race in, race out

Dead Spex EP

2010-04-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

Midlanders Dead Spex have a new ep they sent me called "her knee, and she".
It's 3X2 and a have minutes of thrashing stop start shouty punk. Sloppy.
I enjoy it. SO SHOULD YOU... and you can:

click the cover to buy it and/or download

Morris

2010-04-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

my brain has melted
i am only capable of stupidity now
i get insomnia, i can't sleep
... luckily i have a phone and luckily there's such a place as america

"smoke a coupla zoots and get wonky"

2010-03-23T03:38:00.000-07:00

3 of the best

'The Orient'

2010-03-23T03:28:00.000-07:00

As much as I want it to remind me of Sweep the leg johnny or oxes can't help it reminding me of interpol/bloc party 2nd album tracks. Kids will sing along at glastonbury to this song, appreciators will despair. the worst part is the vox. The first 18 seconds are however gold. i might loop them into a 3 minute song

Spansahara is probably better, even if yannis can't sing.

Rhian's prty/ cntrl bts

2010-03-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

a few of the bros and some of the hoes (some are from barry but who's gunna care right? big up JM for da photoz innit)

2010-03-12T03:33:00.000-08:00

happy easter from dev y'all

some pics

2010-03-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

There is Love In You - Four tet

2010-01-20T01:14:00.001-08:00

Found this, whole thing mixed into one track. pretty nice.

There Is Love In You by Four Tet

These New Puritans- "Hidden"

2010-01-17T07:05:00.000-08:00

Third (and least important post) of the day, Just endured the entirity of These New Puritans new album "Hidden". Other than having some at times interesting drumming it was pretty attrocious, a weird mix of dark shoe gaze and concept album with horrific lyrics/ vocals. Fuzzy bass with uninspiring key melodies, attempts at electronic elements and drone to build suspense don't really work. The worst bit is the choir like back vocals, which are really weak. The "war" drums, are admittedly pretty good at times, but overdone on the album. Basic format for the songs is DRUMS AND DRONE BUILD UP (with the guy talking over the top like he's bored), stop for some electronic bit or weird folk vocals with some flute, DRUMS AGAIN. Every song has this attempt at a build up but doesn't go anywhere and they all sound a lot like the last. There was none of the "pop" that made the last album bearable.

Yeah so that's the first 10 songs on the album, then I got to track 11... it's called "5" and its pretty brilliant. Sounds like a tyondai braxton song. Its actually amazing, particulaly the start. Makes me thing maybe they were on the cusp of something brilliant and if they'd taken a step back and not tried to make it fit a concept (this weird medieval war thing... I don't even know what the concept was) it would have been alright. Cutting out the vocals and focussing on the melody couldn't hurt too.

Here's a link to the album (just delete the first 10 tracks)

Four Tet - Love Cry (Joy Orb rmx)

2010-01-17T03:37:00.001-08:00

Highly anticipating Kieran Hebden's new album ("There is Love in You") due out in 2 weeks to be a monster. Heres a remix of the first single off it by Joy Orbison, celebrated/hyped producer of the moment. Its pretty brilliant

Sorry about Giles Peterson at the start.

Flying Lotus- Reset EP

2010-01-17T02:25:00.000-08:00

Poducer Flylo's first release on warp records in 2k7/ hazy, spacey, glitchy, catchy, its alot of things... boils down to relaxed hip hop beats with odd electronic and ambient melodies with perfect atmosphere. First song (in the vid above) features london singer Andrea Triana, whos voice is pretty incredible.

Download (via rapidshare)

THE ISLAND

2010-01-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

basically "the wicker man" but with more guns

2010-01-13T17:54:00.000-08:00

Should people who are considered past the point of being relevant in the new music community like this guy be continually trying to keep pace in the confusing world of "hip" new music. He obviously thinks so but I don't really think he gets it, I'm sure he does enjoy the music and stuff but to have last.fm and write a blog, seems like a desperate attempt to remain relevant.

Should I not do social commentary when I'm bored?
Do i sound a bit like Carles right now with these bullshit questions?

Shaping up to be one dull decade in music

2010-01-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

Well if Vice's "guide" for "hot bands" is anything to go by it's going to be all about following annoying trends while still (basically) copying bloc party in as many ways as the trend will allow you.

No having fun with music and doing your own thing. No taking music seriously and striving for making something amazing. Nope, just try really hard to look cool.

Seriously I prefer milley cirus to this entry level shit

Streetz Lyrikz innit

2010-01-06T07:18:00.000-08:00

Mike Turner on life: "Rain taps on your window Always did though but you didn't hear it when things were so-so. You're on your own now Your little zone you were born alone and believe me you'll die alone."

Orchard on Mike Turner: "Be alright if they had some decent beats and he wasn't such a prick"

disgusted those lyrics resonate with me

my year in gigs 2k9/ 'appy 'uckin new year

2010-01-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

Last.fm events

Here's a list of the bands worth mentioning I've seen this yeah. It was a good year, although feel this year will be very different and that I'm growing out of a lot of this stuff. New years really was a night where my attitude towards everything changed, sounds stupid but kind of found myself a bit. NEEEEWAY...
Brontide(3), Holy State(2), These Waves(4), Minnaars(3),Colour(3), Data.select.party(2), PENS, Wavves, Pharaohs, Pneu, Shield Your Eyes(3), We vs The Shark, Pulled Apart By Horses(4), Rolo Tomassi,Instrument (make music), Dartz!, The JCQ, Talons(4), Shapes(2), Icy Demons, Lovvers(2), Times New Viking, Hot Bone, Blakfish(3), Calories(2), Pennines, The Computers(2), Baddies, Dinosaur Pile-up, Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda, Tubelord (5), Wounds, An Albatross, Animal Collective, Bombay Bicycle Club (2), Franz Ferdinand, Micachu and the Shapes(2), Fanfarlo, Errors, THe Xcerts, This Town Needs Guns(2), The Ghost Of A Thousand(3),
Polar Bear Club, DANANANANANAKYROYD(2), Dead Spex(2), Crash of Rhinos, Dead Swans, , Pictureplane, Health, Spectrals, Dutch Uncles(2), Battles, Flying Lotus

Political Debates

Havin' a Laugh

In the Club

Fuck 2k9

Mirrored

2009-12-03T23:04:00.001-08:00

Battles- Mirrored (2007)

This'll be the last album I post for a while. It's a cliche'd choice for this blog (which is named after the albums opening and closing tracks) but one of my favourite albums of all time. It takes a very engaging piece of music to hold your attention throughout an album without lyrics.

Battles are a band I feel are massively under rated, despite having quite a wide fan base, people tend to categorised them as either the experimental electronic-noise movement (like gang gang dance) or as really techy striped down mathrock. However the range of influences and directions this album takes is much wider, obviously there's a lot of sample use, loops and distortion from pedals its the hip hop rhythm parts, the funk like melodies, the intertwining influences clashing and yet seamlessly fitting into coherent songs.

My friend ash once described it as "textured music, it feels like you can walk in between every instrument, like you can touch them."They make music that's for me atleast, mind blowing. Its so beautiful, so perfect and yet so strange and unfamiliar at the same time. You can enjoy this album on a lot of levels I think that's why I like it so much. As always download it by clicking the title

God's Money

2009-12-03T01:21:00.000-08:00

Gang Gang Dance- God's Money (2005)

Another post y2k album I love. Gang Gang's third attempt is pretty immense, I wasn't sure whether to pick this or Saint Dymphna (also amazing) but I think this album sounds more well rounded and coherent. Gang Gang make dark and experimental "noise" music, but on the other end of the scale to lightning bolt. Not the normal effects pedal laden "noise punk" band, but a really techy and refined approach to the same kind of dreamy sound. It's really precise and structured, the "noise" element is much more visceral and the album feels like its a dream, weaving in and out of strange sounds and distant echoes over a huge, constant beat from the rhythm section.

The percussion is really interesting. It reminds me of alot of the experimental afrobeats stuff with a kind of vague hip hop feel to the beats. The droning melodies and vocal samples are kind of similar to liars (Drum's not dead in particular), but i think Liz's vocals play out better, and the melodic work with the keys, flutes and samples has a lot more depth and a real surreal feel to it.

Click the album name to listen.

Big Scary Expansionism

2009-12-02T02:38:00.000-08:00

So i've been hearing alot of rumours going around the "emo"/bromo community about a certain uk label trying to storm America. Turns out it's true, Kevin Douch (aka. big scary monsters) is signing bands, employing promoters, here's a link to what he said about it. He's also signed two of my favourite bands casavet and grown ups, both getting pretty big on the "scene".

I wish him all the best, but kind of worried he'll lose focus on the uk side of things, i mean already he's clearly struggling on his own to keep on top with distribution, even if all the promotion makes it seem like stuffs going fine. He owes me orders from 6 months ago I'm yet to chase up, I don't think I'd buy another physical release from him again. Also he failed to release the Pennines/ ttng split because he didn't have time, lazily putting it straight to itunes.

He's clearly a guy who loves the music and what he's doing, but jesus before starting up new shit Kev, stop going to America to watch the get up kids, stop posing for photos: CHECK YOUR FUCKING MAIL ORDERS AND SEND ME THAT (now kind of obsolete) FUCKING SPRING SAMPLER.

Marshall Mathers

2009-11-30T03:37:00.000-08:00

Enimem- Marshall Mathers LP (2001)

Got lots to say about this one, sorry. Hip-hop music is often easy to generalise and slim has become generic, but this album was really special. If this was a hyped blog and I was a well known critic people might think putting this album was attention seeking but i genuinely fucking love this album. I first heard it when I was 14 and into a lot of mainstream rap. It is pretty much the only one I've been able to persistantly love and appreciate no matter how much my taste in music has changed and broadened.

It's sometimes hard to “get” Eminem’s lyrics, hard to tell sincerity from satire and vice versa but I guess there's truth in the joke, joke in the truth.
Those who saw the funny side of The Slim Shady LP found it insincere and seemingly attention seeking in vulgarity, not “real enough”. Those who didn’t see the funny side branded him Satan’s voice in music, but off the back of that Slim takes what’s relevant in his life, his demonization in the media, the responsibility of being a reluctant role model, being the “white face” of rap and turns it into a witty yet dark lyrical mess:

“blurring the distinction between reality and fiction, humor and horror, satire and documentary”,

It wasn’t the album people expected. It wasn’t a stereotypical mainstream rap album glamorising “gangsters”, he raps about what’s real for him, what he finds funny and relevant as his alter ego "slim" but there’s passion and anger in his lyrics as an undertone. The music on this album is pretty typical of a record produced by Dre, but a lot darker that most of his normal East Coast affairs. The beats and bass are slow and droning, the piano melodies simple yet fitting to each song. This album is what good hip hop is all about, passionate lyrics, breaking tradition and making his contemparies look like immature stereotypes.

The sad thing this is that 8 years later, he became everything he hated, forced to chose between losing his fame and falling into obscurity (at times with his "quitting" the industry it seemed like that's what he wanted)and selling out he fell into the same crowd as snoop, his name's bigger than his music now and he produces hits with no integrity.

On the down side it has dido and a fucking shit cover. Click the name to listen

Wonderful Rainbow

2009-11-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

It's the end of a decade and I am a definate youth of the "naughties".
NME were the first of the big music mags to bring out their list. It's full of cliches and an attempt at being alternative by picking mainstream artists rather than what people expect. Kind of sad they didnt think about what albums they really loved but what would be the reception to their list first and foremost.

But I've never really been into Albums that much. At the moment I'm really digging punk and mathrock, bands with very raw sounds who have to comprimise that to make a "headphone" album.

I guess that's why bands I really love have albums I feel two ways about. I'd rather listen to Foals grainy gang vocals and sloppy guitars on the 2006 demo than the over produced spacy couterparts on Antidotes most days.

Instead of choosing my favourite albums or the best albums, i just picked some fucking amazing ones that happened to come out in the last decade that you really should hear. When I sit down with the sole purpose of listening to music I like to put these on and just let them run. they aren't really exciting buzzbands but they're fucking interesting.

Anyway first album is

Lightning Bolt- Wonderful Rainbow (2003)

After saying all that I picked an album that's actually uncompromisingly raw, yet refined at the same time. This is probably the least accessible thing I'll post. If you haven't heard of LB before this is a damn good place to start.They have a fitting name because they kind of sound thunder, if thunder had an awesome prog rock and metal cd collection.

This is their second lp, and in my opinion their best. It's less jagged that their first attempt but still has so much energy, it's like being hit round the head with a pneumatic drill (in a really fucking good way).

At times they play noodly bits of guitar, spastic melodies jangling all over the place, then frenetically breaking out into all out noise assaults, all accompanied by the buzz of feedback and static. On Fire is one of the most mind blowing songs I've ever heard and 30,000 monkeys is similarly crazily brilliant. Like a super-band with Hella and Health covering Hendrix (accept if that were true they'd probably call themselves Triple H).

Click on the album name to listen

2009-11-28T21:25:00.000-08:00

I don't really feel I can use this as an outlet, or facebook or twitter without getting ripped on atm so this'll be the last update I do, I ll probably just use this for music and start a new invite only for this shit. I feel like maybe some people read this just for new material to laugh at me behind my back.

basically I'm up at half 5 again, and I can't turn off, I worked something out too. She was sad all september, she was so sad. I assumed it was because I was leaving and she couldn't cope. Turns out she was cheating on me with her new guy (and she admitted to having cheated on him already too, funny how the world works). I guess I have reason to break his legs now, and it is kind of my business about him now too. I don't really feel hurt by this, it makes it obvious how she was "over" me so quickly, she had been even before I left.

I think about our last days together. She just cried and I held her and told her it was going to be ok. I was so sad, and excited at the same time, but I felt like at least she cared I was leaving, at least I would have someone back home who still cares for me. But she wasn't crying over me, she was crying for herself because she felt bad for cheating. Even now she doesnt have the decency to tell me, I'm the one having to confront her.

Years together, so many good times, so many bad and that's the note she wanted to go out on, and do you know what I'd still do anything for her. I must be so pathetic

If you managed to endure that shit there is now no reward because google waves a piece of shit

nooduls?

2009-11-24T12:53:00.000-08:00

i havent eaten in 3 days now and im REALLY craving some noodle

hmmmmmm

FUCK YEAH WHATEVER!

2009-11-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

come to this
looks totally bodacious.

Party

2009-11-21T10:07:00.001-08:00

we went to a party,

we got very drunk first

we had lots of Nos... it was funny

10 minutes to get down stairs... not so funny

we smoked some weed, it was good

almost lost my keys in this mass, not good

NED (never forget... wire)

Roly Hoar Xmas Tape III

2009-11-17T03:25:00.000-08:00

A side is all covers from the likes of Throats, Run Walk!, Maths, Betty Pariso and Guilty Parents.
B side includes crocus, youves, le easy swing hips (le swing and easy hips...), A boat to row and Dreamboats

looks pretty ace. SEE HERE FOR YOURSELF

Switzerland

2009-11-05T00:31:00.001-08:00

Switzerland are a cool band from derbyshire, but i ll look past that as they're fucking ace. 4 piece indiemo who come in at an average age of 17 (awwww). They rip off cap n' jazz a treat but put some weird uk indie twist on it with the vocals (however can be weak at times). It sounds really raw and slapped together like good early emo, maybe not as complex as their midwestern peers though. The guys are a bit unsociable though (probably cos they're from derby).

Here's some of their music to DOWNLOAD

THESE WAVES

2009-11-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

Continuing with some more local bands in the coming posts (but seriously all of them are really good) These Waves are a derby 5 piece (actually 4, currently lacking a drummer)

They make really REALLY good post hardcore, mathrocky stuff with piercing shouty vocals and intricate walls of sound making for "banging tunes". Disjointed and edgy they sound like bands before them but with new vigour. They've really impressed me with real stage presence and an obvious fun attitude before now. Similaritys can be drawn with bands like Secondsmile and Meet Me In St. Louis

You can download their ep "Painting by Units" HEEEEEERE

DEAD SPEX

2009-11-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

Dead Spex are a pretty cool band from Nottingham, UK. They started doing stuff in like june of this year. For only three members, bass, guitar and drums they sure have a lot of noise, and even more attitude.

They're the chameleons' (my favourite venues) "house band" and play what they call SPAZZ POP; 2 and a half minute sprints of tuneful bass driven punk with lots of frenetic riffs and gang vocals (mostly shouting)and visceral screaming while jumping about like At the Drive In. I guess it could be seen as punk-pop at its best with heavy 80s hardcore influence and some 90s emo elements too. Blakfish and Meet Me in St Louis and some other bands I can't quite think of right now.

Live they come into their element, really intense and raw, going pretty mental, breaking their teeth on their instruments (no really...) its mental in the best way possible. Delightful chaps aswell. rock and/or roll! Download their ep "Rats Together" HERRRRRRE

my favourite films

2009-11-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

DEADLY TARGER

MAD MAX 2: ROAD WARRIOR

CLASS OF 1984

BRONSON

In Lieu

2009-11-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

Martin Ruffin is a singer/songwriter going by the name In Lieu making some really beautiful acoustic emo/folk with delicate vocals, complex acoustics with almost dark melodies and deep lyrics in the vein of owen.

BRAINWASH saturday 31st October 2009 (halloween)

2009-11-01T15:58:00.000-08:00

Shoeface

Very new band (apparently this was their second gig) doing interesting instrumental noise stuff, kind of like health but without the well structured melodic parts and vox. They played on the floor, in the middle of the brudenell, taking up a lot of room thanks to the 3 drummers (drums were pretty ace though). Not many people came to see them too. Guitars had lots of reverb, feedback and effects, noticeably very loud.
They played a relentless wall of noise for 15 minutes straight... got a bit boring though. They were a bit loose (seriously sometimes it looked like the guitarist didnt have a clue what he was doing and just tried out new stuff) Interesting to watch though.

6/10

Talons

Was pretty early in the day and the brudenell was still pretty empty as talons started, so we sat at the back with pints to soak them in while relaxed.
Pretty stupid becuase it packed out REAL FAST and i wanted to be bobbing my head at the front. As you can see they were spookily dressed as MUMMIFIED ANIMALS. Really amazing atmosphere as always (heres my previous post for what they sound like) and the new single "Bethlehem" (out soon on a split with And So I Watch You From Afar) is so immense it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Less overwhelming than seeing them previous times: shame it wasnt a smaller/ darker space /later in the day (suits them better). They were incredibly tight though and I'm sure impressed everyone watching.

Bought a pretty cool t shirt with bears on that Ollie from the band designed. Forgot to ask them who the fuck "buff orpington" is though.

8.5/10

Wonderswan
Ok strangely ended up seeing this band twice yesterday (i will explain later). Having just released their single this band have a lot to prove. To be honest I think they let themselves down at brainwash, with a serious lack of energy and stage presence they just seemed a bit dull. And when the band seems dull the songs seem dull too. They do have good sludgy pop sound, similar to peers dinosaur pile-up, playing kind grime-y indie. Its like copy haho doing pavement covers. The vocals are a bit distant and less audible than in most bands and a bit lack luster (I think perhaps too detached from the instrumental mix). They have written some good catchy songs but its all a bit repetative and got a bit boring towards the end. The bassist played in the crowd (out of sight from me) which if I could have seen might have made it more interesting. Wish i new more songs, seem like that kind of band.

5/10 (*8/10 at subculture though)

The Old Romantic Killer Band
"Folk, blues and punk" in one band. Odd mix, and yeah maybe its not my thing but i caught the last few songs. Really entertaining live spectacle. They played their hardest and were pretty mental. Last song was really good and much more on the punk end of the spectrum (which they deliver bloody well). Highlight was the "changing rooms" stunt where the lead singer swaps with the audience so they are all on stage then rushes them off to the back wall. Crowd didnt seem too enthusiastic but was still fun and a damn good attempt.

im all cross armed in this picture, but i was enjoying it, promise.
7/10

The guy showing his goats is actually a twat, thanks for runing ttng for me scrote and co.

Tubelord
Since when did tubelord get big? The venue was pretty packed again for them. Starting off with a new song with a more "serious" tone to it than previous songs, with less vocals and of a "pop" feel. However they soon got back to playing hits off the album. Set was good if a little short and could have done with more "old" stuff, I think a lot of the album doesn't sound as fresh as the real early stuff. A static crowd didn't really help things either, a few guys seemed to know the words and shouted along and jumped up and down, they seemed like annoying idiots. In fact it feels like they're fast becoming another "indie pop" band which all the kids jump up and down and scream for. Last but not least the new bassist (however silly his hair might be) can't replace Sean. A lot of these faults were probably because the new member wasn't as tight and didn't know all the songs. Still pretty fun to watch (I think they set the bar too high at previous gigs though).

8/10

This Town Needs Guns
They started their set with a few songs off the album like chinchilla and baboon which are nice songs, not very exciting stuff though. Fast songs with pretty maths guitar lines and soft oxford vocals. About halfway through the set they played a new song, was bit more "dancy" than the album or even previous works, with more repetative vocals and a stick in your head melody (can't help thinking they're losing the overwhelming beauty their songs had and becoming another "foals-esque" band).
I hate to sound pretentious and elitist but since when did all the kids hear the old songs and decide to be annoying idiots jumping up and down to "if i sit here...". They then promised "belle and sebastian" (brilliant old song) but ditched it discovering they only had time for one more and played (the fan hit) 26 is dancier than 4 (more jumping up and down from annoying tweens and dicks).

Could do with being a bit more subdued live, i like the more "beautifully delicate" side to their songs, whereas some people seem to treat them like pigeon detectives. Sucks they got big and are now a mainstream "indie" band with annoying fans to boot.

7/10

Bougth a pulled apart t shirt. its rad.

Overall - suffered from static po faced crowds for some bands and over enthusiastic 16 year old boys excited to be out of the house for others. Wish we had stayed longer (we missed blakfish and PABH) but it was my friends' birthday and he'd come from york to see us so i thought I'd do what he wanted.
Idioteque was a real let down apart from seeing wonderswan again (by accident) who were ace second time round, they played way better, sub culture suited them better, the sound was better ect.ect.

DANANANANANAYKROYD brudenell social 30th october.

2009-10-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

Tonight i went to a pretty awesome gig, and what better way for a nerd to spend the dwindling hours of the day than to rush home and share his experiences with the rest of the internets...

Dutch Uncles

This band really annoyed me the last time i saw them. I think it was the front mans (seemingly) pretentious jerking movements and annoying attempt at being some kind of freaky geek.

This time round though (less impaired by alchohol) i really enjoyed the band, the front man actually has a real charm about him, his "pretense" actually seems like he's just a weird misfit doing his own thing.
Whats more important is the music, they're a mathpop/ indie five piece... 2 guitars, one vox, one bass, one drums, some keys.

The high pitch vocals are really strong, wouldn't give away they were a mancunian band...Songs are well written with poppy, fiddly, indie guitar lines with a bit of a a math feel to them.

The songs aren't fast paced races of time sig changes though, pop melodies and addictive rythms. They had an awkeward stage presense which kind of fitted their sound, inbetween vocal parts the front man writhes and jerks, twitching seemingly in a world of his own. The rest of the band aren't hyper energetic, focussing on what theyre doing heads down, occasionally swapping instruments almost nervously yet enjoying playing.

It all fits together to make a really nice band who are really good live (and i can imagine being alright on record) I recommend.

7/10

Stage Blood

Instead of the pretty amazing dinosaur pile-up (originally billed) we got rubbish post-hardcore/post-rock or something. Not that i don't like those genres, it was just the band who sucked.
The whole thing sounded lazy and boring, the vocals were particulaly unbearable. Slow droning songs, unimaginative hooks, poor lyrics, dull rhythm. Yeah really not good live.

2/10

Danananananananaykroyd

In walk the most important band of the evening, the 5 glaswegian rock heros (and that fill in bassist whos a bit boring) take to the stage with their normal theatrics even before the music begins. They are probably the funniest band around (seriously i'd pay to see cal and john jr do stand up). But even without their witty charm and lovely smiles you know as soon as they race into first song "totally bone" this is a fun, energetic and fucking brilliant.

Dananaananakyroyd are one of the few bands I've seen lots of times WHO NEVER DISAPPOINT. Their own brand of incredible unpretencious pop rock is basically the best thing since jesus christ superstar (or something). Fuzzy warm guitar lines with math elements, blistering rhythm and brilliant shouty vocals. The songs are fast and catchy, pop elements in their structure, elements of hardcore in their delivery.

The venue isnt as packed as other times I've seen the band, its a big room and lots of people were standing near the back (losers), I was right up front with the kids going mental, sweaty guys jumping about... although the crowd started off a bit static after the predictable wall of cuddles (like a wall of death but with cuddles) it livened up.

Jumping off the stage cal and john run manically into the crowd, shouting into their mikes. The stage presence of this band could be compared to any immense american hardcore band thanks to cal and johns antics and enthusiasm. Imagine converge but much much happier and from scotland... crazy. They played a long blistering set (pretty much all their best stuff and a couple of new ones to boot... was like an hour long) but never for one moment lost their impact; the energy that makes this band amazing.

The set was brilliant, highlights for me being pink sabbath and 1993. Even after 3 years of listening to "greater than symbol and the hash" it still sounds fresh and vibrant. 'Ending' on the storming "hey giles" and the new part "sissy hits" with a chant of "turn your hissy fits... INTO SISSY HITS".

Encores are compulsary these days, and dananana weren't about to break that rule, coming back to rip through the recent b side "", pop hit "black wax" complete with handclaps and the upbeat "hey james" to shake down to. Literally in the last 20 seconds i split my lip on someones head as crowd surfers came crashing down around us.

I got my monies worth, and like the consumerist, alan sugar-like swine i am thats all i care about. Pretty much full marks.

9.5/10 (the band got 10, -0.5 because it wasnt the greatest crowd ever)

I'm pretty tired now so off to bed with me... Brainwash tomorrow, sweeeet.

all i want for xmas is...

2009-10-29T16:41:00.001-07:00

Battles and Flying Lotus!!!

indietrash - guilty till proven innocent

2009-10-29T06:01:00.001-07:00

Indietrash are probably the most interesting thing I've heard in a while, and probably the second most unheard (and therefore underrated) band you'll find on this blog. They are no longer recording together or anything which is a real shame

look at how wonderfully geeky they are

Two Norwegian boys who produce eerie surreal music. The whole album flows in a disjointed way; its impossible to tell where one song ends and the next begins. The end result is it sounding like a nightmare turned into music, with twists and turns everywhere. Some of it is definitely hardcore emo, but more disjointed and distant sounding, with the bass being raped all the time to create a harrowing diy noise feel. Interspersed through the album are piano parts, various pedal effects, loops and samples. The vocals tend to be scarce and when they are audible very distorted. If they were still around now with bands like Health and Fuck Buttons doing so well and saying that the quality of "guilty..." is easily comparable with either of the aforementioned's new albums

LEGAL DOWNLOAD

Le Swing (and Pictures)

2009-10-29T04:30:00.000-07:00

Le Swing are a band I'm really excited about...
REALLY EXCITED. Not just because their bassist is also in one of my favourite bands around (brontide). Not just because they are one of the most recent signings by awesome label Holy Roar. (anti climatic...) but because Le Swing are a reincarnation of a band who passed into obscurity last year after releasing one of the best 7" ive ever heard; PICTURES. With a replacement drummer and the singer dropped though can they live up to the hype (that i just created... whoops)

I guess you probably havent heard pictures due to their serious lack of exposure. CORRECT THIS NOW (they are dysfunctional so no ones losing out when you steal their music now)

(sorry for the shit picture of le swing... i stole it off nathans facebook because they have no real pics on myspace and shizz, ignore the girl... pretend its a boy)

Anyway i should discuss Le Swing really. Someone told me their name was made from combining Le Shok and Swing Kids... kind of a appropriate when you listen to them. Similarly to pictures they are a DIY punky mathcore band... Only two songs have been recorded, both fantastic; ear ripping walls of shouty hardcore punk (bordering on screamo), with meticulous shredding guitar hanging onto blitzing drums in ridiculous time sigs. It all reminds me of Blood brothers crossed with dillinger or trencher. Its an amazing song! Perhaps this band lacks the brilliant vocals of pictures but i still think they sound amazingly promising.

They shared a roly hoar split a few months back with easy hips (who incredibly surprisingly they share a member with), run,WALK! and dreamboats

BUY IT HERE (do its really good and only £4 w/ downloads)

Findo Gask

2009-10-28T21:41:00.000-07:00

Another NEW BAND (kind of) Don't know why I haven't heard of these before but stumbled across them today, obviously i'm out of touch (hell even the guardian knew about them before me)...

Findo Gask are brilliant indie electro/twee (electwee or tweelectro?) pop. Formed 4 years ago, the scottish quartet have a pop aesthetic; guitar riffs intersperced perfectly and drenched with layers of synths and casiotones providing a very 80s sound. Songs like One eight zero are simply amazing slices of perfect electro-pop... it shows la roux up for the talentless piece of shit she is (i just like insulting her at any given time). Whereas metronymic sounds more folkish.

One of the best elements of the band is their "twee-ish" and admittedly pop vocals (reminding me of grammatics) high pitched and scottish... Use of gang vocals is also quite well done, Its like if you cut grammatics vocals, mystery jets choruses, great eskimo hoax's song writing, some 80s synth samples and stuck some danananakyroyd riffs over the top... but better.

I'm not in the habit of claiming links as my own: download here

HOLD YOUR HORSE IS

2009-10-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

SO i wrote about these guys a while back on last.fm... in return they sent me some of their songs (actually all of them i think). And because i'm a complete media slut i decided to give them exsposure (but not really because only like 20 people read this blog)

Hold Your Horse Is are a thee piece indie/post hardcore band from the uk
They have some math-y elements and some of their songs remind me of Shapes and Mutiny on the bounty (no wonder kev from BSM likes them)

Their name is pretty cool, taken from the name of a Hella album. They aren't incredibly similar to hella though, less experimental and noise-y, perhaps a bit more accesible and in line with the current uk scene.

They're a bit different from the other mathsy bands in the uk at the moment. I'm not sure how to describe their sound really though, its definately got post hardcore elements with dark, pacing and roaring, disjointed guitar lines and a frantic rhythm... The vocals however are quite subdued compared to the music, sounding almost spoken over at points, (reminiscent of 90s indie bands like pavement), works quite well though in my opinion. This is "the shit" in the best possible way

Buy there music and "merch" here

HALOLOLOLOWEEN

2009-10-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking of dressing as either the misfits or KISS (like these crazy kids) but my hair might not be good enough to pull of either

Going to Brainwash festival in the day...Lineup is actually amazing, £9s alot for one day but its at the brudenell too. Can't pass on that.

Who i plan to see

Shoeface - 2.00-2.30
Talons - 2.40-3.10
Wonderswan - 3.40-4.10
Holy State - 4.10-4.40
Monster Killed By Laser - 4.40-5.10
Bear Driver - 5.40-6.10
Tubelord - 6.40-7.10
This Town Needs Guns - 7.40-8.10
We Vs. Death - 8.10-8.40
Taint - 8.40-9.20
Blakfish - 9.20-9.50
(maybe:
Hot Club De Paris - 9.50-10.30
Pulled Apart By Horses - 11.00-11.40
but leaving early...)

TO GO PARTY AT IDIOTEQUE

It' ll be craxy

Small Brown Bike

2009-10-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

I just heard a pretty cool post hardcore band who i got into a few months back are getting back together with their original lineup in tact planning on playing some shows and writing new shit. Thats awesome.

Small Brown Bike split in '04, which was a real shame because their last album "Nail Yourself To The Ground" was probably their best work. They remind me alot of Polar Bear Club and Hot Water Music: True post hardcore with a touch of emo, gritty shouty vocals over roaring guitar lines ect.ect.

Have a listen and decide for yourself if they're good. And thanks to the amazing blog achilous you can find all their music herrrrre.

haircut

2009-10-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

and i look like a rapist

FANG ISLAND

2009-10-25T19:04:00.000-07:00

the crowd has more energy than at any gig i've been to in a while... wish i was like 5 again

CRASH OF RHINOS

2009-10-25T01:47:00.000-07:00

So for some reason, despite becoming insomniac (i ve been up all night watching various bill o'reilly videos) and having less work/ more free time than ummm... ever IM DOING SHIT WITH THE BLOG AND MUSIC IN GENERAL. mainly cos i was pretty bummed about my music dying when my hdd crashed (which i cant get fixed till xmas... suxz)

anyway i had big plans but i don't know if theyll happen, i got an offer to write for a local newspaper but forgot to send them the piece in the end. whoops.

CRASH OF RHINOS are a pretty awesome band from the midlands (uk) who i've been lucky to catch live a couple of times. Last.fm says they're "formed in 2008 from the ashes of The Jesus Years and The Little Explorer.". Well the jesus years and little explorer are also ace bands you should check out. Anyway crash of rhinos are awesome multilayered post hardcore, punky, mathy riotous rock thats frenetic and pounding. They don't have songs on myspace but when they do you ll be like "WOW THAT BLOG WAS RIGHT AND I TOTALLY AGREE"

GET RAD, BE RAD, STAY RAD

2009-10-25T01:09:00.000-07:00

trying to describe what music you really dig is hard, luckily record labels make awesome compilations so you don't have to describe it. you just recommend it to all your friends (using twitter or something else that people pay attention to... i dunno) and then abandon it when your flatmates start being like "whats this, its pretty good" BECAUSE YOU DONT WANNA BE UNCOOL LIKE THEM RIGHT? right.

this one is particularly awesome, like waking up to a sunday roast or owning a mac on 9/11 or something. YEAAAAh

relating to the above: CHECK THIS OUT \/ likeso \/

LIFES A CHORE

2009-10-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

pictures that sum up student living?

THE ROOM (2003) your new favourite movie

2009-10-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

2009-10-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

just found this picture from the summer... DONT TAKE DRUGS KIDS

2009-10-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

- ill atm
- can't sleep
- my harddrive crashed
- that means all my music and playlists are gone
- all my pictures are gone
- im on track to fail my course

OTHER THAN THAT LIFES GOOD. heres some pictures of how good it is from a house party on saturday HOW HIP?

ASS WOUNDS:

CHILLIN WITH THE KIDS

BEVVING

FALLING IN HEDGES

STANDING AROUND

THIS

SMOKING

PENS

2009-10-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

just cos theyre so fit

FROSHERS

2009-09-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

hey so its my first week living in the leeds! its a pretty cool place and freshers is pretty mint. Before i left nottingham i had two great gigs (dead swans and shield your eyes/crash of rhinos) both were mint but i won't really have time to properly write about them.
heres sum nice pics featuring the alt bros.

SHottingham with hindsight

2009-09-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

I'm getting ready to leave my home town: nottingham,uk (yeah robin hoods' hood). Despite the bad press (hence the "shot" in shottingham) it is a nice place with lots of lovely people:
here they are frolicking (more nostalgic nottingham pictures to follow)

As i prepare to leave this fair town for pastures greener (FUCK YEAH LEEDS!) i think back... 2 years ago, as a 16 year old, i would have sat here and said how shit nottingham is for live music, and how the rows of cringeworthy Rn'B and Dance clubs dominated the night life.
However now days i'm 18, i can legally drink and drive (not at the same time). I've become an optimist, so heres a bit about how good nottingham is... also heres a picture of me failing at packing

First off I ll talk about all the great club nights and promoters putting on ace bands. promoters are the guys behind every show, behind every leaflet stack near the bar, and every artsy poster plastered on a shop window. THere are a few of these guys around doing great things for the live scene and I'll start with the big name, Liars Club which is run by Ricky Haley. It has lots of cool bands and puts on some good events, and despite some troubles with dhp theyre still putting on lots of great gigs with some of the bigger up and coming bands(and dot to dot festival which is ace)
My favourite promoter is a little irish chap called Martin who runs Buttonpusher nights, he's put on basically every small but brilliant mathy/punk band thats come through nottingham since its launch in may and puts them on at the chameleon which is even better. He's good friends with derby based promoters Sexy, no? SEXY (made up of bands i ll talk about later) who but on similar gigs and have really cool posters which they sell.
Two other promoters that really caught my eye this year are Joel (Saurus), who put on a couple of gigs and was really good at getting a ace crowd to come along (he knows all the cool kids). Last is Leeds promotions company I'm Not From London who put on lots of gigs here. They are similaly ace but have died down a bit since buttonpusher came about.

we dont like clowns...

Anyway onto venues. This year I have basically made one my haunt, the Chameleon has all the best bands because all my favourite promoters love it, its cheap, the drinks are cheap and the venue looks and sounds great. Its a really rustic little pub/cafe above clinton cards in the square. Nearly impossible to find, you have to go through a narrow back alley and up some nondescrpt stairs to gain access. Well worth the trouble, its a lovely little place with eccentric staff who only serve about 4 types of drink, nice tables and a view of the centre. Then upstairs is the converted dining area. No stage just a big room with lots of sofas and big amps dotted about. Its awesome. In the summer it gets boiling, but thats almost part of the fun. I love it and recommend you to go see bands there ASAP.
Ok so next is the Bodega social which is run by the soul sucking big boys dhp group, who basically shit on the little dude and try to dominate nottinghams live venues. But that doesnt stop this being a great modern little venue with some great djs and a good sound. THe venue is upstairs, its very dark and the set up is quite weird (long room with a tiny stage and a bar taking up lots of the area) buts its got some charm. it has a nice smoking area too. O and 3 happy hours a day. Yay.
Seven (formerly Junktion 7) is the place to go if you're into metal and more edgy bands. Its big, its a bit grim, its cheap and theres a lot of metal heads who hangout there. Its splattered with years worth of posters so you cant see the walls. THe upstairs is very dark, a windowless room with a bar on the left and a small stage, it always seems to big and certainly too long for the bands it books. Has some great nights my friends Dj on aswell, notably tuesday has 2-4-1 drinks.
Rescue Rooms is one of the bigger venues in nottingham, and for that reason has a lot of big bands, bit its well suited for that. Its actually quite a light airy venue, with a high ceiling and a balcony circling the wall above. THe stage is nice and wide and it still feels intimate despite the venues size.
The Maze is a nice little pub a bit further out that the other venues, about 20 minutes walk from the centre towards mapperly. THe back room is small and a bit cramped almost with a decent sized stage, but has a really good sound and a nice feel to it. Good beers in here too, nice selection.
THe Running Horse is near Seven in canning circus, also quite a trek from the square. Its another pub, with some really nice eccentric owners and a really eclectic variety of bands. Jazz, rock, folk, singer/songwriter, blues ... old and young they bring them all. Its nice and intimate without being as crowded as the maze, Lots of seating too which is good. THe sound isn't great but its still a nice little venue.

mr hood looking cool

Last but not least where would the music scene be without its local bands... nowhere is the answer, so here is a celebration of some of my favourites. Most of them are mathsy punk bands. I missed out lovvers because they havent played here in like 2 years btw

Dead spex are pretty cool, they're the chameleons' house band (not a bad position to be in) and play what they call SPAZZ POP, which is basically lots of frenetic riffs and gang shouting while jumping about like At the Drive In. I guess they sound quite similar to blakfish but with more of a 90s hardcore feel to them, delightful chaps too and intense live. rock and/or roll!
Swizerland are really from derbyshire, but i ll look past that as they're fucking ace and involved with aforementioned sexy? NO! sexy promos. THey rip off cap n' jazz a treat but put some weird uk indie twist on it with the vocals (which at times are weak) and stuff. It sounds really raw and well layered, maybe not as complex as their midwestern idols but great. Not very nice guys though, bit unsociable (probably cos they're from derby).
These Waves are ace people too and also involved with sexy? NO! sexy promo. Heres a copypasta of what i ve said about them before: Really good post hardcore, mathrocky stuff with piercing shouty vocals and intricate walls of sound making for "banging tunes". Disjointed and edgy they sound like bands before them but with new vigour. They've really impressed me with real stage presence and an obvious fun attitude. Similaritys can be drawn with bands like Secondsmile and Meet Me In St. Louis
Why not, wonderland? "frickely" emo/twinkly guitar punk with some 80s hardcore and indie thrown in. They are frankly amazing, playing a wall of fast and complex guitar lines that almost jump away from the rhythm at times and shouty vocals to boot. Its great. theyve been compared to a lot of stuff but i think they sound like a lot of the bromo music coming out in america (future posts will explain)
Guilty Parents pretty new three piece creating "punk slime". THe band "feature the two best works of facial hair since ZZ Top". A very diy band who rip out snarling garage punk with a hardcore edge. Really dense sound, thrashy without being ridiculous, and some really well suited kinda shouty vocals.
Nephu Huzzbandkind of a grim band, they used to be a bit like slow dark math/artrock (kind of like ...ANd you will know us by the trail of dead) but recently went more noise-y, it suits them better though. THe vocals sound distant and the songs kind of have a sad ring to them, i cant explain it. Its really good though but the lyrics are a bit weak. THeyre doing something a bit different and its great. New song "no not ever" with a more punk approach is pretty promising.
THe petty thief is tim from brontide's s acoustic and folky singer/songwriter project. His guitar work and vocals are simple but really beautiful. It has elements of math which remind me of thing town needs guns or cats and cats and cats. Its brilliant and tim doesnt have the greatest voice in the world but it really suits the rustic and authentic sound of this music.
Buenos Aires (really from leicster) are another meet me in st louis inspired post punk band with math rock tendencys. THey sound a bit more pop than other bands like them though, which means they get compared to glassjaw and early biffy alot when really they are more intune with the 90s emo like cap 'n jazz. Recently they have taken things in a heavier direction though with more post hardcore elements. Complex and frantic they are a good band.
Union state massacre THese guys have been around for 5 years and just got back together after hiatus. Beautiful 6 piece instrumental (lots of them too) post rock. Best use of a glockenspeil i've ever seen. They make epic build ups and breakdowns with beautiful melodies, subtle bass, frantic drums and epic guitars. In the wall of sound everything feels so purposeful and planned. Its a bit like Godspeed or Mogwai but less experimental. ANyway its amazing and beautiful and moving.

heres a picture of the park near my house

very sooooooooon

2009-09-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

i will be posting some posts about scenes in the musical sense. Im trying to do something a bit unconventional and expose all my favourite bands quickly without having to bore you with 80435 posts... it probably wont work BUT THAT WONT STOP BE TRYING

heres a nice picture i drew to keep you interested... its hiptastic

Hair Traffic Control

2009-09-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

this post will be very factual so get out your notepad

hair traffic control are a pretty cool 4 piece (when you get past the silly name) who've had attention from some pretty cool labels (big scary monsters stuck them on their "to let" unsigned compilation a few months back). i told them i d write some stuff a while back but becuase im dumb i forgot.

on their new ep (let's do lunch) they make cool music like (i love doing this nme style band referencing to inadequately describe a band) the frentic fuzzy sounds of lightning bolt crossed with the more refined aspects of giraffe? girrafe!.

instrumentally this music is really sophisticated. The guitars arent as clean as their math pop contemparies, and i m sure neither are the band memebers. Not a bad thing though and when combined with fuzzy bass lines and solid yet fraught drums combining for a few awesome wall of sound moments.

honesty is my middle name (that was a white lie though, sorry) so i will say at times the vocals seem out of place and at times detract from the brilliance of their instrumental work (particulaly on the opening song "hobo gauntlet"). But i'm just picking holes in what is really good and inivetive music. Check 'em out: MYSPACE HERE AND BUY THE EP HERE

Leeds Festival 27-30/8/09

2009-09-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

HEYA, so it was Leeds (festival) time again and yes i'm a sell out and a gimp going to leeds... how uncool of me.
Anyway leeds obviously meant more coke fueled sex parties and skanking out to the one and only DJ OD (he's from holand) than i do on a normal weekend.
Somewhere inbetween these things i saw some bands which i vaguely remember, so i m filling in fuzzy details with lies and quotes.

THurseday evening was DTTR's lineup (a leeds label started by wiskas from forward russia) on the BBC intro stage. It was pretty cool but the crowd seemed bored and just going becuase it was something to do and making trouble.
Holy State: Amazing live, they brought a really rocking set. Edgy riffs and banging tunes... shame the crowd was a bit tame for these when they were the only band of the night deserving it.
Airship: Pretty good guitar pop with a bit of dirt and some good angsty tunes. by this point the crowd was ridiculous "moshing" for the sake of it. i kicked a few in the shins but on the grand scheme of things didnt help.
Bear Hands: Not the best band of the night but they were alright, some good poppy guitar songs again with a bit of an mgmt vibe. my friends hooked them up with pills later. Seemed like nice guys with pretty good Brooklyn accents but couldnt get us backstage (and their manager was full of shit and a tit)... A for effort, C for achievement.
Wild Beasts: brilliant folky and big sounding songs but the volume was too low and the gathering bored idiots thursday night brings combined with the idiots who think everything is rage against the machine when they get drunk kind of wrecked the atmosphere. Still a good set and it was nice seeing them.

I think i spent this night out of my tent (cramped up in the corner of someone elses) because my friends are sluts WHO STEAL MY CLOTHES AND GET JIZZ ON THEM... you know who you are...

"are you touching yourself"..."no its just warm down there"

Freeday:
The Computers: I think they have to be taken with a pinch of salt, the all white band uniforms, over the top vocals and art student look is an odd mix. Still i love them, awesome screamo punk with hillarity thrown in, some good riffs and banging rythm. I dont think the steward lady we talked to before really got it though.
Polar Bear Club: one of the best bands of the day, the main guy looked like he was on coke, punching the air and kicking the ground like he was being attacked by the world around him. SOmething about their performance screams AMERICAN HARDCORE BAND... amazing songs though and an amazing live energy despite a static crowd.
A Wilhelm Scream: Amazing hardcore band with a bit of a cult status. THey played a great set with as many head tearing anthems as you could want. ROCK AND ROLL.
Municipal Waste: These guys fucked me up, with their brand of sarcastic metal. Lines like "rip your face off and throw it on stage", high fiving in the crowd, and twin circle pits (or circle tits). Hillarious and baffelingly brilliant.( swore i saw male bonding rocking out to them)
"the moshotorium"..."so metal they piss jaeger and jizz vodka"
The Rakes: me and my friends were big fans of the first album (awwww bless our little indie hearts) and we noticed (watching from the back) just how much the vocal styles have changed and how its ruining both old and new songs. THey need to go back to their post punk routes and rethink things.
Hockey: Was really good and interesting to watch. By no means the most exciting band but they played a nice set with a few folky parts and a lot of harmonious soulful vocals and jangly guitars. Good times.
The Maccabees: NME tent was packed, sound was shit... was all around a bit of a loss really, but still glad i stayed to see xray and stuff. I think orlando needs to losen up a bit and look happier... i think the hypes gone to their heads and theyve betrayed their indie pop aesthetic.
65daysofstatic: I love 65dos live and this was no exception, although because of relatively long songs they didnt get through much material. Also it was very apparent the volume was too low for their sound. I went a little mental for radio protector as a last song, was intense.
At this point there was consumption of illicit substances ("pillz for the win") which is why i inexplicably liked the following bands-
Atreyu: i remember nothing but i m pretty sure it was good....
The Blackout: Ok actually they're alright (maybe its the annoying scene deep down talking) the guy who looks like patrick wolf dressing for a MCR concert can't scream or sing though, KICK HIM OUT, the other one can't scream but atleast he looks vaguely hardcore. Yeah pretty funny pop punk or emo or whatever you call it.
Bring Me the Horizon: Hand on my heart... one of the best bands of the day. It was mental and my face hurt after and I think i hated everyone there for a while BUT IT WAS FREAKING AWESOME... if the guitarist had jumped off the big pole thing and not climbed down it would have been insane... alas no. Anyway it was pretty br00tal and with a hint of sattired i thought it was amazing.

Pills kind of fucked us up at this point... I hit myself and tried to get people to break my nose (i believed karma wanted it broken..."PUT THE SPADE DOWN STEVE") after offending a small person (if you read this i m really sorry). Hollie lost the ability to understand the silent disco... every 2 minutes after explaining it: "OMG THERES A MAN IN MY HEAD TALKING... CAN YOU HEAR THE SAME THING AS ME... HOW DOES IT WORK". Pat fell over and explained his bearded women festish... chris lost the ability to move anything but his wrists and Joe thought he was having a heart attack... o us crazy kids.

Pat "your the most beautiful girl holl"
Joe "no i am"
Me "not with a beard like that"
Pat "i have a thing for bearded girls"
Then I sobered people up like a good little bunny i am... united everyone with pats help and helped chris find the floor... GOOD TIMES

Saturdon't:
Lethal Bizzle: would have been hillarious if i wasnt feeling sick and my feet didnt feel like lead weights... holding out for a gallows appearance wasnt promising. Yeah as you'd expect half arsed grime with shout along lyrics, jumping up and down and reminding him what his name is "WHATS MA NAME" (he shouldnt forget... its on his frickin t shirt).
Metronomy: I wasn't thrilled with the drumming but they sounded good all the same and the 3 pieces old vibe may be slightly lost in translation but they still play dancable, lovable yet quite dark pop music. Cool stuff.
Passion Pit: I really like some songs on record, but i think the producer on their work needs a medal. Live the vocals are weak and dreary, the drums and bass over powering and all the original psychopop feel lost. I cant even blame the NME stages crap sound... they were just bad.
Crystal Castles: Actually pretty good, disappointed with the sound quality and the stupid crowd at the nmecretion tent but it was cool and the jerky 8 bit tunes were so good. After getting crushed we went outside; watching on the monitors was pretty cool too (i think they went wrong... it was all messed up in black and white) I still think they should get rid of the drummer... maybe i just love drum machines too much.

Yeah so I only saw 4 bands and only one i really enjoyed saturday (whoops) and missed deadmau5 and MSTRKRFT due to excessive napping and a harsh come down from the day before. O WELL... onwards and upwards (i.e. more silent disc). It was rather a sober affair and soph did some suggestive air dancing... i kissed a boy and liked it (for £3... i'm a rent boy) then i had a good sleep so i was ready forrrr...

Sundaaaaaance:
Dananananaykroyd: Class as ever, every song was immense and they played as any self respecting band would, drunk and until they get turned off. Wall of cuddles mad me so happy and the sing along tunes were unbelievably amazing. The one band i saw with great sound on the crock of shit/radio 1 stage.
The Ghost of a Thousand: bit early in the day for some br00tal punk community head bashing but was still good, the crowd was pretty mental and despite one kid rocking out on his own in a lost prophets t shirt... pretty sound. They had a good sound and rocked it as would be expected. Stage antics and lots of jumping in the crowd.
KASMs: Best looking band of the weekend, the lead lady, blonde bassist and rawry are damn fine... damn fine. The music was pretty good as far as art rock female vocal lead stuff with scartchy guitars and shouting. Was really interesting to watch though, they are clearly really good musicians and stuff.
Minnaars: Absolutely ace, they managed (unlike some other bands) to make the bbc intro stage their own and playing a festival friendly set, ditching their normal technical setup for 6 and a half electronified songs (complete with backing tracks and a remix) was pretty awesome. THey jumped into the crowd and put on a mint show
"his guitars so high", "if it got any higher i think only cats would enjoy it", "i meant the strap was high...".
Bombay Bicycle Club: The sound wasn't great for them on the festival republic song and i feel their song choices werent great (the new stuff lacks the awkward sound of their old songs) but was still great and songs like the hill were really good. Also some guy in a mouse suit on stage rocking out was pretty cool.
Lovvers: Were clearly wasted and completely amazing, their noise punk anthems were mind blowing, their theatrics hillarious and ummmmm... well thats about it. At the end the guitarist fell over an amp and kept playing while squirming about... coooooool.
Two Door Cinema Club: T'was time for the transgressive stage which last year was amazing... I'd kind of written these guys off as another indie pop band that would have one good single and fade out but seeing as nothing was happeneing i went to saw them. First thing i noticed was that they had a drum machine (which is pretty damn cool) and then they played a set of really quality indie pop with brilliant clean hooks and tuneful vocals, occasional electronic elements and a tight sound. Somewhere between the xcerts, good shoes and late of the pier.
Saw will at this point... surreal moment (i thought he was at reading). He looked goooood.
Pulled Apart By Horses: the greatest cats in the world (despite what you heard) BLOOD, ROCK AND ROLL, THRASHY VOCALS, JUMPING UP AND DOWN and all my favourite songs. But seriously Tom funked his leg up big time and it was impressive he kept going. Fucking carnage man.
We then stayed for a bit of The Invisible who kind of sucked but had some cool fat girl fronting though (and a guitarist who looks like wiskas) DJs before were awesome though and we danced around a passed out guy with his duvet (affectionally dubbed buckaroo man as we stacked shit on him till he through it off) he had a plate on his head with the words "I MIGHT BE DEAD :)". 5 people couldnt rip the duvet away from him. When he got up there was a big cheer.
Future of the Left: I don't remember too much of fotl, other than the bassist was amazing, they rocked and it was all very funny... Ok so i remember a bit. Good shit if you like rocking riffs and hillarious vocals. RADICAL

SO then i got wasted on substances again and ruined everyones night (and missed DJ OD), woke up freezing and panicking about getting home... but i did so lifes good (thanks Joe's mum).

In conclusion: I MISS LEEDS, i miss the floor and jizz stains and fighting over last slice of pizza and smoking too much and DJ OD and all my friends.
HOLLIES BEST QUOTES OF THE WEEK: "omygod im hating on it so bad", "yes its like the ebst thing ever" "can you all be my favourite thing" "o no o no" "omg its so wet between my legs"
Comments

Last Night

2009-08-17T04:14:00.001-07:00

My friend was ID'd for male bonding and lovvers gig so we got turned away. i could have cried, and worst of all i could hear the start of male bondings set and it sounded awesome. o well, gang gang dance on tuesday and talons on wednesday to look forward to.

Festivals: a look back

2009-08-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a long, lazy summmer for me and i got thinking back to its beginnings: Back in june I went to glastonbury. At the time i was really underwhelmed and pretty miserable as it was (exams/losing my wallet/sun stroke had got me down) but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Thinking back to that muddy week two performances really stood out for me

Animal Collective's set (on the Park Stage) was probably some of the best, most brilliant atmospheric music I've ever heard live. Before seeing them I wasn't incredibly keen on more than a few recorded songs and thought they were another pitchfork hype band. Boy did the prove me wrong.
Heres a video of the fifth song they played, the single "Summertime Clothes". The video I wanted to show you was a brilliant live version of set closer "Brother Sport", however the recording is very illusive.

Entire set to download.

Bon Iver's set at glastonbury "on the Other Stage) was really special. I'd never really given their album "for emma, forever ago" a good listen as it is a thoroughly slow singer-songwriter afair which i normally put down as "not my thing". However live this music is a totally different afair, the heart wrenching songs about love and loss seemed to cut through me like a knife, and the beautifully layered acoustic/folky music created such an amazing atmosphere.
One song really stuck out though: their brilliant finisher "The Wolves (act 1 and 2)": Here's a video of it and watch it all the way through if you don't know the song, it starts slow and ends in some kind of crazed shouting session that leaves people in tears.

Entire set to download.

Along the same lines I remembered all the good bands I saw at Dot to Dot in Nottingham (indoor many venue festival) and of course truck festival and so looked for some videos. Although there were no real amazing heads and shoulders above standouts like at glasto heres a couple of my favourites.

Patrick Wolf puts on a really great show and didn't disappoint at dot to dot, heres him playing "the libertine". At the time i said about him: His stage presence was over powering. His theatrics entertaining. His music, the pinical of alt. pop brilliance. THis culminates in a near perfect show.

Pulled apart by horses at truck (in the barn) was mental. Here's there final song and stand out CHOON "i punched a lion in the throat", its totally bodacious:

Tubelord at truck in the barn, this is a really shit recording i found randomly during night of the pencils by some idiot who seems to video everything. O WELL enjoy

Shapes & Brontide, The Chameleon, 06/8/09

2009-08-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to another amazing buttonpusher night at the dingy yet homely (and sadly half empty) chameleon. The gig space of the chameleon (at the top of the building) gets boiling in the summer, but theres nothing better than getting sweaty and watching some rocking bands. There always seems to get friendly crowds who really enjoy the music and fewer annoying scenesters at these nights which makes for a good atmosphere.

These Waves are probably the best derby band at the moment (possibly ever) and pretty much the only way to hear them is to travel to derby or nottingham and watch them support bands in gritty venues.
They brought a really good show full of energy to the cramped "stage" area and seemed more confident with their music than ever. THrashing about while playing and flicking their fringes. Edgy post hardcore with the same mathrock elements that made bands like Meet Me in St Louis and Secondsmile special. Shouty vocals and screams ontop the stop/start wall of sound they create is really interesting and each song is really solid. THe vocals which at times before had seemed a bit scratchy were sounding much more refined today, probably their best performance I've witnessed yet. Sadly this band have fallen on hard times and so i implore you to support them.

Alright the Captain are an awesome local instruMENTAL band who created alot of noise for three guys. I've heard them described as aggresive experimental rock, metal, prog rock, deranged art surf ... what comes to my mind when i hear them though is really tight math/metal like 65daysofstatic playing metallica with some cool spacey noises to boot. Loud, experimental and bloody good to watch. Their set was full of energy and really captivating, using the bass to create moments of surf style distortion and a mathy guitar line over some mental rythms. Surprising that such a small local band can be so good.

Brontide have blown me away before, their sheer musical genius and charisma but this time it was the performance they really stepped up a gear. Tim brilliantly loops guitars and slowly builds a huge wall of layers and tension, before manic explosiosive breakdowns that make your eyes pop out and have the whole band moshing like glamrockers. . With a change in the setlist the whole thing didnt flow aswell as it had previous times, but put that down to lack of practice since they havent really had a chance with a buzz of activity in several different projects. Still there was only one break from their relentless set as they play a new song to finish with. Some of the best techy-math music ever; like battles bashing russian circles with a loop pedal.
I really need to get a picture of tims pedal board... its pretty epic. GO AND SEE THEM LIVE OR ME WRITING THIS HAS BEEN WASTED TIME.

I thought Shapes would be really, really, really good live, but they were only really good. I think the problem is they lack some of the subtlty of their records in live shows, didnt stop the racket they made being very fucking good and the performance easily matching any other band of the night. Sweaty and topless they jumped and spat and screamed out the entirity of the new ep and a few oldies, tearing it up. THe songs sounded alot more distorted and harder live, with the shouts and screams less precise and more haphazard. THe mathy feel of their eps was lost to a more jagged hardcore sound. Set highlight was the short but brilliant Trampled By A Horse... amazing stuff, and as the name suggests pretty brutal.

Anyway the Shapes and Brontide tour is to support their new split 10": HOLY MONSTERS (holy roar + big scary monsters)
it also features the tupolev ghost and holy state who are also amazing. BUY IT HERE

NMExcretion: a rant

2009-08-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

Now most of us know the NME is "a lurid piece of filth"... for those who dont heres a disclaimer before you say "WELL YOU CAN'T TALK, YOUR WRITING ON SOME NOTHING BLOG WHICH NO ONE READS": I'm not perfect, and my skills as a music journalist are at best undeveloped but i really it just to give the "New Musical Express" a good bashing today
Recently have made me VERY FUCKING ANGRY. Normally i have the good grace to ignore the NME and their topman clad readers, thinking that its just ignorance that makes them that way... not an active attempt to disgrace music.But recently I heard things, things that made me think that the NME is just another corporate spy, another pawn in their chessboard to dilute talent and keep Lady Gaga at number one.

See NME DO NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT MUSIC AT ALL. In recent years they have lost credibility, all tasteful judgement and have nothing valid or interesting to say. The worst thing is recently they tacklessly attacked good talented musicians who were in my opinion too independant and uncaring for profits or fame for the NME's liking.

They know they can get away with writing the same old glossy style bullshit because the 14 year old kids and 20 somethings trying to be "down" with said kids will take what they say as the word of god and continue to read and think alex turner deserves his applause after every 3 and a half minutes of talentless guitar torture. What annoys me most is that it's almost a senseless crime. They seem to actively work against many good talented musicians and themselves JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN.

Here are some examples of where the NME fucked up big time (just so you know I didn't buy any copies for research purposes if this is misinformed):

They gave Sam Isaac's album 0 and after 2 lines ran out of things to say about the music so went on a personal vendetta against him, implying his life is a nightmarish wreck. (see it for yourself here)

Worst of all was their take on Blakfish's debut "Champions"; giving it a 1 and describing it as "somewhere between then the pre-menstrual screams of Rolo Tomassi and the American Whines of This Town Needs Guns". (I couldnt find a link for this, just trust me)

Both these albums are fucking fantastic and you should purchase them RIGHT NOW :
Bears by Sam Isaac incredible folky pop, with a lovely voice and beautiful lyrics and catchy tunes that will stay with you for weeks.
Champions by Blakfish awesome hardcore following in the steps of meet me in st louis and reuben. One of the best bands around at the moment.

Ok so fair enough they are entitled to an opinion... but rating these albums so low seems is just attention seeking and annoying. It's like they want to bash "hip" bands to look like they aren't hopping on the band wagon and have some descernable taste. An attempt that fails.

How they have the nerve to do that and then put lilly allen and the cribs on their covers week after week and talk about how "original" the strokes are... This isn't "new" music, this is just playing up to what your audience is comfortable with, what it expects and streamlining popular music to make maximise profits for the big guns.

OK so lets balance this argument and see what interesting "new music" headlines NME have on their website right now: Snoop Dogg for ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’, P Diddy moshes his way through Arctic Monkeys' intimate New York gig: O GOD THAT HIGHLIGHTS NEW TALENTED MUSICIANS LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

Is this madness a results of having an audience of tasteless mugs who take your word as red and play their joy division cds for the millionth time; perhaps.
However the best conclusion for these mind bogglingly crap reviews is that "NME can't write anything but gossip bits for shit and in attempt to impress the new editor decided to just attack everything with slander" quoted from a wise man.

If you like NME
1`- go punch yourself hard enough to make you forget all you know about music journalism
2 - GO BUY FUCKING ARTROCKER (o and read some decent blogs)
3 - RE-EDUCATE YOURSELF

even morrisey hates them
(Disclaimer 2: the NME aren't all bad... they give some good bands coverage, this is heavily outweighed by the above sentiment)

Talons

2009-08-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

This post was destined for TEENAGE HANGOVER (another blog) but my friend tom was already writing about them so even though i went on a lot in the truck post i'll GO ON EVEN MORE HERE...

A recent signing to one of my favourite labels: Big Scary Monsters, this young instrumental six piece might just be my new favourite band (and that means you should atleast give them a listen right?)
These guys are my age so its a bit condescending for me to say they're "barely out of school"... o well. Barely out of school it's surprising that these guys have written some really epic tunes. They are like beautifully polished glass... thats been broken just for the the hell of it; perfectly broken And the most striking thing about them: They sounds big. Real big.
Not your ordinary Godspeed-esque post rock though... This is an edgy wall of sound, with more heavy breakdowns and beautiful build ups than a fast paced game of jenga.
The two guitarists create complex intertwining parts (perhaps with twiddly mathrock inspiration) backed by a brilliantly frantic rhythm section. However its the 2 violinist creating the shrill melody which helps create deeper more elaborate sound than many of their contemporaries.
One of the things a lot of these bands get wrong is that they don't know when to stop, when to turn off the wall of sound and interplay between guitars, but talons pull it off perfectly.
Their debut single the pearl is out in a couple of weeks and it's really something special. 5 freaking stars.
O and if you get the chance to see them live DO, it's where they come into their element. Talon's myspace

TRUCK TWELVE: LET IT IN

2009-08-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

So to start this blog I thought I'd do a post on a festival I attended about a week ago. Steventon in Oxfordshire is a quiet village, ruined once a year by 2 days of rock and roooooll.

Truck has a lot of good qualities: Small enough to seem very personal, sunny enough to give me a healthy glow, smelling of cows enough to be authentic and cheap enough to leave me with change.
It's meant to be about finding your new favourite band, but a stupid amount of my favourites favourites were already playing. Seeing as i loved pretty much every band i saw this post might be a bit repetative. (to make up for it heres some party camping)

saturday

Tubelord
filling colour's (rip) giant shoes, tubelord didnt disappoint. Their hideously fun and upbeat set the tone for the whole weekend and although they only played 6 songs the atmosphere was lightning and the crowd all seemed to dig it. THe lighting for tubelord was really well done and gave the show another element along side Dave's "pig mask and jump around in the crowd" thing, (the mask didnt appear to be washed when i wore it in nottingham...xcore). As for songs the newer stuff sounded really immense and the old choons tighter than ever as they get more confident. Night of the pencils was so good it sent shivers down my spine and Azerrad was amazing as a sing along end.
The Scholars
Turned out to be some terribly stereotypical oxford "indie rock" band. Not Scholars (without the "The") who are brilliant rocking powerpop. Needless to say we left quickly. (afterwards one of them had a go at me for hating...so atleast they are take criticism gracefully)
Fanfarlo
Amazing band we were barrier for. This five piece was the perfect folk band; easy to listen to and beautifully crafter anthems with clap along beats and tear worthy lyrics. Jeremy Warmsley on guitar and bashing some percussion occasionally was pretty special too.
Data Select Party
DSP have some of the best pop music around right now and were as always immensely fun live. Playing a few new songs was probably a bad idea for a festival in my opinion (maybe just because i wanted the sing along anthems) I was pretty drunk for them and danced my socks off with sara and georgia. good times. Also dan has the best jumper and smile of any person i ve ever met.
Jeremy Warmsley
Jeremy is a very talented and funny guy. I'm not a huge fan of his indie/folk rock/pop/whatever but live he was really special and had a great energy for just one man. HE came across quite affable, asking the crowd to sit down and then taking cover requests. His 6th verse and one armed scissor cover were definately highlights of the festival.
Errors
plagued by some early technical errors (see what i did there) as cables were pulled out on the cramped beathive stage errors still pulled through to put on probably the best performance of the festival. On hindsight it wasnt the best time i've seen them but the set was amazing and they sounded great. They bring something different to the whole "math" thing with their electronica and acid elements. Beautifully worked layers of intelligent guitars and electronics building to dancable breakdowns. Incredible. Toes was great to end on aswell
Wild Beasts
Due to an arduous queue there was a long wait to get into wild beasts, meaning i missed some of the best of their new album. However the latter songs were just as brilliant, they sound much more erie and atmospheric live and the low lit barn set echoed this beautifully. THey were really beautifully deep and a pleasure to watch, the crowd seemed awe struck and the air still. Hooting and Howling blew me away and penultimate song We Still Got The Taste Dancing On Our Tongues slowed down and more atmospheric live was just incredible (the album version doesnt do it justice)... probably my favourite song of the festival.

After then becoming quite a bit more drunk at the tents we headed back to see some djs at the barn...
DJ Food
THis attempt at "visual turntabling" was pretty poor, the need to find videos that could be easily mixed seemed to diminish the quality of mixing for the music and although they played quite a fun set it seemed quite lazy and uninspired.
Lee Mortimer & Foamo
This was a huge contrast to the previous set in terms of originality and quality. They really produced some awesome mixes and i couldn't stop dancing. Perfect mix of electro, house, dubstep and huge bassline tunes with an odd dash of indie. Good stuff, recomend anyone who likes good dance music to seek foamo out and watch him.
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
managing to bypass alot of the queue by talking to tim from ttng these guys were playing fairly good indie and dance floor fillers with mixed success. Dwarfed by foamo they were a little underwhelming.

sunday

Talons
Recently signed to bsm i wasnt sure what to expect from this young 6 piece. I hardly ever fall in love with bands just from seeing them live. THe xcerts and errors are two that it has happened with before, and now Talons join their ranks as one of the most interesting and exciting bands to have come along in years. Their brilliant instrumental blend of post hardcore with mathcore and indie exploded on stage: Battered drums and awesome riffs intersperced by 2 violin parts which creates a big sound. They really gave the performance a lot, very energetic in contract to the static crowd, i dont think its possible to do more than drop your jaw at a band like this though. Like grammatics meets 65dos, but its a good thing trust me.
Calories
THe sound for calories wasn't great if i'm honest, and it was hard to distinguish some of their poppy guitar lines as they were overpowered by the drums and bass, but knowing the songs made it good to enjoy and new songs like even steven sounded awesome. Terrible crowd aswell, they didnt seem to get it. Not one of the best performances but still good.
And So I Watch You From Afar
From what i understand this music is a really lively scene in Ireland and these guys lived up to that. Really good live, thought it lacked diversity and all the songs sounded very similar and with only 3 members perhaps lacking the big sound to make them special. Still very good tight post rock that was thoroughly enjoyable.
The Xcerts
The first time i saw the xcerts was roughly a year ago at dot to dot when i stumbled upon them. Since then they lost none of the energy in their performance. They prove theirs still life left in the indie rock 3 piece band format. The lyrics and sweet scottish vocals clashing with their edgy rock sound to form sing along alternate anthems. Good atmosphere and stage presence too.
The Joy Formidable
Although the barn was pretty packed for them as we turned up, i really was underwhelmed by the joy formidable. Porbably the most disapointing band of the festival, they seemed to be the same uninspired indie that metric was producing years ago. Dull droning guitars and wishy washy vocals at times trying to imitate shoe gaze. Really not my thing.
This Town Needs Guns
We waited a while for this town to come on, well worth it to see 26isdancier as an opener from the front. However the quality of sound and performance was really lacking from the home grown maths boys. The set wasn't helped by the countless 14 year olds dancing/moshing. I can't understand how you can go mental for what is essentially subtley beautiful twiddly guitar music. We stayed for about 4 songs including chinchilla and lemur and if i sit here. Good but we chose to rush off to see if PABH was any better.
Pulled Apart By Horses
Amazing live in any capacity, and although the barns crowd was too thinly spread to make for your average sweaty, jumpy pulled apart gig they put on a great performance. Sporting 2 rolo t shirts (interesting trivia?) their hardcore riffs and shouty/screamy vocals sounded great as we came in on HIGH FIVE (although the hipster crowd wasn't going mental as i would have liked to see), it was still really good to watch the performance. Universal talk box followed by Punched a lion was amazing to finish on.
The Ghost of a Thousand
Now i don't know a lot about hardcore music but my friend do, and they tell me to go see these guys for an awesome show. RIght they were, even the mic check was hardcore (CHEEEEECK!!!!). The crowd disappated very quickly as the band started thrashing out their punk guitars and dark screaming. THe crowd was really the best thing about this band though as those scene kids know how to party. Although the crowd was small and rather tame by the end, (the wall of death more like a wall of slight bruising) they were really fun. Closing on Black Art Number One it was an intense set.

look at all the oxford hipsters

The final musical instalment of the festival was Jack and Paul's dirty dub voiced over orange bioler suit guy's spits. Amazing.
Intervening time was spent annoying band members, abusing joey, finding the monster, dancing to shit dj's, GETTING BEVVED and eating pasta. Good times
Sadly i missed some bands due to laziness and overcrowding like We Were Promised Jet Packs, Sam Isaac avec band (gutted it was too packed), Yacht and Maybeshewill. But really the fact there were so many good bands that i couldnt be arsed with a 5 minute walk to others is a testiment to how brilliant the lineup was (and how drunk i got). CANT WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR

HIYA! WATCH THIS!

2009-08-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hi, my names Steve and I like music. This blog is basically supplementary to the other blogs I write for and will be mainly live reviews. Thoughts on albums and music in general. Occasionally music videos I love and such. Anyway if anyone ever reads this. HI, THANK YOU