Divorce

24th NOTTINGHAM The Chameleon, 17 Angel Row, NG1 6HL

25th LONDON DANCE MAGIC DANCE at The Stag’s Head, 55 Orsman Road, Dalston, N1 5RA

26th LONDON MILK HQ (whereabouts TBC – join our newsletter for final confirmation)

27th MANCHESTER CLUB SPANKY at The Islington Mill, James St, Salford, M3 5HW

28th LEEDS BRITISH WILDLIFE FESTIVAL at Nation Of Shopkeepers, 27 – 37 Cookridge Street, LS2 3AG

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Fez

The whole journey down to London had been so easy in fact, that I arrived early, so early that Fez were still going through sound-checks. Not to put them off, I took the opportunity to say a quick hi to the guys and left them to it.

Although Dublin Castle can be a busy pub and it was on Friday night, getting served at the bar is a breeze, as the bar staff whip through rounds and able to take orders for the next set of drinks while still dealing with the last punter… no I know this wasn’t meant to be a pub review and drinking soft drinks, due to driving, officer, I couldn’t attest to the quality of the alcohol.

When I headed back in to the music area, it was already getting pretty full, with more people coming through the doors, by the time Fez kicked off with Low Light, there wasn’t a great deal of space. Either the guys paid their fans to travel to create the atmosphere, or their is a genuine affection for the band from those in the know. I somehow think to pay off that many fans would have been pretty dear, so can I think safely err on the side, that to this is a band who find a place in the heart of their fans.

As the first band on, with a night running 4 bands, receiving applause for just getting on the stage, is pretty good going. Far more importantly the music lives up to expectations, as they kicked off with the high energy good humoured output for which they are known. The dramatic effect of multiple guitar and multiple vocal gives them a great depth, which is not permitted to flow over in to a discord of noise, but retains a tight and sharp focus.

My Teeth had the enthusiastic audience singing along and and the band had relaxed in to the set. The powerful drum and piercing guitar left very few in the audience standing still.

Chemicals which opens with a direct reference to The Beatles, suddenly picked up pace and the voice of Will, strident with a superb polemic. This is a difficult song to control as the band rushes to join the argument and they held it together superbly.

Suddenly we were on to the last number in the seven number half hour set, with Success came slowly, and a palpable sense of disappointment shivered through the crowd. For the four minutes left of the set, the fans who had travelled, ensured they made the most of it in a frenzy activity that would have done credit to the warning alarm of an imminent nuclear attack.

As the applause died away and the band came off stage, so the music area emptied. I did head back later to see a couple of the bands and the room appeared to have grown considerably inside. 1st band on, by far the most enthusiastic audience, perhaps the bookers need to take a look at this again.

In addition to the guitars, Fez also make use of keyboard for one song in the set, which on the face of it made me think they were loosing the plot, but the use of the additional instrumentation was a smart move as the out-put retains its anthemic quality, while generating a more complex composition.

I would recommend a trip out to see Fez next time they are near you. For more on Fez.

As I said in my email Alex, sorry I didn’t get a chance to catch up with you afterwards, but I had an early start the next day and I hope you got some good news from the scouts.

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The Heartbreaks

The Heartbreaks are at once melancholic yet enlivening, as the songs swagger forward with a fierce determination, which is cocooned in a swathe of guitar swhirl and echo. References to The Smiths and Elvis Costello, particularly through Matthews vocals are striking, but not repetitive, as they take these markers in to the early twenty first century.

With an ever extending tour list and the release of their new material, it will be of no surprise if their music continues to make a far wider impact. This is easily accessible, yet not synthetic and the four guys have created a sound which appears to resonate well, not just for its relevance, but for depth of musical integrity matched with contextual lyric.

Myspace page

I’ll aim to get a review of the single ready in good time and personally hope to get to see the band later this month.

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Elephantom courtesy of Chris Bergenheim

A short month in February and low voting numbers, saw the band saw a very tight race for the band of the month, with Elephantom emerging as the top band.

The readership came from over 75 countries in February and the chart has representation in the chart of bands coming from 8 different countries.

1.    Elephantom USA (+ 1 place)
2.    The Brassic UK (- 1 place)
3.    The Drums USA (+ 1 place)
4.    Reader’s Wives Ireland (+ 12 places)
5.    Fez UK (+ 6 places)
6.    The Gadsdens UK (+ 1 place)
7.    Pete Um UK (new entry)
8.    My Glorious Austria (new entry)
9.    Krakatoa UK (+1 place)
10.  The Steepwater Band USA (re-entry)
11.  Gaoler’s Daughter UK (- 8 places)
12.  Stellarscope USA (- 6 places)
13.  The Reactors UK (new entry)
14.  Rajasthan Roots India (re-entry)
15.  Brett Gleason USA (new-entry)
16.  Gary War USA (- 7 places)
17.  Mono Stereo Sweden (- 12 places)
18.  Kabul Dreams Afghanistan (- 3 places)
19.  New Found Land Sweden/Germany (new entry)
20.  Archy and Mehitabel USA (new entry)

Elephantom are making some considerable waves with the readers of the website, as they continue to draw interest from an ever wider base.

Fez @Dublin Castle

1. Fez England/Wales (re-entry)
2. Junkstar England (new entry)
3. Elephantom USA (+ 5 places)
4. The Supernovas England (re-entry)
5. The Drums USA (- 4 places) (for the regular followers of the blog this is the infamous pole at Flowerpot Camden)
6. The Soft Pack USA (re-entry)
7. Stellarscope USA (re-entry)
8. Periplo Argentina (re-entry)
9. Archy and Mehitabel USA (re-entry)






10. The Gadsdens England (unchanged)
    

I had the opportunity to see Fez, along with a couple of scouts last week and will be posting an article, Despite the reservations of the band that they could do better, the nerves with which many bands suffer, they are pleasing an expanding fanbase.

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The Brassic tour dates

18th March Red Stripe Awards – The Farmhouse Canterbury

19th March Tommy Flynns Camden

30th March Punk London 20:00

3rd April The Bitter End, Romford

16th April Dublin Castle Camden

24th April 333 Club, Shoreditch

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Space Creator Band

Their output is as diverse as the musical instruments they use, which include guitar, bass, ukelele, cuatro, baglama, mandolin, bouzouki, drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizer, ocarina, harmonica, banjo and hang drum. Listening to theri 96 box set CD takes you across rock, classical, jam, world, blues, pop, ambient, rap, alternative, metal, bluegrass, folk, jazz, funk, hip-hop, reggae, soul, dance, country, psychedelic, fusion, house, have I missed anything I wonder?

Such prolific output in itself is worth a mention, the fact that it works well is even more of a credit to Space Creator Band. For sure some of their output will be criticised for speed of production, but to layer the band with ‘label’ expectations is surely to miss the point.

It is exciting to come across bands like this who can keep churning out music and lyric at the prodigious rate they manage, that is not only original, but unrepetitive.

While they are seeking professional representation, I hope they will maintain the absolute freshness that comes from such a high level of creativity.

band website

In addition to knocking out the odd tune here and there the guys are also all artists and work in mediums including drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpting, textiles, printmaking, writing poetry and writing stories.

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Le Galaxie

The electronic rock that emanates from Le Galaxie has all the essential elements to create superbly crafted atmosphere. Many bands playing in this space end up destroying their essential out-put by trying to play with too many layers, leaving the listener desperately wanting less, Le Galaxie, however do not fall in to this trap.

The blending of some strong guitar and drum maintains a flow to the music with the electronics creating an added depth of soft fuzz, which rests comfortably on my ears. This is ideal to sit down with when you have time to appreciate cascading music which adds layers of intricacy to the central guitar chords. The listener is transported to a different plane, where the music envelops synapses with a coating of anti-gravity matter as the sounds waft and wash toouter-space.

While needing time, focus and space, the music is not of such a complex nature that after a few minutes my ears start to bleed and my brow generates even more lines of concentration.

I recommend a good bottle of wine, a few friends round and the door bell turned off to get the best of Le Galaxie.

Does it work live? Judge yourself by the video and I certainly look forward to catching up with them live.

band website

Be interesting to hear the results of their new EP.

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Junkstar, a South London five piece band are not unknown and their fanbase is determined to enjoy a night out with the band. A dancing duo were in full flow immediately the first chords of the appropriately named This could be the Start of Something hit the venue, a fast paced crowd pleaser.  The band worked well off each other as they wound themselves up to full pace.

Junkstar

A slower 70’s sounding electronic number, Bluebottles followed the intro and the juxtaposition of the two musical styles sitting next to each other made me interested to see how the set was going to pan out.

Rage of the pin ups, my personal selection from the set, has Junkstar adding some real depth to their music, as guitars switch between the increasingly popular Sergio Leone effect, to a rock saw style, an incessant drum and bass pulling the whole piece forward with a sense of urgency and some great keyboard which adds an extra twist of flavour.

Amy should by rights have been my pick of the night, with it’s pared back rock and drum which reminded me in the deepest recesses of my mind with Party in Paris by the UK Subs and it is superbly counter-balanced with the keyboard electronica which is core to the band.

The set went with no hitch, other than the inevitable Flowerpot pole, which caused JC a problem he successfully negotiated, not easy for a left-handed guitarist at that venue and very quickly the seven songs were over.

I look forward to catching more of Junkstar, as their music cleverly straddles both trippy electro-pop and the far more emotional depth of some superb interplay.

Anna, who I met briefly afterwards, kindly let me have a copy of their 7″ vinyl release of Magazine along with the CD, but being the thoughtful soul I am, I let Clara take that back to Argentina, sorry Anna, I promise I will be more careful next time.

Should you go and see Junkstar? Well if you don’t you will be missing a great evening of entertainment, which you can either take at a superficial level and just enjoy some superb beats, or engage with as a group of serious musicians who have something to add to the world of music.

Next time I get to see Junkstar, I hope to be able to catch up with them for more than a minute.

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While nominally based Austria (Sami himself is half English/ Austrian), My Glorious spend the majority of their time out on the road touring, four US tours behind them and a German tour just started.

My Glorious

My Glorious play music in a crowded space, I can’t even guess the number of bands I receive details from who play this style of indie rock and the vast majority sound like a poor copy of U2, if that isn’t an oxymoron in itself. So it was with a rapidly beating heart, not in a good way, that I listened to the tracks that Astrid (PR) had pointed me towards, but my fears were dispelled immediately.

What makes for a good sounding band? If there was a formula I guess everyone would sound the same, but one essential ingredient has to be passion, mixed with creativity and this comes in shovel loads from My Glorious, who are able to take a three piece outfit and create an output which at one has large venue chords, with a sense of intimacy, that would work in confined space. I mentioned on the review of their recent album Home is Where The Heart Breaks, that the music can sustain maximum volume, but also benefits, due to its depth to a quieter setting.

Their reflection on everyday life makes the music accessible and the way that they develop songs so that the lyric and musical framework make a sense as a whole, to me, marks them out in this genre. While there is a distinctive velvety sound to the music, they are able to take this to new places, soft fuzz guitar is replaced byanthemic rock drumming and the trio handle the changes with some considerable expertise.

I don’t often run two videos on an article and never before a drum intermission, but this clip I think demonstrates a band who are not only serious musicians, but know how to enjoy themselves and put on a show.

band website

I haven’t had the chance to see them live so far, but hope to be able to remedy that soon.

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