Rock
News: The Temperance Movement announce European Tour, plus New Album
I used to love the Harlem Globetrotters. I remember growing up they used to occasionally be on World of Sport or Grandstand, one of them anyway. They were cool and funny and had these outrageous skills that (it seemed to me) no other team had, and certainly no-one would attempt in a ‘proper’ game. Along …
Album Review: Whirr-Around
Whirr are lumped into that genre we Generation X oldsters affectionately call “shoegaze”. And while some of my favorite music is lumped into this category, I have to say it’s getting used way too much. It’s become this generic term used to describe anyone that looks at the floor more than ten seconds in order …
New Music: CatBearTree – Let’s Share Hearts
CatBearTree are a south-London threepiece made up of Zoe Konez (guitar), Claudia Mansaray (bass) and Sarah Smith (drums) who released their debut EP on Friday 2nd August, launching it through a multi-act bill at the Finsbury in Manor House, North London, up near my neck of the woods. They’ve been together since 2011, practising and perfecting …
Track: Ming City Rockers – Chic and the Motherfuckers
I have this friend. we went to University together. Just two ordinary slackers – when it was cloudy/rainy we played Snooker, when it was sunny we played golf. On occasion we actually went into University to see what it was we were supposed to be doing. Not terribly often though. He’s one of those …
Album review: The Lonely H – The Lonely H
This is good-time music. It’s got everything that you need: bendy, blues- and rock’n’roll-infused guitars, confident brass, an unobtrusive but muscular rhythm section, a strong and soulful vocalist, and a good understanding of how to write coherent, tuneful, ass-shaking, country rock. This five-piece, who have been together for around a decade, hail from Port Angeles, …
O Emperor – Vitreous: Album Review
Back in April I got lost on bandcamp and wandered into O Emperor‘s house. They had facial hair so it was a pretty happy accidental meeting plus, as you could not doubt tell from my breathless review of the video for “Holy Fool” I also liked what I found. Now they’re releasing albums, and it’s …
The Watermelons – Dance Strange Together
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but there’s a certain amount of indie guitar rock on our blog. Toby, David, Sam and Matthew make up The Watermelons and hail from Brighton, which is a long way from my favourite indie city of the last two months, Portland, Oregon. Still, it’s a well-established-indie-pedigree town and I …
New Music: Firesuite – Red World EP
When I was fairly young, about 18 I think it was (actually I don’t think, I know because I can remember it so well) my college mate and I went over to Manchester one cold December night. It was, at that time, the biggest gig I think I’d ever been to. Manchester G-Mex had sold …
Track: Steel Trees – Attack of the Stoner Zombie Killer Kids (plus Tour news)
Picture the scene, the Mafia family boxing day celebrations and the brethren gathered from the four corners of the earth (well, Sheffield and London). Various offspring running riot, off their heads on chocolate. All adult males asleep in armchairs with jauntily angled paper hats on. And me, fearlessly tackling my second bottle of red. It’s …
Preview: Detestival (curated by The Wet Nuns)
For me it wasThe Elephants. It was somewhere in Denmark, and they were Danish. They were (outrageously) below the bill than the band I was in, and so I wandered out to watch them, and was instantly blown away. On my return, the first things I did was buy their album, bang onto everyone I …