there are albums leaking here and there and everywhere. i've just got my hands on the Art Brut album leak of yet-to-be-released 'It's A Bit Complicated'. i'm not an avid fan of Art Brut, in fact i'd say i'm not exactly a fan of any sorts of their music. or i wasn't until now. the album is much more accessible than their previous work. the Eddie Argos style is still in there but it's masked much more beneath punchy guitar riffs and choppy rhythms. Art Brut - St. Pauli Art Brut - Direct Hit
there's more dance-ability than on 'Bang Bang Rock & Roll', their debut album which was released in May 2005. the band haven't gone completely away from their sound, they've just refined it and made it a little more and a little less at the same time. definitely an album i'll be playing this summer (if the sun ever appears). 'Late Sunday Evening' is currently the running favourite, with 'Direct Hit' (the next single from the album) following closely behind. you can hear 'Direct Hit' on Steve Lamacq's Rebel Playlist if you vote for it here.
sooooooo. i went to see Crystal Castles last night. as you can expect the venue was pretty full, and i was pretty wasted (cider & black forever!!) and pre-occupied with all things boy-related. there have been mixed opinions about Crystal Castles' performance. some say it was shocking (in a bad way) and others say it was brilliant. i'd have to say i'm leaning towards the brilliant side. it wasn't brilliant, but it was definitely good from where i was standing/swaying. on the whole the performance was energetic and amazingly loud. 'Air War' was obviously the standout track of the set. worth seven quid? yeah, i guess so. we did also get 5 hours worth of djing and dancing from the chaps who put Crystal Castles on, the Up The Racket team. a clubnight well worth checking out if you're ever in Manchester.
Justice album leak! i haven't been online all day (strange isn't it, the things you miss in just under 24 hours!), so i haven't listened to the album yet. it's downloading as i type.
i've been to see This Is England and wasn't that impressed. it was alright, but the hype it's been surrounded by is a little too genorous i feel. worth seeing but not one to put on a pedastool.
my brother's been logged into my last.fm all day messing up my play counts. he's been listening to The Subways and allsorts. how annoying!
i've been listening to some 8-bit over the past couple of days and wondering how the hell you are supposed to dance to it. drunkenly i suppose. here's some anyway.
yesterday i had the DAY FROM HELL. no lie, by mid afternoon i was near to throwing myself out of a window in a diva-style fit. and by near i mean not close at all.
i managed to drop my ipod in the bath. i've not been coping well at alllll. i've been ipod-less for about 24 hours and i'm getting the shakes. i found out how much tickets for Devo were.. and thus can't go anymore. then i had to cancel my holiday to London in August for complicated reasons. i was absolutely gutted and spent most of my time moping around. there were other things like not being able to go out this weekend due to a serious lack of money that also contributed to my day of 666.
but then! a guardian angel gave my dark dark cloud it's silver lining.
i have known about it for a couple of weeks now, however, i couldn't afford to pay for a ticket as well as train fare to Leeds. someone magically donated me a ticket! kindness like this really doesn't go unnoticed. it's probably the nicest thing someone has done for me all year.
i've just seen that Neils Children are supporting The Sounds in Manchester in June, as well as GoodBooks. i've loved Neils Children since their debut album was released in 2004 but i still haven't seen them live. i'd go, but i hate The Sounds with a passion. if i can get in for free i will, but aside from that..
The Answering Machine are a three piece (plus drum machine called Mustafa) from Manchester. they've been dubbed as "the British Strokes" but i don't really think that's accurate. they're far less gritty, and much more of a sunshine band. they're really worth checking out and keeping an eye on over the next twelve months. i predict big big things!
so the Transgressive Tour got cancelled because of the Larrikin split. i can't say i'm too unhappy about that because i was due to go to the one in Liverpool, but i have no money! so i've been lucky.
i have also planned my holiday to London dates. August 5th-10th, so if you know of any really good things going on then please hollaaaa. i am gutted we can't be there for A Field Day which looks set to be absolutely brilliant.
i'm currently waiting to fail my exams, and cheering myself up by going to lots of gigs, so be expecting more gig posts over the next couple of months. i'm on gig number 20 of the year so far! only 32 left to goooo. i really hope i can make 52 before 2008 is upon us (i.e. an average of one a week).
onto the music!
i've found a lovely little band by the name of Lo Fi Culture Scene. they're only 12 and 13 years old, and talented beyond their years. lucky them! i can't work out whether bands are getting younger and younger or i'm just getting old. they make cute indie. think Cajun Dance Party fronted by a kid with the vocals of Lil Chris, hahah. well worth checking out before the A&R hounds get their ears on them.
i am also heavily feeling the new M.I.A track. it's completely her. it's nice when artists and bands try to change their sound, but not when it could be a whole different band. M.I.A's obviously found something that works for her. there's zoom-zooms, dings, chings, ohh oh ohh's, tap taps and a furoe of other sounds that make her music amazing to listen to.
is it a good idea to get drunk (not too drunk mind) at gigs? yes, you wake up in the morning with your mouth tasting like foot, but if you've had an amazing time that shouldn't really matter, right? but then again it often causes slight delusion that the bands were all completely brilliant. hmm.
on Sunday i went to see The Maccabees. i interviewed them first and managed to make a tit out of myself due to nervousness. anywaaaay. Jack Penate had to pull out of his support slot due to illness, and in stepped friend of The Maccabees, Derek Meins. "a poet who basically screams at the audience" said Felix when i asked about him. and scream at us he did. it was more amusing than properly entertaining. perhaps it was the sex noises he made onstage that put me off.
up next were Fear Of Flying. i have to say that listening to their new demos hadn't convinced me too much, but seeing them played live was a million times better. especially 'Shadows'. it makes me want to make love to cowbells. (not really). but it is amazing, and that was the track i was singing all the way home. if this is a taste of things to come then we should all be keeping a very close eye on Fear Of Flying over the next 12 months. i can't wait to see them again.
then obviously came The Maccabees. i haven't been to a 'gig' gig in ages. you know the ones i mean. with crowd surfers and kids pushing this way and that way, and security repeatedly putting their crotches in your face. i almost got crushed to death, and then almost drowned in my own sweat. it was a bit of a revelation to me; this was the reason i had stopped going down the front, and maybe even stopped going to bigger gigs completely.
near death aside, The Maccabees were on top form, close to bursting with enthusiasm. you could really see that playing to the sold out crowd meant everything to them. i'd only seen them once before but this time round was miles miles better. i might even say that if Penate had played, this would have been the gig of the year for me.
then last night i went to see Letters & Colours at Bring On The Dancing Horses. first up was Pictures Of You who is apprently related somehow to someone in Late Of The Pier or something. i always find one man bands incredibly brave (or stupid depending on how good/bad they are). Pictures Of You did look slightly nervous, but was nevertheless good. reminded me a little of Sir Yes Sir, but more on the pop side. indie electro pop is a fine summary. Pictures Of You - Sunny Days
Letters & Colours took to the stage, complete in black attire to fit with their sombre undertones. they've been compared with the likes of Interpol, Editors, Bloc Party, and Joy Division. and i have to agree with the Joy Division comparison (and somewhat the Interpol one too). with their delicious moody new wave, Letters & Colours would fit perfectly in amongst the post-punk scene of yesteryear. think The Cure fronted by a wide eyed young thing who likes to dance and has a voice deeper than is sensible.
'Plan A' video.
i have been downloading tons and tons of new music, so expect a good few posts to be arising over the next week or so!
before i continue with my ramblings about the North East, i must mention a few things (some non-musical). firstly! Spiderman 3. it's utterly shite. don't bother unless you're having a hard time getting to sleep. secondly! the local council elections. shit shit shit shit. STOP VOTING TORY. thirdly! Larrikin Love have split. oooh. drama. they were good but i'm not sure how a second album from them would have sounded. i'm not crying or anything. fourth! New Order have split up!! i bet it was induced by that GOD AWFUL cover of Joy Division's 'Shadow Play' by The Killers. they are underserving of a link. and finally, where'd the sunshine go??
THE NORTH EAST PT. 2
Dartz! have been around for aaaaages, but they haven't really gotten the attention of too many people, which is a shame as they are worth a listen. i'm lazy so this is going to be very short.
Kubichek! seem to be another victim of the exclamation mark sporting bands. i remember hearing 'Night Joy' and thinking "wooo i actually have silver shoes!" (some lovely ones from Topshop). similar sounding to Dartz! i guess.
Oxfam Glamour Models are from Middlesbrough, the land of zombies. they have created a kind of dirty dirty indie that harks of the post-punk movement. there's something timeless, yet satisfying about their sound.
Das Wanderlust are also from the land of zombies. "amazing amazing". is how i'd describe what i thought the first time i heard them. it was 'Apples' and i knew straight away that they were brilliant. in the same vein as pre-second album Help! She Can't Swim but they're more fierce and danceable. Das Wanderlust - Apples
aside from that, there's a million north easterners hiding in bands you probably know. for example, Alex Kapranos in Franz Ferdinand and Joel Stone in Shitdisco.
so there we go. not everything up north is a complete waste of space. (i'm saying nothing about Sunderland AFC.. cough.)
aaaaand that's a wrap! obviously if there's bands i didn't feature please get in touch and tell me who they are!
it's shit really, but my god has it brought us some wonderful bands (and me?!).
first and foremost is The Futureheads. my favourite band. ever. in the whole world. i love them more than i love my own mother, Gang Of Four, free stuff, ice cream, sunny days, lie-ins and finding money on the floor. that's a whole lot of love. i can't even explain the vastness of the soft spot in my heart for them. i have turned into a gabbering, giggling mess everytime i've met them. the time Barry gave me a hug and a kiss nearly sent me over the edge.
they're out of the live action at the minute, and are doing the odd DJ set up and down the country. though i wish they'd knock it off and play some gigs again. i'm dying to hear some new stuff and to see them sweat their stuff in the way that they do. only do i squeal to The Futureheads. no other band has (so far!) had the ability to make me want to eat my own head out of sheer delight. they're from Sunderland (boooo, TOOOOOON ARMY forever). now, a lot of people can't appreciate how amazing it is that they managed to form and evolve in the first place. if you knew Sunderland you would be marvelled. it's a shithole. complete and utter. until a couple of years ago there wasn't even a cinema there let alone anything remotely exciting.
here is where i digress and fail to impress you with a little bragging. my dad is actually partly responsible for setting up The (world famous) Bunker in Sunderland. he used to run a fanzine and decided that that wasn't enough. there was nowhere for the music fans (namely the punks like himself) to go and hang out or to practise (he was in a shitty band) or to see gigs. and basically they tried to get funding from every single local business they could to set up The Bunker and eventually one agreed and they were in business. it's now a renowned venue and practise space and has played host to many many famous acts! who would have thought a bunch of kids with safety pins holding up their jeans could start something so influencial?
this was and is possibly the only UN-dull thing about sunderland. the arcades at the beach are quite good. yeah anyway.
Maximo Park obviously had to come next. Paul Smith is one of the most charasmatic front men i have seen live. he oozes that special "DON'T LOOK AWAY FROM ME NOW OR YOU'LL MISS THE BEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE" quality that 99.9% of us really just don't have. admittedly they aren't all from the north east but i'm disregarding that for now because their new album 'Our Earthly Pleasures' is stupidly stupidly infectious. i can't decide whether it's better than the first album or not yet. it's close!
Field Music are one of my great loves because of their connections with The Futureheads (Peter Brewis used to be in The Futureheads and wrote 'Park Inn' which is allegedly the first ever Futureheads' track!). but i also love them because they are good. and now not splitting up haha. the expected accent but wrapped in more fairytale-esque sounds than simply jagged guitar music. when i saw them play 'You're So Pretty' i actually almost cried. it's immense live.
LIVERPOOOOOL. i can't stand the Liverpudlian accent. at all. it makes me want to cry and conjures up images of pink shell suits and twocking cars.
but there's some good bands from there, and Lexy is from there. so i won't hate.
The Wombats. everyone is bumming these lads at the minute, and with good reason too. they're brilliant. i first got into them around last November when i heard they were going to be supporting Good Shoes. so i thought i'd check them out, see if they were upto much. and i was suprised in the most wonderful of ways.
goFASTER>> are like the little brothers of the big cowbell god in the sky. i adore them crazy amounts. i was supposed to go and see them on Sunday but laziness combined with a mild hangover, amazing weather and my lack of revision prohibited this. very Hot Club-esque.
To My Boyyyyyyyyy. are brilliant. i bum them so much it's just stupid. they never ever fail to make me dance. i have annoyed countless djs (actually, i know exactly which djs) asking for 'The Grid' and i have annoyed them more by pulling a sour face when they played 'I Am XRay' instead. me and my friends even have an 'XRAY' dance (it also fits well to The Maccabees - XRay' - who i am incidently interviewing on Sunday aahh god). it involves x shaped arm movements and that's about it. anyway. To My Boy are wonderful. electro dance but not like that. pop infused electric bleeping mashed with guitars. yeah, that's better.
i've spoken about Hot Club already so no need for a re-cap! there's a million other bands from Liverpool, i am fully aware. i'm just too lazy to talk about them.
in other music related news! i have found that The Long Blondes' track that is playing in the Tate Modern beside that piece with the dead birds.
i have also been listening to Volta. lots and lots. i am in love with it i think. might be my best album of 07. even better than To My Boy's! shocking.
another dollar! thanks for the get well messages, i am feeling better today.
my mock exam went disastrously. must have been the worst thing i've ever written in the whole of my academic history. but it was only a practise so no need to fret haha.
i was today told that Bat For Lashes are playing in Manchester in July. i am very excited as i haven't seen them befoooore. another gig to add to the list!
i didn't really have anything in mind for this post, but then i read a bulletin posted by Hot Club De Paris. they're going on tour, and taking GoodBooks with them. am i going to the tour? obviouslyyyy. i can't bloody wait. although it means i have to miss a friend of mine's band supporting Fake Shark Real Zombie! Hot Club are fantastic. witty, clever, and sharp. NME once complained that they don't have proper choruses. if only all dysfunctional songs sounded as good as the 'Ot Club's do! their album 'Drop It Til It Pops' was one of my massive favourites of 2006, and i can't wait to hear any and all new material. Jamie T is fan, although i don't think much to that remix he did of 'Shipwreck'. (.mp3)
they make jaunty, catchy, innovative tunes. that has a nautical feel to it. sea shanties and all that.
if you like them, make sure you check out goFASTER>> who are another band from the booming Liverpool scene. actually, i might do a post about Liverpool tomorrow.
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