Hurray For The Riff Raff

Hurray for the Riff Raff are coming back to the UK in 2017! In some really small venues though, so don’t hang around if you want to get tickets.  Plus  if you missed the previous tour, two of the new songs from the forthcoming album, which were introduced on the previous tour, are available on this …

Raveonettes

As part of their ongoing rolling monthly commitment for a new track a month, or as they call it “RAVE-SOUND-OF-THE-MONTH”, comes the latest from The Raveonettes  “This Is Where It Ends” (#10 in the series).  This one is paired with a video: It starts with their typical drum kicks and fuzz before maybe a touch …

Shirley Collins

To go 38 years without releasing an album might be considered lackadaisical. But “Lodestar” from Shirley Collins beats even Vashti Bunyan for discography gaps. Now revealed from that record is the video for “Death and the Lady” – a creepy pastoral view of Britain featuring green fields, horses, but then also charnel houses, skulls and …

Billy Bragg and Joe Henry

A preview of the Shine A Light project, looking at the history and songs of the American railway, Billy Bragg and Joe Henry have released a video of the recording of “The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore”. It’s part of a fascinating trip on the US railroad, in particular the route from Chicago to LA. …

Modern Mal

Out of Michigan, Modern Mal are a collective of musicians, including Rachel Brooke and Savannah Buist from The Accidentals. Wild Heart is their new and debut video, and features an intriguing blend of lilting country vocals over Tiki style exotica and a blues beat.  The video features vintage clips of circus performers, burlesque beauty queens, and hula …

Cambridge Folk festival 2016

Cambridge Folk Festival has sold out for the 23rd year running. The Cambridgeshire institution has advised not to travel to the festival at Cherry Hinton Hall without a ticket. If you missed your chance, then highlights will be broadcast on Radio 2 on Wednesday August 3rd, and Sky Arts later in the year. Performers this year range from the …

Hurray For The Riff Raff

The Rainbow is one of my favourite venues in Birmingham, a quirky pub has a discreet back door towards the toilets that opens into what appears to be a disused warehouse. The exposed beams (and wires) and brickwork providing a backdrop to a corner stage. Despite the shabby appearance, the sound is always good in the Rainbow.  And even …

Asking Alexandria

Accompanied by black clothing, wide open spaces, and touches of folk horror – Asking Alexandria have a new video. The song has a decent set of riffs, a catchy chorus, pin-sharp drumming, and you can tell it’s going to be a powerful addition to their set. “Here I am” is from their album “The Black”, …

DBFC Autonomic

New from the Anglo-French electro-pop “club” DBFC (“DBFC is not a band, it’s a club” is part of their manifesto), is the video for new single “Autonomic”. Library footage of vintage electronics, sports, and medical instructional videos timed to a driving beat. Think 808 State soundtracking Fantastic Voyage, 2001 and Open University all at the …

déCollage

Denver based art collective déCollage have revealed the title track of their album – “Magnetize”. A shuffling collage of saxophone, scratches, samples and soul. It soundtracks a particularly fevered dream where the beat ebbs and flows, and old jazz records play over 1980s videogames.  Lead by producer Reed Fuchs, déCollage are part of Moon Magnet, a …