Photo Blog – Gig Tickets #1

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Yes, this is a very self indulgent blog post but what’s the point in having a personal blog if you can’t please yourself. So here we go, the first of what I imagine will be an ongoing series of photo blogs showing tickets of gigs past. Ah, nostalgia.

 

October and November 2002 – Supergrass, Hundred Reasons, Nada Surf anf Foo Fighters.

December 2002, January 2003 – Doves (as a favour), Hell Is For  Heroes, Soledad Brothers (out of curiosity as we’d heard about them being good live), Jesse Malin (with my sister)..

February 2003 – Idlewild (supported by Mclusky) , Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Burning Brides, Longwave, Kinesis (we went to see Reuben who were supporting that night, hence the signed ticket from Jamie).

February & March 2003 – Har Mar Superstar (again, curiosity), Blood Brothers (band were great but gig full of fashionista which made for a flat atmosphere which was a real shame), Anti War Gig (With McLusky and Panel et al), Mad Capsule Markets (amazing performance from the band and electric atmosphere).

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In 2002 I Was Listening To…

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It was a review in an issue of Uncut magazine which first turned me on to …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. The Austin alt-rockers released the album Source Tags & Codes early in 2002 and the album was everything the review promised it would be -  when the opening piano refrain of Invocation blasts into It Was There That I Saw You, all scuzzy guitars and intense drums, I knew that I was going to be putting it on repeat constantly.

I couldn’t remember being as excited by a record for ages and it sparked a revival for me after years of wandering in a musical wilderness. Having somehow lost track of the bands I’d loved and the friends I’d relied on to introduce me to them I didn’t really know where to start. On a whim I began picking up music mags again; it must have been a five or six year break since I’d stopped (I can’t even remember why now) and suddenly I realised there was a ton of stuff I’d been missing out on.

Coupled with a fresh desire to find new music, this record was the push I needed in the right direction to start discovering tunes that insipred me again. So there we are, I can’t talk about music and how obsessed I am with it now without mentioning this record.


Getting Noticed Is Tough

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Or perhaps that should read…getting noticed is still tough.

It may seem like its getting easier and easier for unsigned and underground bands to get their music reviewed and talked about, having a physical copy of a new release landing on your doormat is gradually becoming a thing of the past with streaming websites like Bandcamp and Soundcloud giving musicians a cheaper, quicker and more direct way to reach their audience. Now you are more likely to get a link on an email than a CD and while this does take some of the magic out of the whole process this freedom means that bands often don’t need PR help or a lot of money behind them to get noticed.

There is a downside to all this though as it has inevitably lead to a huge increase in the amount of promo material magazines are receiving, the knock on effect is that it can be pot luck sometimes what you end up listening to; with vast amounts of promos pinging into your inbox every week you can’t possibly sample it all and you are often left relying on the visual impact of the initial email to pique your interest – so perhaps this accessibility is an illusion after all?

What makes us think something might be worth listening to?  An email with a short plea and a link may get passed over but then again too much information can make you wither inwardly and skip to the next one. Keeping it simple but providing enough information is a fine line but it’s always obvious when someone has made the effort to impress and makes you more likely to make the effort back.

 

 

New Reviews Early March 2012

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I’ve reviewed some great new records in the last couple of weeks, it’s been a solid start to March. I think these are all worthy of attention:

A Whisper In The Noise – To Forget
This is a record that begs to be listened to in one sitting, it’s cohesive and well constructed and the mood intensifies when you allow yourself to become lost in their world. The tone is full of loneliness and melancholy, but there is also a spark of magic which seeps into every track and counteracts the darkness. Dreamy, moody and beautiful; recommended for fans of slowcore.
Read more here

Duara – From The Hill
Swiss trio Duara have a punchy instrumental sound with off kilter, complex drums and technically impressive guitars but it’s all done without fuss, without theatrics, so it sounds organic, easy and uncomplicated in their hands. From The Hill is the band’s third full length and it’s being released through the excellent Ikarus records. The album was recorded live in an old cottage in Luzern with no sound tech support, just the band playing their songs and recording them and it sounds fresh and incredibly tight.
Read more here

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New Reviews February 2012

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More recent reviews, some really solid releases in February. Here are a few that i’ve enjoyed ths month and would recommend you pick up:

 

 

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster – Exegesis
The band apparently took inspiration from the life and work of author Philip K. Dick on this new album Exegesis and that inspiration has obviously worked for them. They have retained the texture of their previous output with layers of soft melody, sludgy, chunky guitar and intense, noisy soundscapes but surprisingly, in a change from their all instrumental debut, they’ve included vocals on some tracks. The vocals luckily are very well judged, slotting in seamlessly, not breaking the dark and intense atmospherics of the record, in fact Exegesis, the first track they appear on, is a triumph; emotive and melodic layers break into the darkness really, making a connection with the listener (think Latitudes rather than ISIS for a comparison). One of the instrumental tracks, which is already a favourite, the 11 odd minute epic Valis showcases everything that’s great about the band with a base of heavy duty but complex drumming and superb guitars carrying the gently melodic sections but also pumping out meaty riffs; it builds time after time through waves of skin prickling noise but never feels obvious or expected.
Read more…http://www.roomthirteen.com/cd_reviews/12572/Tacoma_Narrows_Bridge_Disaster__Exegesis.html

Cloud Nothings – Attack On Memory
Cleveland based Cloud Nothings new Wichita released album (produced by Steve Albini) is a tuneful ride of jangly noise and melody with beautifully raw vocals; moments of post-rock, post-punk along with surf, garage and indie amongst others all feature (if we must label) – whatever, when it’s this engaging, who cares what you call it, all you really need to know is that it’s charming and memorable and addictive.
Read more...http://www.roomthirteen.com/cd_reviews/12573/Cloud_Nothings__Attack_On_Memory.html

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In The Early 90s I Was Listening To…

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The early 90s probably still seems like the best time in music to me because I was just coming out of the phase of trying to fit in and listening what everyone else in school thought was good and discovering what I actually liked, so everything was fresh to me and exciting. Everything I heard was new and made a huge impression; I didn’t have that jaded sense of ‘heard it all before’ yet.

My appetite for finding new music to listen to was huge and I raided other people’s collections for records to borrow and scoured the pages of Melody Maker for new bands,. reading it from cover to cover, marking gigs coming up and wondering how I would find the money to pay for them.

Pivotal albums for me at the time ranged from the American hardcore of Big Black to the dreamy shoegaze of Galaxie 500. At this point though I was relying on hand me downs and copies on tape for the most part, paper covers made by friends with their little track lists and notes telling me which ones they liked the best, so many of the records I loved were a few years old, and in the case of those bands above had already split up.

Records I loved and can still recommend from the time:
Swans – Greed (1986)
Big Black – Songs About Fucking (1987)
Napalm Death – Scum (1987)
Pixies -  Surfa Rosa (1988)
Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (1988)
My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything (1988)
Dinosaur Jr – Bug (1988)
Fugazi – Fugazi & Margin Walker EPs (1988 & 1989)
Galaxie 500 – On Fire (1989)
Bastro – Diablo Guapo (1989)
Spacemen 3 – Playing With Fire (1989)
The Wedding Present – Bizarro (1989)
Ultra Vivid Scene – self titled (1989)
The Cure – Disintegration (1989)
Ride – Ride & Play EPs (1990)
Mazzy Star – She Hangs Brightly (1990)
The Happy Flowers – Lasterday I Was Been Bad (1990)
New Fast Automatic Daffodils – Big 12″ (1990)
Primal Scream  – Loaded 12″ (1990)
Extreme Noise Terror – Peel Sessions ’87-’90 (1990)
LFO – Frequencies (1991)
Orbital – self titled (1991)
Pavement – Trigger Cut 12″ (1992)

 

 

New Reviews

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Some new review highlights, so far for January:

 

 

 

 

 

Nada Surf – The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy
“Nada Surf has made a strong return with their new album which holds some of the best material we’ve heard from them in a while. From the very start of album opener ‘Clear Eyed Cloud Minded’ the feel is faster, more raw and rocky than their previous record “Lucky” (not including the covers album “If I Had A Hi-Fi”); in fact it harks back more to their “Proximity Effect” days with jangly guitars, fast drums and punchy power pop melodies topped off with Caws’ infectious and sing-along vocal lines. There are still some more gentle moments of course, with tracks like ‘When I Was Young’ which starts softly, with a dreamy skin-tingling quality, before breaking loose into a catchy repeated vocal riff with foot stomping beats.”
Read more http://www.roomthirteen.com/cd_reviews/12520/Nada_Surf__The_Stars_Are_Indi.html
Yakari – Feel It Two
“This is the sophomore album from Zurich based four piece, Yakari, with the six track record available as a vinyl only release on Ikarus Records. Their sound is heavily steeped in late eighties alt-rock, noise-pop and new wave and brings to mind both American and UK bands like The Jesus And Mary Chain, Dinosaur Jr, My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, Sonic Youth et al. The tracks on “Feel It Two” are layered with distorted guitars and feedback and have a dreamy, drone effect, with long intros leading to sweet melodies and warm vocals.
Read more http://www.roomthirteen.com/cd_reviews/12528/Yakari__Feel_It_Two.html

Svin – Heimat
“Danish four piece Svin (which is Danish for Pig) are self described as Post-rock avant-garde and certainly do fit this description- while melodic, the tracks on their debut record “Heimat” employ jazz drumming alongside heavy down-tuned rock guitars and mournful Horn which replaces the rich quality of bass on the album and in the band’s words the “octave-processing of the Horn, mak[es] it a full-blown highly sustained bass-instrument”. The treatment of the Horn means it is easy to mistake it for many other instruments throughout, they really do create an intriguing and off kilter world.”
Read more: http://www.roomthirteen.com/cd_reviews/12486/Svin__Heimat.html

Build Us Airplanes – At The End Of The Day
“With comparisons drawn to Cursive, Jawbreaker and Hot Water Music this punk edged melodic indie-rock album sounded like it could be an interesting prospect (especially for a huge Cursive fan) and as it turns out, while the similarity to that bad is slight this is still a great album, better in fact for not drawing too many direct comparisons. With the melodic sweetness of indie and the harder punk edge this is a record that hits so many right notes it’s a real pleasure to listen to.”
Read more: http://www.roomthirteen.com/cd_reviews/12538/Build_Us_Airplanes__At_The_End_Of_The_Day.html

Not a bad start to 2012 so far, hopefully plenty more to come, keep checking back.

New Year New Music

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Here we go, 2012, lots of new music to look forward to not least the new Nada Surf record which is sounding great by the way, my review of that one should be live on Roomthirteen shortly .

Also looking forward to some fresh stuff from Narrows (Painted) and the new one from Cursive, (I Am Gemini ) which I already have on pre-order, of course, and this is just the first couple of months of the year. It’s all shaping up nicely.

November Albums

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So November’s pretty much done, this month I’ve been listening to and can recommend:

 

 

Wolves In The Throne Room – Celestial Lineage
“It’s easy to see from this record why WITTR are so respected; their sound is impressive and so rich that it draws you in instantly. The atmosphere of the places they love is embedded in the tracks and they bring this to you so effectively that you feel that presence behind the music all the way through.”

Office Of Future Plans – Office Of Future Plans
“From the opening strains of ‘Salamander’ with its verging on melancholic but rousing tone, you feel the powerful emotional pull of this record and you know it’s all going to be great; catchy, punchy and you can rock out to it. Ripping quickly from one chunky tune to the next you are greeted with some pretty heady and sometimes noisy moments (‘The Beautiful Barricades’) but always the underlying melodies are strong and the beats grooveable with some fantastic bass lines and the odd blast of jagged guitars the result is an album that’s so satisfying you may wonder how you ever got by without it.”

Eaststrikewest – We’re Important And We Keep The City Running
“A couple of years back I reviewed the album “Wolvves” and was struck by the contrast between the epic instrumental and the tuneful vocal sections of the songs, in comparison this record feels more cohesive; the two worlds flowing comfortably together rather than butting up against each other, making this a more satisfying album which sits easily side by side with some of the biggest epic, anthemic rock albums in recent years.”

Johnny Foreigner – Johnny Foreigner Vs Everything
“Johnny Foreigner’s new, third album has been a difficult project for the band. Two years in the making and stripped of big name producers and contracts they’ve gone back to basics; just them and their great tunes and the result? Thankfully, they haven’t lost anything in translation, in fact this record seems to hold the essence of the band; their fantastic live sound has been captured here with all those dramatic dynamic changes really coming to life, sweet, gentle melodic starts leading to huge noisy blasts of guitar noise that lift you up.”

Roll on December!

The Christmas Mix

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Ah, winter is upon us again and the Christian adopted festival that has become Christmas is fast approaching, a quick few days of gorging spent in an alcoholic daze and when you come round you’re in debt for 6 months. OK. I suppose there are a few nice bits (decorating the tree and having time off work primarily!) but it’s those horrific Christmas songs that fuel my phooey attitude. That one by Slade, the stupid McCartney one, Wizzard’s atrocity… All horrible soulless cash ins, seasonal monsters, played in hundreds of stores and shopping centres on repeat in the lead up to the ‘big day’ or at least the final shopping day- in an attempt to make you feel festive and spend more.

Needless to say, it doesn’t have the desired effect on me- irritation being the overriding feeling after five minutes with them.
Traditional carols I can handle (despite my atheist brain’s protests at the overriding religious message in some), at least they have dignity and are good to sing along to. Good King Wenceslas has long been my carol of choice. They’re generally just better songs, simple, uncluttered but effective; there’s a reason we still sing them after all this time. Carols aside though, there are far better tunes than those horrible pop standards to celebrate the season regardless of what you call it.

So, in the spirit of the season, or perhaps despite of it I give you the songs I’d far rather hear in the lead up to my holiday from work (and yes I do appreciate that the link is tenuous at best on most of them).

Envy – Rain Clouds Running In A Holy Night
Pixies – The Holiday Song
Mono – Ashes In The Snow
The Paperchase – A Nice Family Dinner For Once
Galaxie 500 – Snowstorm
Ghost Ride – Snowflakes That Kill
Gorilla Biscuits – Sitting Around At Home
Black Flag – Six Pack
Cloud Mouth – Take Me Out Into The Cold
Cursive – Break in The New Year