you're too pretty to leave

my soft spot for north eastern boys who play guitar has grown considerably after watching this video. please someone serenade me in a similar fashion!



School Of Language (David Brewis from Field Music) on Channel M.

perfect. minus the appearance of fucking Frank Sidebottom.

in other brief news:

'In Rainbows' is very good. the following is my favourite so far!

Radiohead - House Of Cards (zshare)

i saw Blood Red Shoes last night and they were more than immense. in the words of my dad who saw them at Liverpool Barfly on Sunday, they were "shit hot". he's cool. hah.

Blood Red Shoes - ADHD (zshare)

also, thanks to absolutely everybody who voted for my blog in the BT Awards. i reached number 38 and only voted for myself twice. wooooo. next year i've gotta be top 15 though.

girls who play guitar.

It’s been an incredibly busy week.

I went to see Sky Larkin at The Social in London (which is one of my favourite venues so far!). Supporting was Nic Nell and his unbelievable amount of energy. He definitely put on enough of a performance to make me want to see him live again. Keep Hope Inside have a track up for grabs, listen to podcast number 5! Also up was The Voom Blooms. They sounded like a shittier version of The Jam.
Sky Larkin were excellent, even if they didn’t play ‘Young Lungs’ despite my many heckles for it! Well worth £4.

I caught the end of a set The Moths were doing in a club the same night and I thought they were pretty bog standard. Nothing even remotely interesting about their music or performance. I spent the two songs I saw watching the floor change colours (and not because I was on any kind of drug either).

On Wednesday I went back to Manchester and went to Headlines’ single launch and they were absolutely fantastic. I cannot get enough of this band at the minute!

On Thursday I saw The Rumble Strips do a set in Retro Bar after their gig with The Answering Machine at Club Academy. It was highly entertaining and more shows should be like that. People shouting for “one more song” got their request granted not once, not twice but three times. People chanting “Amy Amy Amy!” also got their wish made come true when the band did their version of ‘Back To Black’ live.

Saturday was what I’d been waiting for for ages and ages and ages. Maximo Park, Good Shoes and Blood Red Shoes. Although The Apollo is pretty legendary and supposedly decorated wonderfully, I’m not that big a fan of going to gigs there. It’s either, be at the front and die, or be at the back where you can’t see a fucking thing. I was, of course, at the front for this gig.

Blood Red Shoes seemed a little scared of the sheer scale of things. Which is another reason why I dislike the venue. Its capacity is near to that of 2000 when the balcony upstairs is open. It’s massive basically. Although a little nervous at first, Blood Red Shoes seemed to really get into their performance and gave it everything they had.
Good Shoes declared that the Apollo was the biggest venue (minus festivals) that they had ever played. Daunting. They too were on form, commanding the stage despite the audience being mostly deadpan. New song ‘Talk’ sounds good and I can’t wait to hear more of their new stuff. Woo new material!
Maximo Park played an excellent range of material, new and old and rare. I thought they might have just rattled off their new (and fantastic) album but they didn’t. A more than energetic performance. Paul and the gang always always always know how to please.

Sky Larkin - Young Lungs
The Rumble Strips - Girls And Boys In Love
Maximo Park - Girls Who Play Guitars

Back in London now!

album leeeeak.

Jack Peñate's forthcoming debut album, 'Matinee', has leaked on the good old internetz. it's out October 8th so that's not too much of a wait for those of you opposed to downloading advances.

it's good. but it feels like there is something missing. all the songs you know ('Second, Minute Or Hour', 'Torn On The Platform', 'Spit At Stars', 'Got My Favourite') they're all on there and have been reworked and sprinkled with 'pop dust'. everything is that little bit lighter. there's xylophones as well.
new song 'Have I Been A Fool?' sounds like the next single. it's about kissing and being a fool and combines the now trademark sounds of Jack Peñate to make a slice of guitar/piano pop that's pretty and witty and briiiiight.
'My Yvonne' is (still) my favourite track of the whole 11 song, 41 minute long album. it's delicate, intricate and shows that not everything has to be moulded into chart topping, fast paced, rhyme-tastic, 3 minute songs to be better than just good.
with 'Matinee', Jack puts himself and his brand of reggae/ska/punk influenced music right on the map.

if all pop music sounded like this, we'd have something to be thankful for.

Jack Peñate - Have I Been A Fool?
Jack Peñate - My Yvonne

ps. hello to Rosie from islington academy last night! nice to meet someone who actually enjoys my rambling!
pps. last chance to vote in the BT Awards for my blog! voting ends tomorrow. click the image on the right hand side pleeeease.

canada comin' atcha.

Born Ruffians are Luke Lalonde, Mitch DeRosier and Steve Hamelin. they play guitars, bass and drums and sing. they are fantastic. i first heard Born Ruffians on X-Posure (hosted by XFM's John Kennedy aka a man of brilliance) arounddd June last year i think. and i was immediately blown away.

they're poppy and punky and funky and shouty and quirky and the vocals are slightly similar to that of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! and all their music is just fucking strange. but in a completely good way.

their album 'Red, Yellow and Blue' is due out in February on Warp Records and i for one cannot wait as the new material sounds absolutely (and i mean absolutely) fantastic.

RIGHT CLICK, SAVE AS:

Born Ruffians - This Sentence Will Ruin/Save Your Life
Born Ruffians - Diverting On Norm
Born Ruffians - You Said I Said The Sun Took The Sky
Born Ruffians - I'm One Of Those Girls

a whole host of tracks there mainly because i couldn't decide what was my favourite. if you like these you must get your ears on more songs by the band; they won't disappoint.

everybody's talking about..

White Rabbits.

i feel like a proper bandwagon jump-er on-er!

they come from the Mid West but have settled in NYC, and it looks like they are tearing it upppp. there's 6 of them, they sound less like Vampire Weekend than people are making out, and their album 'Fort Nightly' is dead dead good.

i know everyone is bumming 'The Plot' but i think 'Navy Wives' is the best track on the album. it's the shakers that really win it.

the band describe their sound as "honky-tonk calypso" which is possibly one of the best self descriptions ever. pianos, shakers, cowbells, shouty choruses. what more could a girl want! check it ooooout.

White Rabbits - Navy Wives
White Rabbits - I Used To Complain Now I Don't

BUY THE ALBUM HERE.

ps. sorry this was so short, i'm rubbish and am buried under lecture confusion.

Late Of The Pier - live at Fabric, 21/09/07

this review should have come to you earlier and regarding Late Of The Pier's performance in Hoxton. however, due to some twats (i.e. the promoter and the bouncers) me and my friends were "removed" from the property (several times, including after being let in through the fire escape by LOTP). and all because my friend vomited. in the toilet. but don't get me started or i'll just get worked up about it. we had all of LOTP as well as Erol the one and only Alkan fighting our corner and trying to get us back inside the venue. if only it had worked, psh.

we rolled into Fabric, slightly bemused by all the stairs and shapes that slightly resembled swastikas (lol at that bag from Zara). then we got the shock of our lives when the barman asked me for £4 when i ordered a vodka and coke. single measure! expensive doesn't even begin to cover it..

Late Of The Pier took to the stage and almost immediately everyone started going mad. it's not the best i've seen them but they certainly put on a hell of a performance. 'Random Firl' sounds more than immense with added lyrics and 'The Bears Are Coming' is a complete stroke of genius. obvious set closer was Bathroom Gurgle which sounds good no matter where or when you hear it, i think it's possibly my favourite song of this entire year. well worth the trek to east London!

alsooooo. LA Priest (singer Sam's other project) is getting quite a bit of attention lately and so it should. with Erol Alkan managing him, LA Priest won't have to work very hard to get people's attention.

Late Of The Pier - Random Firl (with lyrics)
LA Priest - Engine

ps. as you can probably tell, i'm having a fantastic time in London. apologies for the sporadic updates that will be coming your way until i'm 100% settled.

everything's okay everything's alright.

it has been a crazy few days ahead of my move to the big smoke so i apologise for the lack of substantial posting (which will probably continue for a good week or so).

i've been making a CD for the car journey on Sunday to London and it has the unoriginal theme of "songs about London, moving to London, leaving London, hating London, loving London, .. songs with the word London in the title or just general songs about leaving or moving, new eras and more leaving".

so i thought i'd post up a couple for my fellow university freshers, and especially for Josh and Shaun who also happen to be taking up residence in our wonderful capital.

The Bridge Gang - London Sky Tonight
The Clash - Guns Of Brixton
David E. Sugar - Oi New York This Is London
LR Rockets - London Girls (a bit of a dodgy copy, but a fantastic song nonetheless)

also, here's a song that describes everything i won't miss when i'm gone.

Modernaire - Rain

hahaha.
anyway anyway. i went to see Elle S'Appelle and they were fantastic. i cannot wait to see them again which will probably be at the Moshi Moshi night at Hoxton Square Bar, October 25th. i can get drunk again and tell them how massive their band will be (again) and to remember me when they're hanging around with Britney and Madonna (again). cringe cringe cringe!

in my last post i thought i'd posted an exclusive but i hadn't. gutted. except, here's a REAL one. an exclusive that is:

Late Of The Pier - Space And The Woods (Jack And The Free Trees Remix)

it's brilllllllllllliant! it's very Jack And The Free Trees and not much Late Of The Pier. a mellower remix that still packs a punch. please check it out, and do check out Jack And The Free Trees. they were on XFM Manchester last night and i'm super proud (even if it was the Clint Boon show). Their drummer, Tom, also happens to be moving to university in London soon so good luck to him and everyone else!

Jack And The Free Trees - All Is Permafrost

(don't forget you can right click save as all songs now!)

nothing can go wrong.

you know when a CD comes through your letterbox that is so good, it makes you want to strap a giant speaker to your body and play it for the rest of your life? well that's how i feel about this CD i recieved in the post.

South Central are pretty fantastic. crazy live shows, dark and brooding electro singles that seem to go completely underrated, and the most amazing remixes that have put them on the map.

they've remixed everyone from Shy Child to The Maccabees to Van She to Metronomy. and now, the latest.. Late Of The Pier.

it's titled: Late Of The Pier - Space And The Woods - South Central Bootleg. and according to the biog that came with it, South Central would be going to prison for 12+ years if they were American for actually creating this bootleg. a bit harsh for making such a fantastic track.

Late Of The Pier - Space And The Woods - South Central Bootleg (right click, save as).

Saam from Keep Hope Inside has and is doing a brilliant feature on some of the new blogs cropping up so go check it out if you want to freshen up your reading material.

tomorrow i'm off to see Elle S'Appelle (who i blogged about ages ago - click, everyone seems to be loving them at the minute and rightly so!) and i shall report their amazingness back here.

BAT FOR LASHES WOZ ROBBED.

credit: amazing photoshop skillz by me.

the bitch is back?

whilst waiting for my jeans to finish in the tumble dryer, yesterday i fiiiiinally got round to listening to that new Britney track, 'Gimme More'. everyone seems to like it, and fair dos. it's not a good song, but it definitely belongs in your collection. probably alongside your secret stash of Rihanna and Girls Aloud. i'm waiting for some hot shit remixes!

find 'Gimme More' here. it's also streaming on Perez here, as if you didn't know.

speaking of remixes. check out Pixxxels (Dan from Sir Yes Sir's blog) for all your guilty pleasures made completely unguilty.

also! can someone pleeeeease dispel the rumour that it is Phil Collins inside the suit in this advert? i'm scared if it's actually him.