NEW RELEASES
Kid Acne
Romance Ain't Dead (Lex)
September time sees Sheffield's notorious man of letters, Kid Acne, homing into view, back like a renegade pastor with his third album proper, 'Romance ain't Dead.' Bristling with guitars, big words and funked up electronicals, the 11 songs on here deliver sharp digital and lyrical stabs before self combusting after the drama of latest 12, 'Sliding Doors.' It's the Kid's third record and a dutty wine forward from the more lo-fi bangs and rhymes of Council Pop (culled from his own Invisible Spies stable).
Backed by the sonic science of original Warp Forgemaster Rob Gordon and polished by Caveman Ross Orton (ex-Fat Trucker, drummer with Jarvis) the beats sound metallic, as if they've been working out and weaned on protein buckets to fill out. While the bleeps pack serious beef the lyrics are sharper than the man's graffitos which litter the streets and back alleys of Sheffield. 'South Yorks' should be a national anthem for the republic Acne has made home, while 'Oh no you didn't' is a guitar based romp fuelled by the drama too much lager brings. 'Shut your mush' asks the ladies to shake their tush over a sleaze ridden grind of a beat. Brilliant.
As a graffiti artist, label owner and illustrator Edna has always had a multi stringed bow. With 'Romance Ain't Dead' he's condensed his talents into just thirty minutes of witty, touching and totally boombastic music.
For years he's been a hero round our way. Fingers crossed this could be a springboard to achieving notoriety on a national scale. Check his live show at Razor Stiletto in September before he blows up good and proper…
Jim Ottewill
www.kidacne.com
Trefor Jones
Fairweather
Fairweather is the debut studio album from new Sheffield singer / songwriter and man to watch, Trefor Jones. Self-financed and produced through Resound Media, this 12 track album is a refreshing listen by a talented multi-instrumentalist. Trefor was born and raised in North Wales, where he trained to be a vicar before decided his real passion lay in the music of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Billy Bragg. With a self-proclaimed excitement for composing and performing bitter sweet songs, Trefor sent out on this album which took a year to hone its crafted sound. Sheffield is now his home and where he has enlisted the city's musicians to perform on his album, such as Joel Cana (The Gentlemen) and Stu Chalmers (ex Stoney). Opening track, 'I Lost My Dreams' is a battered and bruised love song, sung at times with a growl and others with a whisper. 'My Sweet Refuge' is a highlight, a muscular and mature song with intelligent lyrics and talented orchestration, combining instruments with ease. 'Sanctuary' could be straight from the mouth of Johnny Cash (if he was Welsh), a country song with scratchy guitar and ramshackle violin. Trefor Jones is definitely an upcoming talent and welcome addition to the local music scene.
Kirsty Bowen
www.treforjonesmusic.com
Tusken Coalition
Self-Titled
Tusken Coalition's forthcoming release "Self-Titled" is a true gem of UK hip hop. Lyrically it's a comment on the modern human condition. Executed with eloquence and intellect, it's something we can all connect to directly or indirectly. It speaks of the socio-political issues we all have on the tips of our tongues featuring some of Nottingham's finest lyricists.
The production is on an equal balance with this feeling. Heavy beats and bass, synths and strings come together to produce a style of hip hop unto itself. A unique leftfield sound, the album as a whole is diverse. Each track stands strong alone, but all come together to produce something truly innovative. The thing I love the most about this album is hearing that the boundaries of hip hop are still being pushed in new directions. And it's happening here in Notts. If you're into hip hop that promotes and provokes thought on all levels you have to get yourself a copy of this.
Sophie Parker
www.tuskencoalition.co.uk
Twisted Charm
Real Fictional
Whatever happened to conscious thought and lyrics? Hip hop became diluted, people swapped books for good looks, and 'substance' and 'meaning' left town seemingly never to return. Enter Twisted Charm; the last bastion of conscious lyrics and substance on the scene today. Front man Nathan Doom's appropriate castigation of the idiots of this country is nothing short of rousing a social revolution. No holds barred, his sharp scathing wit and Neo-punk gusto is joined with the bellicose grimey bass lines, jarring guitars and industrial drumming, which make for a dangerous front line assault; re-enforce the cause with the clever harassment of the saxophone and hypnotic synth and trouble is really brewing.
Taking on the quixotic fight against; layabouts, conventional socialites and the unambitious clones of this country; they throw a fierce yet intelligent cat amongst the proverbial bland pigeons on the scene at the moment.
'Real Fictional' displays varied interpretations of their sound without being an in your face political rant, precocious or pretentious - in fact quite the opposite; punctuated with clever songs about the cinema and finding happiness in singledom. They're not trying to change the world, its music, and with at least six really strong differing singles available, I'm sure their fusion of social observations and music will resonate far and wide.
Loose lips sink ships, so shout it from the rooftops and make sure you evangelise about Twisted Charm; as their soapbox attitude and blend of Punk and New wave simply cannot be beaten.
Adam Adshead
www.myspace.com/TwistedCharm
Whisky Cats
Whisky Cats (Medical Records)
Trying to describe Whisky Cats' sound or pin it down is like pinning down Pablo Escobar during his heyday; their sound is as potent as what Pablo was peddling and as elusive to pigeon-hole.
Skiffle guitars bellow one track, transform to more blue grass flavours the next and reach funkier planes along the way. Trumpet and Saxophone jazz things up highlighting or tilting tracks down more Latino avenues and on occasion Russian voyages ('Slipped Disco'). But whatever accent they use they play with such pace and vigour; hot blooded passion fuels the music whichever way it decides to go and they certainly don't sound like they feel any pressure to conform to set genres.
Ostensibly trying to jam in all their influences and heroes onto this, their first album, is brave but the album has depth and they've pulled that off with great success; but what I really like is the clever use of volume and brevity on certain crescendos which really does show off their musical talents.
Production wise the album is flawless and it needed to be with such a spectrum of sounds. Jim Spencer who has previously worked on albums by New Order and Johnny Marr, neatly managed the task of translating the conglomerate of instruments and sounds on show to a high level.
Continuing with the independent sound and doing things their own way, the album is being put out through their own label - Medical records, and with the professional production and, I'm sure, continued touring, they're got a real chance of breaking through.
Adam Adshead
www.myspace.com/whiskycats
The Clauberg Opera
New Folk Devils
It's a truism that at some point everything everywhere will end but before this we will all be subjected to growing levels of entropy, doubt, and surface noise - it is here, where simplicity is perverted that we find The Clauberg Opera.
After two self-released EPs which saw The Clauberg Opera take their belief and ideas to form a cohesive experimental rock cross-over, they were snapped up by Sound Devastation Records and this is the result. This record sees the band move on considerably and no longer do they seek to shock with ear shattering moments of terror but do attain a lower-key strength throughout. The experimental side has been restrained but they retain their ability to tease the ear with level and tempo changes.
This isn't music to dance to, nor will it be the soundtrack to something as clichéd as the apolocalypse but IT IS an introspective spectacle to accompany your darkest thoughts.
Mike Reynolds
Make it Better Later
Music by Numbers
This impressive CD is brimming with melodies and catchy tunes and was recorded less than a year after this York four-piece played their debut gig. The term ska-punk always appears in their reviews, and it's not one I'm going to be able to avoid here. They mix the two genres effortlessly, and this 14 track CD is a fine taster to what must be a cracking live show. Indeed, they have gathered a strong legion of local fans, and a reputation for killer shows and are playing all over the North for the next few months. Their humour and musicianship are evident throughout, although the music could never be described as being taken anything other than seriously. Highlights are the single Headlines & Lies, which opens the album and the Pirate Song, which closes it. In between you'll find some well crafted and interesting songs, even The Filler Song, which is anything but. Some might listen and find the changes of pace a little disconcerting, but to these ears there is much to be enjoyed their unique sound. Just have a listen to Legend of the Ninja, on which they speculate on what a song written by a Ninja would sound like, then proceed to sing it !
Vivian Bonzo
Dyonisis
Dyonisis
Judging from the album art and inlay of this CD, I was expecting to be stuck writing this review. See, it's hard when you're given an album to write about when you know nothing about this music scene and confronted with a scary looking picture of some a-typical Goths. However, one listen to this album and my preconceptions were blown away. This isn't heavy metal, bat-eating, hell raising music. Instead, it is melodic and enchanting. Singers, Nel Cave and Lou Welsby blend together to create an ethereal and almost folksy sound. Marcus Cave's pulsing bass lines drive along the music, whilst Tom Chaffer's guitars create haunting landscapes where the scene is set. Their influences are clearly varied, from rock to choral. Nel's voice is reminiscent of early nineties Madonna (as strange as it seems). The choir-like arrangements get slightly samey towards the end of the album, but 'Pretty at a Distance' is great and 'Hunter' is exciting. The piano gives great depth to the sound and adds to the grand scale of their ambition. This is a good debut album, one with striking ideas and an impressive sound that transcends all musical genres.
Kirsty Bowen
www.dyonisis.info
Verbal Warning
A Kick In The Verbals
Hard-hitting and unashamedly outspoken, yet tremendously infectious debut for Nottingham punk rockers Verbal Warning.
The humorously entitled 'A Kick in The Verbals' positively oozes old-school attitude from every pore, an irresistibly nostalgic sound quality which charges the comparably angst-y lyricism with outrageous character and adrenalin. The seemingly light-hearted jovial tone featuring on tracks such as the ironically named 'Free Country' and the darkly prophetic 'Zombie' is successfully counteracted by the consistently grim subject matter of this release. 'Dirty Bomb' is perhaps the most politically controversial and arresting track on the album, with its low-slung riffs and accessible melodies plus catchy, chanting choruses.
Psychological and personal issues are expressed with similar comedy value, which is particularly prevalent in 'O.C.D.', where the unfortunate subject of compulsive behaviour is played out in an unconventionally uplifting style. However, 'Cyber Love Song' maintains this upbeat character to a lesser extent with its use of balladic refrains, which temporarily relieve the excessively hyper-active tempo of the music. 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' is tastefully covered, whilst Verbal Warning's punk trappings contribute a rousing, sensational edge to the choruses, before slowing in pace at the verses.
Verbal Warning's inspired brand of punk rock is as biting and caustic as an industrial-sized vat of battery acid. And, as many more hardcore punk fans may agree, it is a decidedly more radical form of rebellion than prancing around onstage in absurd amounts of eyeliner and skinny jeans à la Greenday's Billie Joe Armstrong.
Faye Coulman
www.verbalwarninguk.com
Northern Noise Compilation
The Northern Noise compilation is the first release from a Liverpool based music promotion group and is declared to be an 'exciting collection of unpolished northern gems'. It is a mixed album, with certain tracks proving to be a more captivating find than others, in particular I found myself repeatedly returning to artists such as Modenaire, You Remind Me Of Rasputin and Leeds' Rochelle. The assortment proves to be an eclectic one opening with Modenaire's 'Bloodshed In the Woodshed' with its haunting, verging on choral, vocals combined with a fresh and changing electric background. 'Voltage' by The Invention unfortunately falls to the wayside along with a few other tracks in failing to strike a particularly memorable impression. Although 'Voltage' and Toy Radar's 'Knife The Wife' are worthy of merit, the heavyweights of the collection tend to rightfully outshine them. 'Sonic Level 3' by You Remind Me Of Rasputin bursts open with energy and vocals that although initially appearing to be nothing extraordinary, will have you helplessly humming along. The Acutes' 'Set On You' despite revolving around what could be cynically deemed a repetitive pop loop, somehow truly works; resulting in an appealing sound. It is Rochelle's 'Party Girls', however which unashamedly steals the limelight showcasing the groups strong potential. Northern Noise promotes a strong collection of artists and the group have clearly unearthed some commendable finds. Unfortunately it is the case that there are only a few gems to be had, the result however is that bands such as Rochelle and You Remind Me Of Rasputin stand ever clearer as absolute gems.
John Pritchard
Various Artists
Neon Nights Mixtape (DMC)
Neon Nights Mixtape, released by DMC - who also released the popular 'Back To Mine Series' - is a collection of some of the best electro-punk and disco-rock in the UK. It is a mixture of new names alongside well known, mainstream names such as Hadouken!, Shitdisco and The Gossip. If you're planning a party with lots of dancing, flashing lights and tight jeans, Neon Nights Mixtape is perfect. The compilation is filled with bands combining guitar riffs with synths, while pumping a throbbing bass beat to keep your feet moving throughout. And loads of them are from West Yorkshire (well, there's Middleman, Shut Your Eyes And You'll Burst Into Flames and Hadouken!, anyway.) However, it might not be anyone's cup of Earl Grey, as some of the songs take a while to, well, make sense - but the majority of the songs on Neon Nights Mixtape are worthy of being pumped at 100 decibels.
Louis Pienaar
Additional Moog
The Bit Wars
According to the press release, Additional Moog are making inroads in America by touring and releasing their debut album on a US label. After listening to their American sound, this does not surprise me, and good luck to them. They play their brand of lo-fi Americana with understatement and skill, and I can imagine it will go
down well with the college scene.
Additional Moog craft elegant tunes, filled with melancholy and lament in the best alt-country tradition. 'Cresting', which was recorded on a back porch lodge in Texas is a particularly affecting tune, complete with mouth harp. They remind me of Wilco and My Morning Jacket, with a touch of Grandaddy on opening track 'The Bit War', with its theme of machines and technology.
It's perfect music to close your eyes to and drift away, and the delicate strains and gentle lyrics are bound to stay awhile in your head, even after the CD goes back into its case. A terrific EP.
Matt Ralphs
www.myspace.com/additionalmoog
Afrophysics
The AP EP: Truthsayers
Gently competent throughout, this bunch of tracks fulfils what the sleeve and insert graphics, the packaging, and the billhead style of the promo-matter might lead you to expect. Unfulfilled alas are the big claims made on those two pages of impressively thick A4. The music is perfectly OK stuff though, ably mimicking what's already on the hip-hopping mildly-jazzing washed-over-with-r-and-b market rather than developing anything of its own from the genres it touches. Avoiding the temptation to hijack the words 'cheese spread' from the lyrics of one song, it's right to fess up that another, titled '1,2,&3' and with a bit more North African/Middle Eastern feel in the refrain, is slightly more stirring than the rest.
John Hepworth
www.myspace.com/afrophysics
Reverend And The Makers
He Said He Loved Me (Wall of Sound)
The Reverend's recent rise to indie/dancefloor icon has been something quite exceptional, trading in run of the mill indie tunes for pogo-ing dance classics, and his new single 'He Said He Loved Me' is no exception.
This, the follow up to his top 20 smash, 'Heavyweight Champion of The World', hopes for as much success as its predecessor, and I see no reason why it shouldn't, a great catchy chorus fashioned around a phrenetic beat and a pumping, distorted bass line, both things The Makers have become renowned for.
Surely another hit, for Reverend And The Makers, that will no doubt be heard pumping out of the speakers at your local club every night of the week for the next God knows how long, dance music for a generation of indie kids.
Ben Lewis
Arctic Monkeys
Florescent Adolescent (Domino)
After their amazing headline set at this years Glastonbury, 'Florescent Adolescent' is the Monkeys lap of honour, a triumphant single that shouts "Look at us, look at what we've done". There's no departure however from their trademark storytelling approach to song writing. Instead of the tales of a generation told in their debut album, this time, Alex Turner tells it like it is to a middle-aged woman who 'used to get it in your fishnets/now you only get it in your nightdress'. Bound to be a live favourite and also bound to be known as the one that goes 'der der der der der der fishnets', the Arctic Monkeys just get better and better, proving they deserve the success they have achieved.
Kirsty Bowen
The Pigeon Detectives
Take Her Back (DTTR)
As punchy as a pub brawl and no less rowdy, The Pigeon Detectives' latest offering is the model antithesis to all those infinitely forgettable, saccharine-coated summer releases which begin polluting the airwaves as soon as August rears her head. That's not to say however, that the fate of 'Take Her Back' will be to fade into indie obscurity. Currently enjoying national airplay, this radio friendly slab of frenetic guitar pop frothiness should appeal every bit as much to the masses as yer average MTV playlist. Capitalising on the success of debut album, Wait For Me, The Pigeon Detectives are proving themselves worthy of the hype and merely beg the question, is there anyone left who hasn't heard of them?
Gemma Winks
Vessels
Yuki / Forever The Optimist (Cuckundoo Records)
Never let it be said that Sandman isn't on the pulse at all times. This record may have come out many moons again now, but the Gods were against us running of review of Vessels debut double-a-sided seven inch single. We've done it now though.
And do you know what, the time has helped. 'Yuki', the slow-burning, minimalist opening track benefits from multiple listens, from being given the chance to settle down in your synapses until it becomes reassuringly familiar. A simple, looping piano refrain and mournful, poorly enunciated vocals certainly owe much to modern day Radiohead, as do the pulsing synthetic beats. It never quite goes anywhere, but do we want it to? There's enough going on, enough layers of sonic beauty being added, for the simple structure to be more than enough.
'Forever The Optimist' is a more straightforward proposition, or so it seems. But the frantic chiming guitars and urgent rhythm section get gradually swamped in an ever-increasing flood of vocals that eventually climaxes in a euphoric moment that Broken Social Scene would be proud of.
Vessels really know how to take the tired post-rock blueprint and do something thrilling with it. And for that we really should be thankful.
Tom Goodhand
Little Barrie
Pay to Join (PIAS/Wall of Sound)
Roots evidently driven deep down in Motown and Soul the graceful bass and vocals work with one another in 'Pay to Join'. It's reminiscent of all those greats (Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye etc…) but somehow it misses the par they left behind them.
However, this song does throb with feeling and the elegant vocals harmonise over the words "sooner or later" as guitars strum and the drums unobtrusively lay down the beat which makes this song so easy to sway too. Laying down all the laws of Northern Soul in one track should be difficult and a challenge yet Little Barrie manage to easily. A rather stunning track that is both perfect to relax to and dance to at the same time!
Jade French
Crowley's Dead
In The Eyes / Stripped (Dog Day Music)
On the evidence of this CD single, Crowley's Dead sound like a band loaded with potential. Lead track 'In The Eyes' is a rousing statement of intent, singer Andrew Oxley spitting out the potent, anthemic and unnerving chorus, 'This is how we deal with your cavalry charge. Stand out proud and we'll tear you apart!" as the impressively tight rhythm section drives the track forward, switching gears and cranking up the power as they go. With strong guitar work and well-balanced backing vocals, it comes across as something approaching the complete package. Second track 'Stripped' is more restrained and fails to live up to it's predecessors high standard, building up a slow-burning intensity that the chorus doesn't quite deliver on. Still, accessible, powerful and tight as a dog in a matchbox, Crowley's Dead are primed. Watch out.
Rob Chimes
Mono-Taxi
The Sound of You
It seems like an age since the Anglo-French four-piece released one Kind of Better and whilst that didn't trouble the charts it was a beautiful piece of indie-pop. The 2007 incarnation of Mono-Taxi sees the band add a down-tempo fuzzy side to their appeal. The Sound of You is where the band really find their feet - mixing their influences to really find a cohesiveness and appeal. Ellice's voice can still make grown men weep and this is used to great effect on the B-side, Operator Help. If there really is any justice in the world it won't be too long before we here a lot more from these guys.
Mike Reynolds
Captain Dangerous
You Could Be My
Captain Dangerous are a guitar led indie four-piece founded by Lincoln Uni students Miles Clark and Adam Clarkson along with bassist Mark Houlgate and drummer Ricky Dunn. This single features pop harmonies and one hell of a catchy melody. It's light hearted and fun. They've got that typical mainstream indie-rock sound down (think Kaiser Chiefs) with added jangle and a lovely hint of indie-pop trumpet providing a welcome contrast.
Having won the prized Magic Numbers support slot for the opening night of Nottingham's new Market Square earlier in the year, Captain Dangerous are a band on the up, and this jolly little single can only help them on the musical ladder.
Hannah Webster
Beat Constructions
Satellites of Duub
Oh how the sands of time do shift. The second track on this single, Consumption Song, is warning about our obsession with the materialistic, and is already a reminder of how we used to shop in Sheffield, talking us through a trip up Fargate and talks of 'wandering round Virgin, Fopp and HMV'. Already it is part of our history. Beat Constructions make a very competent attempt at laying down some electro-dub here, and these three tracks are a taster for a full album to be released later this year. Oh, yes, and for all of you SF addicts out there, Duub is not mis-spelt it IS a reference to the fictional biographer in Frank Herbert's Dune trilogy. Thought you'd like to know.
Vivian Bonzo
Censored
L.I.F.E (Blow It Out My Mind!) (S.O.S Recordings)
Infectious rock trio Censored hijack the stereo, fuelled by a simple vision and refusing to offer respite until you are well and truly infiltrated by their groove. The verses may well have the feel of a brooding blues number but the eye of the storm gives way, usurped by a rip-roaring tornado of a chorus that wreaks havoc with stomping bass lines and wailing guitars.
The constant chanted refrain of the chorus threatens to grate, but never does, instead adding an anthemic festival vibe to the track. If repetition be the food of a successful single, play on.
Robert Macpherson
LA Pals
LA Pals (Akoustik Anarkhy)
LA Pals' self-titled debut single is a sun-ray of sumptuous melodies and overall happy vibes, which take the form of fluffy strings and light airy vocals. Summery thoughts and luscious trumpets anchor the cornerstone of what the pals are about and that is friendly unequivocal Indie-pop.
The soft vocals play a bit part role in what is a strong musical performance evocative of childhood holidays and lost afternoons in the garden.
Unconventionally not playing live in every nook and cranny of the city to coincide with the single release, the single and B-side are all you'll be able to hear for now; but if you like what you hear, be sure to track them down for company on those rainy summer evenings.
Adam Adshead
Eskimo Brit
Paradise
Paradise leapt from my speakers with enough charm to warm my cockles on a cold March morn. Eskimo Brit have produced one of those feel-good summer songs, rich and melodic with a voice that makes you feel all warm inside. This track made me wish I was lounging on a beach sipping an extremely alcoholic cocktail with an umbrella stuck in it. Alcohol would have been a wise option as the two remaining tracks on this single 'Don't Wake The Neighbors' and 'I Don't Wanna' had me wishing I was drunk. Soft rock that never starts to roll. I was expecting songs like The Sundays, what I got was a bizarre Girls Aloud tribute that really try too hard. Shame that, as Paradise promised so much. But we ended up marooned on an island with a strange Eskimo character.
Mat Gladstone