Posts tagged Indie
Camden Crawl 2011: Day One
May 15th
30th April 2011
A thankful DiR.net team headed out from HQ without the hassle of tube engineering works halting progress. Shortly after departing, we arrived, acquired our wristbands and were already enjoying our first band. Its great when things just work isn’t it!
The schedule was typically full of prime time clashes, but the addition of The Forum (hang on isn’t that Kentish Town), had added another headliner sized venue to the already bursting seams of the Camden Crawl + Kentish Town. We studied this at length in the blazing sunshine to the backdrop of Heights on the Red Bull Bedroom Jam stage. These agro-metallers were adept in fashioning walls of chainsaw guitar buzz, which when cranked up made for some cool amped up soundscapes. The screamed vocals were below average however and failed to leave an impression.
Heights
Staying put we were ready for the dance-punk of Turbowolf! Thankfully their vocalist had improved since the last time we saw them (here), but it was still more deciphering rather than listening. His energy and enthusiasm cannot be faulted, his gypsy punk attire could. Backed with electro soaked guitar riffs with metally tendencies and spiky synths this band were on top form, kicking out huge melodies and thumping bass which had even the grandpa’s an head banging. An early contender for highlight of the Weekend for sure!
Turbowolf
Due to P Moneys no show we were ready for Pendul…sorry, The Qemists! After nestling in near the back of the crowd, I was astounded at just how loud their engineer was pushing the sound system. Even people south of the river were wondering “what’s that racket?”. As it transpired, their huge Drum n’ Bass madness was pushed a tad too much. A huge Crack” signaled a muted 15 minutes as they blew a fuse, much to my relief. They restarted somewhat quieter and were much better. Its amazingly hard to enjoy something blowing a hole in your ear drums! Entertaining? yes, original? not quite. The guitars were understated and the bass/bass/snare drum beats wore thin all too quickly.
The Qemists
After a short break we returned to find the punk pop delights of Attack! Attack! rounding out the day schedule on the Red Bull Bedroom Jam stage. This was by far the most accomplished set of the day. Polished pop songs with clouting guitars and plenty of vocal hooks were worthy of a much greater crowd. Still we really enjoyed this well crafted, catchy little set from these welsh boys!
Attack! Attack!
With a total of 16 venues hosting shows at 19:15, it’s beyond belief how we ended up watching such utter drivel next! The offenders were Glaswegian noise rockers Divorce. From their stage presence you felt like they were being forced to play against their will (I’ll excuse the drummer, he was quite likable, thus in the wrong band!). Their antagonistic apathy wreaked of attitude problems as they generated mere nonsensical noise from their guitars. Nothing of value came from the vocalists lips except silence! Here incessant thrashing and vocals which can only be described as squawks were utterly dreadful! They clearly thought that they were playing groundbreaking art rock….in reality, it was plain awful!
Divorce
What followed at the Barfly was much brighter, if a little more agro-centric. Turbogeist‘s speed punk was really quite good! Fast and furious riffs with poppy sprinkles gave it a really edge as you could both rock out and toe tap at the same time. In amongst their set were some belting tunes, such as Alien Girl, that sparked chaos in the mosh pit. I say mosh pit, this was all out macho man pinball! It even managed to fill 90% of the venue. The remaining 10% wincing at every clout while secretly hoping the next one to fly out, does so not near me! A frenzied set which was both dangerous and fun!
Turbogeist
Hawk Eyes (or the band formerly known as Chickenhawk), played an absolute blinder in the Underworld tonight. Aggressive alt metal was met with equally approving head banging as their hard hitting riffs and super technical fretwork took centre stage. This was not for the faint hearted as they blasted through most of their debut album including tunes such as NASA Vs ESA, Scorpieau and Son of Cern. We were even joined in the crowd by the lead singer who despite being the occasional scream merchant, has an impressive set of pipes! One to rock out to (without fear of flying bodies).
Hawk Eyes
Rounding off the night we ended up in the Jazz Cafe for the return of Dananananaykroyd. With a tiny stage for their bouncy frenetic live shows it didn’t take long for the singers to leap into the crowd, instantly sending camera bulbs flashing (guilty your honour) as their antics continued. Mr. Flowers even got a high five! Without their new album being out yet, much of the show was new to us, yet the songs on offer were as cheery as ever mixed with dazzling guitar work and their trademark dueling vocals. One new single i picked out Muscle Memory was an all out pop song with a catchy melody and bags off off-kilter kookiness which makes they so great to listen to.
Dananananaykroyd
More than any other band I’ve seen, Dananananaykroyd really look like they are having an absolute blast all the time, cracking jokes, bearing grins as wide as the Cheshire cat and bantering with anyone who dares. Their energy is totally infectious! Even when during one song both guitars and one mic malfunctioned. To their credit, they carried on regardless and had a little chuckle about it afterwards!
Free Hug, enroute to Hi-Five Mr Flowers!
So it was with some older tunes Black Wax and Pink Sabbath did Danananananaanana… bid us farewell this evening. They rounded off what was a great day one, for a festival whose crowning glory (of a shower and a cooked breakfast) was yet to come…oh and tomorrows lineup is pretty awesome too! Stay Tuned!
Trail Of Dead @ Electric Ballroom
May 15th
16th April 2011
The double gig header for this week was concluded with another trip to Camden, only this time it’s straight to the Electric Ballroom early doors in order to catch the bands (damn Friday night scheduling). Upon arrival we were bombarded with epic noise rock coming from Asobi Seksu, who seemed to be doing quite well in drawing in the already ample crowd.
Asobi Sesku
Catching the end of the set, they played with plenty of shoegazy fuzz factory loaded guitars and scratchtastic fretting. But it all fell apart when the female vocalist opened her mouth to deliver weak and whiney vocals. Good thing there weren’t that many vocals then hey!
Rival Schools
After a long time away Rival Schools had returned to the UK with their first new material in 7 years since their lauded debut United By Fate. They have clearly spent time honing their songwriting as these new tunes were mature, melodic and catchy. The performance was one of professionalism. All in all a fairly standard run through of their material. Good, but left a little hole where the excitement should be. Front man Walter Schreifels warm vocals and his intimacy with the crowd, initiating plenty of banter showed a confidence which even went so far as breaking out a cover by request. To the cries of “FREEEEEBIRD!” came a rendition of the first verse/chorus of Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead Or Alive…they definitely have a sense of humour. Set highlights included the delayed drenched riffs of 69 Guns, the heaving opener Wring It Out and sing-a-long indie classic Used For Glue. On the whole, a rather enjoyable set.
…And Now You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, to quote their full moniker do not do half measures. Neither do they like the phrase ordinary. Whether is the band name’s, their energy or the ethereal sonic experimentations they manufacture they are far from your average Joe’s. Kicking off their set they launched into a seemingly endless stream of melody and progressive rock greatness backed with more rise and falls than the south downs. After later checking up (setlist.fm) it seems this was the 16min album closer Strange News From Another Planet from latest LP Tao of the Dead, just how any middle of the road band would start their set, right?
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
Follow this with a seamless melody of cracking indie rock tunes from the same album including The Fairlight Pendant, Ebb Away and Summer Of All Dead Souls, you have the first half over within the blink of an eye! ToD have a great tendency to produce beautiful slow drifting instrumentations which lull your senses, taking you into a dreamlike state of mind. Yet they manage to never over do it (70′s prog a no-no), bringing back the main riff at just the right point to kick you up the ass with full blown amped up clout.
ToD were hitting the right notes with the crowd by playing moving on to some older material which sparked both moshs and sways in equal proportions. In rather ToD like fashion, their lead singer and drummer swapped for some of tracks which tended to be heavier and punkier.
Switching it up
These Texans take no prisoners no matter who is on vocal duty and it’s their genre bending, outright refusal to conform, while creating unique and exciting prog which sets them apart and above all who try to rival them. A great performance from true rock heavyweights.
Album Review: Cage the Elephant – Thank You Happy Birthday
Apr 10th
Over two years on since their début, what new tricks have Cage the Elephant got in store for listeners?
Cage the Elephant – Thank You Happy Birthday
RockOSaurus Says:
Cage The Elephant have managed something most people struggle with their entire musical careers…progression! Within their new found angular post-pixies sound are plenty of cracking tunes such as the chest pounding Aberdeen with buckets of feedback fuzz and chaotic drumming.
Long gone is their restrained blues-by-numbers middle of the road rock which had a couple of memorable moments. In its place are off kilter guitars and urgent indie rock yelped and lashed through their edge teetering vocals and guitars. Their incessant drive for uptempo melodies are perfectly showcased on 2024 with its ramping up riff taking off in spectacular fashion.
They are not scared of poking fun at their fans either “Get The Right Haircut” proclaims Matt Shultz on Indy Kidz (whether that’s a wise move, only time will tell.) His vocals are a great deal more impressive that their debut. Standing alone his range of belting chorus’s and exasperated yelps are a weapon of considerable force..
They drop the baton however with some good old fashioned balladry. Their acoustic exploits on Rubber Ball fall very short and disrupt what’s was a rich vein of top notch tunes.
There are plenty of other highlights strewn throughout the track list including the poppy Shake Me Down and the all out punk assaults of Sabertooth Tiger and the riff roller coaster that is Japanese Buffalo.
A cracking sophomore album packed with equally as many thrills and surprises as great tunes!!
Mr Flowers Says:
Thank You Happy Birthday exhibits a bit of a departure from some of the Blues rock influences from Cage the Elephant’s self-titled début. Always Something for instance kicks off the album with a drum machine and screams before being overlayed with an off kilter drum beat. Indeed, the guitars are used sparsely, with the drums forming the backbone for the song. It’s a divergance for Cage The Elephant, but not necessarily a bad thing.
Instead of the Blues is a strong Pixies flavour about a lot of the songs; that almost trademark slow-fast mechanic is used on Aberdeen (which draws from Where Is Your Mind a fair bit), Shake Me Down and Around My Head for example. It generally works out pretty well for them – Frank Black should be proud.
Continuing the homages, 2024 draws from Daniel Johnston for a punk song with a tenderly melodic chorus. That Johnston impression returns on the lullaby-like Rubber Ball, although this one doesn’t work nearly as well – missing the aggressive energy we normally expect from Cage The Elephant. In fact, where the album screws up is on the slower songs; the ballady Right Before My Eyes and the poorly executed foray into Modest Mouse territory on the final song, Flow, generally fall flat.
Interspersed are some psychotic, schizophrenic songs like Indy Kidz, where S chultz indulges in screams and long Sonic Youth-style progressive noise and feedback (and fails); and Sell Yourself and Sabretooth Tiger, punkier, grungy songs which maintain the deranged feeling with bum notes and some angry rock outs (and does a little better). So it’s a little hit and miss, but given all of that you have an album that might not be particularly original but can at least draw from some solid influences to give it a fair share of good songs to join the band’s already strong repertoire.
RockOSaurus: 8/10
MrFlowers: 7/10
DoesItRock Overall Score: 7.5/10
Listen to Cage The Elephant – Thank You Happy Birthday now on Spotify!
Album Review: Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
Mar 29th
Swedish pop vocalist Lykke Li returns with her sophomore effort after her well received 2008 debut:
Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
RockOSaurus Says:
I’m hoping the trait of female pop singers turning to the dark side is only a brief one, as Lykke Li has also caught the gloomsday bug. Desolation and angst runs rife thoughout each song which evoke images of despair and dread. Her vocals are eerie and often strangely unsettling as she cuts lyrics such as “I’m a Prostitute/ You’re gonna Get Some” with true desperation and dispondency over a clattering drum track.
Other choice moments of utter hopeless refrain include “The higher that I climb, The deeper that I fall down” leading a spectral whale choir on Love Out Of Lust and I need look further than the titles of Unrequited Love and Sadness Is A Blessing.
There are some significant pop melodies which try to give the album the shot in the arm It needs to save it from darkness. But despite the soaring chorus of Jerome and the psychadelic fanfare of Youth Knows No Pain, this album seals a one way ticket to depression.
Lykke Li’s scars are out on display here for all to see. All I can hope is that by the time the suporting album tour wraps up, she has sung her last Wounded Rhyme.
Mr Flowers Says:
Not content with following up Youth Novels with more of the same, Wounded Rhymes sees Lykke Li in some ways expanding her sound while in some places moving away from some of her more poppy tendencies for a more generous helping of moodier, slowed down numbers.
One of the bigger tunes on the album is Youth Knows No Pain, a Bluesy song that incorporates bongos and organs to create a pop song from out of the 60s that also allows Lykke to project her voice in ways she might not have been able to before. The musical progression is carried on by I Follow Rivers, Get Some, Rich Kid Blues - who all share some excellently rhythmic drumming and sing along choruses. Yet the more expansive songs are countered by a fair few slower ones which bring the whole jig down a few rungs, such as the country track Unrequited Love, I Know Places, and Silent My Song.
Vocally, Lykke is much more confident but we miss some of her fragile and sweet moments from Youth Novels. It’s difficult to point to a bad song on the record, maybe there aren’t any, but with a lower pop song to sad-song ratio than her début, this latest effort is somewhat more of a struggle for those of us who aren’t sophisticated, contemplative (ever-so slightly sombre) women.
RockOSaurus: 5/10
MrFlowers: 6/10
DoesItRock Overall Score: 5.5/10
Listen to Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes now on Spotify!
Les Savy Fav & Pulled Apart By Horses @ Heaven
Mar 13th
22nd February 2012
Young Legionnaire kicked off tonight’s NME Awards show in spectacular fashion. Their pummeling guitars and gigantic bass melodies were immediately pile driven through your stupefied ears. Such was the intense volume, that as I write this, a hint of deafness still remains. Despite the lack concern for health and safety noise regulations, these guys were pretty damn good. Their guitars played a buzz saw of aggressive overdriven fuzz, packed with bold innovative clattering riffs played within the soaring soundscapes of noise rock. However after half the set, it felt like they really started to recycle ideas and the vocals which were sailing to close to Placebo for comfort, sadly faded behind the gnarly guitar grunts. A promising young bunch of alt-rockers despite. Watch this space.
Young Legionnaire
Next up were Leeds alt-metal noiseniks Pulled Apart By Horses, who continued the relentless onslaught of rousing rock. Kicking off with the superb “E=MC Hammer” immediately puts a smile across the crowd’s faces and brings with it some gargantuan guitars and super catchy vocals with the comedic lyrics “We ride, We ride, We ride the Mammoth” screamed at top volume. For many the urge to dance/throw yourself around in a carefree manner/headbang/toe tap (delete as appropriate) was far too great. Indeed their songs bring a joyously loud fusion of Sabbath gone metal riffs, great clean gang vocals, urgently screamed passages and enough brooding male aggression to plunder an enemy stronghold.
Pulled Apart By Horses
Highlights from the set list were potent man screams of “Yeah, huuuuh” on Back to the Fuck Yeah, the riot inducing Meat Balloons and the varied tempos with bursting energy packed within The Crapsons. Top tune though however had to go to the blues on speed, massively guitar driven epic “High Five, Swan Dive Nose Dive” with its 23 word lyric sheet and awe inspiring crescendos.
Their youthful energy and enthusiasm was remarkable, as they flung themselves around the stage with careless regard for their own safety. This is one band whose combination of skull crushing power, raw intensity, tight musicianship, comedy touches and spirit rousing anthems can only be truly conveyed by actually being there. So what you waiting for?
PABH had thrown down the gauntlet for our headliners Les Savy Fav, who in turn picked it up and slapped the idea they were going to be outshone by a support band straight out the window. It is clearly not in their nature to be upstaged, as within 30 seconds of the opening guitar chime ringing out, their slightly rotund lead singer Tim Harrington was already off foraying into the crowd taking his 4 layers of clothing with him…boy did that man sweat.
Les Savy Fav
It’s no wonder why these guys have such a cracking live reputation. The whole set was peppered with acts of total randomocity and extravagant showmanship. From jumping on a strategically places box in wheels and skidding round the crowd, to sharing vocal duties with strangers, throwing wrapping paper & climbing up on the balcony before hanging off it batman style, this was truly some ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s’ nest influenced behavior.
A slightly blurry Tim Harrington
Although at times it felt as if Tim didn’t really care too much about the lyrics as he’d much rather lark about in his pretty clothes which included a several changes from comedy bishop to yeti and the cop from the Village People. In contrast the rest of the band were quite happy to run through a very tight set of punchy riff rock, which is absolutely what’s necessary when your front man is a absolute nut job.
Going up
Title for the most entertaining moment of the night came not when Tim hugged a bouncer, but when he and the band emptied out 4 huge boxes full of Glo Sticks and proceeded to start a war with the crowd. This was cracking fun and caused a multicoloured explosion of visually stunning carnage. This was one war the band were not going to win. Tim seems to be adept and dodging them as he was batting them off with precision with his microphone, but other bands members (and the bouncers) were less fortunate.
A storming show which emphasised theatrics over musical performance. But credit to Les Savy Fav, this is one show I not be forgetting for a long long time!
Album Review: PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
Mar 2nd
Polly Jean Harvey is thrust back into the limelight upon the release of her latest LP.
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
RockOSaurus Says:
Enjoyment from PJ Harvey’s latest album relies on how full/empty your glass is…
…not to be put off by the seemingly insurmountable about of indie credibility and critical infatuation with this album I honestly tried to enjoy Let England Shake, really I did! Yet on my way to work I had this sudden realisation. Slogging through a decimated London Underground network of crippling delays, engineering works within deep and dark places. The solemn faces, the burning frustration on the passengers faces and the unerring sense of calm provided the perfect backdrop to this record.
There is very little light to counter the darkness of the potent political lyrics and bleak chiming guitars. PJ’s vocals are so extremely shrill and high octave that they take on this ghostly quality of a spectral bird in flight. These range from the outstandingly beautiful, to a rather annoying incessant yelp.
It is incredibly difficult to really “get” Let England Shake without carefully following through the lyric sleeve. The listening experience suffers because of this. Few tracks break above a plod and even fewer showcase bright enjoyable melodies. With time and patience though, the true essence of this record can be found within it’s stark war poetry. The posing of those questions critics so love to dwell over shows her substantial intellectual clout and songwriting prowess.
It takes a special talent to produce such subdued record within the Age of Austerity. For PJ Harvey, this has proved a success story of which I don’t much like the blurb. An album for the thinkers, not for the casual listener of which I tend to fall…
…I’m more of a Glass Half Full guy.
Mr Flowers Says:
The return of Polly Jean brings one of her most accomplished records of her already acclaimed career. Yet from the off it’s clear Let England Shake isn’t a normal PJ Harvey record. The title track starts proceedings with a dream-pop Kate Bush feel about it, a step away from the sombre A Woman A Man Walked By of a couple of years ago and many more steps away from the more guitar heavy entries from her early output.
The pace of the album is to a steady slow beat, but supported throughout by effortlessly beautiful melodies such as those found on the Last Living Rose, the blue room of All & Everyone that crawls and builds into powerful vocal melodies, and the climbing horns and sumptuous verses of In The Dark Places. It’s telling that the muted guitars in the pounding Bitter Branches is the probably closest Polly gets to that raw rock sound of old.
Thrown in the mix are the traditional ye olde English folk influenced (as in the type that Frank Turner crows on about) The Glorious Land and The Colour Of The Earth. The Words That Maketh Murder sounds a bit like a TV On The Radio song – a chanty, sea shant describing the horrors of war – and, having come to the fore on her previous record, PJ gets to display her talent of being able to play characters with her singing voice again on the hauntingly patriotic England where, presumably, she plays Joanna Newsom (having put in a performance as Kate Bush on the opener).
For an album whose overall theme is war and death, it’s good fortune that Let England Shake is simply full of amazing melodies. They come at such an unerring consistency and backed by an always interesting tapestry of music and lyrics, it’s just the sort of unshakeable combination that elevates a good album to being great.
RockOSaurus: 5/10
MrFlowers: 9/10
DoesItRock Overall Score: 7/10
Listen to PJ Harvey – Let England Shake now on Spotify!
Album Review: ..And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Tao Of The Dead
Feb 19th
Texan rockers with the hideously long name are back with more rocky goodness…
..And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Tao Of The Dead
RockOSaurus Says:
AYWKUBTOTD make about as much sense as their acronym. but that’s exactly what we have come to know and love about these epic rockers. The title of the opening song says alot about whats to come Introduction “Lets’s Experiment”, itself a meandering build up with no grand rock-out moment, leaves only more desire to listen on.
The fireworks do soon arrive in the shape of the uptempo driving rock numbers Pure Radio Cosplay & Summer Of All Dead Souls, both combining a loud/soft ethos with synth melodies and hard hitting guitars. The main issue I have with Tao of the Dead is that for every moment of euphoric rock bliss, there is an awful long time spent in melancholy enroute to arriving them.
Cover the Days Like A Tidal Wave comes in with a mere 2:07 mins before blast off, with Fall Of The Empire and Spiral Jetty being entirely engulfed by these gentle moods. Despite this, the comparitavely short tracks maintain interest with their ever morphing spectrum of sounds.
Towards the end of the album Weight of The Sun and The Fairlight Pendant bring back some level of volume equilibrium, upping the stakes once more with some epicly huge riffs. The greatest suprise of this album is in the extented prog leviathon, 16 minute album closer Strange News From Another Planet, which is an ever changing melody machine of nonsense, thats totally addictive!
Tao of the Dead is an impressive album of genre bending rock, which both dazzles and wanders in equal measure.
Mr Flowers Says:
The album itself starts with a 2 minute instrumental, only briefly interrupted by the voice of Conrad Keeley suggesting to the band,
“Let’s experiment”.
It might have been obvious that Trail of Dead were about to turn up that dial marked “Prog”.
Against that expectation though the first song proper, Pure Radio Cosplay, is actually more like a classic Rolling Stones rock song, or even something Primal Scream or Oasis might have done in the ’90s. The progressive stylings start bleeding through as the album continues: Cover The Days Like A Tidal Wave starts with an almost whispered spoken 2 minute intro until it explodes into a massive rock riff for its final seconds.
There are a few missteps on the album, such as Spiral Jetty which sounds like it’s the intro to another Trail of Dead rock out which unfortunately never starts. Lucky that it’s followed by Weight of the Sun then; a set of swaying verses that burst into a rousing chorus of shouts, guitars and drums, a slow-fast mechanic that’s emulated by the similarly great Ebb Away.
The Fairlight Pendant gives us one the more progressive songs on the record which sadly lacks any of the hooks of the other songs that make the long pretentious prog bits bearable, but it seems they were all saved for the album’s coup de grâce – the 16 minute behemoth that is Strange News From Another Planet. It’s almost like 5 songs in one which all flow into each other seamlessly. Each act alternately serving up rock songs, slowed-down melodic anthems, prog outs until we’re given one final burst of energy to finish the album where it started. It pretty much sums up the sound of Tao of the Dead – epic.
RockOSaurus: 7/10
MrFlowers: 8/10
DoesItRock Overall Score: 7.5/10
Listen to And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Tao Of The Dead now on Spotify!
coup de grâce
Last.fm Festival @ The Forum
Feb 14th
For the second night in a row, I’m back in Kentish town, but this time it’s for the Last.fm festival. This was one of the oddest “festivals” I’ve ever seen, for starters only 4 bands were playing, it was all on one stage and it lasts as long normal evening gig. With the packed in line-up proceedings were kicked off early, by Bones.
Bones
These spritely indie rockers put in a solid if slightly generic performance. I especially liked the tradeoff between the female vocals and the sharp guitar riffs which clattered along to their pop centric melodies. Enjoyable, but not likely to set the world on fire.
Chapel Club
The next band up Chapel Club had been hyped up in the indie press so much that in my mind, they were this gargantuan indie rock titan, set to steal the show. Somehow I fell foul of wise words I’ve written here many a time before…don’t believe the hype! If you like your music with a streak of angst (the depressed kind, not the angry kind), monotone vocals ala Morrissey and an obsession for Joy Division, this is right up your street. This set left be thinking what other things I could be doing instead…like sleeping.
Young Knives returned to the place where me and Mr. Flowers saw the nearly 5 years ago without their preceeding “The” (They must have mislaid it down the back of the sofa or something). Far from becoming industry standard, Young Knives have always remained true to their full on pop experience. The dual front men are perfectly in sync, bopping out vocal harmonies to rival any glee club while picking out some of the finest, nifty little guitar licks this side of franz ferdinand. The only disappointment was the fact they only had 30 minutes to play, causing a very new album heavy setlist. But when the classics arrived in the shape of jerky strutter The Decision and the epic indie anthem Turn Tail it had the whole crowd up on their feet singing along. A massively impressive set from this unlikly combo whom encompass everything that’s great about true britishness (that’s being a little bit eccentric but just about getting away with it).
Young Knives
Here is where I have a right old moan at the organisers! As much as its great to see 4 bands in one night, everyone knows that any festival, no matter how small, must have a headliner. With only a 10 minute difference between set lengths of band 1 (25mins) and band 4 (35mins) this was beyond acceptable. It was tough to see Young Knives leave so soon after they arrived and with the next bands calibre this set length was unacceptably short. Their best bet would have been to drop Chapel Club altogether!
The Futureheads
Despite the restrictions The Futureheads set about whipping up a frenzied edged punk outpouring of thumped guitars and equally harmonious vocal hooks. In the Live setting these guys really live to crank up the volume, upping the punk ante, putting the amps through their paces with 3 guitars bursting out massive riffs left right and centre. I was surprised by this as their studio material is always very measures and slickly produced, live they are an altogether harder beast to tame.
It was good see that they still loved to perform their old material, pulling plenty of old classics such as Alms, the riffing terrific Decent Days And Nights and set closer, the Kate Bush cover Hounds of Love. Thankfully for us all, The Futureheads didn’t was to leave either as they ploughed on 10 minutes beyond curfew because, as lead singer David “Jaff” Craig put it “35 minutes is not enough” Their final flurry was met with rapturous appreciation, estatic moshing and crowd led harmonies. This was a cracking high energy set from a band I seem to have missed live thus far. Something I am sure to rectify, again and again and again etc….
BBC In New Music We Trust Live… @ The Forum, Kentish Town
Feb 10th
21st January 2011
After gaining tickets to this absurdly eclectic BBC staged new music event at The Forum ensured that we arrived down the the Forum, in plenty of time to catch all of tonight’s acts. Seeing as there were far too many bands to be healthy on a single nights line-up its somewhat of a surprise that we had support dj’s spinning the discs before proceedings kicked off. BBC Heavyweight new music champion Zane Lowe was the first of such mix masters who did a decent job of kicking up an early evening dance party.
Zane Lowe
All of tonight’s bands are being championed right now, with the first band Funeral Party having just released their debut album which has generated it’s fair share of buzz and pre-spectacle. Sadly as with most bands tagged Next Big Things… (there are over 50 more currently on a NME Gig series, btw) they fell somewhat short. From where I was standing, their guitar riff based dancy electro-punk with indie ambitions barely got started. Vocals were remarkably weak and with fewer hooks than I dare recall, this set really didn’t do justice to their quite impressive collection of studio singles. A few glimpses of brilliance were scattered here as there as their funky disco melodies had feet a tappin’ & grooves a bustin’, but they were over far too soon.
Funeral Party
During the stage roundabout, the DJ Double Act of Nero took to the balcony and pumped out some fast rhymes and hedonistic house tunes. Some more successful than others this was most definitely a great antidote to the mid-changeover bores.
Nero!!
The tempo slowed and an air of calm descended as Jamie Woon took centre stage. His soulful grooves were pleasant enough, but carried no real enigma or special ingredient which would propel him to stardom. Yes, he had a decent voice, Yes he was so laid back it was a wonder he could even stand up…but his lack of character and slow delivery left us all a bit laboured. Good job we were all stood up, else we wouldn’t have heard him for the snores. He would probably say tonight wasnt the right crowd, he’d be right. In a jazz club, this would have been …niiiicccceeee!
Jamie Woon
Our next guest DJ was BBC Radio One’s Nick Grimshaw. Now I have no idea how this man makes a living from being a DJ. Seriously anyone who thinks that a crowd waiting for new music would want to hear a pop mash-up with an Adele song thrown in to the mix is barking up the wrong tree. In fact Nick was in the wrong forest altogether! A glee club member dress sense, an ever greatening ego and a bravado laced persona did little to improve his status in out eyes either.
It was will great relieve then, that the tables stopped turning and the small family of Marshalls (2 Amps powering no less than 8 Cabinets!) who had assembled on stage were powered up by the electo-noise poppers Sleigh Bells. For a double act, they really are chalk and cheese these two. vocalist Alexis Krauss is a sweet sounding with an almost childlike twang to her voice bringing sugary melodies to the massive sound generated by guitarist Derek Miller. Miller has his guitar set to over-over-overdrive as he picks out some shrilling guitar licks which cut through the air with all the grace of a drunken elephant. It is this polar collaboration which is both the strength and the downfall of their live performance. Swinging from jovial poppy vocals to crashing waves of noise was alluring and impressive. But It was all to easy to drown out the vocals with the intense guitar racket, and leave the general onlooker wondering if Alexis had lost her voice, or was it we who had lost our hearing? Still this was a good performance, packed with innovative edgy pop music.
Sleigh Bells
It’s a long shot to call White Lies new music, but we were all glad they were here to soak us all in gloriously rousing gloom rock. This is a band of huge contradictions (happy sad music anyone?)which is why I enjoyed them more than I probably should. I’m not generally one for sad, doom impending depressing lyrics a la Joy Division, The Smiths et al… But tonight their electro fused soaring indie rock was by far the most accomplished set. All dressed in “we’ve just left a wake” suits they set about producing the most anthemic indie rock of the night. Throwing in some older gems helped proceedings, although newer material was too shabby either.
White Lies
This downbeat set closed out the night. One, which to our ears did not herald the start of a new music revolution, but gave a decent leg up the ladder to moderate success.
Album Review: The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar
Feb 8th
Debut album from a promising Welsh indie band
The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar
RockOSaurus Says:
In The Big Roar, the Joy Formidable have do doubt created a massive indie rock record, one of the most impressive debuts for some time. Guitars clatter and glide with agression and finesse in equal measure as they show they can conjour up a thumping monster riff as easily as a stunning noise-rock progression.
Tracks 2 & 3 highlight this with the former “The Magnifying Glass” with its’s reckless punky feeling and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club slant, with the latter “I Do’t Want To See You Like This” being a vocal driven noise pop epic which rivals any Arcade Fire track for granduer.
It’s this combination of ubiquitous power, exhuberant melody making, noise-pop surrounds which are The Big Roars great strength.No doubt this huge record is doused in pop with its sweet fuzzy female vocals and big hooks, but it’s when they crank up the feedback and blast out indie-fied hard rock riffs that the true genius of this album appears. Where all the great ideas collide is on “Whirring“, an near 7 minute whirlwind of swirling fuzz, mammoth riffs, infectious chorus and jubilant crecendo’s (The outro is worth praise alone).
Given it’s dreamy like qualities, there is a tendency on occassion for the Joy Formidable to crank up the drama and ramble on a tad too much, leaving lethargy outstaying its welcome.The Big Roar is one UK press hyped-up release, which worthy of every word of praise it receieves…a rare thing!
Mr Flowers Says:
The monstrous The Everchanging Spectrum Of A Lie that opens The Big Roar is a statement of intent for the indie hype-machine that is The Joy Formidable. Led by the angelic vocals of the brilliantly named Ritzy Bryan, they take that popular wall of sound approach, give it a healthy spoonful of pop and finish it with crashing guitars and symbols.
Following it up with some actual rock-riffage on The Magnifying Glass and the pop gem that is Austere, with it’s lady squeal sound effect, twangy guitar and rolling drums building up to a thudding ending, we might just start to think that some of that hype could be justified.
However, it’s the bits in between the superstars like the indulgent end to Whirring and the drifting Buoy that bring the album down. Sure, they’re quite pretty but those walls of sound soon start to stack into one and another, and without the killer pop hooks you end up with 3 minute rock-outs without the rock. It’s all a bit… unremarkable.
While things pick up with the spectacular Cradle with it’s toe-tapping intro, driving melody and drumming, you get the sense by then that this is an album that, while blessed with some great pop moments, just lacks that bit of bite.
RockOSaurus: 8.5/10
MrFlowers: 7/10
DoesItRock Overall Score: 7.75/10
Listen to The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar now on Spotify!
