money.

Tom: You don't feel like you're getting in the way of the DJ when you're in Europe.

Adam: That's not to do down any promoter we've had at UK gigs it's just that they just seem to have a bit more money to treat you with. Yeah Europe's always been quite fun, they're quite willing to put you on almost as an unknown, our EPs weren't really available to buy in shops in Europe, I think our album is, but people seem to be willing to put you on.

Air3: You've got a gig in London coming up as well, does playing your home city hold any special meaning to you?

Adam: I think we get, probably in the UK, the biggest crowd there and that's just cos we've been there for longer and we've done all the gigs there.

Tom: And we literally have between us 50 friends so the after show is always pretty awesome, you see faces in the crowd you recognise so London is always fun.

Matt: We tend to not do as many shows in London to make it more of an event cos when we were starting to gig quite regularly on the back of the first EP it took lots of gigs, like four in London in a month, so we've whittled it down to just doing a couple a year to make it more of a special occasion.

Air3: Are there any places you look forward to returning to?

Adam: Yeah plenty, Sheffield's always wicked. Loads of them really, pretty much every city in the UK is really nice to go to, just in general heading up North is wicked so coming all the way up to here is wicked, we've always had a really nice response.

Matt: Also we went back and did a gig in Poland recently to do a small gig with some people who last year put on a really amazing festival, so we look forward to going back and seeing some of the same people there, to see a bit of repeat business in somewhere like Poland...

Tom: It's great when you get to know the sound guy, in a different city, you wonder if he's gonna be on your gig. There's people you see, we've met these people like 7 times now and it's cool.

Matt: And that's pretty valuable for a band like us who kinda needs as much loyalty, cos it's such a grassroots thing because of the nature of the music and everything.

Adam: Yeah no one's gonna be attracted by the big butts.

Air3: Speaking of the nature of the music, how would you describe your own sound? You've been described as Math Rock, Noise Rock, Experimental, Instrumental; how would you personally describe it?

Matt: We have a couple discussions about this every now and again,we try to blast terms like Math Rock out because we've always said that Math implies quite cold music that's kind of made in a slightly laboratory kind of way rather than in an emotional way. The same with Noise Rock, that seems to imply that there's no melody so I dunno man, it's not our job to come up with the term but we won't hesitate to complain about it.

Tom: I'll stick with Rock.

Matt: I guess Electronic Rock doesn't offend me.

Air3: I guess with all these sub-genres emerging every year, it can be hard to keep up with what you're regarded as.

Tom: We find it hilarious, because if you're actually doing it, you don't think about it.

Adam: The Math Rock one is probably the one that gets me most kinda 'bleurgh' because it does sound like they take the numbers first and hope the music follows along and I've seen a lot of bands that do that.

Matt: I just don't think we sound like a lot of bands who are Math Rock other than maybe like particular passages in certain tunes, but I think that the album we've made doesn't adhere to that. I dunno man, as long as the word 'future' never works it way into any genre, Future Rock would just be too much to stomach.

Air3: On the subject of formulaic music, obviously you say you're trying to avoid that to maintain the emotion - how does Tom's classical piano training affect the logic behind the songs-writing?

Tom: Well I had some lessons...but in terms of logic, I think a dance-electronic producer has as much logic as a classical guy, in fact classical musicians are notorious for their bad timing. I mean the classical think certainly affects it as much as that was the first music I ever even listened to until really quite late, so yeah early on particularly I was always keen to get the piano and keyboard into it and yeah it was nice to train on that classical thing, but quite quickly that became predictable like 'Oh look! It's a classical piano in amongst a rock band'. I think we've stepped away from that now, the album features barely any piano at all. The classical thing, yeah there's probably a sense of structure, form and knowledge of harmony - but we all share that, you don't need to be classically trained to understand that. So I think it's there in the most subliminal was imaginable, it's not like we're setting out to write concerti or anything like that.

Matt: We've had a fair amount of music education and once you're actually out of that environment you just wanna kinda get out and there is a process of unlearning so you don't do things in a formulaic way.

Tom: We're all kind of reacting against that formality and it comes up quite often and if you think of quite a lot of music that our contemporaries are making, our friends in fact, yeah they're making the formulaic stuff and we think we're getting away from that, I mean we're not the Sex Pistols but...

Adam: There's always got to be a sense of excitement and feeling behind the music, whatever you do with it.

Air3: On the opposite end of the spectrum, in the live shows is there any elements of the music that's improvised

Tom: Betts has the most freedom I'd say.

Adam: Yeah there are a few bits where there's just a wall of energy where I can just play whatever, but there are always some pretty strong, defined boundaries normally within a template from Matt.

Tom: There are sections here and there where we can be a bit free.

Matt: Yeah during the noisy segways between tunes.

Adam: They're some of the most fun bits.

Matt: I feel like going forwards, maybe there'll be some more room to maneuver, but not trying to make it sound like really indulgent jazz or something.

Tom: I guess to come back to your last question this is always the perennial problem with jazz or fusion or any of the music we're trying to elude from, we all know the feeling of playing difficult music and pulling it off and you feel fucking great and then you look out and you realise that no one gives a shit and the fact that you can do that reflects very badly on you. So maybe in soundcheck we'll do it but...

Adam: Yeah we'll play The Bill theme or something.

Air3: Your third gig was Reading festival, how does playing a festival differ from playing your own headline slot?

Adam: It wasn't mine! That was the only show I've not played.

Matt: We've done Leeds twice and both times it's stressed me out beyond belief, whereas playing something like End Of The Road or In The Woods was completely amazing and totally glorious, Stag and Dagger was wicked, Soundcity, all those ones are amazing.

Air3: So do your comfort levels go hand in hand with the intimacy?

Matt: There are some factors that make a gig good that are within your control like if you turn up and do a soundcheck and make sure everything feels good, you're gonna be able to relax more. But that's not gonna guarantee it being a great gig and the thing with a festival, you don't normally have such a luxury of soundchecking but the crowd might be a bit more pissed or more up for it. We did a festival in Liverpool and we went on at like 2am and we were wondering if anyone was even gonna care and we went on and it was aamzing. I don't think they were all there necessarily to see us, but just having a lot of people there was great.

Tom: It was the only venue open at that time, it was one of those city festival with 10 venues on the one same strip and our night was running late anyway because the previous band had taken ages to soundcheck, so all the factors not in our control kinda fell into place and played into our hands; the previous act were quite big so the place filled out anyway.

Air3: Do you feel there's more pressure to win people over at a festival?

Adam: More of an opportunity, doesn't feel so much like pressure though.

Matt: Say you're doing a London headline gig where this is one or two London gigs we're doing this year, people are paying what I consider a fair amount of money to come see us, I think there's more pressure that way. With a festival, it's like okay if people are gonna come and watch us then we'll do our thing as well as possible but it's completely different, I dunno but I've never really thought of it as a high pressure.

Air3: I read somewhere that you'd like to play bigger gigs, so does playing gigs such as tonight's still have the same impact for you?

Adam: I love small gigs like this.

Tom: We were all saying earlier how this is gonna be awesome.

Matt: I think we'd obviously like our whole trajectory to go up but I actually don't think that playing massive venues would suit the music we're playing. There's so much detail, it's so fast and complex - that doesn't translate so well on huge stages.

Adam: And also being thirty feet away from the people we were playing to was one of the biggest problems at Leeds, I felt like I was playing on my own. Whereas playing in a place like this it's like 'Ah there's fucking people there!' Obviously that can lead to you looking the the first 10 rows and people make you wanna feel sorry for playing, but if everyone's feeling it it can be a really exciting thing, much better than playing at Leeds Festival in a massive tent where people are way over there, like 'is someone there?', grinning at this gorgeous girl that turns out to be Ross (tour manager), it's atrocious.

Tom: I guess the common thread between all these questions is that it's always about the vibe and the atmosphere and that's always gonna be better really, some of the London shows are like 300 capacity and it stills feel like a small room and everyone's rammed in but in a venue like this I always think it's awesome because the music's so much about the energy, if you wanna stand there and stratch your chin and look at Matt's guitar pedals or how is Betts doing this and how quick we play and everything that's fine, but hopefully it should be more about the fact that it's loud and it's exciting.

Adam: When you hear things like Foo Fighters are in town playing Hyde Park you just think that would be the loneliest gig, there'd be like 80,000 people singing your chorus or something but I alway think even if I was in the biggest band in the world I'd still wanna play places where there are like 400 people in there.

Matt: I remember reading a while back, I think it was Editors who had a really hit album at the time were playing a really small venue and I don't know if the gig was booked before the album was released, but respect to that!

Tom: We were talking about when Nine Inch Nails deliberately chose smaller venues and they were right back to basics and they came on stage with all the house lights still up, apparently the carried all their own gear around and that kind of thing, Trent decided to go right back to his early days and he doesn't forget and I think that's really admirable.

Adam: We're thinking of going back to carrying our own gear one day aren't we?

Air3: Matt, in regards to your solo material - how did this come about? In regard to your contributions to the band, is your solo stuff music that you felt was so different from Three Trapped Tigers that you required the solo project?

Matt: The first Evil Ex EP was recorded before the band formed and last year I bascially wanted to use it to practise mixing and I thought it was good enough to put into the public domain. It had kinda been swept under the carpet after quite a long time. We've all recorded albums that have never seen the light of day, I didn't want it to be something like that but I dunno man, it was before Three Trapped Tigers really existed in a bonified way, so there are some similarities there but there are some differences.

Adam: For all of us, there all a hell of a lot of different things we all do and get involved with and Matt's got like an encyclopaedic catalogue of different styles and atmospheres. It's definitely the same for all of us as well.

Tom: We've all got things we wanna get off our chest and this band is quite limiting actually in some ways if you think about it. So I think all three of us have a solo project that's waiting to get out, but Matt's got the ability and the material there. He's got the creative ability to do it and much as he's a producer-head so he'll sit in his room and be like 'Alright I'm gonna nail this' whereas I take two years and feel completely helpless.

Matt: I guess the album was kinda 50/50 between me and Tom which is probably why he wants to do solo shit as well! Sometimes we just don't wanna have to answer to anyone else.

Air3: Who are you all listening to at the moment?

Matt: I just discovered someone called Andy Stott, who's this guy from Manchester who makes pretty bloody dark, down tempo house music. Lots of down tempo stuff like Andy Stott, Actress - I always discover stuff years after it's happened like the Portishead album Third that kind of thing, I'm well behind.

Tom: I've been checking out Luke Abbott, Gold Panda, Baths.

Adam: I've just got into Pig Destroyer who are fucking amazing. I fucking love Pissed Jeans as well, they're wild.

Air3: What does 2012 hold for Three Trapped Tigers?

Tom: The Olympics.

Adam: Yup, we're all entering the Olympics.

Matt: We've nominated Betts for the torch bearer.

Tom: Definitely a new album.

Air3: Are you writing at the moment or concentrating on tour?

Tom: No, but it'll happen!

Adam: We're touring until about mid-November and then it's goes pretty quiet.

Tom: Basically we're gonna re-release the EPs as a single package, not sure how much we're supposed to say on this, but you never know what might happen. We might get offered a random tour which'd be quite fun so you never know. I'm quite keen to get on with the second album, I think the first album's done well and we've made a step up in terms of presence and gig size and I think we should build on that. We're not the kind of band who have the right to take two or three years between albums as much as we'd like to. But we've all got our own stuff we wanna do as well so it's a matter of juggling that and making a living would be nice as well.

Three Trapped Tigers' debut album Route One Or Die is available to buy and download now.

Interview: Tubelord

2011-09-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

Math-Rockers Tubelord are back with a much anticipated second album, 'Romance' (due for release on 10th October). The band return with a fresh line up for 2011 with the introduction of keyboards and synths from James Elliot Field and new bassist Tom Coulson-Smith joining singer and guitarist Joe Prendergast and drummer Dave Catmur. I spoke to the guys in Glasgow's most intimate venue - The Captain's Rest, about their embarking on a UK tour and the new album. Hearing tracks from Romance at the following show has got me counting the days until its release; the confidence and creativity of the four-piece is ever-rising.

Rory - How has 2011 been for Tubelord?

Joe - It's been busy, we toured Europe for the first time for about a month in February to March then a week of just re-acclimatising and then went into Jamie's studio and recorded the album.

Rory - How's the reception been in Europe compared to the UK, was there a noticeable difference?

Joe - In the UK there's less of an appreciation from UK audiences of just being a UK band.

Dave - Europe's like 'wow you came out here, thank you so much for coming out here!' And they treat you really well, like encores every night without question, even if you're shit and you play to like two people there'll still just be two guys in a room clapping until you come back out, it's so weird!

Jamie - That was weird, totally forgot about that!

Dave - Some of the venues are mental out there as well, so good.

Rory - Tell us a little something about what we can expect from the Romance album.

Joe - Somebody bought it yesterday and described it as being dancey. I think it's a lot easier to pigeonhole than before, I'd say that it's less like a band trying to be various genres and more like a band knowing which genre they would like to write.

Craig - What kind of dancey?

Tom - I think it's kinda funky.

Dave - Funky!

Tom - (Points to Jo) He plays some serious James Brown guitar, he's got some funky stuff going on! (Imitates funk guitar)

Craig - So for lovers basically?

Joe - For funky lovers, yeah.

Rory - That is kinda pigeonholing.

Dave - That's a good place to be though! Wanting to get down on the dancefloor.

Rory - How was working with Pink Mist as opposed to Hassle?

Joe - Huge difference, I was saying to Dave and Tom and Jamie yesterday how being with Pink Mist gives us more of an incentive to just carry on, even with just doing a gig, when you're playing you know you're playing for these people who've put it into production and you're way more like a family.

Dave - It's kinda weird how even with a small label like Hassle in the great scheme of labels, even when compared to Pink Mist can come across as like a faceless major. It's weird like Pink Mist is such a hands on thing, Jo's in the office in London all the time with them just sorting shit out and whatever we say we wanna do they're like 'yeah, cool let's do that'.

Craig - So you feel more support from Pink Mist?

Dave - Oh totally yeah and constructive stuff, like we're all helping each other out rather than just being another band on a roster.

Rory - Going back to this new dancey sound, was that a deliberate direction? Did you have a concept of the album before recording or was this what came naturally?

Joe - The songs were purposefully not similar to the first album, the first album lacked the songs that you could dance to for longer than 30 seconds so in that sense it was just like 'can we make a song a bit more dancey'. But the dancey thing totally wasn't the word I was thinking of.

Rory - Yeah I don't mean to blow it out of proportion, I'm not expecting a David Guetta album.

Dave - Yeah it's not Friendly Fires.

Tom - I think it's more you can dance to it rather than it's dancey.

Rory - Who are you all listening to at the moment?

Dave - Joe's gonna read out his encyclopaedia of American hip-hop bands now.

Joe - I've been listening to Captain Beefheart, Whitest Boy Alive, Tubelord, LCD Soundsystem, Digable Planets, a band called Beat Happening...

Jamie - They're wicked.

Dave - We always listen to a lot of LCD Soundsystem, also been listening to a lot of Kanye West - his last album was great. I just wanna hear that Otis song to be honest, in the mix it's the same level of rapping and this Otis song, it's like which is it? They don't really mix together too well.

Craig - Kanye West is a controversial character so is he a yay or a nay for Tubelord?

Joe - He's alright.

Rory - His heart's in the right place.

Tom - It just comes across badly.

Rory - You kicked off this tour fairly recently, have any shows particularly stood out for you so far or any you're looking forward to in the future?

Dave - Yeah yesterday, we played an all-dayer in Leeds for these guys called Dirty Otter and pretty much every show we've ever played in Leeds has been for them. Talking about the European vibe they're the most European feeling promoter in England like they really make you feel appreciated and they always make curries or kebabs or whatever for all the band, they're like 'well I love cooking and I love putting on music so why wouldn't I want bands to share in this?' And we always get the best shows cos we put in the best effort and that really reflects, so we got to play their first all-dayer as a celebration of everything they've been doing so far and it was just amazing. Then we all went and DJed afterwards in this bar and got told off for not playing enough pop music and then Jo put on Slipknot so I don't think we'll be DJing there again. I'd say half the shows on this tour so far have been wicked and we've played two so far.

Rory - What was wrong with the other one?

Dave - It was just the first show of tour.

Tom - And it wasn't bad it's just yesterday was wicked.

Dave - For us Leeds is almost more of a hometown show for us than our actual hometown, we've always had the best response.

Rory - And are there any coming up that you're particularly anticipating because you've had a good reception before?

Dave - Birmingham'll be cool and tonight'll be good, Glasgow is always a good laugh.

Rory - Do you notice a different reception in Scotland, have you played Scotland before?

Dave - Yeah we've played this venue before.

Joe - This is the third time we've played this venue and we played King Tut's Wah Wah Hut before.

Dave - That was wicked wasn't it? That was with And So I Watch You From Afar, that was a really good response.

Joe - That was a really, really good gig. It's still always really weird coming to Scotland because it is a different country and a country has it's own bands that they can just use for support, it's almost like you have to prove a right for the people who want to support you by going to the gig.

Craig - Do you feel more intimidated being here?

Joe - Yeah, it's taken 5 gigs and I still feel pretty intimidated!

Rory - Since the debut album, you've

introduced Jamie on keyboard to the band, how did this come about?

Joe - The bassist was playing a sampler which was going alright and then he left, so I think it was a case of the new songs have definitely got a lot more prominent keyboard as opposed to bass or guitar so we needed to get someone really good at that and Jamie produced everything we did apart from the album...and we didn't really like the sound of the album, so it just seemed to make sense to get him, the dude's incredible at making these sounds appear out of nowhere and he's a mate so it's just another friend in the band. Didn't know Tom though, Tom just showed up at Dave's and we gave him two tabs to learn and then we went through the entire album.

Rory - What can we expect from a Tubelord show?

Dave - What do you expect from our shows?

Rory - Energy. I saw you support This Town Needs Guns and supporting Future Of The Left.

Dave - That was a wicked show!

Joe - Was that the last time you saw us?

Rory - Yeah, quite a while ago now.

Dave - I think since then we've become more comfortable playing our songs, especially old songs as well we have a lot more fun playing them than I think we ever did playing them back then, so hopefully the same energy but more coherency.

Rory - What has 2012 got in store for Tubelord?

Joe - We're still sort of working that out right now. Just see what happens with this next record and maybe go back to Europe for less than 40 days and 40 nights.

Craig - What was your favourite country in Europe to play?

Joe - Do you mean the gig experience or the town?

Craig - Both!

Joe - Czech Republic was spellbinding, is that a good word to describe it?

Dave - I think that's about right, yeah it was.

Joe - The gig was sort of weird cos a bunch of Irish and English tourists came in halfway through and just ruined it for everyone.

Rory - Like the whole of Europe really.

Joe - We felt like we had to say 'we are so sorry for the English tourists'. But yeah, probably Guildford to be honest, that was stunning.

Craig - If Tubelord could have a radio, what would it's theme and name be?

Joe - Payback songs so when you die, the song that you would play as your casket is going into the flames sort of as a last joke, so maybe the show could be called 'The Last Joke'.

Craig - It's kinda morbid though.

Dave - Yeah but it's the funny side of morbid though, it's none of that pussy funeral shit. Dirty Dancing, that'd be a sick one to go into the flames to.

Joe - Or, 'life, oh life...'

Dave - That'd be amazing!

Craig - 'Baby, come back!'

Rory - As much as I hate to ask these questions, I thought you might give a good answer - if you could be in a supergroup with anyone who would it be?

Dave - That's such a bad question cos supergroups are awful, there isn't a good supergroup.

Tom - Yeah but they don't do it to be good, they do it to have a laugh.

Rory - They do it to cling onto fame.

Dave - Dave Grohl, the clown from Slipknot...

Joe - Dawn French, Cindi Lauper...

Rory - So we've got Dave Grohl, the clown from Slipknot, Dawn French, Cindi Lauper and you guys.

Dave - I don't think we'd need to be in it, we'd just dance.

Joe - Can you imagine what would come out of that?

Rory - What would Dawn French play out of interest? Screaming vocals?

Joe - I think it'd have to be trombone. And Dave Grohl isn't allowed to play guitar or drums or sing.

Tubelord's second album Romance is available 10th October.

Bestival 2011: Day 1

2011-09-16T05:38:00.000-07:00

Bestival - curated by Rob Da Bank's Sunday Best, has fast become one of the most respectable festivals in the country and (heads up for the cliché) is living up to it's name (ugh, sorry). 2011 has been an all-round poor year for festivals - Glastonbury's Michael Eavis controversially claimed he believes British festivals are dying out and will be no more within 5 years, with many other major festivals struggling with ticket sales and some not even selling out. Eavis' claim was dismissed by Festival Republic's Melvyn Benn, but it's undeniable that the turnout to festivals has been low this year. Benn is clearly somewhat in denial what with the Main Stage at Latitude being headlined by a tumbleweed this year.

As the last major UK festival of the year of the underwhelming, Bestival set the standard with a sublime line up and no expense spared in laying on the extravagant entertainment. This year's line up combined the freshest bands on the scene with blasts from the past to the fullest extent; why no other festival has booked The Village People before, I have no idea. Rob Da Bank's festival organisation contains something many other festivals lack - common sense. Bestival delivers what people want...not what it thinks people should want. People want the biggest names, tonnes of gimmicks, hidden surprises and fire in any form. Bestival had all of this and much more.

When I attended the festival in 2009, I certainly didn't appreciate the sheer overwhelming size of the festival. With a capacity of 80,000 - the same as that of Reading & Leeds, it was impossible to cover everything on site within the 3 days on the Isle of Wight, unlike the surprisingly intimate feel of the aforementioned. Musically, Bestival books artists that you never thought you'd see in your lifetime. A prime example of this kicked off the Main Stage on Friday morning - Brian Wilson, better known as leader and chief songwriter of The Beach Boys.

Once the sweet voiced man at the receiving end of groups of screaming female fans, Brian Wilson's growing mental problems on top of his past drug and overeating habits has left his voice significantly deteriorated. Seeing the man who was once so chic, handsome and cool sitting before me was nothing short of depressing. Contrary to his nature, Wilson was joined on stage by a band of young and energetic musicians - emphasising the memory of what he used to be. Unfortunately, this performance was more like a Beach Boys tribute act...and Wilson just happened to be there. He barely sang his own songs and when he did the words were slurred and completely lacking in motivation. However, when a classic Beach Boys song was played such as 'I Get Around', the unity and enjoyment of the crowds regardless reminded me to appreciate that I was watching a Beach Boy sing a Beach Boys song - and that's something few people can say.

On to the Big Top arena and next on the agenda was anonymous-no-more emerging DJ Aaron Jerome aka SBTRKT (pronounced subtract). To my horror this was not before the world's weirdest filler set performed by an African man and the two most embarrassing middle-aged white men I've ever seen. Going by the name of Middle Class Sound System and sporting top-to-toe denim complete with flares and geography teacher spectacles, the two white men stood on a table muttering phrases such as 'slave to the system' over a reggae backing track. Soon the two cryptically bizarre men started repeating the phrase 'I have a tiny penis', which as you can imagine heightened my already eager anticipation for SBTRKT to hurry the hell up.

Eventually the men disappeared to be freaks of nature elsewhere and were replaced by a far more talented couple of men, Aaron Jerome and singer Sampha. During the previous 'set' (if you can call it that), cardboard tribal masks were distributed among the ever-growing crowds in homage to Jerome's previous anonymity. To have looked down to a couple thousand people looking back at you wearing the mask you created must have been a pretty good feeling for Jerome. Playing a set plagued by technical difficulties didn't help the overall sound which fell flat and was out of time for a few of the songs. Roses Gabor walked on stage to loan her vocals to 'Pharaohs' in a puffed up golden outfit which unfortunately was more impressive than the performance. Probably the most anticipated track 'Wildfire' was little more than a pre-recording of the Drake remix, striking me as a bit of a short cut. An overall disappointing set despite a brilliant album - which can quite easily be put down to inexperience.

Immediately after came London post-dubstep duo Mount Kimbie. A no-pressure chilled out set went down well; the guy's minimalist set-up of a sound desk and a stripped down drum kit wasn't anything aesthetically spectacular, but tracks such as 'Maybes' and 'Taps' stood out as highlights of the performance. For me, the live version of Maybes exceeds the recorded one until one half the group Dominic Maker sings what on the EP is a glitchy female sound clip - a London geezer trying it out was a bit of an anticlimax after an ambient build.

Later that evening came Friday's highlight, not to

mention a personal festival highlight. Scotland's own Mogwai played explosive post-rock mainly from their latest album Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. Delivering a euphoric set of consummate drumming and epic guitar melodies building to an elated climax, it's no wonder the group are seen as kings of the post-rock genre hand in hand with Godspeed You! Black Emperor. With hypnotic video accompanying the blissful sounds, the set was as visually stunning as it was musically, leaving a ringing in my ears that seemingly made the set last for hours after it finished.

On leaving Mogwai I managed to catch clashing headliners Pendulum on the Main Stage. I'm generally impartial to the Australian six-piece; pretty samey standard drum n' bass but it does what it says on the tin. A bit of a downer of a set after the intense performance I'd just witnessed got boring quite quickly, there's only a certain amount of 'bass, snare, bass, snare, bass snare' the brain can handle. One thing the group don't lack is masses of energy, massively emphasised by the MC constantly peer-pressuring the crowd to put their hands up. The average set had a few redeeming factors including massive smoke jets and the world's most embarrassing dancing from audience members who seemed to think they were at a 90s rave and struck me as the epitome of awkward middle class people coming out of their shells for one night only.

Bestival is one of the few festivals that is so isolated it has no curfew, making the post-headliner nightlife all the richer. Setting the bar high was renowned German DJ Boys Noize who kept the onlookers awake with his technically brilliant early morning set. Maintaining a full tent until 4am certainly shows something about Alexander Ridha's musical abilities and energetic performance. Playing manipulated versions of tracks from the Oi Oi Oi album got the audience doing exactly what the track '& Down' told them to - Dance, Dance, Dance and welcomed in Saturday morning on a strong note.

Album Review - Jono McCleery 'There Is'

2011-09-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

This album had me from track 1. Jono McCleery strikes an excellent balance between vocal control and letting himself go to maintain the soulfulness. Picture the vocals of James Blake, but thicker, against the backdrop of Bonobo's earlier jazzy lo-fi albums (whom McCleery recently supported) and you've got a basic idea of the album. These are the obvious comparisons, but the London based solo artist brings an originality to the table. The manipulation of sound and electronic elements of the music are played down and subtle, resulting in an underlying haunting mood beneath a Patrick Watson come Alexi Murdoch style singer-songwriter approach.

A subtle blend of orchestral sweeps, whole-hearted vocals, Bonobo skittering drums and delicately finger-picked acoustic guitar is executed to perfection with no one factor ostracising another. There's something so straightforward about the music with the tweaks and attention to detail turning it into something very special. Although McCleery himself is relatively new to the scene, the album includes two collaborations from the well respected producer Fink and freak-folk veteran Vashti Bunyan. The former adds backing vocals to 'Stand Proud' and is what David Byrne was to the Arcade Fire collaboration in that neither really added much to the track. The female touch from Bunyan in 'Only' is more a more noticeable contribution resulting in a song sounding like a more hazy Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan track.

This consistently consummate album deserves much more attention and embodies the elements of some of the strongest musicians about with enough new stuff to catch your attention from the get-go.

Album Review - La Jovenc, Perverse or Polymorphous

2011-09-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

The way I feel about this album is the same way I feel about Nick Cave or V For Vendetta. These are all things that I just can't get into no matter how hard I try, yet at the back of my mind I'm perfectly aware that it's a probably a lapse in my judgement and everyone else is right. La Jovenc (real name Giovanni Dal Monte) is an avant-garde musician's musician - the Italian electronic producer has received huge praise from Barry Adamson, who composed the music for many David Lynch films (which only adds to the guilt of the music going over my head as I love all things Lynch).

My first impression upon listening to the album was a broken English Underworld meets Super Hans from Peep Show. As the album progresses other elements emerge; unusual, nonsensical lyrics and a discordant Burlesconi doing an impression of Tom Waits. What starts as an experimental beyond appreciation electronic album takes a U-Turn; 'Nobody's Baby' is like a cross between a Woody Allen film score and the infrequent occasion in which Tom from Tom and Jerry would break into a jazz song and start playing the double bass whilst crooning a female cat, before that bastard Jerry ruined everything.

There's a level of experimentation I can dig; but this goes further - which only leaves me feeling ignorant as if my music taste has low self-esteem. Removing the album from my iTunes won't keep me up at night, yet the niggly guilt remains as Dal Monte is clearly a very talented musician; the music is incredibly technical with obvious logic behind it, but the intelligence behind the music somewhat robs it of its freedom and soul and leaves an element of rigidity. The album feels a little forced - weird for the sake of weird which leaves the listener with a feeling of ignorance for not understanding, when in actuality there's not much to understand in the first place.

EP Review - Alex Winston, Velvet Elvis

2011-08-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

Whereas most singer-songwriters choose human relationships or perhaps the state of the world as their subject matter, Alex Winston's Velvet Elvis is apparently about just what the title suggests...her love for a plush Elvis toy. I guess it beats songs about 'getting on the floor' of which there are several billion. Mainstream chart hits are ripe with bullies trying to peer pressure people to dance who don't want to, whereas Winston's classically trained operatic vocals and kooky charm brings something refreshing to the pop world. It sounds like a pretty pretentious thing to write a song about, but as Winston puts it herself it the bouncy chorus 'You can't breathe, so you can't leave'. Who wouldn't want something to love that is incapable of walking out?

This track gets the infectious catchiness levels spot on; it'll get stuck in your head but the urge to scrub your brain with soap and water isn't present. The track builds up to an elated repetition of 'they're coming and coming and coming' - it's amazing how something so simple can be so feel-good. The brass instrumentation explodes into euphoria and is a prime example of why Winston's musical abilities don't halt at her super-controlled vocals.

The EP also includes one more track, the foot-stomping Arcade Fire/Decemberist mish-mash Fire Ant and King Charles' Remix of the title track. Not the real King Charles, as much as I'd love to hear that. But this remix suffices nicely, a gentle remix with not much added nor taken away, just shuffled about a bit and marginally more dancey. Alex Winston's Velvet Elvis album comes out September 12th and is well worth a listen if this and the Sister Wife EP (made popular by the excellent Star Slinger remix of the track of the same name) are anything to go by. A breath of fresh air in the often facepalming world of pop.

www.myspace.com/alexwinston

Album Review - Fionn Regan '100 Acres Of Sycamore'

2011-08-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

Throughout Irish singer-songwriter Fionn Regan's journey of musical discovery, each of his three albums have taken a different form as if he is getting a backlog of styles out of his system. This can certainly be said of his Dylan-esque second release The Shadow Of An Empire which split fans; most expecting more of Regan's finger-picked acoustic roots and instead received experimental, twangy, electric folk.

Expecting a continuation of this new found upbeat style, his third release 100 Acres Of Sycamore is actually more reminiscent of the debut - stripped back acoustic but not the same finger-pick-as-fast-as-is-humanly-possible style of The End Of History. Elements of Horse Feathers sneak their way in through the use of cello and violin which transforms the sound to a be slowcoustic, balladic and romantic. Up to a certain extent the strings can make the tracks sound quite cheesy in stark contrast to the growling lyrical style during Regan's middle album. Even if the lyrical content of the songs are not in fact love songs, the sound certainly exudes that impression. The End Of History, in my eyes, remains Regan's lyrical masterpiece and is what attracted me to his music in the first place.

Fionn Regan is an artist I can respect for his exploration into musical creation. He strikes me as a musician who is writing music that he wants to write and avoiding worrying too much about being judged on it. However, something I loved about the debut - which remains one of my all time favourite albums - was the breakneck finger-picking combined with some of the best and most infectious lyrics I've ever heard. With this being my default vision of Regan, 100 Acres Of Sycamore can come across as slightly dreary. But he remains in an experimental world of his own which is something that I can certainly appreciate and holds my curiosity for future releases.

New Music By Region - The Seventeenth Century, Glasgow

2011-08-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

Glasgow five-piece The Seventeenth Century have been described by reviewers as 'pure genius', 'utterly original' and 'a Hebridian take on The Beach Boys'. The name is one that is always floating about the Scottish scene but as many comments on the band's last.fm page question, where are all the listeners? With their second EP 'The Seventeenth Century Part II' being well received by the group's modest following, this avant-folk music deserves some exposure.

www.myspace.com/theseventeenthcentury

Latitude Festival 2011: Overview

2011-07-22T14:30:00.001-07:00

Latitude Festival 2011

Overview

And so we wave goodbye to Latitude Festival's sixth edition. I have been a dedicated fan of the festival since 2007, attending 5 out of 6 of the Beccles based arts fest. I have always considered the festival to be the highlight not only of my summer, but of my year. Previous years have seen acts such as Arcade Fire, Sigur Ros, Death Cab For Cutie and Snow Patrol grace its stages. It's been one of the fastest growing festivals in the UK and has a brilliant reputation. So why did this year's edition leave me feeling somewhat empty afterwards instead of the usual buzz I feel in hindsight of the festival?

As I said in the festival preview, this year's line up - particularly the headliners, were seen by many (judging by the official forums content) as a step too far in the wrong direction. Whereas Latitude was once seen as a niche arts festival with early headliners including Mogwai and Arcade Fire, the punters have become noticeably more mixed and not in a diverse sense. Many dedicated Latitude fans were disillusioned by the mainstream announcements of Florence and The Machine in 2010 and the final nail in the coffin in the form of Paulo Nutini this year. No one really knows exactly what kind of festival it is anymore. My theory is that those expecting a more alternative line up as in previous years have switched alliances since the line up announcements looked more reminiscent of a V or T in the Park bill and those expecting more of the latter as a result of Florence's appearance were equally disillusioned to see an unconventional act such as The National headlining, hence everyone is confused and no one buys tickets. The crowds have become obviously younger for a family festival, with many young teens making up the majority of the campsite. Whether Latitude is deliberately changing its demographic, I don't know - but that's certainly what's happening.

On far too many occasions, I found myself getting to the front and centre of an act I would consider to be hugely popular as little as 5 minutes before the set started. This was far from a gratifying feeling and on the contrary felt rather pathetic. It's a terrible sign if I find myself feeling sorry for an act because their audience simply isn't there. It results in a rather underwhelming feeling and can even affect an artist's motivation to put on a show, which is how I felt about Iron & Wine's Obelisk set. Latitude had slow ticket sales this year, but it sold out nevertheless. The ticket sales didn't however translate into punters, as almost everything I went to - including headliners - felt sparse and scattered.

Latitude isn't alone in its struggles this year. As Michael Eavis, founder of Glastonbury recently controversially said, large festivals in the UK are dying. I would have disagreed had I not seen it with my own eyes, but there seems to be an element of truth behind those words. I'm not saying that within 5 years all festivals will cease to exist, but times are changing and festivals need to adapt to accommodate that change. In this economic climate, many people consider themselves lucky to be able to afford one festival a year. I'm not sure what the answer is, but Latitude took a huge gamble in its booking this year, a gamble that ultimately didn't pay off. An act that immediately springs to mind was the annually anticipated Sunday lunchtime slot, this year given to Scala & Kolacny Brothers. Whereas this slot is usually reserved for the biggest names (Joanna Newsom, Thom Yorke, Tom Jones), the intention of the slot this year seemed to be to purposefully allow this group of Belgian choir girls more exposure. I caught the end of this set out of curiosity and this view was mirrored by the act themselves, with the band plugging their myspace at the end of their set...as if Tom Jones would have needed to do that. Envisioning a mere two years ago when Thom Yorke was playing to a packed out crowd (many of whom queued and ran to get a good spot which is always part of the festival fun) and comparing it to the scattering of indifferent middle-aged men in corduroy suits sitting on picnic rugs, it just didn't feel right.

Of course, the relentless rain and wind didn't help. In fact, it was the worst and most incessant weather imaginable for a festival that was already struggling. There were noticeably less after hours activities this year, not that many people were in the mood for it anyway as there weren't even campsite parties which was nothing short of eery. It can't be a good sign if I can get a peaceful night's sleep at a festival of 30,000 people. I'm not sure if the lack of post music entertainment had anything to do with the allegations that circulated last year, but it was a confusing move nonetheless. At a festival like Glastonbury or Reading, mud is expected, tolerated and in many cases wanted for a true festival experience. The mudfest of Latitude split people; I would often catch an earful of a middle-class mother complaining about getting her crocs muddy or something similar.

In terms of facilities, the infamous toilets improved tenfold and the positive elements of the festival remained unchanged. Little things that can otherwise be overseen on a good year would benefit from a change, in particular the massively uncomfortable and poorly organised Comedy Arena and the Film Arena being way too small. But in terms of music, there were a few artists acting as the anchor of the festival this year, with strong sets from My Morning Jacket, Eels, Gold Panda, Caribou and James Blake. There is a fine line between a diverse bill and an inconsistent one. As unfortunate as it is to say, Latitude 2011 displayed the latter.

I must point out that any negative comment is relative. I wouldn't have gone to the festival for 5 years in a row if I didn't think it was one of the best in the country. It's like being cruel to be kind, Latitude feels like a younger sibling that's started hanging with the wrong crowd now that its growing up and I as the older sibling feel partially responsible for its well-being. With any luck and common sense, the Latitude organisers will learn its lesson from the poor ticket sales and lower than usual turnout this year. Having just signed a contract for 15 years worth of Latitudes, I'm very interested to see which direction it takes in 2012 in order to preserve its well-earned reputation and ensure its continuation. Until next year!

Latitude Festival 2011: Friday - James Blake, The Lake Stage

2011-07-22T12:44:00.001-07:00

Sunday

James Blake, The Lake Stage

James Blake's self titled debut album has offered the world of music a sensational new take on song-writing. Drawing fans as prestigious as Paul Simon, the 21 year old recent graduate's special set on Sunday night was sure to be something remarkable.

My hopes of a memorable set were not dashed; the mesmorising music of Blake and his band consisting of a drummer and guitarist put me in a complete trance. He is undeniably an ex-music student as his songs displayed complex and intelligent time-signatures, live vocal manipulation and experimentation with breaking the norm of popular music. Playing the open air Lake Stage at night secured an unmatchable atmosphere, with long pauses within songs which in any other situation would be awkward, but on the contrary added to the hypnotising element of Blake's music.

The Lake Stage is the introducing stage curated by Huw Stephens, usually accommodating up and coming and unsigned acts and is the smallest venue at the festival. To see Blake play such an intimate setting made the gig feel all the more special. As stage headliners Eels, Suede and Crystal Fighters finished their sets, punters surrounded the small stage as far as the eye could see. Blake performed his incredibly well received cover of Feist's Limit To Your Love to the cheers of his fast-growing fan base.

Closing on a rethought version of his father James Litherland's song Where To Turn, or as Blake renamed it The Wilhelm Scream, Blake sent off Latitude Festival 2011 on a high note. It would be a travesty if he didn't win the Mercury, I can think of no artist more deserving of this year's award.

Latitude Festival 2011: Sunday - Eels, The Word Arena

2011-07-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

Sunday

Eels, The Word Arena

Having seen Eels a fortnight prior to Latitude at Main Square Festival, I was appropriately excited for the sublime set I knew was in store. It was a performance that converted me from a casual fan to a full on screaming teenage girl.

Mark Oliver Everett's life has been blighted by tragedy, much of which has been the influence behind his 13 albums. His lyrical black humour and rock n' roll style instrumentation translates well on stage but what makes E's performance really special is the emphasis on entertainment. The band is visually fantastic, with each member looking identical to E's new image of world's best beard, shades and suits, complete with a brass duo. E himself is not only a brilliant musician, but massively funny. Indeed, moreso than the vast majority of comedians booked for Latitude. Everett filled the gaps in songs with one-liners such as 'They love us!' and revealing that among Knuckles the drummer's favourite things on Earth happens to be 'your local sports team'. This line came shortly before Knuckles burst out in song; a song that was purely about himself.

Despite being inarguably the single coolest man on the planet, E comes across as very human through the honesty in his songs, revealing insecurity, jealousy and depression. This contributed to a sense of inclusion at the gig and added to E's all round likeableness.

Having been together since 1995, Eels attracted an array of fans of different ages, from the lifelong fans to those who heard him on the Shrek soundtrack. Performing songs spanning from the classic sing along Beautiful Freak album to the more recent Souljacker and El Hombre Lobo, the band played updated rock n' roll versions of well-known tracks such as My Beloved Monster and I Like Birds, allowing the favourites to be played but keeping it consistent with the moderised sound and image. The scripted pantomime of a performance showed a band that genuinely cared about entertainment and certainly delivered it. The lack of an encore left the crowds yearning for more, but what they received was far from dissatisfying.

Latitude Festival 2011: Sunday - Gold Panda, The Sunrise Arena

2011-07-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

Sunday

Gold Panda, The Sunrise Arena

Sunday evening and finally an arena completely packed out as it should be. The fans had coming flocking to see Derwin Panda, who with a name like that could only be a musician - better known as Gold Panda.

I, among everyone else there by the looks of things, found myself completely hypnotised by Panda's beguiling, swirling melodies and glitchy beats. I've always found the Sunrise Arena, despite being my least favourite venue geographically and in terms of layout, has the best sound of all the arenas. This perfectly accommodated Gold Panda's extended dreamlike electronic-glitch tracks, with the bass vibrating through the ground and crowds bodies making each of us feel like human mobile phones.

Watching Gold Panda tirelessly move from side to side of his table of gizmos was almost as mesmorising as the music itself, an unusual mix of chilled yet energetic music - which made dancing feel very peculiar with a combination of wanting to relax and go insane at the same time. Following Caribou's performance, strong DJ sets such as this is what Latitude was in desperate need of to revive the loss of motivation to party due to the rain and low turnout. Panda's performance was like an incredible massage on the brain. It was one of those gigs where you leave and you're not entirely sure where you've been for the past hour. The set, like My Morning Jacket, was a glimpse at what previous years have felt like and was undoubtedly a positive force for the soul of the festival.

Latitude Festival 2011: Saturday - Adam Ant, The Word Arena

2011-07-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

Saturday

Adam Ant, The Word Arena

Adam Ant is one of those artists that most people undoubtedly have heard of but struggle to think of a single song by them. I myself was unfamiliar with his works outside of Stand and Deliver prior to Latitude, but I figured that such a well known name would deliver a set worth watching. I was aware of Adam Ant's reputation for dressing up extravagantly, so I arrived at The Word Arena expecting a pretty flamboyant performance. But my hopes were dashed as Stuart Leslie Goddard walked on stage sporting a pirate costume and middle-aged-man-working-on-a-novel spectacles, which looked far from the Bowie-esque appearance he was once known for. He was certainly no Marc Almond in that department. It was an odd feeling to be disappointed that someone's costume wasn't pretty enough.

Contrary to the anticipation I was feeling of one of the most entertaining sets of the weekend, I actually found myself quite bored. The singer, if you can call him that - more of a disgruntled shouter, was adamant (see what I did there? Adamant?) in lifting his shirt to reveal a t-shirt with an image of his young self, which was not only irritatingly egotistical but also rather depressing considering his plainer appearance and visible ageing - especially when revealing his torso which was far less sexy than I'm sure it used to be.

The only thought spinning round my head was 'the 80s, I guess you had to be there'. I could not comprehend what was appealing about the unpredictable, messy structure of his songs that took 2 minutes to perform and sounded like they took the same amount of time to write. The songs sounded random in their formation to the extent that I was surprised he remembered how to perform them the same more than once. This style of 80s punk strikes me as being nothing more than an outlet for people who can't sing to be in a band.

On top of the sting of the London accent arrogantly entering my ears as if uninvited, like the annoying person in a group that has to shout the loudest to make sure his joke gets heard, Goddard's self-indulgent stage presence made him appear pretty unlikeable. Other than the odd obvious Adam Ant fan wearing the trademark tri-corner hat, I think it's safe to say a lot of people were unaware of many of his songs - which only made it more ironic that Goddard was acting like he was the number one star of the festival.

A once in a lifetime gig for some people, incredibly dull for others. I'd sum up this review with some terrible joke like 'he should be crushed like an ant', but that's a little harsh. It was just pretty bad.

Latitude Festival 2011: Saturday - The Cribs, Obelisk Arena

2011-07-22T09:53:00.001-07:00

Saturday

The Cribs, Obelisk Arena

Despite a gigantic fan base, I still see The Cribs as being a hugely underrated band - pigeonholed into the reputation of being a pretty standard and fairly indistinguishable indie band. But there's more to the Jarman brothers than meets the eye. The band are well respected by some of the top musicians - a prime example being Johnny Marr becoming a fourth member of the band. Marr was originally supposed to play with the band at Latitude, but unfortunately announced his resignation shortly before. In his place was David Jones of Nine Black Alps; not the same as seeing a Smiths member, but the extra guitar was key in producing as powerful a sound as the group did. The music hall of fame ties don't end there, as during the band's rendition of the epic Be Safe, Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo appeared in an unusual video on the big screens to provide the song's verses in the form of a poetic speech.

True to their blasé personalities, Ryan Jarman wore a pink wig throughout the set - making it all the more cool that he failed to mention it once. With incredibly satisfying Northern accents, the stage banter between songs only added to the entertainment of the band's mainly Southern audience. The hits, in particular Men's Needs and I'm a Realist were as well received as you would expect them to be, but the tracks that stood out for me were the lesser known ones that make the band as good as they are. Looking beyond the singles, you can discover quite a different band to what The Cribs are generally regarded as being.

Latitude Festival 2011: Saturday - My Morning Jacket, Obelisk Arena

2011-07-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday

My Morning Jacket, Obelisk Arena

It was an odd start to the festival with noticeably fewer punters than in previous years and a mutual feeling of misery throughout the site as the torrential rain in stark contrast to the blazing Friday heat took the vest wearing optimists by surprise.

But My Morning Jacket reminded me what Latitude was supposed to feel like and gave me the rush I'd felt in previous years. Getting front and centre with ease was strangely disappointing rather than gratifying, it felt like someone was throwing a party and no one had turned up. But what a party it was as the band walked on stage looking like a Lynard Skynard tribute act and delivered the most powerful set of the weekend. The timing of the performance couldn't have been better with their 2011 album Circuital freshly released.

I'm not the kind of person who really appreciates guitar shredding, head banging or knee sliding like your average lip pursing, devil's horn signalling Jack Black fan. But My Morning Jacket are possibly the only band I consider to be incredibly cool when doing these things with their unusual brand of folk combined with classic-rock. The band's lead guitarist delivered guitar solos worthy of the likes of J. Mascis, pouting all the while. The songs echoed over the ever-growing crowd of gawkers who gazed in awe at the confident performers.

Despite a considerable discography and a much respected musical career, My Morning Jacket are still viewed as a cult favourite with many people more familiar with the works of Jim James as part of supergroup Monsters Of Folk alongside Bright Eye's Conor Oberst and M. Ward. But the group were able to completely command the main stage and were quite clearly living the stereotypical rocker dream, rocking out and swirling their long hair to screaming fans, old and new.

Latitude Festival 2011: Friday - The National, Obelisk Arena

2011-07-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

Friday

The National, Obelisk Arena

The National were a headliner that no one really predicted, with no new material out and having already headlined The Word Arena with a sublime performance in 2010. This is far from a bad thing, The National are in my view one of the strongest and most expert bands on the scene.

This was the third time I'd seen The National and the second in quick succession. Having seen the band deliver a set of hits and rarities alongside members of Arcade Fire at Main Square Festival in France, my expectations were understandably high - especially with this set being a festival headliner. The crowds flocked in and the set went off to a great start, with the band clearly humbled to be headlining a festival that musicians often cite as their favourite to play.

However, a lack of surprises throughout the set left me feeling quite underwhelmed. The band mainly played songs from the 2010 High Violet album, one of my personal favourite albums of all time, but with the extensive touring following its release, the material felt a little exhausted. That being said, the performance of a fantastic brand new song showed a glimmer of optimism and excitement at the prospect of a new album. Nevertheless, there was nothing at all wrong with the actual performance of the material. My bias lies in the fact that this is the third time I've seen the band, to a first time viewer I'm sure the performance appeared as strong as it felt when I first saw them. That is, until the encore.

The band returned to stage to play a stripped back acoustic version of Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks. Front-man Matt Berninger stood at the front of the stage encouraging onlookers to sing along before descending into the crowds and emerging himself. To an audience of solely National fans, this would've been a strong finale. However, the band somewhat missed the point in that at a festival, the massive crowds aren't going to made up of 100% doting fans and rather a huge amount of people who are checking the band out for no other reason that they are a headliner of a festival they already happen to be at. Festivals are often about winning over new fans, so the sing along fell flat on its face with few people even mouthing the lyrics and ended the set on a slightly embarrassing and awkward note.

Regardless of all of this, The National are still one of my favourite bands and generally know how to give a powerful and memorable performance - it's like a dagger in my heart to write anything negative about them. The sneak preview of material to come gives suggests a positive future for the band and is something that would certainly benefit the live performance.

Latitude Festival 2011: Friday - Caribou, The Word Arena

2011-07-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

Friday

Caribou, The Word Arena

Electronica music is always bound to go down well at a festival; it's danceable, atmospheric and energetic - the perfect way to keep spirits high and leave the crowds buzzing. Few are better in this field than Canadian Daniel Victor Snaith, with many musical monikers and projects under his belt, but none more popular and with a larger discography than Caribou.

Snaith's set exuded professionalism; entertaining the packed Word Arena with synthesised tracks and complicated time-signatures causing awkward middle-class Latitude-goers (who were already cautiously coming out of their shells) to bop their heads all the more awkwardly, which only added to the entertainment value.

Instrument switches, clichéd though they may be, rarely fail to be a great stage gimmick. Snaith on multiple occasions picked up the drumsticks and played alongside the group's existing drummer, creating a consummate sound expected of a man who has been creating music for so long.

Something that the set delivered superbly was the ability to create a sense of unity in the crowds and a mutual agreement to 'dance like no one's watching'. The music Snaith makes is accessible and doesn't pigeon-hole a particular brand or age of person. Despite Caribou's main demographic being teenagers/young adults, there were countless amounts of toddlers on the shoulders of parents. On asking a woman how old her particularly young looking son was, the response of '3 weeks' was made all the more surprising by the fact that the new-born had more festival wristbands than me.

The energy and vibe of the band bounced to and fro the elated crowds, leaving the onlookers euphoric by the time Caribou favourite and set closer 'Sun' was played - an explosive finish to a much anticipated performance.

Latitude Festival 2011: Friday - Edwyn Collins, Obelisk Arena

2011-07-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

Friday

Edwyn Collins, Obelisk Arena

Edwyn Collins was an act that saved Latitude's soul and kept it true to its roots. His announcement was one that made sense on a Latitude bill, which cannot be said for many of the other acts on this year's puzzling line up.

It was hard not to feel sorry for Collins, once the sexy rocker front man of Glasweigan post-punk band Orange Juice now reduced to walking with a cane and slurred speech as a result of suffering multiple strokes in his lifetime. But this fact has not affected Collin's confidence, nor his performance. Despite his speech problems, the distinctive baritone Scottish shone through and didn't stop Collins doing what he does best.

Giving one of the most memorable shows of the weekend, Collins sung material spanning his entire career including tracks from his 2010 album Losing Sleep featuring an amiable duet with his terrified looking son of In Your Eyes. Throwing in some crowd-pleasing Orange Juice songs and finishing on the classic A Girl Like You ensured a hugely rare and enjoyable experience. Regardless of the tragedy that has stood in his way throughout his life, Collins has delivered consistently good material throughout his career and is one of the few classic artists that doesn't fill and audience full of dread when they insist on playing their new tracks.

Pulling in the middle-aged nostalgists and young fans alike, Edwyn Collins provided a perfect family festival atmosphere to kick off the weekend on a strong note, before the torrential rain came along to dampen everyone's spirits...and clothes.

New Music By Region - Beerjacket, Glasgow

2011-07-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

Scottish folk/singer-songwriter Peter Kelly, better known by his pseudonym Beerjacket, has been hailed by The National's Matt Berninger as 'The new Elliot Smith' and as 'F***ing great' by Feist. 6 albums later and support slots with Guillemots, The Gutter Twins and Bat For Lashes to name but a few, people are finally paying the sweet-voiced Kelly some much deserved attention - drawing unavoidable likenesses to Bright Eyes, Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright.

www.myspace.com/beerjacket

Interview - Sea of Bees

2011-07-20T04:14:00.000-07:00

Sea of Bees is the musical project of Sacramento based singer-songwriter Julie Ann Bee, described as 'the female Sparklehorse'. After support slots with The Smoke Fairies and John Grant, she has embarked on a European tour promoting her critically acclaimed debut album Songs For The Ravens which has received praise from top journalists and musicians including Grandaddy's Jason Lytle. I spoke to Jules at her Norwich Arts Centre show about the impact this attention has had on her.

Songs For The Ravens is being incredibly well received everywhere since its release, how does that feel?

I feel really good about it, it’s really unexpected. I think I still don’t get it though, I just kinda do my thing, play my music...

Did its popularity take you by surprise at all?

Yeah, I didn’t expect anything. It was just like I was making an album because I always wanted to, never knew how to, didn’t know how to play music, never was taught so it was kinda like you wouldn’t think by not knowing how to do these certain things by reaching a goal you thought was impossible I guess.

How long was the album in the pipeline before you decided to record?

When I was 16 I wanted to record stuff but never had the fans. But I met John (Bacciagaluppi - producer) it was just kinda like a random thing, my friend were recording in his studio and I was out in the hallway, they had a skate ramp and stuff and I was hanging out there playing the guitar and he walked by and he was like ‘you know it’d be cool if we go out together, maybe you could record a few songs’ so I was like ‘alright!’. I’d never been in a legit studio before and his was legit, everyone’s been in there! He was like ‘have you got songs?’, I’m like ‘yeah I got songs’ but really I had no songs, I had no idea. But that’s how I got into the studio stuff.

Did you know what shape the album was going to take prior to recording and how much did John’s input alter the finished result compared to your original vision (if at all)?

The next album I know exactly what I wanna do. You know Nigel (Godrich) who did Beck? He is a big inspiring person. I kinda want that sparkle to it. John has always been into that kinda stuff so he just kinda puts his touch on it and I think the next album’s just gonna be really colourful and filtery and very smooth cos with the Sea Change album (by Beck), you listen to it and you can hear every sparkle and feeling that he’s going through. I have a lot to put in this next album, it’s not just recording-wise, it’s more just a whole story, a new chapter. I think I’m gonna call it Orange Farbe, it’s like ‘the colour orange’ in German.

Are you looking to take a particularly drastic new direction in the sound of the second album or will it be the same with subtlties altered?

I think it’s gonna be, not shooting for different, but I’m influenced a lot by Neil Young, Sparklehorse, Beck and Flaming Lips, just that different worldly sound. I think it’s going in that direction. The last song that we recorded for the next album is kinda like Neil Young/Brain Eno, just strange texture but the story is still there though, the Sea of Bees touch is definitely on it.

You recently toured with John Grant, what was it like to support him?

It was great, I think we’re both like aliens. He’s so sweet and we meshed well. I’d love to just go bother him like ‘John, John!’ and he’d be like ‘Hi Jules, I’m just resting my voice right now’. He’d be all sweet to me and encourage me a lot. We would meet up at the venues and hang out a bit and then do our thing and call it a night. It wasn’t like a party every night which is actually what I needed cos the tour with The Smoke Fairies was fun but every night we’d go out and just be raging til like 3 in the morning and having hotel parties and I’m like ‘I need a break’. So he was perfect.

How are you finding the reception of your material in the UK compared to back home? Is there a noticable difference?

Well before yeah, when I came at the beginning of the year it was really different because no one’s ever heard of me. So touring with The Smoke Fairies, we were playing in front of hundreds of people and I was like ‘woah!’ That was just a different feel. Then all of a sudden Heavenly (Records) throws together this Heavenly tour and still I wasn’t knowing there’d be quite a few people there, I was received really well. In America, before this year there wouldn’t be that many people but now if the UK puts a stamp on something, America’s like ‘we’re into you, we’re gonna fucking show up if the UK likes you’. So this last tour I did with Stornoway, loads of people would come out. It was cool, it felt nice. I wasn’t angry like ‘you didn’t care about me before!’ but it’s been really good, just taking it as it comes.

You’re playing Latitude Festival this weekend, how does playing festivals compare to playing your own show?

It’s cool, it’s like a big gathering of all your kindred. You get your bands that you admire, and you get your fans and your friends. I like it, it’s a big bowl of colour. When you’re by yourself you go with it, I get a little intimidated cos there’s people and I get socially awkward, I think everyone does.

Is there more pressure on one rather than the other, like at a festival you’re there to win over fans whereas at your own gig they come with certain expectations of the music because they’ve heard of you before?

Yeah it’s just so intimate but when there’s other bands it’s more like ‘oh I’m gonna go see blah blah blah’, it’s not a distraction but there’s not one focus.

Your voice is so distinctive, which vocalists do you admire?

Oh goodness! I started out with Jeremy Enigk from the Sunny Day Real Estate when I was younger, about 18. Then vocally I started listening to Coldplay when I was 18 too and try to hit the low notes and then I really got into Conor Oberst because of his honesty and frailty. I never really listened to Joanna Newsom or any of those people that people compare me to. I can see it though, it’s just really strange. Bjork, I never listened to her but it’s a compliment. But now I’m listening to them and I admire a lot of vocalists. Oh, I love Dirty Projectors, their vocals are so abstract.

What is it about Jeremy Enigk that you like so much?

He’s passionate and there’s a rage in his voice but from what I’ve seen he’s the sweetest person. So there’s just this deep darkness to him and I’m not about darkness it’s just there’s something really mysterious about his voice, like the Frog Queen solo album, it’s raw and his voice just hits these ranges like David Bowie, it goes up and down and there’s no solid dynamics, it’s really cool.

Have any gigs on your European tour stood out for you?

Yeah, Birmingham was great, the people were really sweet and inviting. I really enjoyed that, the sound was great and I felt really comfortable to be there. Glastonbury was a kick, just the sound, the people. The London rooftops shows are really cool, they’re like exclusive but really well done. Anika from Bella Union put those together, she was really good with that. They’re really fancy, really nice gardens around, really nice beers. There’s more, there are just so many but those are the few that stick out in my mind.

How much time do you spend writing a song?

It depends, even right now I’m writing this song and usually I’ll get a melody in about a day, like really fast but then it’ll take me a while to think of what I want to talk about or sing about. So I guess maybe a week or so. There’s about a good four solid songs that we’re working on right now.

Are you concentrating your energy into songwriting or touring mainly?

Right now the tour is really important, as soon as I got home I had two weeks before I went back out so the time was never really there so I was like ‘John let’s just lay down this track really quick’ and I’ll add some stuff on it and then fuck it we’ll move on so anytime I had I’d just go in the studio and start working on stuff. Heavenly was asking if I had some material and I said yeah and we were hoping to get it done by December so we can put it out next year. I don’t want to wait three years to have another album out, I want it while it’s fresh, put it down like a journal.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

I love Conor Oberst, it’s funny I was actually in LA visiting friends and I looked on the table, his fucking mail was there and I’m like ‘I’m at Conor Oberst’s house oh my god I’m gonna pee in my pants!’ He’s a big hero of mine because of his honesty and he’s about the rock and roll but he’s more about the experience in life and putting them out there on tracks and he does it in a really bitchin’ way. He knows it’s all truth what he’s saying, maybe some of it bullshit...I love him though, I really do.

Have you always been as confident a performer as you are today?

I think I try really hard, I remember when I was younger I’d hold the guitar but I didn’t know how to play it and I’d stand in front of the mirror, I think everyone has those times and I was just dancing like ‘How do they dance with this thing? How do they rock out?’ and my mum comes in and I was like ‘Mum close the door!’ This was maybe when I was about 16 or something but I’ve always tried, but I think it’s easy now. I feel a bit comfortable, you just have to emerse yourself in it and then you just go with everything. I think that’s when the magic happens, when you close your eyes and you’re just in it and it comes off as confident but really what you’re just kinda doing what’s right to you.

What are your plans for the future?

I actually have a good vision of it. I’m signed with Heavenly for another 3 albums so I just wanna work solid on those each year and after that I wanna just keep going with it, keep a solid balance to it. It’s weird like, it’s not a career to me it’s just naturally what feels good to me. It definitely is going well, my future is just staying focused, doing the music, living, doing the best I can I guess.

Sea of Bees debut album Songs For The Ravens is available to buy or download now

www.seaofbees.com

New Music By Region - What The Blood Revealed, Ayrshire

2011-07-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

What The Blood Revealed is a post-metal/rock band from the burgh of Ayrshire in Scotland. The band has big boots to fill after Glasweigan post-rock heroes Mogwai have become known as 'the' Scottish post-rock band, but with two EPs and an upcoming LP of beautiful explosive sound under their belts, the group are rapidly making themselves known within the genre.

www.myspace.com/wtbr

New Music By Region - Ben Butler And Mousepad, Glasgow

2011-06-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

Ben Butler And Mousepad is Glasgow based Joe Howe's latest project. His better known musical endeavours Germlin and Gay Against You provide for the niche genre of glitch 8-bit, but BB&MP shows Howe taking a step back from a more aggressive and extreme angle to a more chillwave inspired approach and lets his groove shine through with his EP release Infinite Capacity. Howe's video game sound has attracted the attention of an array of BBC DJs and several bands including Deerhoof, who BB&MP supported on their US tour

http://bbandmp.tumblr.com/

Latitude Festival 2011: Preview

2011-06-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Latitude Festival returns for it's sixth edition on the coast of Southwold and is, as ever, emphasising it's slogan 'it's more than just a music festival', with an excellent line up of actors and performers, poets, musicians and comedians. Headlining the prestigious Suffolk festival performing on the open air, stadium sized Obelisk Arena are Brooklyn alt-rockers The National, upbeat chart botherer Paulo Nutini and the forgotten princes of dad-rock, Suede.

The National will return to Latitude after a packed out and spellbinding performance in 2010 headlining the second largest venue, The Word Arena. Not the most obvious choice for a festival headliner this year with no new material out -especially after having played last year, but far from a disappointing one. The National are bound to put on a fantastic stage show and the size of the Obelisk Arena is far more suited to their big sound, professionalism and ever-growing fan base. Perfect festival music, the band will welcome in the start of the festival on a strong note for the Friday evening with sing-along vocals and hypnotising instrumentation.

Paulo Nutini, who will headline Saturday night, didn't prove such a popular choice with Latitude regulars. Comparing him with headliners of previous years such as Arcade Fire, Sigur Ros and Belle & Sebastian, Paulo Nutini's brand of happy-go-lucky mainstream pop is bound to be a disappointing announcement for an alternative festival. It's a confusing step on Latitude's behalf as through acts such as Florence & The Machine in 2010 and now Nutini in 2011, the festival appears to be taking a more mainstream direction as it increases in popularity and capacity after generally being viewed as an outlet for more alternative bands. I don't doubt Nutini will pull the crowds in, I am sceptical however as to whether these crowds can appreciate the full diversity of acts Latitude has to offer. This was perhaps a move to emphasise the other aspects of the festival, or perhaps a lack in judgement on Festival Republic's part. Either way, those predicting R.E.M, Bjork or Paul Simon will be sorely disappointed. Paulo Nutini's harmless style is unlikely to make an impact in Latitude's history books and Nutini should perhaps be left for festivals such as V where he belongs.

The decision to book Suede as Sunday night headliners was another unusual move, as fans of the London five-piece are pigeon-holed into a rather specific brand of person; an older generation with quite an acquired taste. Latitude prides itself in being a family festival, however Suede's alt/glam-rock is reminiscent of something you might find on a 'Dad Rocks!' CD - the perfect gift for Father's Day. A Sunday night closer is an important choice for any festival and to choose a band that in stark contrast to the mainstream pleaser Paulo Nutini, frankly not many people have even heard of doesn't strike me as an explosive finale. As far as headliners go, I personally have found myself getting more disappointed with each passing year, from a hit every night in earlier years to being lucky if I find one out of three attractive.

The Sunday lunchtime special act is always a hugely anticipated slot. In previous years acts to play the special guest noon set have been Joanna Newsom, Thom Yorke and most recently Tom Jones - some big names setting the bar high. Latitude even launched a competition this year in which whoever correctly guessed the name of the 2011 act to fill this prestigious slot would win tickets to see them live in concert before the festival. This hype had high-hoped fans pitching names such as Beck, Fleet Foxes, Loudon Wainwright III and PJ Harvey, to name a few. When the announcement came for the generally unknown Scala & Kolacny Brothers, a Belgian all girls cover choir conducted by the siblings, I think I speak for many when I say that this was a hugely disenchanting selection - especially after the hype and aforementioned past acts. The reputation of this slot suggests it's usually reserved for big names, so Latitude threw a real curve ball with this bizarre booking. The girls sing choir covers of music from popular culture such as Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit and Radiohead's Creep. This begs the question, if Latitude goers were given the opportunity to see Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke perform in 2009, why would they want to see a bunch of unknown Belgian choir girls sing his worst song? They're like the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain except refuse to admit they're a tongue-in-cheek comedy act. I don't envy whoever won this competition expecting Bob Dylan and instead being treated to a second helping of YouTube novelty averageness, I think I'd rather lie in that Sunday.

However, Latitude redeems itself with acts further down the bill from all arenas, as it always does. My Morning Jacket's psychedelic rock will support Nutini on Saturday night; the Kentucky band will no doubt be performing tracks from their excellent new album Circuital. Following the release of much anticipated album The People's Key, Bright Eyes is a name that has been a long time coming for Latitude. Conor Oberst's accessible and popular brand of folk music will no doubt pull in the crowds after his limited sell out 2011 tour. Iron & Wine's latest album Kiss Each Other Clean has put him in a league of his own. Having been fortunate enough to see one of Sam Beam's subsequent performances earlier this year accompanied by a sublime band, I can safely say that this will be one of the highlights of the weekend. Ex-frontman of Scottish post-punk band Orange Juice - Edwyn Collins, best known for the track A Girl Like You, is a perfect addition for the family festival and a rare pleasure.

On to The Word Arena, the second from largest and often home of some of Latitude's finest performances. Headlining this year and competing for crowds with the Obelisk are indie sensations Bombay Bicycle Club, Oxford rockers Foals and the sublime experimental singer-songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, more commonly known as Eels. Each band provides a welcome alternative to the main stage headliners and I'm serious when I say that Suede have a difficult slot clashing with Eels who I can imagine will be quite the crowd pleaser with his rare performance.

Acts also playing The Word Arena across the weekend include up and coming Irish singer-songwriter James Vincent McMorrow, post-punk heroes Echo & The Bunnymen, New Zealand pop sensations The Naked & Famous and many more.

The Lake Stage is a great place to see some great new acts play an to an intimate sized audience before they erupt into fame. Previous acts to have played here include Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Blood Red Shoes and Bombay Bicycle Club. An act that promises to be a very special inclusion on the stage this year is young Londoner James Blake, whose unique blend of dubstep and dreamwave has been complimented by Paul Simon himself.

Also playing across the music arenas over the weekend are: Stand and Deliver! - Adam Ant, Gold Panda, Jenny and Johnny, Lykke Li, The Leisure Society, They Might Be Giants (life is unfair), KT Tunstall, Crystal Fighters and many more.

More than just a music festival, ticket-holders can visit the ever popular Comedy Arena for sets from Omid Djalili, Mark Watson and Alan Carr, the Film Arena for a Q&A with Voldemort himself - Ralph Fiennes, the Poetry Tent for readings from Simon Armitage or the Theatre Tent for performances from brilliant groups such as Propellor, to name but a few acts. The Cabaret Theatre, Waterfront Stage and Literary Tent provide further entertainment outlets throughout the weekend with DJ sets in the woods for night time partying.

Latitude 2011 will take place in Henham Park, Suffolk on 14th - 17th July. Tickets are available at www.latitudefestival.com.

New Music By Region - RM Hubbert, Glasgow

2011-06-16T03:16:00.000-07:00

Glasweigan flamenco guitarist RM Hubbert is fast gaining some well deserved recognition, not only in Scotland but in the whole of Europe as a result of supporting post-rockers Mogwai on their current tour and also having supported Godspeed You! Black Emperor last winter. Hubbert himself started out in post-rock and is the ex-guitarist for El Hombre Trajeado, but his debut album First & Last takes a different direction as he experiments with instrumental acoustic music. His upcoming second album 'will be made up of a mix of solo guitar pieces and collaborations with some of my favourite musicians'; Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos being one of them. A brilliantly modest musician, Hubbert will perform a short set in your own home for the price of a cooked meal. Listening to this album will make you realise just how good value that is.

www.myspace.com/rmhbbert

Interview - The Naked & Famous

2011-03-05T07:08:00.000-08:00

New Zealanders The Naked & Famous are currently touring the U.K for the first time with tracks from their debut album 'Passive Me, Aggressive You'. I spoke to bassist David Beadle before their show at the O2 ABC2 in Glasgow about their sudden international success.

2010 must have been an exciting year for The Naked & Famous; you were featured as the lead band in NME’s Radar section and The Fly’s Ones To Watch pages, The Guardian’s New Band of The Day column and you were shortlisted for the BBC Sound of 2011 poll. What was going through your head when you found out about these things?

David Beadle - In New Zealand there’s no real reference point for those kinds of things so to comprehend the gravity of it is really...you can’t. When you hear about it, there’s no initial hit like ‘oh fuck’ it’s just like ‘what is this?’ and then you kind of go out and find out about it so it’s not until we come over here and someone explains it to us that it all sort of starts to make sense but the Sound of 2011 thing was incredibly flattering when you see what it’s all about and then look at the artists next to it, especially previous artists, it’s real flattering.

What have you got planned for 2011 following these successes?

DB - So far just touring and I guess promoting. We’ve got a bunch of dates lined up here in the UK and South by Southwest. We’re coming back here to do some of Europe and touring with Foals through North America which’ll be awesome.

On the subject of support acts, how did you feel about Nine Inch Nails when you were asked to support them? I’ve heard they were quite an influence to the band in the first place.

DB - Yeah we’re all massive, massive Nine Inch Nails fans and Tom and Aaron who produced the record, that’s initially what they bonded over so they’d talk about Nine Inch Nails and the way they produce music and the way they have the band set up and that was a big expression for them.

This is your first tour in the UK, how are the shows being received so far? Are there any noticeable difference to playing in New Zealand?

DB - Yeah they’ve all been really awesome, we’ve done Heaven in London, Sheffield and Nottingham so far, they’ve all been received really well. I think there’s obvious cultural differences, in New Zealand everyone seems to be really reserved and quite quiet and over here people seem a little more enthusiastic. We found in Australia everyone was excited all the time and over here it’s similar as well, the reaction in London was super-excited, maybe more compared to Nottingham and Sheffield so I guess it depends on where you’re from.

What do you think it was that gave you your ‘big break’ and propelled you into popularity?

DB - Young Blood, we released that it May and that went up on Youtube and that kinda stuff but it sort of grew it’s own legs and was picked up by blogs, it’s just the nature of the internet these days it’s easy to pick up on that kind of stuff. So yeah, the release of Young Blood is what I guess propelled us to the other side of the world. It’s amazing to have your music in a different country.

Does that bring a lot of pressure with it as well?

DB - I don’t know, like I was saying before it’s hard to comprehend so I haven’t been hit by it, I've just been fucking real excited to be in these new places!

Your sound is very distinctive and I think that one of the factors in your popularity is that you’re not like anything else around. How has your sound evolved since forming?

DB - When we formed it was a four-piece band. Aaron, the keyboard player, he was initially doing sound at the front of house, but he was involved in the recording process at the time so around 2009 Jesse the drummer and myself joined, Aaron came out from front of house to being on stage so there was a fifth member which meant that the sound could change from a four-piece band to something that could be a lot bigger. So, a lot of the electronic production changed cos Aaron’s influenced by a lot of the electronic side of things, he’s into a lot of house and Chemical Brothers and all that, techno and stuff like that. So, the sound evolved I guess from being a four-piece to a five-piece, I think it brought a lot more layers and thickness to the music.

Do you enjoy playing big belters which is what you’re more widely known for from your singles of softer songs that also feature on the album?

DB - Yeah I mean, when people hear a single they go wild but I guess for us it just changes constantly, it’s awesome to play the big exciting songs and then the songs like Jilted Love which is really slow and moody and is one of my favourite, favourite songs to play live but we don’t really get the chance to do it that often.

Which bands do you enjoy listening to and how do they influence your sound?

DB - I mentioned earlier Nine Inch Nails, we’re all massive fans of them and Tom and Aaron on the production side of things, it’s a huge influence to that but we’re all big fans of 90s alternative rock as a genre. So in terms of influence we take a lot from that side of things, not maybe from specific artists but you can find certain songs from various artists and pinpoint a certain drum pattern or a bass line or the way a guitar sounds so there’s a huge, huge influence from a great variety of music.

I read that your name comes from a Tricky song, did his downtempo/hypnotic style factor at all in the inspiration behind tracks like ‘Frayed’?

DB - The end part of Frayed initially didn’t have that and then it came back from Tom and Elisa while we were still in the studio recording a massive end part but I don’t know, like I said it’s hard to pinpoint the influence. But yeah, that’s awesome! We listen to a lot of XX so you can hear the vocal harmonies going on there which is an influence as well.

Are you fully concentrating on the tour currently or is there more song-writing in the works?

DB - The nature of the music itself, like a lot of the demos that Tom and Elisa write are initially written in a bedroom on their laptops so on the way from Nottingham to here Tom was sitting on his laptop and writing a new demo and Aaron and I today in our hotel room were trying to reproduce this stupid trance song so it’s always easy to just open up a laptop and write something new.

www.myspace.com/thenakedandfamous

Album Review - Queens of The Stone Age 'Queens Of The Stone Age' 2011 Reissue

2011-03-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

On 7th March Queens of the Stone Age re-released their eponymous debut with three B-Sides. The generally unheard of debut has always been my personal favourite, it’s raw sounds perfectly encapsulated the grungey, alt-rock era with the driving distorted sound that would later become what QOTSA’s sound is now associated with. One of the elements I particularly like about the original 1998 release is the dirtier and (for want of a better word) ‘tinny’ sound of the recording; factors which add to the raw sound, giving the impression of four laid back guys making a rock record. The new, cleaner, remastered sound of the 2011 re-issue, although subtle, does slightly retract from the sound of the original that makes it what it is. People new to the album will nevertheless not be disappointed with the quality of the songs themselves. From this album you can see the developing sound of the band and how although taking a new direction with each following album, they have always stayed true to their roots. As a lesser known album in the band’s discography, it’s great that the re-release is exposing what could be seen as some of the Queen’s strongest work to those who have yet to listen. Fans of Nick Oliveri can see this re-issue as his return from the dead with his instantly recognisable heavy riff bass - particularly in album highlight ‘Mexicola’. Tracks like ‘You Can’t Quit Me Baby’ with an ever-rising tempo and psychedelic feel to a screaming guitar riff can lend credence to the view that QOTSA are a stoner-rock group, despite the tag being dismissed by the band themselves. Despite being highly distorted and a generally heavy album, it still manages to exert a laid back, chilled feel to it - with only a few future Queens songs managing to achieve such a relaxing effect, ‘In The Fade’ and ‘You’ve Got A Killer Scene There Man’ spring to mind.

The B-Sides are interspersed throughout the album instead of being added to the end, as if they were meant to be there all along. That doesn’t necessarily mean it blends unseemingly, in fact first B-Side ‘The Bronze’ despite being a great track sticks out like a sore thumb on this album. It’s energy breaks the aforementioned chill feel, with Homme’s vocals turning urgent and several screeching guitar solos. Whereas I feel the original is a concept album that can be listened to from start to finish as an experience, this bonus track feels a little misplaced. Perhaps this is simply because I’m so used to the album as it originally was, a new listener may not necessarily feel the same. It might not have been such a wise move to spread the new tracks around as it disrupts the original ordering which blends well from track to track. Second bonus track 'These Aren't The Droids You're looking For' however is more inconspicuous. A progressive, dischordant piece with a lazy tempo is reminiscent of existing track ‘Hispanic Impressions’, one of the strongest aspects of the album. Final bonus track and penultimate track of the album 'Spiders and Vinegaroons' again doesn’t quite feel like it belongs. A smooth, steady instrumental track that progressively becomes more erratic - like 'The Bronze' is a great track, but was definitely a B-Side for a reason.

My rating for this album is based more on the original, so if you can get your hands on a copy of that I’d recommend it over the re-release. To mark the re-release of this album, Queens of the Stone Age will be touring the material in the UK this May.

www.myspace.com/queensofthestoneage

Album Review - The Decemberists 'The King Is Dead'

2011-01-16T08:36:00.000-08:00

Listening to albums like this can make you a little peeved in realising that the dreaded Mumford and Sons have undeservingly wrenched the credit for introducing accessible folk/country music to a more mainstream audience from more worthy bands such as The Decemberists. Maybe when the former learn a forth note on that damned banjo they can consider competing for that title.

The Decemberists have returned with their 6th LP titled in a seeming reference to The Smiths, ‘The King Is Dead’; 10 tracks of twangy Americana from the increasingly ambitious 5 piece. This is the Portland band's third record released on the label Capitol Records. In true country spirit the album was in fact recorded in a remote barn and features guest vocalist country heroine Gillian Welch and R.E.M’s Peter Buck can be heard strumming on three tracks. Harmonica reminiscent of Neil Young makes several most welcome appearances throughout the album and the stripped down record (in relative terms) is The Decemberists most impressive so far. The plucked and melodic ‘January Hymn’ shows the R.E.M influence whilst the Seth Lakeman-esque ‘Rox in a Box’ is an upbeat, foot-stomping ballad rich with breakneck fiddles and palpitating accordion. The album rather than tipping a hat to its influences rather emits a nostalgic feel as a full-blown roots country record.

The band has a clear and identifiable concept and delivers its songs with purpose and certainty and are so highly regard as a result of their ability to challenge themselves and keep the listeners on their toes in an avoidance of being typecast. It's impressively consistent considering the group's ambition and its quiet confidence speaks volumes for the band's bright future. An understated and highly enjoyable album, The Decemberists are one of the few bands able to keep country alive in popular culture.

www.myspace.com/thedecemberists

Single Review - Belle and Sebastian 'I Want The World To Stop'

2011-01-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

It’s always a huge relief when a band as long-running and prestegious as Belle and Sebastian proves they haven’t lost their touch. The band re-established themselves last year with a brilliant and flambuoyant performance headlining Latitude Festival to kick of their tour. The second single of their 8th LP ‘I Want The World To Stop’ shows the confidence and maturity displayed throughout the whole album and indeed their whole musical careers, as you would expect from such a vivacious and dynamic group. It’s standard Belle & Sebastian: upbeat disco-pop with undertones of the band’s versatile experimentation showing elements of electronic and orchestral pop.

It’s undeniably B&S; a bouncy, catchy and fun indie track so it's unlikely to disappoint fans. I wouldn’t personally deem it a new classic, but it certainly shows promise that the band haven’t peaked yet.

www.myspace.com/thebandbelleandsebastian

The Best Of 2010

2010-12-26T10:47:00.001-08:00

Albums:

John Grant "Queen Of Denmark"

After struggling to get into his music, I decided to give ex-Czars frontman John Grant's debut solo album another chance, having read a moving article on his struggle with sexuality and drugs in The Guardian. I knew the lyrics were coming from somewhere real this time and this sombre and poignant album is a beautiful portrait of the difficulties in Grant's life. The sometimes blunt and unusual lyrics used perfectly sum up the angst and mixes of emotion each intellect feels, one of my favourite's being "I wish I had no self-awareness like the guys I know, float right through their lives without a thought". My relationship with the music of Tim Buckley was all thanks to The Czar's cover of 'Song To The Siren' and Grant's album, produced by the excellent band Midlake, is lyrically worthy of Buckley himself - undoubtedly a favourite discovery of the year.

Yeasayer "Odd Blood"

Yeasayer's psychedelic brand of indie rock puts them in a league of their own. This album is hit after hit after hit of experimental yet catchy-pop songs that no other band can imitate. Their second album, "Odd Blood" is slightly less trippy than the debut "All Hour Symbols" but each song is a new classic and I can't wait to see what they come up with in the future. 'O.N.E' is undoubtedly track of the year; lyrical, funky, unusual and beautiful.

Live Performance Of The Year:

Weezer @ Reading Festival 2010

Just incredible showmen. Absolutely made sure the crowds got their moneys worth and for the whole show I was 'feeling it', no distractions from sore backs or taller people blocking my view. One of those sets you don't want to end and can enjoy as it's happening rather than wanting it to end so you can enjoy it in hindsight. Incredible atmosphere and community feel among the crowds, that's what makes a good show.

Top Ten Tracks:

10: Jeff Buckley - Everybody Here Wants You

The song that finally got me into Jeff Buckley that has warmed many a lonely night at University. He's still the second best Buckley in my eyes, but the gene that provided the vocals in that family is enviable.

9: John Grant - TC & Honeybear

Another University track that I listened to a lot over Autumn, the whole Queen Of Denmark album is an interesting new take on music I haven't come across before.

8: City & Colour - ...off by heart

Short yet satisfying. It's too bad many people won't look past City & Colour's 'The Girl', they'd discover something much more emotionally powerful.

7: Active Child - Take Shelter

A track I associate with Latitude 2010 with a great early morning performance from the lesser known up and coming ex-choir boy.

6: Dinosaur Jr. - Pieces

A reminder of the loudest gig of my life. Still making great music and showing that grunge isn't dead just yet.

5: Simon & Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy In New York

I got into Simon & Garfunkel after watching The Graduate. This was a major University track that I looped non-stop for weeks.

4: 65daysofstatic - Tiger Girl

The best instrumental track of the year, 3 incredible live shows and a nice University bonding session dancing in our underpants whilst live on the radio to this track.

3: Tim Buckley - Once I Was

2010 has been the year I discovered my favourite artist who I look up to as a musician and a person.

2: blink-182 - Feeling This

Definitely a close contender for first place. This wins the track of the summer and best sing-along. 2010 had blink fever.

1: Yeasayer - O.N.E

The track I listened to in the weeks before starting University and on the drive up. Listening to it reminds me of how I felt joining Stirling. It's also the track I drunkenly sing with new friends (friends I made with the help of mutual love for this song).

Honourable Mentions:

Motion City Soundtrack - Everything Is Alright

blink-182 - I Miss You

Yeasayer - Madder Red

The Album Leaf - Stand Still

a-ha - The Blue Sky

Toro Y Moi - Low Shoulder

A Day To Remember - Better Off This Way

Jónsi - Grow Till Tall

Angus & Julia Stone - Silver Coin

WHY? - Fatalist Palmistry

Jimmy Eat World @ Barrowlands, Glasgow

2010-11-22T09:17:00.000-08:00

Glancing around Barrowlands revealed the vast array of social tags that Jimmy Eat World attract, from teenage girls to rockers to emos to 90s punks; I’m fairly sure I saw more than one member of Good Charlotte in there. The Arizona guys combine thrashy rock, 90s Pop-Punk lyrics and catchy guitar melodies, which is why their fans don’t tend to be pigeonholed.

After a year of Pop-Punk comebacks like blink-182’s Reading & Leeds headline sets, Sum-41’s new tour and Motion City Soundtrack’s new album, the crowd was more than ready to embrace another blast from the past and opener Bleed American saw the fans erupt with the same energy the band exuded. This zestfulness wasn’t to last once the band unleashed lesser known tracks from their latest album Invented upon the nonplused masses. The lack of enthusiasm on the audience’s behalf made them look like they were at a Lembit Opik stand-up show. This coaxed cries of "play your old stuff" (admittedly, mainly from me). Not many people go to a Jimmy Eat World concert looking forward to their new material. A few more tracks plugging the new album and a cheesy rendition of Hear You Me later, the lull had lasted long enough to convert the failing moshers to polite clappers. The absence of Authority Song is a travesty in my eyes, however the band redeemed themselves with an encore consisting of the two most anticipated songs, The Middle and Sweetness. The finale ensured the set ended as it began and those are the performances that certainly stick in my mind.

The classics are where the band’s strength lies and Jimmy Eat World have succeeded in braving Pop-Punk’s dry spell by persisting with catchy anthems and 90s haircuts to provide for fans both nostalgic and new.

www.myspace.com/jimmyeatworld

Album Review - Weezer 'Pinkerton - Deluxe Edition'

2010-11-11T09:08:00.001-08:00

Weezer’s second album ‘Pinkerton’ was originally met with far less favourable reviews than the debut ‘Blue’ album. But in this day and age it’s cool to like things that no one else does and all of a sudden the album has been included in Universal Music’s deluxe edition series; quite a turnaround. The now apparent cult classic has been remastered, which doesn’t particularly add anything to the sound, but that’s a good thing. Who wants the edge of a grungey sound snatched away from them by making classic albums sound like an autotuned chart disaster? It’s an HD, 3D and remastered world we’re living in, with remakes of Star Wars assaulting your eyeballs and football matches so highly defined that you can now read the player’s thought, smell their breath and even whip them with a virtual towel in the changing rooms when you press the red button.

So what does this remastered album have to offer? Alongside the original album tracks, the deluxe edition features 25 bonus tracks including B-Sides, acoustic versions, live songs and previously unreleased tracks. I get the impression looking at the track listing that like an essay with a word limit to meet the band were squeezing in as much of the same as possible hoping no one would notice. Unfortunately, it’s hard to miss 5 different versions of The Good Life and Pink Triangle which is not really necessary in my view.

What the fans will be most eager to hear are the unreleased tracks, of which there are six. With some people agreeing that Weezer’s new material isn’t as strong as their old tracks, this unreleased catalogue can be seen as hidden classics. Tragic Girl in particular belongs in the Weezer hall of fame and we can thank the heavens it wasn’t gathering dust on the shelf for any longer and has finally made its way into our ear-holes.

I always saw Pinkerton as Weezer’s more serious and grungey appraoch to music, something they have not since revisited. The deluxe edition reminds us of the great musicianship of Weezer and that there’s more to the band than ‘Beverly Hills’ and ‘Pork & Beans’.

www.myspace.com/weezer

EP Review - 65daysofstatic 'Heavy Sky'

2010-10-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

After 65daysofstatic’s superb 'We Were Exploding Anyway' album comes it’s younger and wilder brother: the Heavy Sky EP. Another stepping stone towards the electronic goal, 65’s sound delves deeper into their new direction. Opening on an edited version of WWEA highlight ‘Tiger Girl’ almost seems like a teaser for buying the album, curious then considering the chronology of the releases. What I loved about Tiger Girl was that for a 10 minute long track, it’s never a chore to listen to. This new edited three and a half minute version throws you in the deep end and unfortunately deprives the listener of the build up that makes the song’s climax so satisfying - it’s a quicky with no foreplay.

The rest of the album provides something entirely new, almost an exaggeration of the WWEA album as guitars are ostracised to make way for zippy synths to achieve the electronic feel the band have decided to move towards. There has always been an undertone of electronica in every 65 album, but never has it been as blatant and in-your-face as with the Heavy Sky EP.

A 65 album wouldn’t be a 65 album without a track centered around a piano harmony, such as with Come To Me and Radio Protector from previous albums. The latest is ‘Pacify’ which is my favourite on the EP. 65 do what they do best in making something simple gradually become more and more powerful before you’ve even realised how they’ve done it, slowly but surely adding more complex drum rhythms and wailing guitars until you find your head rocking. ‘PX3’ sounds a lot like it has come from a much earlier album as 65 tip a hat to their roots, with a Radio Protector style high note piano melody making a brief cameo and echoing guitars back into full swing.

As usual, powerful drums persist throughout the EP, the most obvious example being during 10 minute finale ‘Guitar Cascades’. It’s no Tiger Girl, but this track is almost psychedelic for something that sounds so heavy. Hypnotic repetition and beautiful use of pianos intertwined with synths backed by thumping drums makes for a great finishing track.

Another sublime production from 65daysofstatic that seems to serve as an epilogue to the We Were Exploding Anyway album, which is how it is best listened.

www.myspace.com/65propaganda

Album Review - The Fire And I 'Stampede Finale'

2010-10-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

Stampede Finale is the debut album from Scottish natives The Fire And I. A similar lineup to Death From Above 1979, the band consists of only two members, bassist Gordon Love and drummer Hooligan Sadikson (surely a nickname...I mean, what kind of a name is Gordon?) A similar lineup and indeed a similar sound to that of the grungy, dance-punk noise group Death From Above, the duo convey emotions through their music that range from anger to outrage to fury. The sharp backing vocals are reminiscent of the wail of math-rock band Tubelord.

On the Scottish scale they are somewhere inbetween Biffy Clyro and The Proclaimers, their thick accents adding an extra growl to their vocals but not being so prominent that they are reduced to nothing but a novelty band. Showcasing adrenaline-fueled energy, the album displays elements of mathy-punk chanting creating a powerful noise considering the number of members. A satisfying band for all the headbangers out there, the song ‘Mr K’ being the most likely pleaser as the crunchy bass and quirky synths grow ever faster over the clangor of clapping drums.

The thought that remains in the back of my mind is of a poor man’s DFA1979. But this is not a bad band to be likened to at all, the energy and creativity taken to create a sound that consists of so little but listens like a full band is not to be ignored. A fun album by this new band.

www.myspace.com/thefireandI

Reading Festival 2010: Sunday - Weezer, Main Stage

2010-10-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

As the much anticipated Blink-182 set was gradually closing in and becoming a reality, Weezer or ‘Rivers Cuomo and some other people’ played the sunny Sunday afternoon with the most supremely entertaining set of the weekend.

People are quick to jump down the throats of the band members by claiming that their endorsement deal with Hurley surf gear plus the use of the image of 'Lost' character Hurley on the new album of the same name, the inclusion of several YouTube celebrities in the ‘Porks and Beans’ video and the guest apperance of Lil’ Wayne in recent single ‘Can’t Stop Partying’ makes them ‘sellouts’ - whatever that’s supposed to mean. Weezer deliver entertainment that live is second to none, loved by fans everywhere - who cares by what means? Something that strikes me about Weezer is that as a band, they have an absolute blast which totally reflects on the crowds at a live show. People who grumble about the past few albums being ‘churned out’, too mainstream etc etc seem to miss the point of just about everything Weezer does as being in the name of humour, irony and simply for fun, because that’s what they are - a fun band. Rivers Cuomo’s crowd banter was nothing short of hilarious as he thanked crowds for ‘wearing the Weezer t-shirt’, perhaps an ironic suggestion that these people have stuck by Weezer despite the last few albums and being abandoned by the haters.

Opener ‘Hash Pipe’ induced crowds to instantly raise their fingers in the ‘W’ shape in approval, a sight which was unavoidable as the band delivered hits spanning their career including the massive singalong ‘Beverly Hills’, ‘Undone - The Sweater Song’ in which Cuomo jumped up and down on a miniature trampoline and closing on the crowd favourite ‘Buddy Holly’. Weezer also had little surprises interspersed among their own hits during their set, namely covers of Lady Gaga’s ‘Pokerface’ as sung by Cuomo in a blonde wig, alongside a cover of Wheatus’s ‘Teenage Dirtbag’; a jocular reference to people mixing up the band’s names and thinking that Weezer had written the song. The band also paid homage to MGMT’s ‘Kids’. I’ve seen MGMT live; there is no doubt in my mind that Weezer’s version is infinitely better. A sneak preview of new song ‘Memories’ from Weezer’s latest album ‘Hurley’ showed the crowds that they’ve still got the unmatchable pop songwriting ability with that special spark only they possess.

As the band prepare to release a B-Sides and rarities album in November followed by an album of new tracks for 2011, prepare yourselves for more selling out for our pleasure. Weezer sacrificed their souls for us, long may they remain musical superstars.

www.myspace.com/weezer

Reading Festival 2010: Sunday - Cypress Hill, Main Stage

2010-09-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

A sunny afternoon listening to the harmless, mainly weed orientated old-school rapping of Cypress Hill, what could be better?

Rappers Sen Dog and B-Real (man, I miss the 90s), treated enthusiastic fans to the huge hit ‘How I Could Just Kill a Man’ and the instantly recognisable ‘Insane In The Membrane’ which had crowds hopping to the unmistakable sound of original rap years - that ‘woooo’ sound the turntables make...does it have a name?

The group’s frontmen paused after ‘Insane’ and B-Real pondered, “I gotta ask you a question - ‘cos it seem like you’ve been smoking. Are you motherfuckers high right now?” A loud, yet curiously relaxed cheer went up as B-Real broke out a joint the size of a drumstick as if from nowhere, had trouble lighting it and then successfully fired up to the joy of the relatable audience. All inconspicuousness out the window, fans everywhere revealed their own wacky-tobaccy and the whole arena was hotboxed with wafts coming from all directions as fans blazed that belvedere, chonged that Mary-Jane, toked that blueberry and sipped that Biffy Clyro. One nice fellow with dreadlocks next to me even managed to crack out a small glass bong, how and where he kept it hidden is best left to the imagination. As instructed by Cypress Hill in the next song ‘Hits From the Bong’, the band’s followers (now breaking out the pom-bears and Mars Bars) were commanded to ‘Inhale, Exhale’ and were happy to oblige. That’s one way to ensure the fans enjoy your music I suppose, get them all doped up and rap about weed.

The set was 85% marijuana orientated and 15% about the music, so forgive this article for being pretty mono-topical. Kings of peer-pressure, Cypress Hill's obsession with the average drug left crowds with munchies so intense that the food sales alone are making Reading 2011 possible. Melvyn Benn knows who to thank.

www.myspace.com/cypresshill

Album Review - The Jolly Boys 'Great Expectation'

2010-09-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

The mento genre has been ostricised by it’s more accessible and mainsteam neighbours, calypso, reggae and ska. Originally a means of spreading news and tales, mento was the first recorded Jamaican music. Although the latest album by The Jolly Boys, ‘Great Expectation’ isn’t exactly mento in its truest form, covers such as Amy Winehouse’s ‘Rehab’ styalised as such certainly introduces the genre to a new generation.

Fronted by the gravel-voiced Albert Minott, the boys set their maracas to stun kicking off the record with Iggy Pop favourite ‘The Passenger’. Ever-charming, each track can’t help but put a smile on your face; clever and satisfying covers delivered with unfaltering cool and deliciously rich vocals to make your knees melt.

Many of the band members are now in their 70s and 80s and The Jolly Boys may appear grey and past their ‘best-before’ date. However 60 years ago the boys were commited to hedonistic partying, often on the yacht of riotous fellow Port Antonio resident Errol Flynn. In accordance with the traditional mento theme, The Jolly Boy’s choice of covers on Great Expectation appear to have been selected for the hedonistic lyrical subject matter, most tracks covering sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.

Light-hearted and undemanding, versions of Cash’s ‘Ring Of Fire’, The Door’s ‘Riders On The Storm’ and personal favourite alongside the aforementioned Iggy Pop cover, ‘Golden Brown’ by The Stranglers all offer a jocular alternative to classics and contemporary hits - entertaining and accessible music that unjustly remains unheard outside of the Caribbean.

www.jollyboysmusic.com

Reading Festival 2010: Saturday - Holy Fuck, Dance Stage

2010-09-17T05:26:00.000-07:00

Canadian four-piece Holy Fuck were my number one most pleasant discovery at Reading. I'd even go as far as to say that this was the best set I saw all weekend. Many other punters who were unfamiliar with the band were forced into the Dance Stage by the relentless rain and were consequently thankful for the poor weather all day.

I don't throw the term 'mind-blowing' about, but the infectious and unbelievably expert music of Holy Fuck left me with little else to think but "Holy Fuck". Their sound consists of opulent, glittery space-age static and looped, manipulated vocals anchored by funky bass and masterful drumming (by the coolest drummer on the planet FYI). The rain leaking through the tent and onto drummer Matt Schulz's head didn't stop his adept timekeeping and incredible range.

The set seemed to be split into two styles; electronically driven, echoey and dreamlike tracks with elements of breakbeat and then a second half of the standard formula of Post Rock such as the track 'Lovely Allen' with an atmospheric and ambient build up to an explosive climax.

The skills of the band were in tune with keyboard and effects player Graham Walsh's beard growing ability - second to none. Leaving the listeners with endorphins leaking into their systems, Holy Fuck are a truly awe inspiring band.

www.myspace.com/holyfuck

Reading Festival 2010: Saturday - Arcade Fire, Main Stage

2010-09-17T05:06:00.000-07:00

Arcade Fire should headline every festival, every year. Festivals are incomplete without their sublime talent, incredible song translation from record to live set and brilliant modesty. Seeing the band headline Latitude back in 2007, I had no doubt in my mind that they would not disappoint. The most notable difference to this set was the presence of songs from the fantastic new album ‘The Suburbs’.

The Canadian group commented on how they had never had a hit single yet still ended up with the headline slot at this major festival. I couldn’t imagine the 7 piece on a smaller stage, not least because of the versatile band’s huge amount of instruments, but also because Arcade Fire produce a sound accessible and liked by all.

Opener ‘Ready To Start’, an instant classic from the latest record was recognised word for word by the crowds. It’s difficult to determine which songs stood out as every track was a hit, but this was certainly a powerful opening. Frontman Win Butler jokingly referenced the hour-long delay of Axl Rose and his cronies the previous night saying, “At least we’re punctual, right?”

Hits from previous albums interspersed with the brilliant new material, the set was rich with dynamic music as performed by the ultimate pros. Taking a pause and leaving the stage after ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ left the audience yearning for more, each person anticipating the world’s most satisfying singalong ‘Wake Up’. This wish was of course fulfilled after one more number, ‘Month Of May’; a jittery rock and roll style track that got the audience moving and warmed up for the grand finale. I can pinpoint the finisher as being the moment that I, alongside several thousand other people, totally wrecked my vocal chords. But if you’re going to sacrifice the ability to speak, Arcade Fire singalongs are the way to do it.

www.myspace.com/arcadefire

Reading Festival 2010: Saturday - Freelance Whales, Festival Republic Stage

2010-09-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

Freelance Whales were an act that really gave me the butterflies prior to Reading. A young band (forming in 2008) that have achieved a fantastic album and a large fanbase in a small amount of time. Freelance Whales have a similar sound to bands such as Local Natives but add an electronic element to the comtemporary folksy sounds. Each member looked as if they were undeniably in a band with the American preppy look and flaunting great charisma. Opening on what I’d hoped they would, ‘Generator ^ First Floor’ was a good start with a great song. A little hiccup of quiet vocals to the fault of the sound guy was soon fixed and forgotten.

Starting with a modest sized crowd, outsiders wandered in as the set progressed until the arena was bursting at the seams. The newcomers treated their audience to all the best hits from their debut album in a relatively short set early in the day.

The onlookers put on their dancing shoes to the track 'Starring', a brilliant and powerful electronically driven song - in years to come this is the one crowds will sing along to the loudest.

A modest and slightly amateur feel - but far from disappointing - with a hint of nerves, Freelance Whales were clearly a young band. However, they certainly are a better young band than many and I’m anxious to hear future records and see how they perform in a few years with some experience and a greater fan-base under their belt.

www.myspace.com/freelancewhales

Reading Festival 2010: Friday - LCD Soundsystem, NME/Radio 1 Stage

2010-09-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

Quintet LCD Soundsystem provided a much appreciated alternative to Friday night Main Stage headliners Guns n’ Roses. Not only were LCD punctual unlike a certain Axl Rose, their performance exceeded my already high expectations. A blend of electronic dance and punk, fronted by the camp and energetic James Murphy, the songs of LCD are lengthy and infectious. Each track follows a similar formula, a satisfying beat with a travelling bass line on repeat (the bassist must have been very patient to only play about 4 notes per song), starting soft and progressively leading to a climax of energetic screaming from Murphy backed by explosive instrumentation.

The band opened on ‘Us V Them’ from the second album ‘Sound Of Silver’. It was a great taster of what was ahead, attention grabbing and undeniably LCD. The set highlight was undoubtedly the lyrical 8 minute long favourite ‘All My Friends’. Murphy was joined in singing ‘Where are you friends tonight?’ with a zestful dancing crowd. My only complaint would be that LCD didn’t play this song last - it would have been a great finisher and was so good that the following songs didn’t have as strong an impact. The band’s choice of finisher was an unexpected one, ‘Yeah’. However it certainly was a crowd pleaser, you didn’t have to be a genius to sing along to the lyrics ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah’.

Murphy’s energy was endless. He minced in a similar fashion to Freddie Mercury, a true showman and total commander of the stage. Album opener on ‘Sound Of Silver’, ‘Get Innocuous’ would have been a welcome addition to the set and seemed like the obvious choice for a set opener, but alas it was not to be. Nevertheless, this performance was a favourite of the weekend and a great pleasure to watch.

www.myspace.com/lcdsoundsystem

Interview - Motion City Soundtrack

2010-09-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

A leading light in the Pop-Punk genre, I talked to guitarist Joshua Cain of Motion City Soundtrack about their latest album 'My Dinosaur Life', their Reading & Leeds Main Stage opening set and their surge in popularity.

Rory: 'My Dinosaur Life' is the first of your albums to be released on a major record label after your move from Epitaph to Columbia Records. How was working with Columbia compared to Epitaph?

Joshua Cain: On Epitaph, we had the owner (Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz) in our band's life and he was really hands on. Columbia is a big label with lots of people working there. Not much is different other then that. We make most of all decisions and get to make music we love.

Rory: Akin to 'Commit This To Memory' you've gone back to Mark Hoppus of blink-182 to produce your latest album. Did you know what shape the new album was going to take prior to recording and how much did Mark's input alter the finished result compared to your original vision (if at all)?

JC: Mark helped us pick the songs for the record out of the ton we had written. He helps mold the sound of the record and really made sure we performed the best we could. His true talent is helping you just be yourself and not worry about the future.

Rory: After the success of previous albums (especially 'CTTM'), did you feel more pressured to release another crowd-pleaser?

JC: I think we felt a little pressure but we tried to not let it get to us and just make music we love.

Rory: You have a very busy tour schedule. Has touring become second nature and does playing live so often make it any less fun?

JC: There are always ups and downs. Over all though playing live is what has keep this band going. We enjoy those 30 to 90 mins every night we get a chance to perform.

Rory: How are the new tracks being received live?

JC: Great! This record is such a rocker that the songs translate real nice to the stage and with the fans.

Rory: Next week is Reading and Leeds festival where you shall be kicking off the main stage on Saturday at Leeds and Sunday at Reading. Which was the last festival you went to as a punter?

JC: First time we came over to the UK we toured with Sugarcult. They were performing at Glastonbury, and since we were sharing a bus and weren't playing the festival, we got to hang out all day and watch bands. It was a good time. And before that it would be Lollapalooza in the 90's.

Rory: How is playing festivals as opposed to your own headline show?

JC: Shorter set and we are here to win people over. It's more nerve racking and it's way too early so wish us luck.

Rory: Do you miss the intimacy of playing smaller capacity venues now that your popularity has led you to play stadium gigs?

JC: We try to mix it up all the time. Doing smaller shows whenever we can, and making sure our fans get their money worth no matter where or when we are playing.

Rory: What are your plans for the future?

JC: We have a huge US tour with our friends Say Anything and Saves the Day this October through November, then, we're going to Brazil for the All Time Low Tour.

www.myspace.com/motioncitysoundtrack

Reading Festival 2010: Friday - Queens Of The Stone Age, Main Stage

2010-09-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Having re-released the classic Queens Of The Stone Age album ‘Rated R’, it was expected of the band to play mostly tracks from this album, and they sure did deliver. The Queen’s lineup has changed several times over the years, leaving it mainly as a Josh Homme project, his confident persona leaving myself and others rather starstruck as he wandered on stage. Opening on ‘Feel Good Hit Of The Summer’ the mostly intoxicated crowd were able to scream which drugs they were on along with Queens themselves.

QOTSA are rock heroes. Live, the power of their crunching guitars leads to an intense performance. The ability to watch a set of lesser known songs mixed among the crowd pleasers made it all the more special. So the audience have been warmed up. But they don’t get a rest, there is no break for softer songs from Queens. ‘No One Knows’ is a song that people can recite word for word as well as imitate the instruments; the unison of the crowd doing this felt like being a member of a secret club and gave a great community feel among the flocks of people. The set gets progressively more intense and heavy, climaxing on finisher ‘A Song For The Dead’, teasing the people less familiar with the song three times into thinking it was over before bursting back into immensly satisfactory distortion.

The excitable audience were quick to begin chanting ‘Fuck Kings Of Leon’...for reasons unknown (perhaps because they played the main stage last year?), which swiftly became ‘Fuck Guns n’ Roses’, coaxing laughter from frontman and all-round cool guy Josh Homme. If anything makes a gig even better, it’s slandering GNR before they’ve even played - and it happened more often than not.

Accept no imitations - exhausting, intense and unbeatable rock music at its finest. Queens Of The Stone Age exude a professionalism that undoubtedly shows they're the real deal. Paying homage to Nirvana having played the same stage years ago, this performance is another one for the history books.

www.mypace.com/queensofthestoneage

Reading Festival 2010: Friday - Yeasayer, NME/Radio 1 Stage

2010-09-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

Something curious about Yeasayer is that no one seems to be able to pin down what they are and just why it is they’re so good. They sort of fall randomly into the category of ‘indie’ but this genre has become so vast that saying so could mean music in the style of anything from Alphabeat to The Smiths.

The same conundrum strikes me with the band’s live performance. It was undoubtedly a highlight of the whole weekend, a mindblowing performance that truly stuck with me, but what was it that made it so good? There were no novelty additions, visually there was nothing out of the ordinary. I think the only explantion I can summon is that they were just playing really good songs and playing them well.

The latest album ‘Odd Blood’ is rich with catchy and original tunes, not a single song on this album isn’t great for a transition to live performances with infectious and to-the-point lyrics that an audience can scream back to the band, ‘stick up for yourself son’. ‘O.N.E’. went down well with existing and new fans alike, as well it should. Poignant lyrics and wonderfully detailed instrumentation played perfectly, Anand Wilder’s vocals are unlike anything I’ve heard before.

I shall reiterate, an absolute highlight and a brilliant live act that made me feel like I’d wasted my life prior to seeing them. Undefinable music by a very special band.

www.myspace.com/yeasayer

Reading Festival 2010: Preview

2010-08-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

The reformation of blink-182, the critically acclaimed new Arcade Fire album, the false fears that Gun n' Roses would pull out thanks to a twitter hacker - Reading and Leeds festival has been the most anticipated of the year.

Hosting performances from some of the freshest talent plus nostalgia inducing bands from our childhood, Reading and Leeds have outdone themselves with an incredible line-up and tickets selling out in minutes as usual.

The unsigned acts of the BBC Introducing stage are sure to go home with an array of new fans satisfied in finding something they hadn't heard of before. I myself haven't heard of anyone playing said stage, so let's see how many I'm typing into Spotify by the time I get home.

The Festival Republic stage holds some of the best contemporary talent around including my latest obsession Freelance Whales who are sure to excite crowds with danceable, bouncy synths and an American accent cool enough to make your knees melt. Irish Alt-Rockers Ash is another band plucked from the childhood of the 90s kid and popped onto the FR stage who are headlining Leeds on Friday and Reading on Saturday.

For those who love to sweat and stink, the Lock Up Stage will see to it that the stench of moshing hardcore fans is forever integrated into your skin. Cancer Bats, Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion are playing alongside mystery band 'The Rats', a secret gig by a band who nickname their fans by this appellation...see if you can work it out.

This stage also has a day dedicated to dance music as it doubles up as The Dance Stage where punters can blow of some steam to the talents of Four Tet, Roots Manuva and Holy Fuck - to name a few.

Jittery electronic band LCD Soundsystem, Drum and Bass heroes Pendulum and 'Nu Rave' band Klaxons renowned for incredible energetic live performances are this years headliners of the NME/Radio 1 stage. These bands will also serve as the most likely competitors for crowds of the Main Stage headliners, not that either will have any trouble filling up their capacities.

Now here's the really exciting part, the Main Stage. Packed with legends of Punk and Skate Rock, Heavy Rock and Indie; the very thought of seeing so many brilliant blasts from the past and contemporary kings is almost overwhelming.

The penultimate act to Gun n' Roses are a band prestigious for creating unbeatable head-banging rock; Queens Of The Stone Age. A definite crowd-pleaser, tracks such as 'No One Knows' and 'Go With The Flow' will contribute towards a great warm up set to whatever Axl Rose may have in store.

The excellent and eagerly awaited new Arcade Fire album 'The Suburbs' has reminded the public just how great the band are. The classics will go down well, but unlike most performances the new songs are what I am looking forward to most.

Motion City Soundtrack kick off the main stage on Saturday (Leeds) and Sunday (Reading). A better start to your Sunday than most, MCS are a great band to set the ball rolling for a day consisting of Limp Bizkit, Weezer and Cypress Hill.

But my Reading weekend is all building up to one act - the once in a lifetime opportunity to sing 'I Miss You' with blink-182 themselves. The act I can't get out of my head, the most infectious and quotable lyrics; their songs are on everyone's lips. My excitement is uncontainable, my bladder is unreliable and my Travis Barker t-shirt has arrived in the post - I'm set.

So, will Axl Rose storm off stage following a lecture on safety regarding bottle throwing? Will Arcade Fire's new material be a hit? On a scale of incredible to mindblowing, where will blink-182's much anticipated set land? Only one way to find out. See you there!

EP Review - Blabbermouth 'Agoraphobia'

2010-08-12T06:06:00.000-07:00

Steve Thompson - aka Blabbermouth, has released his current EP agoraphobia in advance of his new album in September. A voice that could be compared to James Taylor's or Robin Pecknold always helps an aspiring folk musician. Sufjan style banjos and beaty, rhythmical Seth Lakeman strummed guitar and pounding drums back a focus on Thompson's sweet voice and poignant, witty lyrics - 'it seems it's not the world itself, but the god damn people living in it'.

Thompson suffers slightly from the Justin Vernon over-sweetness vocally. It's okay in small doses but eventually you want some more power and less whining.

The three tracks on this EP are quite different from one another, perhaps not the best move when a musician is trying to establish themselves and break in with a new sound - I can't quite pinpoint what the sound is.

It's an enjoyable EP but my disposition when thinking of the songs is that they are stuck in my head in a more irritating way than catchy. A victim of the Wilco factor, a little dull.

Agoraphobia EP by Blabbermouth is available now.

www.myspace.com/therealblabbermouth

Album Review - Heights 'From Sea To Sky'

2010-07-30T06:29:00.001-07:00

Heights are an interesting band in that on the surface they may appear to be simply another Progressive Post Rock band, but underlying is a Godspeed style classical formation of each track. They are also the only group I can think of that uses such a clean guitar sound with little to zero reliance of cranking the distortion up to 11 and the use of roughly a million effects pedals. Each individual track explores different aspects of sound, despite the tracks being relatively short for the genre, 5 or 6 minutes each; to pay real homage to Godspeed one would expect the songs to be at least 40 minutes long.

What's disappointing about the group is the sound they try to create at some points on this album (their second release - From Sea To Sky), falls flat and is unfortunately underwhelming. The break downs and climaxes are designed for far more members than the trio and a couple more guitars to layer the sound wouldn't go amiss. Al Heslop's impressive finger-work on guitar leaves me inclined to suggest that the band seem to be stuck in a limbo of Math and Post Rock, but not a working combination - it seems more unsure as to what it wants to be.

Despite this hiccup, the band still manage to convey an array of emotions in a rather short amount of time, which is a talent not to be ignored.

From Sea To Sky by Heights is out on 9th August 2010.

www.myspace.com/heightsuk

Latitude Festival 2010: Friday - The Middle East, The Sunrise Arena

2010-07-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

After dashing from The Word Arena following the first few Angus & Julia Stone songs (with regret, I heard that Damien Rice stepped on stage for the remainder of the set moments after I left) I made my way over to The Sunrise Arena for the first time that weekend to catch my latest obsession, The Middle East. No, not Ahmadinejad - this is a far more catchy and less paranoid Middle East. Plus they’re Australian.

This is the performance that I had built up in my mind the most before arriving at the festival; my number 1 most anticipated set. Unfortunately I had set myself up for a fall.

The already fairly rubbish Sunrise Arena had apparently collapsed due to the heavy wind earlier in the weekend, setting all the acts back around 40 minutes. The news that I could have been watching Angus & Julia Stone perform with Latitude veteran and all round excellent singer-songwriter Damien Rice instead of the spawn of Sting ‘I Blame Coco’ only added to my woes. At least for 40 minutes I could close my eyes and pretend I was listening to Sting, the resemblence in the voice was uncanny.

After an arduous wait The Middle East clambered on stage all looking very meek. To put it bluntly, the sound in the Sunrise Arena is often very poor which never does a band any favours. But then nor do lyrically clichéd and out of place war stories to the backing of a cascade of sound. I don’t think anyone was expecting that.

I was majoritively left underwhelmed by the performance of an otherwise terrific band. Crowd pleasers such as ‘Blood’ and ‘The Darkest Side’ went down well and despite all the elements being against this performance, the fact remains that those are great songs.

I think under different circumstances this would have been a very enjoyable set, but the band must have forgotten to make a sacrifice to appease the great god of indie music this time around and my anticipated highlight was soon undermined by greater acts.

www.myspace.com/visitthemiddleeast

Latitude Festival 2010: Friday - The Kissaway Trail, The Word Arema

2010-07-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

Danish six-piece (or five-piece + 1 tamborine player, it’s not a real instrument) The Kissaway Trail provided ambience intermixed with a totally new brand of Alt Rock. I think they are in fact a quintet, but there was a stray man on stage looking more unwashed than the stinking crowd whose energy was suggesting he was playing something more impressive than a tamborine. It looked like a sort of ‘Come on now, let your weird cousin in the band’ situation.

Urgent, choral vocals, militaristic drums and trilling guitar riffs resulted in a mighty punch-fist-to-the-air set. Although the bubbles from the band’s bubble machine may have fallen flat before reaching their audience, the music certainly didn’t. Creating an epic sound that could fill a headline stage without the OTT nature of a lot of Post Rock, the band sent a tingle of satisfaction throughout my body on numerous occasions. The crowds were treated to tracks from the new album as well as tracks from the eponymous debut; ‘61’ in particular set the audience to ‘excited head bobbing’ mode. Opener of the latest album ‘Sleep Mountain’ and closer of the set ‘SDP’ was an upbeat, energetic reflection of the show. After such a full-on performance fit for an evening headline act, I was left disorientated by the noon sunshine outside.

The band’s infectious cool provoked me to go get a few tattoos and take up smoking, before remembering that it’s not cool when British people do it. So where does one stumble to after such an almighty performance? I let it sink in over a ‘Dairy Milk Caramel’ milkshake. Mmm, sticky.

www.myspace.com/thekissawaytrail

Latitude Festival 2010: Friday - These Ghosts, The Lake Stage

2010-07-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

After 3 gloriously sunny days of music at one of the greatest festivals in the world, I’ve decided that weather forecasts are no more credible than quack doctors and juju.

Kicking off with local trio These Ghosts on the open air Lake Stage, their Latitude premiere was looking to be exciting. Performing songs from their debut album You Are Not Lost, You Are Here, the crowds flocked and gazed in awe at the fresh meat. Creating a big sound for just three members of beautiful dream-pop/post-rock, the picnic-ers stood up and pushed their way forward as lead singer Calum Duncan looked pleasantly surprised to be playing to an audience so large he could no longer see the whites of their eyes.

The three-piece commanded the stage - people new to the band were hypnotised by masterful bass, beguiling guitar and vocals and powerful, consummate drumming.

Exiting the stage to roars of approval, the band ensured a great start to a great festival.

www.myspace.com/wearetheseghosts

Download the single Luna here or on iTunes.

Buy the album You Are Not Lost, You Are Here here.

Album Review - Collapse Under The Empire 'The Sirens Sound'

2010-07-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

Collapse Under The Empire ease the listener into their latest release with a ten minute entrancing hum of synth pads; 3 and a half minutes in and you're under their spell. The backing of slow and heavy beating drums with the foreground of moaning electric guitars criss-crossing melodies like a tangled ball of string sucks you in and carries you through the 5 tracks as your mind performs loops and releases endorphins appropriately as a particularly satisfying guitar howl enters the ear.

Moments of MaybeSheWill make brief cameos throughout the record, but as soon as you think you've got them pinned, Collapse Under The Empire take you in a different direction from 65daysofstatic style yearning guitars to And So I Watch You From Afar crunching distortion built up from bouncy synth-pop.

I very much like this band, one can always rest assured that most European bands know what they're doing (the two piece reside in Hamburg). The ambience is reminiscent of The Album Leaf which mixed in with the heavier breakdowns creates something relatively new in a genre where it's particularly difficult to stand out.

This is a satisfying album, everything sounds as it should with power and a great quality of sound. It's hypnotism is best described through the album title itself, like a Siren's call. The listener is carried through the tracks comfortably and therapeutically and buying 'The Sirens Sound' is cheaper than paying for a massage.

The Sirens Sound by Collapse Under The Empire is out 21st July 2010

www.myspace.com/collapseempire

Single Review - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart 'Say No To Love'

2010-06-30T14:11:00.001-07:00

If The Cure’s Robert Smith and The Smith’s Johnny Marr had a lovechild, it would be really weird and defy science. And on an unrelated note, the members of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart appear to have taken lessons from the Smith and Marr school of jangly guitars. Sunny pop with elements of My Bloody Valentine shoegaze and dreaminess, The Pain's new single is an offering that reassures us that the New Yorkers, continuing a relatively short career at this stage (1 album and 1 EP), are still consistently delivering enjoyable indie tunes.

Whereas British indie is anger inducing more often than not with arrogant attitudes, mockney accents and ever competitive pretentiousness, summer-soaked American indie is often hard not to enjoy, like when you’re mad at someone and they keep pulling funny faces and you smirk a little which soon enough leads to a laugh.

Expect unintrusive, fuzzy fun from this single. Nothing that will change our entire perception of music itself, but The Pains are a greater band than many.

Say No To Love by The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart is out 5th July.

www.myspace.com/thepainsofbeingpureatheart