She's a Beauty

An interesting concept, the band play a mix of styles, each very distinct, so where does She’s a Beauty sit for the onomasiological minded, well simply it doesn’t, this is a band which transcends neat piles of definition.

The commonality of theme is the highly competent musicians, who are not only able to play the instruments, but more importantly are able to construct songs and tunes which exude emotion. That isn’t to say there is no sense of fun, far from it, twitches of interjection by guitar or bass add a smile to the face of the listener and the vocal catches the sense of humour which is an important element to the sound.

The band have the ability to cross a swathe of styles within a matter of a few tracks, which does dilute the ‘sound’ of the band, but that isn’t particularly important. What She’s a Beauty delivers, may well sound different each time, but it is consistently of a high standard and generates a genuine sense of being in a good space.

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The Whatmans

Navan, or should I reverse that to Navan, yes it is a palindrome (I spend too long playing with words – one of the few Palindromic place names in the world) is home to some interesting bands, which as I have mentioned on other articles, sits too close to Dublin, yet too far away, for bands from this neck of the woods to get any sort of an easy break. Anyway, you aren’t reading this to hear me droning on about irrelevances, what are The Whatmans like?

Committed, hard-working, creative, relevant and tight…. Erm… As regular readers of the site know, I write with my ear-phones on listening to the music as I type and I am enjoying it too much to want to actually knuckle down. High energy rock is harnessed without the vitality of the music being compromised. This is a professional group of artists, who take their music seriously and are aiming to provide a powerful sound which resonates with their listeners. Uncomplicated by frippery, yet adding depth of composition with flair. The Whatmans,  have not forgotten why they got involved in music in the first place, as it retains a playful energy, which is the classic root of new bands, but after four years, they have rounded this superb weave, which unlike the recent history of carpet making in Navan, is unlikely to become threadbare any time soon.

They manage to swerve between the heavy reverb guitar of shoegaze, through the power politics of 2nd wave punk to  swinging open rock of the likes of Queen with no effort, taking the listener on a superb ride, while the vocal focusses on issues around the world, yet manages to avoid sound preaching. In other words The Whatmans flirt with musical clichés, which they brush aside with aplomb.

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Dave McGoldrick first made contact with me last year about The Whatmans and I have no excuse for a review taking me so long.

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It is always a pleasure to write about bands who expend energy in developing their craft and audience with no expectation that someone else will step in to the breach. It takes true commitment and belief in their music and The Whatmans I hope retain that belief as they have for sure, something to add to the world of music.

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Bone

Harking to sounds from CBGBs,  blending with muted acid from England in the ’90′s, with a splash of  ’60s Festival. Bone carve out a niche which lies comfortably in the central space of Indie Bands Blog. I just re-read the ‘muted acid’ I think that must already be a genre, if not, I know not why.

The reverberation emanating from Bone make it difficult to accept this is a duo. I have heard banks of musicians who can’t get the depth and character of their out-put. I am not sure whether to turn the lights down low and lie back or should I let my body flow with the metronomic beat, with a group a friends.

Lilting melodies are coalesced with melting instrumentation as Bone take the listener on a hovercraft of cloud layer across an obscured landscape. Bone express all that is the best of the space Velvet Underground occupied and superbly slide in to the void with just two under-exposed creatives, perhaps that is the beauty of Bone, it all seems so intimate due to the nature of where they currently sit.

It is a real pleasure to head along this avenue, Kim Booth on behalf of Strummerville sent me details a while ago and for no explicable reason, it has taken me far too long to talk about the outfit.

As soon as I am able I will get some music of theirs to listen to on the website. In the meantime take a listen on their myspace page, where you will also find details of their recent release Teepee.

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Storybooks for Small Dogs

I enjoy a three piece band who can make me feel engaged and Storybooks for Small Dogs, certainly do that. The free-ranging energy that emanates from the band can’t help but raise a heartbeat as they blaze through clear vocal and musical score, bringing a clean-shaven feel to the day.  Crystal clear clarity shines through the band as they take me on a high energy trip through Navan; facing the trials and tribulations of a satellite town to a Capital City.

This is the sounds of the suburbs as powerfully as The Members resonated. As I listen I can feel the resonance of a band who know they have something to say, yet are instantly dismissed as ‘parochial’. Storybooks for Small Dogs, face the uphill battle of being viewed as a provincial band by the local media and therefore irrelevant to swathes of the music industry. It is a sad indictment that bands like this get left in the slip stream, as they have so much to add.
Storybooks for Small Dogs | All These Animals

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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.

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Be interesting to hear the results of their new EP.

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Robotnik

Chris has a breadth of life experience and intellectual questioning, which he brings to bear with Robotnik, as he says himself of music ‘…It’s just the most amazing thing because you can’t hold it and see it or taste it. It’s pretty amazing. I love the universe. I love how the universe works. I’m big into quantum physics and I love how sound works. I just think it’s incredible how a car alarm can be instantly horrible and how Beethoven can be instantly beautiful….’

The desire to challenge the listener and audience is a feature of Robotnik. The experimentation and output is diverse. Innocent acoustic beat pop sounding pieces are injected with an electronic back wash and clever lyric, to take on a complex layer of moods. Other tracks are reminiscent of the darker moods of German Electronic pop. The music leaves me in an uncomfortable dilemma, great to listen to carefully, but also demanding movement and loosing my senses in the moment. Perhaps it is just me, but doing the two at the same time is too much for my brain, maybe that is why writing this review has taken so long, each track needs to be played at least twice. It is a testament to well composed music that on two different levels, it makes perfect sense.

While there is a darkness to much of the sentiment behind the output, difficult story-lines are handled with great humour in the lyric.

I haven’t had the opportunity to see Robotnik live, but much emphasis is placed on the the visual performance and larger venues see Chris, working with Martin Osborne.

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What I enjoy particularly like about Chris is that a serious musician is in evidence, which is superbly counterbalanced by someone who does what they really enjoy and this feeds though to the listener, who can enjoy the music as an active participant or sit back and let the musical complexities reverberate around the inner ear; making the music highly accessible, despite, or is that because of the challenges Robotnik lays out.

With a new EP containing People Walk Away released in Germany in March and the album Pleasant Square set for release in Germany in April, followed by a German tour in May, keep your eyes and ears out for Robotnik.

Readers Wives photo credit Daniel D'Souza

By the time the band had taken to the stage, the narrow venue was full as people waited in anticipation for the gig to start and suddenly Reader’s Wives were blasting their way through Light up. Niall O has great stage presence and his ability to combine self deprecating humour with serious lyrical content is superb to watch. Sexually Attracted to myself is brought to life by Niall Os’ stage craft.

Reader's Wives by Daniel D'Souza

At this point we were invited to raise our glasses and expectant of a sermon, the audience followed suit, to which Niall O merely wished us cheers and the band played on. This is a band who are in complete control of their music and performance. The staccato guitar and drum need precision timing to work and Reader’s Wives have it down to a tee. Guitars stopping precisely in time and recommencing right on cue.

Doug on drums and Disko on Bass keep a high tempo as the songs demand and are then able to control the slower pieces working really well together. On the guitars Niall O and Chris keep absolute relevance to the mood. The whole perception is of a band who really enjoy their craft and are determined to put out the best of themselves in performance with the skills to do this in a way that makes it all seem so naturally easy. Annabella and Victor’s mother Juliet were played with the band in full flow and confident mood.

Reader's Wives live @ Peter Parker’s Rock & Roll Club by Daniel D'Souza

By the time we had reached the end of the set, A sight for sore eyes, the audience were completely enthralled by the gift of the blarney stone that is Niall O. It was a fantastic set list which encompassed pretty well the essence of Reader’s Wives. It is of no surprise that the following is loyal and rapidly expanding and I would most certainly recommend getting out to see them when possible and in the mean time grabbing hold of their new EP, Secrecy & Sex .

I didn’t get much of an opportunity to meet the band before the gig, as I was stuck in traffic on the way in and afterwards I was able to grab a couple of minutes with Niall and Chris before they had to grab their kit from the stage. Thanks guys, great evening and hope to catch you again soon. For more on Reader’s Wives.

My blackjack and fruit-salad are perfectly safe…

Reader' Wives - Secrecy and Sex

Sexually attracted to myself, is a lilting piece of work which provides a breadth of humour, superb instrumentation and real quality of musicianship as the slightly haunting echos bounce against the crystal clear vocals.

Advertising Heroin is constantly driven forward by the persistent beat of bass and drum, which suit superbly the lyric as the chaos of a life as an addict reaches its stuttering conclusion.

I don’t need to be seduced took me in to a smoke filled jazz room as the pace is slowed down once again. This is a complex piece of work that Reader’s Wives handle with ease.

The acoustic Dublin is all Pubs and Cranes is for me the most challenging track, as we are taken through the diversity of life in the city full of opportunity and extreme poverty.

I know I’m not your hero anymore uses, (I think) a muted megaphone to deliver the lyrics as the band reflect on a life that could have been so different. The use of a distorted voice of Niall H. gives the distinct feeling that the band is talking to a far more general audience. Without being condemnatory the question is clearly posed, do we all really do the best we can, or is the price of change more than we want to pay?

The EP, Secrecy and Sex is a great collection of work, as Reader’s Wives display their musical and songwriting abilities and far more importantly a genuine affinity for the work. There is absolutely no doubt this is an EP Reader’s Wives wanted to release, rather than being a release to meet a deadline.

Now available on . Thanks guys and hope to catch you next week in London.

Follow the link for more about Reader’s Wives.